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As you surmised, coolant loss has to be accounted for somewhere. If there are no traceable external leaks, the only other alternativie is passage past seals and into one or more combustion chambers. When this happens most of the loss is expelled through the exhaust. Most. But, some percentage is pushed past the piston rings where it mixes with and takes up residence with the motor oil. Since the process is cumulative over time, the contamination of ethylene glycol builds in the oil. The bad news is that ethylene glycol (the working component of antifreeze) is extremely errosive to bearings. Your engine may have been expelling oil past the main bearings, and if left to do so long enough, the excess oil confronting the main bearing seals at the front and rear of the engine may have failed. Free expulsion of motor oil out of the engine results in excess consumption. (Duhhh...) If it's not too late to have a sample drawn of the motor oil in the engine at the time the car was delivered to your take-yer-money-ship, do so (several ounces is sufficient) and send it to one of the oil analysis services* for a printout of the contaminants. You needn't be a gearhead to understand the results - they include a comments section outlining and explaining any problem areas they feel require immediate attention. But, if you're interested in learning more than you thought you'd ever want to know about motor oil and interpreting used oil analysis reports, "bobistheoilguy.com" is a good place to start. If ethylene glycol is present, you may have a basis for binding arbitration or legal action against Nissan. Good luck.
*The one I use yearly is Blackstone Labs. Google the name for their website. Their basic analysis is well under $30.00; the results are sent as both snail-mail and an email. If they feel the situation warrants, they'll call you - although from your description, it sounds like it's already too late to save that engine.
You got trouble. The real question is how much trouble. The term "knocking" is used to describe two entirely different operation maladies. When applied to mistimed ignition, the "knock" sound is explosive detonation when the fuel-air mixture is ignited way prematurely while the piston is nowhere close to completing its compression stroke. If severe enough, it can break pistons. However, the same term is also used to describe the sound made when a connecting rod bearing has failed. In this scenario, the excess clearance between the worn rod bearing and the crankshaft's affected rod journal results in a deep, pounding sound. Pre-ignition knock is generally most pronounced when accelerating or pulling hard. Rod knock is more pronounced when coasting down, steady speed over flat terrain, or idling. If severe enough it can break a crankshaft and even put broken parts through the oil pan (where there weren't openings previously). Given the age of your car, I couldn't hope to hazard a guess by long distance. You could even have both. I can guarantee you one thing, though: it won't go away if you ignore it.
I am having the same problem. It takes me about 10 times before it will start and then black smoke comes from the tail pipe and I hear knocking nosies under the car. I brought it to the shop and they said nothing major was wrong and I needed a tune up and new battery. Once the tune up was done it stopped. Well after a few months it started it again and now my coolant tank is always empty. I changed it at least once every two weeks. My check engine light is also on but they can't find anything else wrong. Well what was your response from them (Nissan)?
I need help please someone!
If the knocking noises and the smoke are back, AND coolant has to be replenished too frequently, I suspect a blown cylinder head gasket. Major problem$ if your car's out of warranty. (Was this a franchised Nissan take-yer-money-ship's service department that did the initial diagnosis and tune up on your car?)
98 Altima SE, resonating grumbly "whump-whump" from front wheel area of car, varies propotionionally to speed of car regardless of whether clutch or gear is in or out. Gets to its very loudest at 20mph, significant at most other speeds. Just rotated tires, they've got 15-20% left, didn't make any difference. Car tracks straight and true, has faultless, quiet brakes with original pads at 92K and has not experienced reduction in MPG. Ideas?
If you mean the odor of raw gasoline, I'd be more suspicious of a leaking fuel injector or other source of gasoline leakage. Your car needs attention NOW to elliminate the possibility of fire.
good luck
Try some experiments, like applying the brakes evenly from a higher speed. Does the pulling stop?
It could also be a difference in tire pressure from one side to the other?
Also review some of the discussions about bad struts. This may also indicate a problem.
Good luck.
I have an 05 Altima as well, and just the other day, I smelled a strong fuel odor coming through my vents, I thought it was the car in front of me. I will keep an eye out for it again. Needless to say, I dropped my car off at the dealership today because I have had condesation build up inside the car on the windshield, plus there is a heavy water sloshing coming from my dashboard, along with the faint odor of anti-freeze.
thanks,
Joe
its a rattling tick that sounds almost like a diesel motor during acceleration at around 2000 rpm
sorry its a 2.5 sl
-Paul
PS...this is my first posting, so I hope I did it right!
Thank you,
Sue
Thank you,
Sue
Actually the problem is not only about 1/5-1/4 fuel left when the Empty light turns on, it's also related to the on-board computer which gives wrong 'dte' (distance to empty) infomation. As definately a bug/defect and they just do not want to address.
you are right in certain sense. I came to notice this problem when i was driving on I-90 in North Dakota. With that huge distance between one gas station to another, it's terrible to see the light is on and you have at least another 50miles before you can get gas. I stopped and call AAA for roadside service. And next thing you can imagine is how furious i was when i arrived the next gas station.
What you suggest is useful, although not a fix at all. I guess that's one of the many reasons the mechanics from the dealership address us as 'u americans'.
I discuss w/ my felloew in auto industry. our guess is the design of the 20-gallon tank is very flat on the bottom. But we probably could never verify this through Nissan.
anyway, thx for ur advice; and it is my suggestion to others too.
I have a 2001 Altima with an instrument cluster problem. It started after a few days of rain...the speedo, tach, odometer and such will just stop working intermittently while driving. It will usually start working properly after the car sits for a while, then do the same thing. It doesn't appear to affect the car's operation at all, but it's a pain. Any ideas?
If it's a cluster problem, how do I take it out?
Thanks,
Jack
Turns out it was a leak in my cooling system and my radiator was nearly empty - good job I noticed the heat gage.
When I refilled the radiator, the heater started working again
mellinvg
with my 2005 Altima S since I purchased it. I did not pay much attention because it was not very bad. But it did develop a vibration later. I took a long trip when the car was about 8 months old. The vibration got worse. I took it back to the service when I returned home and surprise !!!. All tires were worn very badly and I just exceeded 12K mileage. They came up with a $1000 estimate that included changing only one of the tires and a bunch of things that they wanted to do. They told me that it was
not safe to drive the car. After fruitless
discussions on how such a new car car be unsafe to drive and how it can not be under warranty, I purchased a new set of tires and had them aligned for 400+. The local service is quite unhappy that I had the
work done somewhere else rather than paying them a lot of money and I don't think they will treat me well if I go back for any warranty covered issues. But the thing is I still have that slight pull. It seems to be a design
feature of the car... No more Nissans.
I own a 1998 Nissan Altima. Yesterday I lost my car key and more importantly, my fob (the remote door lock thingy) when I went to ski in PA (had a few reallly bad falls).
I am now using the spare key. My question is: how do I get a new fob? Do I have to go to a dealer? How much should I expect to pay? I am a poor graduate student and this sort of puts me in the lurch. Is there a cheap way out?
Thanks in advance to all those who reply.
I own a 1998 Nissan Altima. Yesterday I lost my car key and more importantly, my fob (the remote door lock thingy) when I went to ski in PA (had a few reallly bad falls).
I am now using the spare key. My question is: how do I get a new fob? Do I have to go to a dealer? How much should I expect to pay? I am a poor graduate student and this sort of puts me in the lurch. Is there a cheap way out?
Thanks in advance to all those who reply.