Ticking time bomb

[luv2mud]

I think the old girl has seen better days.
A few weeks ago on my way home from GA I started hearing ticking/knocking. I stopped and checked the oil and it seemed to be thin. I added some stp to it and it stopped. Later it started again and my oil light came on. I took it for an oil change and they said it was 2 qts low. Approx 1000 miles after the change it started all over again. I took it back in and it was out of oil so they put more in it. They checked it over and found no leaks and its not smoking. I had another oil change over the weekend and its already out of oil.
Is it ready to blow or could we be missing something??
(It has 252,000 miles on it)

 

[xterror04]

hmm.. oil has to be going somewhere... is the coolant still clean? any oil spots where you park it? is the exhaust blow clear?

 

[drbandkgb]

Your xterra only holds 3.5 so.. I'd be worred..

It's going some where

 

[bigjim247365]

rear main seal?

 

[luv2mud]

hmm.. oil has to be going somewhere... is the coolant still clean? any oil spots where you park it? is the exhaust blow clear?

I just put a new radiator on it and there is nothing in the driveway.

 

[02Xterra]

I just put a new radiator on it and there is nothing in the driveway.

What he meant was that the oil could be leaking internally in the engine and mixing with the coolant.. so pop off the cap on the radiator (when the engine is cold of course) and see what the coolant looks like..

 

[luv2mud]

What he meant was that the oil could be leaking internally in the engine and mixing with the coolant.. so pop off the cap on the radiator (when the engine is cold of course) and see what the coolant looks like..

Ok..thanks! Ill check it out tomorrow!

 

[02Xterra]

Good deal. The rate at which you're losing oil is rather scary though.. not sure what it could be if there isn't any oil mixed with the coolant and you aren't making puddles in the driveway

 

[Roadwarrior]

Your xterra only holds 3.5 so.. I'd be worred..

It's going some where

Last time I had a shop change my oil, and I'm pretty sure they put all 5 quarts in my truck. I had to drain it later when I checked it and it was way over the dip stick..

 

[luv2mud]

Coolant is still green. I spoke with someone else and they said that xterra is bad for the valve cover gaskets rotting. Anyone else think this?

 

[Muadeeb]

They are known to leak, and since you're a 2002, they're probably toast too. Try tightening the screws down (9 per side) and see if that helps.

 

[Xado89]

Coolant is still green. I spoke with someone else and they said that xterra is bad for the valve cover gaskets rotting. Anyone else think this?

I heard that before when I was looking to buy one. Some douche dealer guy kept saying that over and over to get me to buy the Suzuki he had on the lot. I mean every car has it's downfall so it may be right.

 

[Prime]

If you had a valve cover leak in that kind of quantity you'd have driveway spots. Loosing all 3.5qts over a weekend is a wicked leak. Maybe it only leaks when you're actually in motion? Or just when the engine is running?

You have NO smoke out the back? Because a blown ring (or several) is about all that I can think of that would leak that much and not have any mixed in the coolant.

It has to be somewhere that the oil is under pressure.

 

[02Xterra]

And if your valve covers were leaking that bad you'd definitely smell it burning on the manifolds since it would fun down the block right on to them

 

[luv2mud]

If you had a valve cover leak in that kind of quantity you'd have driveway spots. Loosing all 3.5qts over a weekend is a wicked leak. Maybe it only leaks when you're actually in motion? Or just when the engine is running?

You have NO smoke out the back? Because a blown ring (or several) is about all that I can think of that would leak that much and not have any mixed in the coolant.

It has to be somewhere that the oil is under pressure.

There is no smoke at all.

 

[luv2mud]

And if your valve covers were leaking that bad you'd definitely smell it burning on the manifolds since it would fun down the block right on to them

My manifold is cracked so I already have a smell. I have notiiced that it is getting worse but thought maybe the crack was worse. Ill have to check that out.

 

[DC xterra]

i had that problem after an oil change it was leaking out and the light was on surprisingly mine was very simple, i had a bad oil plug on the pan.