2008 Nissan Maxima Valvoline High Mileage 5W30 10,000 miles on oil.

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Originally Posted by PetitFrereArmada
I am truly considering doing only 3,500 oil changes, since by then I usually have lost about half a quart or more of oil. And maybe at the second 3,500 oil change, I will do another UOA.

That would be a sensible interval, I should think. After you use up your stash, I'd still consider something a little more helpful with respect to viscosity such as a 10w-30 HDEO (or even a synthetic HDEO, should you be able to get it at the same price). If you go that route down the road, don't concern yourself with whether there's SN on the jug, as long as you've got some combination of CJ-4 and/or CK-4 and/or ACEA E7, E9.

I'm looking at what can nurse you those extra 50,000 miles best with a bit of luck and without breaking the bank. That's about the best I can recommend this side of the actual fix.
 
Try an oci via Nissan severe service @3K (is Nissan's severe service still 3K in Maxima's manual?) and see what you uoa looks like.
 
I love people who post a UOA that shows a serious problem, like a blown head or intake gasket, and in all the comments the OP doesn't even acknowledge he has a serious problem that needs to be fixed.

You are talking about moving to a different OCI..etc...but you don't understand you are wrecking the engine because it is ingesting a lot of coolant! Do you not understand this causes serious engine damage?

You need to stop driving this car, and fix it if you want it to last!
 
Originally Posted by addyguy
I love people who post a UOA that shows a serious problem, like a blown head or intake gasket, and in all the comments the OP doesn't even acknowledge he has a serious problem that needs to be fixed.

You are talking about moving to a different OCI..etc...but you don't understand you are wrecking the engine because it is ingesting a lot of coolant! Do you not understand this causes serious engine damage?

You need to stop driving this car, and fix it if you want it to last!


Thanks for your input. I would like the car to last. I mean, I have owned it for 11 years now and happy with the 251,300 miles so far but I do not wish for it to die any time soon. In fact, I am hoping I do things to keep it running so I can get atleast 300,000 miles showing on odometer. I have only about 50,000 miles to hit that. It is my daily driver and it has served me well and I hope to treat it well. I am treating it well infact, just check my build and maintenance thread in the first post.

But I value your opinion and you mentioned blown head or intake gasket. I will look into those and see how much it can cost me to have it changed. But how do I confirm that is the problem?

I did post the UOA for feedback and advice since I could not come up with al that alone. So, I do appreciate any advice. I may use some and may not be able to use some, but I sure to appreciate any tip or advice. God knows I will never sell this car and so I have to drive it to its grave and I would be glad to see as many miles come out of it as possible since the interior is perfect. I can count the number of times somebody has sat in the back seat in my whole 11 years of ownership.
 
Changing oil sooner isn't going to stop the coolant leak, nor is it likely to reduce the wear rates.
The UOA is telling you what's wrong; that's it's job.
It's your job to fix it.
If you deal with it soon, there's no reason the engine cannot continue to soldier on for a long time.
 
Originally Posted by PetitFrereArmada
Thanks for your input. I would like the car to last. I mean, I have owned it for 11 years now and happy with the 251,300 miles so far but I do not wish for it to die any time soon. In fact, I am hoping I do things to keep it running so I can get atleast 300,000 miles showing on odometer. I have only about 50,000 miles to hit that. It is my daily driver and it has served me well and I hope to treat it well. I am treating it well infact, just check my build and maintenance thread in the first post.

Of course, that's the elephant in the room. The real solution to these problems is always to fix them directly. The nice thing with Nissans is that the Factory Service Manuals are routinely online, so you can check and see what's really involved in such a repair. It's not a replacement for an estimate or the book value, but you can get some idea what's likely to happen. If it's something outlandish, like worth more than the car, then obviously that factors into the decision making. Alternatively, it could be quick and easy enough that you'll be kicking yourself for not having done it already.
 
I really hope you make it to over 300k miles
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I have the same VQ 3.5 motor in my car... 267,000 miles. No measurable oil burning. Longest run I have done is 6800 miles with Pennzoil Ultra. I had my radiator replaced at 215k miles due to a external leak on lower right side of radiator. Spark plugs changed at 103kiles and again at 238k miles... Right side CV axle changed at 215k miles.

Motor still runs great with no oil burning. If I were you I think the head gasket must be repaired obviously. Shorten your change interval after repair of HG. Then after that don't run much longer than 5k miles. Fact it's burning that much oil in 10k miles is not a good thing. And I wonder about the catalytic converters...

I am shooting for 400,000 miles on my Nissan Altima VQ 3.5L two door coupe.
 
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Hey, I remember this car from the last oil analysis. You can easily put an extra half quart in beyond the full mark when you change your oil. There is plenty of room for a little extra oil to burn off. Running a quart low on some cars is not good for wear metals so maybe add a quart when you are half a quart low and stick to that method.
 
Many years ago, my wife's minivan (Villager) had the older VG30E engine. Suffered an overheated condition and I had to pull the heads; did the whole job myself in the garage. It had about 150k miles on it, or something like that. Went another 100k miles easily after the repairs. It was the subject of many UOAs posted here; excellent wear rates even after the head word was done. We finally sold the van to a deserving young single mom, whom used it for several more years. It was ugly, rusted and dirty, but it was safe and ran like a champ!

If the rest of the car has decent value/use to you, then it's worth the efforts. My point is that if you want to fix the coolant leak, do it soon.
 
Fellow VQ35DE owner here. I'm only at 140k but engine has been decent.

Honestly, no way would i go 10k on these engines. Plenty of people mentioned they are harder on oil than normal engines. Recommended for me is 3750 miles, I do 3-5k OCI pending on the weather outside.

Definitely look into the head gasket or intake gasket for the coolant problem. That will prevent you from hitting your 300k goal. I cant see my G35x making it to 300k, mainly because of the rust around here and i dont drive as much either.

Good to see VQ's going over 200k.
 
I'd suggest replacing the head gasket ofcourse but if it's not worth the cost or time to fix it I'd suggest trying to bandage it up with a head gasket sealer I guess. I'd never suggest that under any other circumstances but as youve said, you need it to last a bit longer.
Either way, I'd just buy the cheapest hm oil you can find and change it every 3k. If it can keep compression for 50k more miles then the only other worry is the antifreeze. Changing your oil often will help make sure the antifreeze dosent cause as much damage.
 
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