VQ notorious for burning oil
VQs aren't really notorious for burning oil, per se. It's just more common than most motors.
I'd honestly put the number of oil burning versus non oil burning VQs at 50/50. Of the seven Nissans my family has owned with a VQ under the hood, only one has had a serious oil consumption issue...my '03 6MT Maxima burned about a quart and a half of oil every 3000 miles.
My current G goes through maybe just under 3/4 of a quart. But I'm going to guess that has to do with leaky valve covers, considering I found oil in one of the spark plugs.
I'd honestly put the number of oil burning versus non oil burning VQs at 50/50. Of the seven Nissans my family has owned with a VQ under the hood, only one has had a serious oil consumption issue...my '03 6MT Maxima burned about a quart and a half of oil every 3000 miles.
My current G goes through maybe just under 3/4 of a quart. But I'm going to guess that has to do with leaky valve covers, considering I found oil in one of the spark plugs.
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It could be a multitude of things.
Nissans are known for their catalytic converters clogging up, which burns out the piston rings.
However, they're also known for their catalytic converters breaking down, which can score the cylinder walls.
Oil can also be burnt through failing valve cover caskets allowing oil to leak down into the spark plug tubes.
In your case, it sounds like one of the first two. Two quarts is a bit too much for a valve gasket issue.
It's not necessarily a poor ring design. A well-maintained VQ without the catalytic converter issue generally stays oil burning free. That's why I make a point of taking the cats off of every VQ I own...just to be on the safe side.
Regarding the 6MT Maxima that I mentioned that had an oil consumption issue; when I removed the y-pipe to gut the cats, the rear cat had gotten so hot from being clogged that the honeycomb inside had actually melted and was incredibly difficult to remove (it kept coming out in little pieces, and almost looked like aluminum foil). The front, which was still good, broke apart like it was supposed to. How the car didn't have a CEL light on for the rear cat is beyond me.
If you're going to tear your motor down just to re-ring the pistons, you might as well tear the motor down to the short block and re-build any and all worn components.
Nissans are known for their catalytic converters clogging up, which burns out the piston rings.
However, they're also known for their catalytic converters breaking down, which can score the cylinder walls.
Oil can also be burnt through failing valve cover caskets allowing oil to leak down into the spark plug tubes.
In your case, it sounds like one of the first two. Two quarts is a bit too much for a valve gasket issue.
It's not necessarily a poor ring design. A well-maintained VQ without the catalytic converter issue generally stays oil burning free. That's why I make a point of taking the cats off of every VQ I own...just to be on the safe side.
Regarding the 6MT Maxima that I mentioned that had an oil consumption issue; when I removed the y-pipe to gut the cats, the rear cat had gotten so hot from being clogged that the honeycomb inside had actually melted and was incredibly difficult to remove (it kept coming out in little pieces, and almost looked like aluminum foil). The front, which was still good, broke apart like it was supposed to. How the car didn't have a CEL light on for the rear cat is beyond me.
If you're going to tear your motor down just to re-ring the pistons, you might as well tear the motor down to the short block and re-build any and all worn components.
Test pipes made?
You can buy un-resonated test pipes off of eBay for about $80 shipped.
Fitment isn't perfect, and they're a little raspy, but they'll work. But if you're already have an oil consumption issue, test pipes won't fix it. I would just drop your cats and take a look to see what condition they're in. If they're clogged, empty them out.
You can buy un-resonated test pipes off of eBay for about $80 shipped.
Fitment isn't perfect, and they're a little raspy, but they'll work. But if you're already have an oil consumption issue, test pipes won't fix it. I would just drop your cats and take a look to see what condition they're in. If they're clogged, empty them out.
Four cats, divided into two pipes.
They're dual units, pre and primary, built into the same piece of pipe. So just because your one pre-cat is bad, it doesn't necessarily mean the other three are.
They're dual units, pre and primary, built into the same piece of pipe. So just because your one pre-cat is bad, it doesn't necessarily mean the other three are.
Before this thread gets too nuckingfutts there's a way to test cats, don't start spending $$ needlessly. I seriously doubt your OC issues have anything to do with your cats. You motor was built with poor quality oil rings, Nissan won't admit it but any mechanic that's ever worked on one will agree. Using higher weight oil like 10W40 might slow down the OC for a while. In the end you can either replace the motor or sell it and move on....Gary
There's nothing wrong with dropping the cats and checking them out. It's not a bad idea, in my opinion.
I've actually seen a car with a clogged cat set the highway below it on fire before (fresh tar started burning) because the exhaust got so hot. Now imagine, if the cat is clogged, what kind of havoc that would play with the internal parts.
I've actually seen a car with a clogged cat set the highway below it on fire before (fresh tar started burning) because the exhaust got so hot. Now imagine, if the cat is clogged, what kind of havoc that would play with the internal parts.
so this guys next thread will now be how do i get these cats out...
its not an easy task..i mean not extremely hard or anything but it is time consuming and multiple extensions and broken knuckles..ive swapped diff. cats and test pipes out so many times on these cars that i have a system but it isnt the easiest task thats for sure..and in this guys case pointless...
gonna have some test pipes made..lmfao..that seriously made me laugh...o then it will be why is my check engine light on...so much fail in this thread already..
its not an easy task..i mean not extremely hard or anything but it is time consuming and multiple extensions and broken knuckles..ive swapped diff. cats and test pipes out so many times on these cars that i have a system but it isnt the easiest task thats for sure..and in this guys case pointless...
gonna have some test pipes made..lmfao..that seriously made me laugh...o then it will be why is my check engine light on...so much fail in this thread already..