LOSING OIL??!!! Help - Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum

MAX Power SR · 09-10-2006, 06:42 PM

well i had just finished my build , sr s14, with new pistons, rings, rods etc. its been about 1200 miles since i finished it. well the car started to make noises, rattling like theres no oil and indeed there was barely any oil. i dont seee any smoke, leaks or anything. it smells a little like oil is burning but i dont know from where. WTF can this be. if it matters i had used Mobil 1 10w-30 synthetic oil. for now i just put in a qt of oil and the noise went away. any suggestions.

koukimonster139 · 09-10-2006, 06:45 PM

...did u build it yourself?

how much experience do you have with engine building?

MAX Power SR · 09-10-2006, 09:39 PM

im ase certified and was a mechanic for 4.5 years and have built approximately 45 motors, so i guess im pretty experienced.

koukimonster139 · 09-11-2006, 06:03 AM

<--ASE certified too!
Unless you have a small leak and you drive your car a lot and the oil burns off the side of the block before you get a chance to see it leak? I have no idea where ur oil is going if its not smoking or leaking.

MAX Power SR · 09-11-2006, 06:59 AM

yeah i checked for leaks and all that. i heard it was normal for performance cars to burn oil, especially turbo charged cars. my cousins sti needs about a qt and half in between every oil change. but i dont think it should be losing most of the oil like in my case.

koukimonster139 · 09-11-2006, 07:16 AM

is the back of your bumper black? that might be where all ur oil is going. its normal for high performance engines to burn a little oil, but not enough to make it rattle and be noisy. Has it been like this since you built it or just recently happening?

Gramentz · 09-11-2006, 09:38 AM

Check the turbo lines to see if anything appears wet in that area.

bardabe · 09-11-2006, 11:03 AM

It's pretty notmal I built my motor too. and it does burn oil. but not as much. and it dosent make any noises it mightg be that the Oil you are using is too thin. since turbo cars run hotter you might need thicker Oil. I run Valvoline 20-W50 and only lost like half a quart betwen oil changes. (I;ve only done one oil change)

SnakeKack · 09-11-2006, 01:06 PM

Check around the header. My 300zx was losing oil but there were no drips. It would drip out the valve cover and right onto the passenger side header and you wouldn't notice it unless you stuck your head in there right after shutting it off, it would burn and disapate and you could smell it and sometimes see a bit of smoke.

MAX Power SR · 09-11-2006, 03:03 PM

today i decided to do a oil change. while draing approxiamtely 2 qts came out. filled with oil, Quaker state Synthetic 10w-30. Checked dipstick and it was full. Drove for while and felt much better and no noises. But now i realized there is smoke at times with heavy to medium accelration and it smells like oil burning. it doesnt smoke or anything at idle. idles perfect. no unusual noises or vibration. Can this mean that the turbo is going out? By that i mean like the seals. Or what else can it be?

trybal · 09-11-2006, 03:11 PM

my turbo just coughs up smoke when i get on it. Insta smoke screen.. But i don't loost that much oil at all. And the smoke is deffinatly far from un-noticable

koukimonster139 · 09-11-2006, 05:12 PM

mm could be a number of things:

so when u built the engine did u rebuild the turbo?

did u replace the valve seals?

im guessing it more than likely is one of these two things. also consider rings, breather, or guides.

MAX Power SR · 09-14-2006, 09:30 AM

did a compression test today
#1- 140
#2-140
#3- 140
#4- 140

put a little oil in each cylinder then retested
#1- 145
#2- 145
#3- 145
#4- 147

are these number normal for an s14 sr. keep in mind i have an 1.2 mm cometic head gasket

Gramentz · 09-16-2006, 05:09 PM

My motor is rebuilt with 600 miles on it and my comp. numbers are in the mid to high 150's....I thought you weren't supposed to use synthetic oil for a few thousand miles? Anyway, I believe that if your compression numbers go up when you put oil in the cylinders it means that your rings are either bad or not fully seated yet. How did you break in the motor?

DJPimpFlex · 09-16-2006, 06:08 PM

yea I dont know how true it is, but I have heard that synthitic oil is so thin that on a newer motor it can slip past the rings and burn a little bit of oil. Once the motor is fully broken it it can be run on synthetic oil.

I'm not sure on this though because most new cars come with synthetic oil from the factory. Maybe they break in the motors a bit prior to putting hem in the cars or something, but maybe this is part of your problem.

09-11-2006, 07:16 AM	#6
koukimonster139 Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Birmingham, AL Age: 38 Posts: 1,379 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	is the back of your bumper black? that might be where all ur oil is going. its normal for high performance engines to burn a little oil, but not enough to make it rattle and be noisy. Has it been like this since you built it or just recently happening? __________________ ho ha ho chi chi

09-11-2006, 09:38 AM	#7
Gramentz Leaky Injector Join Date: May 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 106 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	Check the turbo lines to see if anything appears wet in that area. __________________ Fully Built

09-11-2006, 11:03 AM	#8
bardabe Post Whore! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: SoCal Age: 35 Posts: 4,719 Trader Rating: (10) Rides Gallery: bardabe Feedback Score: 10 reviews	It's pretty notmal I built my motor too. and it does burn oil. but not as much. and it dosent make any noises it mightg be that the Oil you are using is too thin. since turbo cars run hotter you might need thicker Oil. I run Valvoline 20-W50 and only lost like half a quart betwen oil changes. (I;ve only done one oil change) __________________ Review Thread

09-11-2006, 05:12 PM	#12
koukimonster139 Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Birmingham, AL Age: 38 Posts: 1,379 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	mm could be a number of things: so when u built the engine did u rebuild the turbo? did u replace the valve seals? im guessing it more than likely is one of these two things. also consider rings, breather, or guides. __________________ ho ha ho chi chi

09-14-2006, 09:30 AM	#13
MAX Power SR Zilvia Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York Posts: 170 Trader Rating: (1) Feedback Score: 1 reviews	did a compression test today #1- 140 #2-140 #3- 140 #4- 140 put a little oil in each cylinder then retested #1- 145 #2- 145 #3- 145 #4- 147 are these number normal for an s14 sr. keep in mind i have an 1.2 mm cometic head gasket Last edited by MAX Power SR; 09-14-2006 at 12:00 PM..

09-10-2006, 06:42 PM	#1
MAX Power SR Zilvia Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York Posts: 170 Trader Rating: (1) Feedback Score: 1 reviews	LOSING OIL??!!! Help well i had just finished my build , sr s14, with new pistons, rings, rods etc. its been about 1200 miles since i finished it. well the car started to make noises, rattling like theres no oil and indeed there was barely any oil. i dont seee any smoke, leaks or anything. it smells a little like oil is burning but i dont know from where. WTF can this be. if it matters i had used Mobil 1 10w-30 synthetic oil. for now i just put in a qt of oil and the noise went away. any suggestions.

09-10-2006, 06:45 PM	#2
koukimonster139 Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Birmingham, AL Age: 38 Posts: 1,379 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	...did u build it yourself? how much experience do you have with engine building? __________________ ho ha ho chi chi

09-10-2006, 09:39 PM	#3
MAX Power SR Zilvia Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York Posts: 170 Trader Rating: (1) Feedback Score: 1 reviews	im ase certified and was a mechanic for 4.5 years and have built approximately 45 motors, so i guess im pretty experienced.

09-11-2006, 06:03 AM	#4
koukimonster139 Zilvia FREAK! Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Birmingham, AL Age: 38 Posts: 1,379 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	<--ASE certified too! Unless you have a small leak and you drive your car a lot and the oil burns off the side of the block before you get a chance to see it leak? I have no idea where ur oil is going if its not smoking or leaking. __________________ ho ha ho chi chi

09-11-2006, 06:59 AM	#5
MAX Power SR Zilvia Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York Posts: 170 Trader Rating: (1) Feedback Score: 1 reviews	yeah i checked for leaks and all that. i heard it was normal for performance cars to burn oil, especially turbo charged cars. my cousins sti needs about a qt and half in between every oil change. but i dont think it should be losing most of the oil like in my case.

09-11-2006, 01:06 PM	#9
SnakeKack Zilvia Junkie Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Florida Age: 37 Posts: 306 Trader Rating: (6) Feedback Score: 6 reviews	Check around the header. My 300zx was losing oil but there were no drips. It would drip out the valve cover and right onto the passenger side header and you wouldn't notice it unless you stuck your head in there right after shutting it off, it would burn and disapate and you could smell it and sometimes see a bit of smoke.

09-11-2006, 03:03 PM	#10
MAX Power SR Zilvia Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York Posts: 170 Trader Rating: (1) Feedback Score: 1 reviews	today i decided to do a oil change. while draing approxiamtely 2 qts came out. filled with oil, Quaker state Synthetic 10w-30. Checked dipstick and it was full. Drove for while and felt much better and no noises. But now i realized there is smoke at times with heavy to medium accelration and it smells like oil burning. it doesnt smoke or anything at idle. idles perfect. no unusual noises or vibration. Can this mean that the turbo is going out? By that i mean like the seals. Or what else can it be?

09-11-2006, 03:11 PM	#11
trybal Zilvia Junkie Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Seattle wa Posts: 299 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	my turbo just coughs up smoke when i get on it. Insta smoke screen.. But i don't loost that much oil at all. And the smoke is deffinatly far from un-noticable

09-16-2006, 05:09 PM	#14
Gramentz Leaky Injector Join Date: May 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 106 Trader Rating: (0) Feedback Score: 0 reviews	My motor is rebuilt with 600 miles on it and my comp. numbers are in the mid to high 150's....I thought you weren't supposed to use synthetic oil for a few thousand miles? Anyway, I believe that if your compression numbers go up when you put oil in the cylinders it means that your rings are either bad or not fully seated yet. How did you break in the motor? __________________ Fully Built

09-16-2006, 06:08 PM	#15
DJPimpFlex Post Whore! Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Rohnert Park, CA Age: 39 Posts: 6,158 Trader Rating: (115) Rides Gallery: DJPimpFlex Feedback Score: 115 reviews	yea I dont know how true it is, but I have heard that synthitic oil is so thin that on a newer motor it can slip past the rings and burn a little bit of oil. Once the motor is fully broken it it can be run on synthetic oil. I'm not sure on this though because most new cars come with synthetic oil from the factory. Maybe they break in the motors a bit prior to putting hem in the cars or something, but maybe this is part of your problem. __________________