z1 zonly Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Between '05 and '06, Nissan had a slew of engines that had oil consumption issues. I bought an '05 VK45 longblock that had been replaced under warranty for that very issue. I've had it kicking around here for two years now, and am beginning to think about using it for my next project. So, did Nissan ever release an official cause for their oil consumption issues? Some Googling suggested it could be defected rings. If this is the case, provided the engine wasn't run excessively low, should I just be able to re-ring it and run it without issue? If it was run low and needs a bore, are VK45 cylinders nakasil plated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 The only engine that really had an issue was a short run of the VQ35. The others ended up having stuck oil control rings due to lack of maintenance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1 zonly Posted August 12, 2009 Author Share Posted August 12, 2009 There was a recall and TSB on 2.5L Altimas and Sentras, as well, and I know of at least a couple of instances of VK's being warrantied for the same issue. Seems awfully coincidental, considering all this occured around the same time frame as the 350Z issues. Any idea about the bores being Nikasil coated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAG58 Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 It appears from my interwebz lurking that the VK& VQ engines have steel liners cast into the engine block. There is a lot of speculation around the QR, mostly because everyone is quick to blame engines and not owners and conversely quick to say that if an engine has a similar problem to an earlier engine design, it's obviously the same (harking back to the BMW engines with the problems with US gas) so I'm getting both lined steel and Nikasil. As far as oil consumption, it appears that Nissan engines came with very hard, high wear oil rings with a very specific break in procedure. This involved a period of high oil consumption that supposedly abated after the proper break in procedure. Fortunately, most people today probably aren't intelligent enough to read and follow instructions in a book, SO... they were not broken in properly and thus gained oil issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1 zonly Posted August 12, 2009 Author Share Posted August 12, 2009 Verrry eeenteresting. Thanks Mag! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 As far as oil consumption, it appears that Nissan engines came with very hard, high wear oil rings with a very specific break in procedure. This involved a period of high oil consumption that supposedly abated after the proper break in procedure. Fortunately, most people today probably aren't intelligent enough to read and follow instructions in a book, SO... they were not broken in properly and thus gained oil issues. That's also my impression also as an owner of a 2006 350Z. Owners who babied the engines tended to have more oil burning issues then owners who broke the engines in hard. My car spent 3 hours on the track at Cal Speedway after the odometer hit 800 miles and it doesn't burn any oil between oil changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismologist Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 the 2.5 was the absoloute worst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsun79z Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 Gentlemen; I found this to be an interesting post. I drive a 79zx and know little about the engine you are discussing. Would you be so kind as to enlighten me by answering a couple of questions? Regards; Mike Hintz The only engine that really had an issue was a short run of the VQ35. The others ended up having stuck oil control rings due to lack of maintenance. Jared; Could you please explain what would cause oil rings to stick and what type of maintenance would help prevent them from sticking? It appears from my interwebz lurking that the VK& VQ engines have steel liners cast into the engine block. There is a lot of speculation around the QR, mostly because everyone is quick to blame engines and not owners and conversely quick to say that if an engine has a similar problem to an earlier engine design, it's obviously the same (harking back to the BMW engines with the problems with US gas) so I'm getting both lined steel and Nikasil. As far as oil consumption, it appears that Nissan engines came with very hard, high wear oil rings with a very specific break in procedure. This involved a period of high oil consumption that supposedly abated after the proper break in procedure. Fortunately, most people today probably aren't intelligent enough to read and follow instructions in a book, SO... they were not broken in properly and thus gained oil issues. MAG58; What is the proper break in procedure for these type of engines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAG58 Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 After paging through the 03-08 350Z manuals, the Titan Manuals, and the 09GTR manual, It seems that all these motors have the same break in procedure that consists of 4000 RPM and below driving for 1200 miles and no full throttle driving until after the 1200 miles. I think that John is on the right track though. If these motors came with harder rings from the factory, they need to be run hard before the cylinders polish out and glaze over or they will never have a chance to lap into the cylinder walls. From doing race model engines that use DLC on some of the engine parts, I think that an improved break-in procedure would include heat cycling (i.e. pushing the motor hard for short periods of time separated by periods of light loading) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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