Losing oil with no sign of leak

140

Asked by Ncrodd5 Mar 30, 2018 at 01:35 AM about the 2002 Nissan Altima 2.5 S

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

11 Answers

140

I have a 2002 Altima with 55,000 miles on it. I have recently replaced the head gasket and catalytic converter. It is running really good except the fact that I’m adding 2 quarts of oil every two days. I drive an average of 150miles a day, but I shouldnt be adding quarts like this. I have been reading some of the comments and i did notice that my tail pipe is really black and there is a black residue on my bumper so I’m t does look like I must be losing oil through my tail pipe. Where should I start to get this fixed?

10 people found this helpful.
1,285

THAT IS A LOT OF OIL WHY DID YOU REPLACE HEAD GASKET DID THE DO ANY WORK ON THE HEAD OR HEADS WHEN OFF MOTOR COULD BE BAD GUIDES AND VALVE SEALS

3 people found this helpful.
26,290

Usually this condition appears when the valve seals wear out and oil zips into the cylinders. With the car running check the color of the smoke coming out of the tail pipe, white indicates that excessive oil is being burned with the fuel.

3 people found this helpful.
140

It is a 4 cylinder. Had the head gasket replaced because I was losing antifreeze. When they did compression test,antifreeze was shooting out of cylinder 2 and 3. From my understanding, when they did the gasket, they sent the head out to be serviced. I also thought they replaced the valves too. Maybe something wasn’t done correctly. Another thing that was weird is once fixed, I now started to get error P0011. I have replaced the camshaft sensor and crankshank sensor. I even changed the VVT solenoid. What I’ve noticed though it that if I erase the code and continuously add oil, the code stays off. As soon as it gets a little low, it comes back on. I never had this problem prior to the head gasket.

1 people found this helpful.
26,290

They did more than just replace the head gaskets. You should take it back and explain the problem you are having. Did they provide a warranty in writing?

1 people found this helpful.
140

Sometimes the smoke is white when you first start but not all the time. There was no warranty in writing and they were the ones who suggested I change my sensors and vvt solenoid to get rid of code. I finally started to do some research because I feel like someone else is causing this code to come on and I think it’s something they did

1 people found this helpful.
26,290

So if you have done your research you know that code P0011 tells you that there is a problem with the intake valve timing control performance on bank 1. The intake valve timing control solenoid valve uses oil flow to control timing, dirty oil can cause the valve to stuck open or close. Maybe if you change the oil/filter and reset the code the condition will go away, if in fact, the intake valve is stuck.

4 people found this helpful.
140

I changed my oil on a Saturday and replaced the VVT solenoid on Monday. Should I have changed my oil afterwards? And would this contribute to my issue losing oil?

2 people found this helpful.
26,290

I don't think changing the oil again is necessary. Maybe you need to go to the next step and replace the intake valve. I hate to do things not knowing exactly the root of the problem. I can only offer advise, in the dark, not having the car with me. I would go back where the job was done and tell them the problem. If they say that some other part needs to be changed, whatever part, and you decide to go ahead, this time you need to ask for a written warranty on the job.

3 people found this helpful.
50

i have a 2016 amtra nissan.it has 60.000 miles i her a noise and check the oil.it was 4 quart low .there no leak no smoke .what cold it be

5 people found this helpful.

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