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Sedans Nissan Altima Nissan Altima Engine Failures
498 messages, Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 6:40 PM
You are in the Nissan Altima Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: ndiboy (Jul 26, 2008 12:17 am) Q. "You know this car so much that If I were in your position, I will erk out some living from it." A. I don't need anything from this car. I have a good job at an engineering firm. I Only got so involved with this one because it is my daughters car, so I do all that I can to help her. I have worked on cars all my life, I've always been a car buff and motorcyle buff. I have worked as a professional mechanic in my younger days, but I retired from that. I still do all my own work on all my cars because I don't trust others, I do better work than them, I know exactly what is done and document all my work with paperwork and photos. My reward comes from having very reliable vehicles to drive (I have 3) and helping others, like you. God Bless, E.D. in Sunny Florida, USA
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Replying to: electricdesign (Jul 26, 2008 8:09 am) One more clarification,the car drives rough especially especially the owners side when it enters pot hole.It also shifts as if its gonna stumble when it enters pot hole.Is this a stabilizing rod or shock absorber problem? as i am already planning on getting one for a change. I will keep the pics and show my mechanic what to do as i dont want him to mess up the stuff. Thanks once more. Chuma. |
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Hi, Ed, is it normal for the fan to be working intermittently? This is what my Altima does and is even more pronounced when I use the A/C and the noise increases like a vibration. When the car is started, the fans does not come on until the temp is in the middle of the temp gauge, are all these normal because my Maxima and Blue bird's fan blows all the time. Chuma.
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Replying to: ndiboy (Jul 26, 2008 11:41 am) When the car is started, the fans does not come on until the temp is in the middle of the temp gauge, are all these normal because my Maxima and Blue bird's fan blows all the time." See my messege #154 in this forum, I explain the operation of the fans. The fans come on when the coolant temperature reaches about 202 to 203 degrees F, and the fans turn off when the coolant temperature falls to about 188 degrees F. Good Luck E.D. ISF
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Replying to: electricdesign (Jul 26, 2008 3:57 pm) Chuma.
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Replying to: ndiboy (Jul 27, 2008 12:39 am) E.D. ISF
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Replying to: electricdesign (Jul 27, 2008 6:08 pm) I thank God I discovered this site now I know much better, though ignorance is bliss.Can the scanners discover reason for low MPG? I am presently getting 18-22.3 in city and 26-31 in free way depending on driving conditions.I have read reviews of people getting 26/35-40 city/freeway and I get jealous especially with Camry and Honda.What am I doing wrong or is it the car? Chuma, Nigeria.
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Replying to: ndiboy (Jul 27, 2008 11:41 pm) Some of the top ones are: Autoxray Autotap Autoenginuity Mine is a 2001 model by Autoxray, it was $200 then. They now run about $200 and up. They have handheld models, and also have ones that plug into a laptop computer to give all types of fancy displays. Research them on the net , and you will find out all about them. Also Goggle "OBD II trouble codes" and you will find out all about the trouble codes (Diagnostic Trouble Codes) and how to read and interpret them. The codes do not tell you what part is bad or what part to replace, they point you in the right direction in your search for the problem. About your gas mileage, that is a matter of keeping the engine in good tune, to be sure all cylinders are firing properly, to be sure the transmision shifts properly, The transmission torque converter should lock up at cruising speeds, and driving habits play a big part, easy on the gas, keep rpms low when accelerating, and easy on the brakes. If you apply the brakes hard or stop fast, that is moving energy that is lost or wasted (lost gas mileage). Good Luck, E.D. ISF |
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ED, Seems like your the one to ask around here so here goes: I have a 2.5S with ~90000 miles on it. It burns 1 quart of oil every 50 miles. It doesn't appear that any coolant is getting inside the cylinders and the coolant level stays the same. I took out the spark plugs and in cylinders 2,3,4 you can see deposits and oil on top of the piston. The spark plugs look bad but nothing excessively bad. The car runs perfectly fine and there doesn't seem to be a loss of power. There is blue-ish smoke coming from exhaust as well. The problem started on the trip from FL to MD when the car was heavily loaded. Needless to say, I had to put in about 20+ quarts of oil just to get the thing home (it made it and still runs ok). I have had cylinder misfires. The oil looks really black (and not milky). I did a compression test and all four cylinders read in the 160-165 psi range. I was thinking scored walls but compression seems ok to me (atleast not bad enough that it burns 1 qt every 50 miles) and the car runs fine with no loss of power. Next, I was hoping it was only a head gasket but no coolant is getting in the engine (not sure if it is possible for a blown head gasket to leak just oil into the cylinders). So now I'm hoping for bad valves (but seems weird that 3 cylinders would go at one time). I've heard things about the pcv valve going bad but could this be a cause as well? Anyway, I was looking for your thoughts. If it is the valves, can they be replaced without having to take off the timing chain and cylinder head? Thanks for your help! Ben
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Replying to: bcole05 (Jul 29, 2008 9:58 am) First, I would check the PCV valve and hose, as a bad PCV can suck oil out of the engine crankcase and into the cylinders. You can temporarily disconnect the PCV and plug the openings and see if that makes any difference after 50 to 100 miles. Also, when the PCV is diconnected, see if you get much smoke (blowby gas) coming out of the hose that connects the PCV to the valve cover. You said the oil was very dark, how long does it take to get dark after an oil change? How often do you change your oil? You may need to change your oil more often, but I guess by adding so much oil, it's like a constant oil change. Second, the oil can get into the cylinders past worn oil control rings, those are the lower rings on the piston, each piston has 3 rings, from top to bottom, an upper compression ring, a lower compression ring, and an oil control ring. If the oil control rings do not work properly because they get broken, weak or damaged, they will allow oil to leak up past the piston into the combustion chamber and burn with the gas on top of the piston. Since your compression readings seem fairly ok, the walls are likely not scored. Replacing rings ia a major overhaul, having to remove the engine, very costly. Third, another thing that can cause high oil consumption is oil leaking past the valve guides, but as much oil as you have to add, it would have to be more than just the valve guides. If you need valve work, the entire head has to be removed and the head rebuilt at a machine shop. Have the engine and head checked by a competent machine shop. If you search these messeges you will find that I have went over all of that before and I have posted links to photos of the complete teardown and rebuild of the engine head removal, and head replacement, with links to many photos of it all. Forth, another thing that could cause this issue is that the "Power Valve Screws" have a nasty habit of coming loose on these cars and they get sucked into the intake of the engine, and can cause severe damage to the engine, if they happen to take a bad "bounce" before they finally find their way out the exhaust. They can even cause a cracked piston, head or valve. See previous messages about this issue, or Google it. Have you had any problems with the catalytic converters yet? Since you are burning oil, that oil goes through the cats and will cause them to fail eventually. I would start first with the simplest thing to check, the PCV valve and hose. Good Luck, E.D. ISF
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