The oil light is called an "idiot light". If you ever see it on while you are driving, it is already too late (or you have a bad pressure sensor and in that case, it is no big deal).

 

Any chance you put the wrong plugs in ? if they are too long they will hit the piston.

 

Really wrong heat range plugs will act like glow plugs and knock like crazy due to pre-ignition after warm-up or spirited driving. So who changed the oil last?

 

I said the car was low on oil when I checked it after the knock. Why I didn't check it is irrelevant because the end result was the oil was low regardless, hence why it blew. Would it have saved me this headache, yes. Would it have given you any additional knowledge that would help you prevent this in the future, no. It sounds like you understood the moral of the story, check your oil regularly. As to why you're being an *** about it is the question.

 

No trouble at all, came out and went in fine. The catalyst was when I ran it to redline hard a few times at WOT. With little to no oil, the engine starved and caused irreversible damage.

 

Matched the model number of the plugs to the plugs that came out. Got the same brand and model #

 

Sorry about the motor. That sucks

 

Did you try adding oil and driving it? I know the older Vq35 used to burn oil. Once I had only 2 quarts drain out of my maxima, scared the hell out of me. But all was fine still.

 

Yes, I idled it for a couple minutes then gave it a couple revs...it stalled. It's now hard locked.

I bought a replacement, so I'll be doing the swap myself

 

Don't forget to check the oil in the replacement engine and add oil when necessary.
Don't rev the engine without oil.

Telcoman

 

I've got a hunch he'll be checking his oil almost daily

 

Sorry to hear about your motor 35Sport. Are you dropping in a VQ37 or VQ35HR motor? Another option is to keep the old motor around in case you want to go twin turbs at some point, you can rebuild it and put in some nice forged internals.

The VQ37 has a reputation for dishing out a punishing beating on the oil. In addition, these motors make a ton of heat and that's no bueno for the oil.

I check mine monthly to ensure that I'm not low. Also, not all oil is created equally. To some people, oil is like a religion, but I make my decisions based purely on the facts. Show me an oil that outperforms Amsoil and I'll be the first in line.



In these engines with the heat they produce, vaporization of the oil is a problem if you're not checking the level frequently. The NOACK Volatility test measures an oil's resistance to vaporization. It's an important metric to look at when selecting the lifeblood of your engine, especially since some oils can lose up to 15% of their weight by volume. Over time, that percentage can be significant as the more the oil burns off, the more exacerbated the problem becomes.

The lower the number, the better and the more resistant to vaporization the oil is. I've used Amsoil in my vehicles for the last 20 years and have been very pleased with the performance. Check Amsoil's website for case studies on 18 wheelers that have gone over 1 million miles on Amsoil. Then they tear the engine down and find extremely low wear to the point that the parts are suitable for use in rebuilding the engine because they're within factory specifications.

For more on the NOACK Volatility test see here: NOACK Volatility Test is a Critical Measurement of Motor Oil Quality « Synthetic Oil

Here's a little more test info:

AMSOIL vs Mobil 1 Test Results

 

Twin snails how many miles do you drive between each oil change? What oil filter do you use?

 

^^ I'm using Amsoil Ea Filters -> AMSOIL AMSOIL Ea Oil Filters

Currently, I'm at 5k miles on my oil, but I've run a drain interval as long as 19k miles a few years ago. Yes that's long, but you have to change the filter at 12,500 miles, and top off with oil due to the amount you lose in the filter and any oil lost during the change.

I had a used oil analysis done, which verified that the oil was still good.

These days I'm running about 7-8k between oil changes.

 

I'm going to drop in a replacement VQ35HR. I am going to build a Frankenstein VQ37HR with my old heads.

Good information on the oil. I have always used Mobile 1 but I will be switching to Amsoil for the new motor. Great info by the way.