jason86

okay now i have a problem. my 01' pathy is burning oil and quickly. burns about a quart in 400-500 miles. and i never see a blue cloud of any kind from my exhaust and im looking for it. this happened all of the sudden. i did nothing to bring this on. i first thought it might be the pcv valve and i dont know how to properly diagnose that, without taking off the intake just to get to it. there is not one drop on the ground or on the engine i take very good care of my truck and this sucks. i have 72000 miles and sometimes i do drive it hard but mostly not. any ideas guys?

dflw_99

does oil puddle where it sits???

Puppetmaster

Some VQ35s have been known to burn oil. I know someone whose car recently failed a leak down test and after some persistence, is getting a new engine from Nissan. My guess is that its most likely the piston rings.

navygz19

It's either the PCV valve or the butterfly screws inside the IM.
Check here:
2002 Pathfinder Severe Engine Damage - Nissanhelp.com

or here:
2002 pathfinder oil consumption - Nissanhelp.com

Pretty good info. there. I'd get it checked out asap. If you've got a friend or trusted mechanic I'd go there first b/c the dealerships are insanely expensive for this sort of diagnosis.

jason86

thanks for your responses. to answer your question no it does not leak oil onto the ground. navy are the valve cover replacements different from stock. i am going to pull the plenums and valve covers off this weekend and check everything over. i dont see how it could be the piston rings if i have no blue smoke out the exhaust ever. i have even had a friend rev the truck up while i watch the exhaust and no smoke. but it does smell very strongly of fuel even from a distance.