I know I've been gone for quite a while and haven't kept in touch., Work and finances have me BUSY!

About 6 months (and 15k miles) ago I reported that my 2004.5 6MT G Sedan had started consuming oil at the rate of a quart per 400 miles. I was really pissed considering I had maintained the heck out of it. I toggled the ideas of:

A) trading it in for a newer car
B) throwing a remanufactured short block in it
C) going with a built NA motor.

Finally, I made the decision that option C would be my best bet and decided to start saving money for the project and I would do it once the motor finally went.

Well, I have since switch to conventional motor oil because there is no point in dumping a perfectly good synthetic oil into a motor that will just blow it out the tail pipes. I will note that this was also a recommendation made by a Nissan Certifed Master Technician. I have been keeping a close eye on my oil level for the last 15k miles and I am happy (and surprised) to report that my oil consumption has slowly decreased. I have gone from topping my oil off every 400 miles to changing the oil and filter every 2k miles without topping it off at all. I don't think I'll be putting synthetic motor oil in my car again.

Anyways, the built motor project is on hold until the motor decides to go (maybe another 100k miles). The motor is still strong and I continue to drive it 100 miles every day.

Figured that anyone with oil consumption issues might want to know of my results.

 

That's funny my 04 6MT burn oil too. Im due for an oil change; I was going to put Castrol synthetic in but guess I should give conventional a try.

Thanks for the update.

 

One quart every 400 miles is a lot.... Do you see smoke coming out of exhaust all the time?

 

Which synthetic oil were you using? What viscosity grade? Part of the problem could be oil volatility. It just evaporates. I started using Amsoil 0W-30 when I fist got the car @ 36k miles. I think I added 3 qts. in 10k miles, 1 year. I switched to 5W-30 and cut oil consumption in half.

 

There was oil smoke coming from my exhaust. It was most noticeable after idling for a short time at a stop light. Once the light turned green a little smoke cloud was let out.

 

When I bought the car service records showed religious oil changes with Mobil1 for the entire 28k miles prior to my purchase. I switched to Castrol Edge (gold bottle) and ran it for 70k miles without consuming a drop until 100k miles came around. I now use regular Castrol. I am considering switching to High Mileage Castrol. 5w30 has always been used.

 

whats weird is my 05 6MT Coupe is burning oil as well but i dont have any white smoke or the cars not over heating.

depending on the cost id like to re build the engine but if its too expensive i just might trade the car in

next oil change, 500 miles ill switch to conventional motor oil

 

I guess I'll switch back to conventional and see how it goes. Thanks for the advice/info. My 05 6MT sedan is pretty steady around a quart/1k miles, but the knocking is unbearable. I'm running German Castrol at the moment, and I've noticed a little bump in consumption from the Mobil 1 I was running.

 

After I switched out my ART Pipes and put my oem cats back on there wasnt any smoke at all, but was still consuming a quart per 400 mi. Give the conventional a try, it will actually burn as opposed to synthetic, which mostly fouls plugs and clogs cats when its blowing by.

FYI - my engine didnt consume a drop until I put the test pipes on. Not blaming the ART pipes, just sayin. I only had them on for 500 miles.

Keep me posted....Im curious if my results are common or unusual.

 

Interesting....

Mine has been burning a lot more oil than normal lately. I have 90k miles now, bought the car with 53k. Up until about 75k or so it barely consumed any oil at all. I've been using German Castol 0w30 for the life of the car. I was doing 6k oil change intervals without adding any oil, but now it's slowly been getting worse after I hit 75k.

I noticed about 3k miles ago it does the same thing as yours: Smokes a little bit on acceleration after stopping. It only does it after I drive for a while (say 30-45 minutes). Likely because the oil has finally reached it's peak temperature and is at its thinnest then. No smoke at all for the first 15 minutes or so.

I recently switched to Mobil 1 0w40 and it seems much better. I was thinking about switching to conventional oil as well. I definitely will if it keeps burning oil. No point in putting synthetic in if it burns through it so quick.

I think what happens is when you use conventional oil, you get sludge buildup which helps seal the gaskets. Synthetic oils clean the engine out, and if your gaskets aren't all sealing well, you'll develop leaks. Of course, a lot of sludge isn't good in the engine either, but if a little bit helps stop oil consumption I'm all for it.

 

well about 4 years ago i had Fast Intentions 300cell HFC on my coupe with stock exhaust and never had an issue. since then im back on stock cats with stock everything other than intake and 4 months ago it started burning oil.

ill make the switch and let you know what happens

 

I hear synthetic slips past oil control rings and valve seals easier than dino oil. Its not sludge build up. As your engine gets older it will burn synthetic faster. I think I read some ware that the VQ is designed to burn dino oil.

 

5w30 synthetic has the same viscosity as 5w30 Dino oil, so how could the synthetic slip past the seals? They have the same thinness.

 

I know they have the same thickness. It is just what I have read. I am not sure if it really slips past easier or not. I have also read that it is not good to use synthetic oil if your car has been using dino oil for a long time. Again I don't really know why. It is probably best to do some reading on Bob is the oil guy.

 

I cant believe how many misconceptions there are about oil. Let me help clear something up before this thread turns into a synthetic vs conventional argument.

First off, oil weight and viscocity are what they are regardless of whether you run synthetic or conventional.

Many people will advise against running synthetic oil if conventional oil has been used for a long time because of the detergents in synthetic oil. These detergents cleanse the engine of gunk and deposits which COULD cause the engine to leak or burn oil. I had a 1992 Taurus SHO that up until the first 100k miles had conventional oil. I switched to synthetic oil and when I sold the car at 190k the engine was clean and did not burn or leak a drop of oil.

The VQ engine is NOT designed to burn oil. Whoever told you that is seriously mentally challenged. No auto maker would ever intentionally design a motor that consumes or burns oil. Please get your facts straight and do some research before filling my thread with stuff there is no proof of. I am trying to help people by posting my experience, not confusing them with noob comments.