High mileage oil questions

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disel1978

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I have a 98' Infiniti Qx4 3.3L V-6 with 120,000 and have owned it since 93,000...it was owned before by a family friend who changed the oil ever 3k...before that it was a dealer car so I am sure it was taken care of too. When I bought it I had $700 worth of preventative maintenance done ( time belt, water pump, plugs, wires, basic tune up, oil, throttle body cleaned, and MAF cleaned.)

When I first owned it I used M1 and seemed lacking, so went over to Castrol GTX and now using Castrol High mileage all 5w-30…now it has been cold here (Oregon) but nothing major and sometimes in the morning or the first time I start it even in mid day sometimes I hear this knocking, clatter noise as if the valves or something in the engine sounds like it has no oil? This happens for like 10 seconds and goes away. I actually turn the car off immediately!! and then turn it back on.

What could this be? Should I use different oil? or different weight, or what? And what is a good oil for a car at this mileage? Not sure I want to go to Synthetic since so many miles are on it ,but the engine is clean I have checked and I don’t have blow by at all. The oil is clean and full so yea just curious? Also I use a Wix oil filter too so any ideas or help would be great
 
Wix filter should be fine, you might have a stuck anti-drainback valve on it so the filter drains of oil when it sits so you have low oil pressure, and the lash adjusters in the valvetrain don't get enough oil to pressure up right.

Castrol conventional oil has not shown itself well for cold weather performance. For a time this summer GM no longer listed the 5W-30 as passing their cold pump test until changes to the formulation were made.

If it's not really really cold (-10 or colder) it is probably a stuck valve in the filter or something. Happens once in a while.

If you let it run it should go away on its own fairly quickly.
 
You should have no problem switching to synthetic at that mileage. Try Pennzoil Platinum 5w-30 and a quality filter like PureOne, Fram Extended Guard, Mobil1, or Wix.

Pennzoil Platinum has eliminated start up chatter in a few Nissan vehicles.
 
Hi Disel, I'm driving a 99 QX4 too.I had done pretty much the same maintenance as you did, and experienced the same valve train noise (or whatever it is) in cold weather under 50F,it's fine after warm up.
My local winter temp is between 20F to 50F, I'm using WM syn 5w-30(or group III)which eliminate the cold start noise most of the time, if the temp is under 35F, it still makes noise for a few second . I had tried Castrol HM 5-30 in the last winter, and it made a lot of noise even in temp above 45F,my guess is Castrol HM is too thick for the winter, at least for my engine and perhaps yours too.
I have my QX for 3 years (winters)now, and had been scratching my head to figure the same problem of valve train noise on cold start up in cold weather, and tried all kind of oils in different weight (10-30, 0-30, 10-40,and 5-40).For my car, I would not use anything thicker than 5-30, next winter I will put in Pennzoil Platinum 5w-30, PP should flows better in winter. And don't worry too much about the noise.(unless it's due to mechanical problem)
 
Originally Posted By: nooil
Yea, I'd stay away from Castrol, it used to be a good product but something has happened to it.


What is your definition of "something?"
 
I noticed that many Nissan/Infinity brand engines experience this engine noise/rattle at start up. My 04 Altima has this same start up noise/rattle no matter which oil/filter I use, even oil filters with a silicone ADBV. My Altima oil filter is mounted to the engine on the passenger side of the car. When I park the car for long periods of time or park overnight at home, I try to park the vehicle so that it leans slightly lower on the passenger side and the oil filter stays full of oil. Doing this has completely eliminated my start up noise/rattle.

Not that my wife or daughters cars experience this issue but each of their vehicles oil filters are mounted in a different location on the engine. My wifes Lexus V6 oil filter is mounted on the front of the engine therefore if her engine experienced a noise/rattle at start up, we would park the car with the nose slightly downward.
My daughters Honda I4 oil filter is mounted on the back of the engine so therefore if it were to experience a start up noise, we would park the car with the nose slightly up, keeping the filter full while the vehicle is parked over long periods of time.
"Long periods of time" are the key word here. I've never noticed any start up noise/rattle while running around town and turning off and restarting the engine frequently. Only when parked for several hours with the vehicle slightly angled so that oil will drain away from the filter. I have also noticed that my Altima(when parked on reasonably level surface), will not make any start up noise even while parked over several hours.

Disel and Kinder, try this technique to see if your start up noised dissapear.

Sorry for being long winded and good luck! Hope this helps.
 
Hey thanks all for your input...I spoke with my mechanic today and he wasn't really sure either. I am pretty anal about my car...he looked up bulletins from Nissan/Infiniti and saw nothing posted.

As far as Auto Rx I am considering using it any experience with that? I have ready many forums about it, but wonder if any of you have tried it. Kindergardener my temp's here are Sept. - March 20F to 50F March – Sept 50F-90F I would say maybe 5 days of it being under 32F if that. It has only happen off and on and only at start up between 20F – 50F it is not a recurring thing either ever so often and goes away in like 5sec. I do park on a hill med. Grade nothing major facing up so that could be an issue too? When you said you use WM syn 5w-30(or group III) is that M1?

I like Wix filters but if the drain back is causing problems should I change to a different filter. I do want a quality filter though, no Fram [censored] sorry.

Also what kind of Synthetic would you guys recommend and at what weight for a Nissan/ Infiniti if it has issues with oil getting to the top of the valve train

If not Synthetic what would be good oil to use and at what weight for my temps?

I will consider Pennzoil but I just have been so stuck on Castrol any other suggestions I am open to it…IE talk me out of Castrol HA! I guess I am looking for what will best work for my Nissan / Infiniti engine. I am at 120k and I want to make this thing last as long as I can and right now it’s in good shape, no smoke, no leaks, no white foam on oil cap, not burning oil, gas mileage is bad 15mpg highway? But yea I run Sea foam through the gas right before I change my oil every 3k-4k

Sorry for so much info here just trying to get some opinions of people with Nissan/ Infiniti as I can. Also is there any sorta “quick” engine type flush I can do that is safe? Not harmful to seals or pushing to much [censored] out?
 
I really don't think that rattle is much else than an annoyance, otherwise something would have been done about it now. When you first start any engine, that is when the oil flow is lowest and the oil is coldest and hardest to pump. The oil drains back out of the lash adjusters and top end of the engine hot, and once it cools off (and potentially drains out of the filter as well) it leaves the lash adjusters with some play in them (oil fills the space in them to take up the slack, hence "lash adjusters") so they make noise until they are full of oil and operating as they should.

As soon as the oil pressure forces it into the lash adjusters after enough revolutions, as well as the oil temperature coming up, the noise goes away. In this case, a few seconds.

If it is your filter draining out (I doubt it, seeing as it is a Wix, something with a silicone ADBV like a PureONE may help), the flow of oil fills up that volume so quickly it really does not make a big difference.

It's harder to get them pumped up with cold, quite viscous oil than oil at temperature. I don't think it hurts anything, it just irritates you. The only thing I can think of that would help this is a 0W-30 synthetic with really good cold characteristics like Mobil 1 0W-30 AFE but it's an extreme solution to a relative non-issue.

My engine has hydraulic lifters (pushrod motor) and when it has sat for a while in -25 C cold, with conventional oil starting it, it takes a significant amount of time to generate enough pressure to get rid of the lifter noise. It sounds like a box of marbles poured out on a hardwood floor. That's why when it gets to be really cold out and I can't use my block heater, like for example this winter, I run Mobil 1 or another synthetic.

AutoRX may help this if there is something restricting the flow in those oil passages, but I honestly just think that it's what happens once temperatures start to drop with a thick (Castrol) dino oil. Look at the cold pumpability specs for various oils, the CCS and MRV numbers. The lower those numbers for an oil within the same grade, the better.

GTX High Mileage is 6600 cP at -30 for the Cold Crank Simulator, and has the borderline pumping viscosity at -35 rated at the maximum of 60000. It does not pass GM 6094M which is one tip-off to it not being so great in cold weather. The GTX 5W-30 is 6600 in the cranking simulation test but 40,000 cP at -35. It does pass 6094M. Too thick for cold conditions, in my experiences.

Valvoline 5W-30, for example, is 5541 in the cold crank test and 22,179 cP in the pumpability test. That's drastically better than the Castrol.

Pennzoil Platinum is 5,150 cP in the cold crank test, and 14,800 in the pumpability test.

Castrol is hot climate oil, not cold climate oil.
 
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Your right total annoyance...mainly just was a little worried it was something that could lead to a mojor deal. I have had some bad luck in the past with cars and now that I have a good one I want to be on top of stuff. Your info was great thanks so much.

So what I got out of your info is: Run Pennzoil Platinum...weight wise 5W-30 or what? I assume that is Synthetic? I guess for my Winter driving Sept.-March what woudl be the best weight and oil Penn or M1 and Summer Apr.-Aug weight wise, oil wise?

I will stick with the Wix unless there is huge diffrence in the PureOne

And I will AutoRx it....Synthetic okay or what would you recomend?

Thanks MUCH
 
I agree ... Castrol's viscosity is thicker than Pennzoil at startup - giving it the notion it's a wiser cold weather choice when choosing thwe most popular viscosities. I also feel the Penn base oil is a better protector - based on overall UOAs here.
 
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I don't even really know if you need to run a synthetic to cure that problem. Any 5W-30 or 0W-30 synthetic would offer better than needed performance in those conditions I would think, and even something like Valvoline All-Climate (their conventional) would probably be good enough.

In summer even the Castrol you have been using would be fine. What kind of temperatures were you seeing for a low?
 
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Hi Disel, the WM is Super Tech syn.
I am using Wix filter too, I had tried Pureone ,Purolator premium, and other brand including Nissan OEM filters, and all made no difference.
I think Mgregoir has the best explanation of the cause of the rattle, and thanks Mgregoir.
15 mpg in city is not bad at all, the QX 4 (Pathfinder) is not known for fuel efficiency, like all SUVs. I have heard people getting 12 to 13mpg on the same kind of car in city.My car's average MPG is 14.5 to 16 MPG in city,19 to 22 in highway (winter - summer). If yours gets 15 in highway then something needs to be checked out.
I had the local Nissan dealer tech check the engine (concerning the occasional noise)while he changed the timing belt, water pump and tentioner, the tech was nice enough to probe the engine for 10 minutes with a listening device,(no charge on that part), they were kind to let me in the service bay and standing next to my car, he said "there's nothing wrong with it , it's fine."
Like Mg said it's annoyance. I have seen other cars (all makes)rattle a whole lot worse, and the owners either don't notice or don't care.When one come to this Bitog site, one may easily be having the symptom of "relentless pursuit of perfection" _____ borrowed from Lexus. I am.
 
Yes, the Infiniti owner's manual recommend 5W-30 year round, so it shouldn't be a problem.
But the oil requirement for Nissan engine is also most confusing and controversial,I heard people said:
-Nissan like "thick" oil.
_Nissan don't recommend synthetic.etc..
On my owner's manual,page 10-17
"Mineral based or synthetic type oils may be used in your Infiniti vehicle, These oils must however, meet the API quality and ASE viscosity ratings specified for your vehicle. Do not mix mineral based and synthetic type oils in the engine at the same time"
Why? ???, there's no explanation.
 
Well thanks for all your input and ideas……so I want to get the general consensus here.

First of I read up in my owners manual today and found that Infiniti recommends 5W-30 which is the route I am going to go, unless you have some input there. It also said like
“Kindergardener” posted that it recommends Mineral based or synthetic type oils and he is right very confusing now here is what I saw on another forum so not to add to the confusion but what do you think ???

“I can say that I would not recommend switching to synthetic in the VG33E. I did it when I bought the vehicle and it started consuming oil immediately. I took it back to Nissan and they told me to take the synthetic out and switch back to conventional. I did this as soon as I got home and the oil consumption stopped”

So now I am way on the fence? Here is the link http://www.automotivehelper.com/topic133056.htm

User “uctke502”

So at this point here is where I am at I want to continue with my Wix Filter, Oil wise Pennzoil Platinum 5W-30 sounds good? Here is my one concern though I keep reading depends on Ambient Temps? So first here is my temp range one last time Sept – Feb never lower then 20F and that may be like 1-5 days not in a row if that…to 50F I live in Portland OR it rains 24/7 so then March to Aug. 50F to 95F in summer, now summer can be hot and humid from July to Aug avg. temp 75Fto 95F So weight wise 5W-30 for all or different for summer and winter?
Also oil Pennzoil….winter and summer or different for each? I would like to stick with one I have read also that sticking with one oil is best, been told that by mechanic also. So some simple to the point advice would be good?

As far as MPG I may be hurting “Kindergardener” I get 15mph on the high way running “super” now where I drive and when I drive on the high way I have head winds and I drive 80mph HA so yea…city MPG I would say 11 to 12mpg…I also run Sea Foam through my gas every other oil change…..even though the Infiniti owner manual forbids it….my mechanic said to try it since I complained of “pinging” going up a hills last summer. So any info on how to improve this or what I should or shouldn’t do would be great.

Also running a K&N air filter…VERY careful not to use very much oil cause of the MAF but I have had no “check engine” lights wonder if that could be an issue? What kinds of filters do you all use?

Sorry so much info but just coming up on my oil change thanks guys!
 
The K&N is not worth it. It flows good but even without oiling problems, a cheap store brand air filter does a better job of keeping junk out of your engine. If you want a good air filter that flows and filters well, get an Amsoil EaA. No oil problems.

The pinging under load is from a lot of fuel/air going into the cylinders at a fixed rpm because it's on the verge of lugging and the temperature coming up and getting pre-ignition. If you are having that trouble it means you should bump your octane level in your fuel or SeaFoam the combustion chambers due to carbon build-up. Through the fuel will clean out the fuel system but not really help with the pinging.

Pennzoil Platinum 5W-30 is a good oil year round. No issues at all if that is what you want to run. It's a group III rather than PAO/ester synthetic so it should not cause a major consumption issue.

Wix or PureONE filter should be fine or better than fine.

These are my best guess.
 
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