I recently bought a Z and after 3K miles of driving it around and enjoying I wanted to check the oil. I couldn't get a valid reading from the dipsh!t so I decided to go ahead and do my first oil change.
I poured the old oil in the empty jug and realized it was only 3.5 qts!
I'm nervous about the consequences of running the VQ35DE with such low amount of oil.

My 350z is 2004.5 with a VQ35DE (non revup). So by nature it shouldn't burn oil, also I don't think I have any leaks since the floor of my spot is clean. How do I figure out if the engine was damaged?

Went with a slightly oversized filter (K&N HP-1010) and poured in the whole 5 qts of Pennzoil Platinum 5W30 (still can't get a reading from dipsh!t)

 

The car is a goner, motor is toast, and some DEs did have oil consumption as well. If you didn't drive it too hard and was just daily, you should be fine. Probably took off the latter end of the engine's life.

 

Whoa now sparco, I hope there was some sarcasm. My rev up has been burning oil since I can remember and it's at 145k miles now (still quicker than my roommates s2000 and can easily keep up with my co workers modded g37at) just stay on top of the oil situation and do an oil change every 3k miles religiously.

 

I agree, don't wait til 3500 do it at 3k, every time. That's what I do. I get the oil and get ready to change once I get to 2500. I changed the oil as soon as I bought the car for my own records, but I waited til around 4k miles to change it the next time, ill never wait that long again, I swear it had less power and just wasn't as smooth as it should be. I didn't burn any oil though. But now its like he said change at 3k religiously.

 

Driving with too much oil will damage the engine.

 

? Factory specs calls for 5 qts

 

I'm still wondering why you have dipshit checking your oil.... Check it yourself.

 

Blindly adding 5 quarts ftw.

 

That's how I call the dipstick. I'm looking for an aftermarket or a gauge to tell me without a doubt how much oil is in the engine..might sound totally stupid but our dipstick is a joke.
I keep reading here to dump the whole 5 qts when doing an oil change.. and I think it should be safe to put 5.2 to reach full capacity.

I'll keep the oil level checked, I hope I'm able to measure it..

 

I just checked my oil yesterday while I was working on the car. The dipstick works fine for me.

 

I agree it works fine, but it is a pita to get in & out but still reads fine.


And sparco, its not blindly adding 5 qts when you drained everything out. Plus checking the dipstick once its in, I've done this 4 times or so and level was perfect everytime.

 

Yeah it's a terrible design. But it's functional and that's all that matters. I've always put the 5qt jug in, ran the engine for 10-15 seconds to circulate oil and fill the filter, then checked it again and it's always been right at the full mark.

 

Surfer.............Do you know if the oil was changed just before you bought the car? If you didn't change it right away, there could be 10,000 miles on the oil. You drove the car for 3000 miles and found out you were a quart and a half low. The dipstick is a little difficult to get in and out of the engine, but with a little patience, it is very useful. You should check your oil at least once a week until you determine if you are burning oil or not. When you couldn't get a reading on the dipstick the oil was probably so low the end of the dipstick wasn't reaching the oil.

 

Thats pretty much what I do except I don't have the 5qt jug. But I check til I get a reading, usually 3 dips once I put it in then I start it and let it run for a min then check it again.

 

I'n not aware of any aftermarket dip sticks or any kind of gauge that you can purchase to give you an indication of your oil level.

 

You were not able to read the dipstick after buying the car. I'm guessing but think your new car came with <4 quarts of oil in the engine. If you are not hearing any "ticking" noise, you should be OK.

 

I'm pretty sure the oil was not changed before I bought the car, it looked quite colored but not dirty like it needed to be changed right away. I agree, it was probably so low it wasn't showing up on the dipstick.

I do remember, while inspecting the Z, I checked the oil and later that night I realized I didn't click the dipstick all the way in causing some of the oil to splash out in the engine bay making quite a bit of smoke. I added 1qt the same night and thought I added enough.

Now the oil is so clean it's hard to get a reading but will check it every other day and determine if there's a major oil consumption or I just lost way more than I thought that time I didn't click the dipstick all the way in...


The engine is very quiet and doesn't tick at idle or anything. I do hear some grinding sound when the rpm are low and I floor it. It sounds more like a transmission / clutch related noise or could be a loose heat shield somewhere. I recently installed a Nismo exhaust and I remember the two gaskets: cats to y-pipe weren't sealing perfectly. Nothing major, to this day it hasn't thrown a code and I will get proper gaskets to seal perfectly. Maybe the accelerating rattle could be a cause of that small exhaust leak. not sure.

 

^^ Good. If there is no “ticking” noise and you are not using oil, the engine is OK. The 350z 2004.5 engines are very durable and owners report almost no problems.

 

that grinding sound is most likely due to not changing the oil. When I waited that 4k it started to make that sound on acceleration from a stop and every now and then in other situations, that is when I immediately changed the oil. I heard no ticking or any other noises at the time nor after. The grinding went away after about 50 miles after the change.

 

I go 5000 between oil changes with Mobil 1 and I have never had any odd noises or loss of power.

I got the car with 55k and now she just rolled over to 113k.