High silicon, bearing wear in 2008 Nissan 3.5 VQ

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Denton, TX
grrr... 2nd time of high silicon!
We bought the vehicle with 35k, I immediately changed to Castrol Syntec 0W30 and ran about 10k. High silicon, etc.

Changed air filter to Amsoil ‘nano-filter’ at 45k (old filter was OEM type paper, looked fine) inspected the intake system, looks clean as a whistle, nothing loose.

Changed with the same oil at 45k and ran another 10k. High silicon, etc again! Ahhhh!!! What else can I do?

Just changed to M1 EP as it’s easy to find and well regarded. This is bad! This car needs to last us a long while….

121511Quest.jpg
 
I would do several short runs of a cheaper dino oil and really good filters (purolator pure one would be cost effective). You need to get out whatever dirt got in there. Sounds like it was run with no filter or a torn filter before you got it. Check all vacuum lines for a leak.If the pan is not to hard to drop , i would be tempted to see if there is sand in it.
 
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I doubt there's any sand in the sump - it would either be filtered out or show as much higher Si than the 30s and 40s of ppm. I agree that it may have been a torn filter, or it could be that the PO ran some sort of intake. I've seen guys (when I was still a teen) who would pull the filter and run without in hopes of eeking out 3 more horsepower from their little Civics, so I wouldn't put that past the PO, either

Regardless of why, I agree with doing a couple of shorter (half or less of your current OCI) on a cheaper oil to flush out what ever is causing the high wear numbers.
 
I've run Napa Gold or M1 oil filters. These are 'good', correct?

Air filter/intake: the van was a previous rental. It had oil change records for every 3-4k since new.

Worst that could have happened to it was 1) not broken in nicely 2) run with loose or no air filter for an interval.
 
Well, if Denton was anything like Magnolia this year, then you experienced an incredibly long drought, many 100F+ days, lots of dirt and dust, and probably lots of smoke from wild fires. This might qualify as severe conditions in your owner's manuaul. Check to see when it says to change your oil and filters under these conditions.
 
Your choice of oil & filters is very good. I would run 6K oil changes until this problem is resolved. I would double check the intake system. I would remove the filter air-box from the vehicle and carefully inspect it for a split seam or underside hole. You need to remove the air-box to do this inspection and eliminate this possibility. Somewhere dirt is getting in OR did someone replace a valve cover and use a very large quantity of silicone rubber? Just some thoughts. Ed
 
Yea i don't see why you're running 10k OCIs when the UOA reports don't look so good. Need to find out what is causing the extra wear. Stick to 5k OCIs until everything is good to go AND THEN extend the intervals.
 
The iron, copper and lead wear numbers indicate the silicone is from dust. The only way dust can get in is through the intake or PVC system. Until you find the source, I'd recommend you go to conventional with 3000 mile change intervals.
 
Nissan basically requires the use of an oiled paper air filter. Failure to do so on the VQ engines gives the results you are seeing. You should use an OEM filter from the dealer or an aftermarket oiled paper filter. Make sure it is well sealed and that you clean out the air delivery system before installing a new one. Another problem you will have withou the right filter is MAF issues down the road. On many of the Frontier sites, this is a big issue!
 
VQ's are hard on oil, and don't like long OCI's.

In TX, out of warranty, I'd be using a 5W-40 HDEO every 7.5k and see how it does.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
VQ's are hard on oil, and don't like long OCI's.

In TX, out of warranty, I'd be using a 5W-40 HDEO every 7.5k and see how it does.


I agree with addyguy on the OCI but I don't agree with the HDEO, you are using a thicker oil and it seems to be staying in the high 30grade range so it isn't the oil vis. If you do want to try a different oil that is fine, M1 0w40 is a good lube with a different formulation (tri-moly, Boron) than the high magnesium Syntec 0w30 or HDEO 5w40. I really do not think the viscosity is the problem here. The best advice is what others are saying CHECK THE AIR INTAKE System.
 
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Originally Posted By: Boomer
Nissan basically requires the use of an oiled paper air filter. Failure to do so on the VQ engines gives the results you are seeing. You should use an OEM filter from the dealer or an aftermarket oiled paper filter. Make sure it is well sealed and that you clean out the air delivery system before installing a new one. Another problem you will have withou the right filter is MAF issues down the road. On many of the Frontier sites, this is a big issue!


oh man - after the first ugly UOA I did what I thought was a lot of research and settled on the Amsoil as having some of the finest filtration available. Is an OE-style oiled paper better filtration than the Amsoil?
 
I had figured the high Silicon was a fluke - chaged the air filter, inspected the intake system, and let it rip. I'm a bit more concerned now.


QUESTION: Assuming the vehicle had run inexpensive dino oil for the first 35k of it's life, and the fancy Castrol is doing it's de-sludging trick, would this account for numbers being out of whack? or does it show up elsewhere?

2nd drain of Castrol was noticeably lighter and the 1st drain. Looked almost new. I guess you can't tell much by color, but figured I'd mention
 
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Frankly, I wouldn't worry about this at all. In fact don't do another UOA, drive the vehicle in peace, and no doubt this engine will last you as long as you own the car.
 
Originally Posted By: Acroy

oh man - after the first ugly UOA I did what I thought was a lot of research and settled on the Amsoil as having some of the finest filtration available. Is an OE-style oiled paper better filtration than the Amsoil?


It's fine. The Amsoil Ea is a high-efficiency air filter. The silicone in the sample could easily be from simply changing the filter and inspecting things. My advice: leave the air filter alone. More "inspecting" and changing air filters is just going to make things worse. You could consider adding a restriction gauge--just install it near the end of the OCI.
 
Originally Posted By: Acroy

QUESTION: Assuming the vehicle had run inexpensive dino oil for the first 35k of it's life, and the fancy Castrol is doing it's de-sludging trick, would this account for numbers being out of whack? or does it show up elsewhere?

2nd drain of Castrol was noticeably lighter and the 1st drain. Looked almost new. I guess you can't tell much by color, but figured I'd mention


Thats debated on here often, especially with M1. I'm in the yes camp when the UOA was performed on the initial switchover.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
VQ's are hard on oil, and don't like long OCI's.

In TX, out of warranty, I'd be using a 5W-40 HDEO every 7.5k and see how it does.


^^2nd. The 30 wt is too thin for the VQ. Use a 40 wt.
 
Originally Posted By: Boomer
Nissan basically requires the use of an oiled paper air filter. Failure to do so on the VQ engines gives the results you are seeing. You should use an OEM filter from the dealer or an aftermarket oiled paper filter. Make sure it is well sealed and that you clean out the air delivery system before installing a new one. Another problem you will have withou the right filter is MAF issues down the road. On many of the Frontier sites, this is a big issue!


What [censored] are you pulling this fact from? Nissan has NEVER bundled an oiled filter ever in their cars. In fact, in about 1998 or so, Nissan highly recommended that dealerships stop promoting K&N air filters because of their design.
 
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