1yakini
Member
- Location
- norfolk va
So I suspected for a while that the urban assault vehicle was sucking oil. The last couple changes I saw that it needed oil added before the next due date, but hadnt monitored it closely. Had it changed last month, verified Nissan put a full 6.6 in it then went on about my business. A few trips to DC, one to west Va and some other hwy driving gave me enough sustained hi rpm engine speed to show without a doubt, the motor has issues. 2500 miles into the change and the oil line is below L near the bottom of the dipstick. Nissan does an oil change today and says "yea, you were about 1.5 quarts low at 2500 miles."
So now what. The tech says simply "we see very little valve seal problems, its likely the valve covers/pcv system". This makes sense, I bought the car 9 years old with 40k on it, it sat a lot apparently and may have some sludge. The service guy says they would like to do the valve covers and if that doesnt solve it.... new motor.
Works for me. But wait.....
The extended warranty company is clearly in the business of self preservation, not a benevolent organization by any means. So they say... "we will not cover the cost of the valve covers, if the customer pays to replace those and it doesnt fix it then reply back to us and we will deal with the problem then". Service advisor tells me he is going to call and get a manager. I have dealt with this advisor for years, he is a good guy and has always taken care of me, last warranty problem I had he beat up Fidelity until they covered the costs, then waived the troubleshooting fees for me. So I tell him sure and that I am going to go home and call myself.
I call, they say that the service advisor stated that the problem was pcv blockage in the valve covers and Fidelity does not cover sludge. I told them I understand why they dont cover damage from oil sludge, but this engine wasnt neglected, I have plenty of service records. I also said that NO ONE knows if it is pcv blockage and the the dealer was speculating based on past experience. They talked to their bosses and tell me to bring the car in to Nissan and they will provide a rental and send out their own inspector.
Progress... but wait.... I call Dwayne (service guy) and he says they called him twice. The first time they told him if I paid the teardown costs, they would send an inspector and if it wasnt sludge related they would cover the repairs. NOT GOOD. The second call they told him that they would cover labor and parts costs for valve cover gaskets but I had to pay for the valve cover costs myself = $480. BETTER.
I tell Dwayne before I spend 500 on speculation, they should TS the problem a little more ie compression test, pull the plugs look for bad cylinder, etc etc. He says that this makes the most sense and he wants to get ahold of Fidelity again and hammer out the details and get back to, trying to get a gameplan together.
So... I have an 03 45 with 54k on the odometer. Flawless car, except for this. I am crossing my fingers for a long block since then this 10 year old car would be... well, new. The question is, what would you guys recommend I do as far as a gameplan for this? Tackle the covers first then try to push for an engine? Pay for more TS on the internals?
Im also considering if it is the covers what damage could have been done internally all this time it was burning; the cats? the plugs? valve seals? And if they do provide a new motor, what do I add in to replace during the swap... motor mounts, belts, hoses, heater core, etc etc.
Oh and finally, no matter what the end result is... I am for sure putting a catch can on this thing once I get it working.
Thoughts?
So now what. The tech says simply "we see very little valve seal problems, its likely the valve covers/pcv system". This makes sense, I bought the car 9 years old with 40k on it, it sat a lot apparently and may have some sludge. The service guy says they would like to do the valve covers and if that doesnt solve it.... new motor.
Works for me. But wait.....
The extended warranty company is clearly in the business of self preservation, not a benevolent organization by any means. So they say... "we will not cover the cost of the valve covers, if the customer pays to replace those and it doesnt fix it then reply back to us and we will deal with the problem then". Service advisor tells me he is going to call and get a manager. I have dealt with this advisor for years, he is a good guy and has always taken care of me, last warranty problem I had he beat up Fidelity until they covered the costs, then waived the troubleshooting fees for me. So I tell him sure and that I am going to go home and call myself.
I call, they say that the service advisor stated that the problem was pcv blockage in the valve covers and Fidelity does not cover sludge. I told them I understand why they dont cover damage from oil sludge, but this engine wasnt neglected, I have plenty of service records. I also said that NO ONE knows if it is pcv blockage and the the dealer was speculating based on past experience. They talked to their bosses and tell me to bring the car in to Nissan and they will provide a rental and send out their own inspector.
Progress... but wait.... I call Dwayne (service guy) and he says they called him twice. The first time they told him if I paid the teardown costs, they would send an inspector and if it wasnt sludge related they would cover the repairs. NOT GOOD. The second call they told him that they would cover labor and parts costs for valve cover gaskets but I had to pay for the valve cover costs myself = $480. BETTER.
I tell Dwayne before I spend 500 on speculation, they should TS the problem a little more ie compression test, pull the plugs look for bad cylinder, etc etc. He says that this makes the most sense and he wants to get ahold of Fidelity again and hammer out the details and get back to, trying to get a gameplan together.
So... I have an 03 45 with 54k on the odometer. Flawless car, except for this. I am crossing my fingers for a long block since then this 10 year old car would be... well, new. The question is, what would you guys recommend I do as far as a gameplan for this? Tackle the covers first then try to push for an engine? Pay for more TS on the internals?
Im also considering if it is the covers what damage could have been done internally all this time it was burning; the cats? the plugs? valve seals? And if they do provide a new motor, what do I add in to replace during the swap... motor mounts, belts, hoses, heater core, etc etc.
Oh and finally, no matter what the end result is... I am for sure putting a catch can on this thing once I get it working.
Thoughts?
