The Nissan Path

Basic info 2011:
VQ40de
Has had great maintenance while I owned .3000-4000 mile oil changes.

The oil that was used in Oct '19 and is still in there was a 5w-40.
Its definitely darker than new but its not filthy looking or anything..
I can still easily see thru it on the dipstick.

(The previous change has also been high by my standards approx 6500 miles... but it was for sure Mobil long life oil paired with a Mobil long life filter, I do not know 100% what the local Nissan dealer put in)

I think its along life since the country I am in now, seems to spec long life oils only (for environmental reasons.. fewer oilchanges = good in their thinking)

Last oilchange 7 months and 7000 miles ago.
Driving is mixed city + hiway... though no truly super short trips...
My drive to work is 18 minutes one way enough to fully warm up the engine.

I usually dont let my oil go that long.. but... I am in Europe and they recommend longer intervals here ... they put a sticker in my engine bay to change in 12 months or...
they also list an odometer setting 10,000 mi the future BUT the guy was probbaly not aware my odo reads in miles not km.

Be that as it may... The VQ used to have 3750 miles or severe (which I am not) or 7500 of easy (which I am also not).

Even so I am starting to feel uncomfortable.. and its near impossible to get a oil change appointment with the COVID19 going on.

Yet I still drive at about 30-40% of my pre COVID milage.

Especially since I just watched a video on a car getting ruined by lack of oil changing.
Of course the VQ is not turbo and the VQ40 is arguable the least stressed out of the VQ series.
Then again I live in Europe and the car sees 90mph/150 kph for looooong stretches at times (as in a couple hundred kms long)

usually my maintenance is impeccable... but I simply cant get an oil change easily under current conditions..

I wonder if I could baster out a qt thru the dipstick tube and replace it with a qt of fresh. I am sure the filter is still good. Filters these days are so good they really only need changing every other change.. (even though I dont economize this)

I solicit comments.

You're fine.
Check the oil level, drive the truck.

I am just so much of a perfect maintenance kind of guy...

And I just saw a vid of a engine ruined by lack of oil changes...
I am thinking of buying a couple quarts at the gas station draining the oil just a bit and refilling those up top.
That should freshen the oil considerably.. dont have any tools or a garage thugh

palmerwmd wrote:I am just so much of a perfect maintenance kind of guy...

And I just saw a vid of a engine ruined by lack of oil changes...
I am thinking of buying a couple quarts at the gas station draining the oil just a bit and refilling those up top.
That should freshen the oil considerably.. dont have any tools or a garage thugh

I know what you mean.
I went from ultra maintenance to "relaxed" maintenance, but my Pathfinders get relatively light use.
How about an oil change without changing the filter?
Only one wrench, some kind of drain pan, & a funnel..............

^^^I was going to recommend the same thing^^^ Get a drain pan, funnel and a 14MM wrench and just do a drain and fill, leaving the oil filter alone. You'll get almost 5 quarts without removing the filter. If you get your oil in a 5-quart jug, you can drain the old oil into the jug when done and find a place where you can take it for disposal. If it makes you feel any better, I once let my 08 Pathy go until just over 12,000 miles. I sent a sample of it for analysis (I was using SuperTech 5W30 synthetic) and the results came back fine! They did say the TBN number was indicating that it was about at the end of its life, but everything looked great, otherwise.

smj999smj wrote:^^^I was going to recommend the same thing^^^ Get a drain pan, funnel and a 14MM wrench and just do a drain and fill, leaving the oil filter alone. You'll get almost 5 quarts without removing the filter. If you get your oil in a 5-quart jug, you can drain the old oil into the jug when done and find a place where you can take it for disposal. If it makes you feel any better, I once let my 08 Pathy go until just over 12,000 miles. I sent a sample of it for analysis (I was using SuperTech 5W30 synthetic) and the results came back fine! They did say the TBN number was indicating that it was about at the end of its life, but everything looked great, otherwise.

Glad to hear about your result!
Wow on a 5w-30 no less..

Its actually a criminal act to self change, where i am currently located ,if i let any oil drip off on the ground.... and the only place i could buy a proper drain pan is closed ...
I would have to do it in hiding...
BUT I was considering it anyway.. or a poor mans version thereof.

Step 1 : buy an adjustable wrench at the gas station
Step 2: Park the car and hold a big jug under the drain
Step 3 : open the plug and drain as much as the jug will take..(but what about replacing the washer?)
Step 4 refill with oil

Done

How ever I DID find a place half hour drive away that was open despite corona and was doing brisk business!!

I felt like I was in The Walking Dead and suddenly ran into a functioning service station in the middle of an abandoned town roamed by zombies..with people carrying on business as normal.

I even asked the young attendant if he would accept food, gold or ammo in payment and he got the joke.

I'll post a separate thread on something interesting i was confronted with yet again when it comes to Nissan oil recommendation in Europe for the VQ40de

So Palmer, did they change the oil then?
More importantly, I’m curious - how many euros do they charge in this said country for an oil and filter change?

More importantly, 150kph does lead to unrestricted roads in a particular country in Europe. Were you able to drive on said roads and how was it??:lol:
And what gas mileage does the Pathy give you in the 150kph zones?

brickbox wrote:So Palmer, did they change the oil then?
More importantly, I’m curious - how many euros do they charge in this said country for an oil and filter change?

More importantly, 150kph does lead to unrestricted roads in a particular country in Europe. Were you able to drive on said roads and how was it??:lol:
And what gas mileage does the Pathy give you in the 150kph zones?

Haha..
yes I did get my oil changed.. feels good .. yum!

The zones were actually unlimited.. I dipped to 175 kph (110mph) a few times.
I was charged 56 Euros for filter and oi,l Shell Helix 5w-40

I drive from the southwest of the country to almost the northeast about once a month..

400 miles one way.
You keep hearing that "Oh, they dont have unlimited superhiways there anymore the Greens changed all that"

However I am happy to report that the communists , ahem, the "greens", have not yet been successful in ruining that particular part of the country.

The trip is 640 km one way so approx 400 miles.
Of those 400 miles approx 300 are unlimited.

So I am at 90mph plus for at least a couple hundred miles in a row.

No over heating on this classic Nissan SUV, no problems with braking.
...with my gf and our luggage I can accelerate with authority even on long uphills (which they have plenty) from 75-95 mph again and again and again.

No hiccups of any kind.. this powertrain has lots of reserves we hardly ever use in the US.

The "low end" fuel here is what used to be midrange for them.
When you properly convert their midrange Octane into the US system their entry level fuel is 90.7 Octane in US terms (RON/MON averaged).

So no need to take their premium (They calculate their Octane differently here, as a rule of thumb subtract 4-5 Octane from what they have listed on the pump to get your US Octane..
So their 98 Octane premium is 93.5 US Octane.

Makes me wish I was still in my 350Z...

But the VQ40de performs quite nicely under these conditions and in the straights at least I have no trouble keeping up with traffic, .. but then this is still an SUV and I simply cant maintain left lane speeds during any kind of curve...(though I generally stay under 100 mph anyhow being in an SUV w/ non sporty tires rated for ,I think 115mph, so anything over 100 mph is pushing it)

palmerwmd wrote:
Its actually a criminal act to self change, where i am currently located ,if i let any oil drip off on the ground.... and the only place i could buy a proper drain pan is closed ...
I would have to do it in hiding...

That sounds like something California would like to implement!

palmerwmd wrote:

brickbox wrote:So Palmer, did they change the oil then?
More importantly, I’m curious - how many euros do they charge in this said country for an oil and filter change?

More importantly, 150kph does lead to unrestricted roads in a particular country in Europe. Were you able to drive on said roads and how was it??:lol:
And what gas mileage does the Pathy give you in the 150kph zones?

Haha..
yes I did get my oil changed.. feels good .. yum!

The zones were actually unlimited.. I dipped to 175 kph (110mph) a few times.
I was charged 56 Euros for filter and oi,l Shell Helix 5w-40

I drive from the southwest of the country to almost the northeast about once a month..

400 miles one way.
You keep hearing that "Oh, they dont have unlimited superhiways there anymore the Greens changed all that"

However I am happy to report that the communists , ahem, the "greens", have not yet been successful in ruining that particular part of the country.

The trip is 640 km one way so approx 400 miles.
Of those 400 miles approx 300 are unlimited.

So I am at 90mph plus for at least a couple hundred miles in a row.

No over heating on this classic Nissan SUV, no problems with braking.
...with my gf and our luggage I can accelerate with authority even on long uphills (which they have plenty) from 75-95 mph again and again and again.

No hiccups of any kind.. this powertrain has lots of reserves we hardly ever use in the US.

The "low end" fuel here is what used to be midrange for them.
When you properly convert their midrange Octane into the US system their entry level fuel is 90.7 Octane in US terms (RON/MON averaged).

So no need to take their premium (They calculate their Octane differently here, as a rule of thumb subtract 4-5 Octane from what they have listed on the pump to get your US Octane..
So their 98 Octane premium is 93.5 US Octane.

Makes me wish I was still in my 350Z...

But the VH40de performs quite nicely under these conditions and in the straights at least I have no trouble keeping up with traffic, .. but then this is still an SUV and I simply cant maintain left lane speeds during any kind of curve...(though I generally stay under 100 mph anyhow being in an SUV w/ non sporty tires rated for ,I think 115mph, so anything over 100 mph is pushing it)

I’m glad you got the oil changed out and that’s all taken care of. The price given general costs of other things isn’t bad IMO.

The way they calculative their fuel is probably why the two European sedans I’ve had said to use min. 91 octane fuel. Makes sense now!

It’s good to hear that the greens over there didn’t restrict the unlimited zones. I’ve been there once, but as a passenger. Still kicking myself over the missed opportunity of not having driven.

Sounds like you’re having a good time there. Enjoy and explore as much as you can!

There’s a certain famous track there that regularly has public days. You might want to give the Pathy a whirl around it, just for the kicks of it. Although Covid-19 might play spoilsport with that...

With big engines we change oil only based on condition (viscosity, acidity, etc.). Since testing expenses only make sense for really big engines with really big sumps...

From the world's largest diesel engine test lab: acidity is the first thing to go high (from cylinder exhaust blow-by). They say one thousand miles per quart in the sump.

Three months/three thousand miles is a gift to Jiffy Lube. A thousand miles or two past the 5 3/8 quart sump / ~6,000 mile estimate for the Pathfinder isn't that big of a deal.

What we think of as "severe" is nowhere near what it takes in shear load to actually break down viscosity in pretty much any motor oil out there. Motorcycles are a special case since most of them share lubrication with the transmission, and gear tooth face sheer is intense...breaks down their oil fast! But it can break down in other ways or get sludgy.

Anyway...I have seen and heard of "bad" past 10,000 miles. Particularly 12,000 miles. YMMV but acidity will etch into things, then there's sludge, etc...

Wouldn't feel toooooo bad about 10,000 miles...but I dunno.

I just went and topped it up.
The gas station on base is open so I was able to snag some oil.
They did not have Shell Helix 5w-40, or any 5w-40..
Not even MObil 1 0w-40..

So I went with Mobil 1 10w-30 for top off.

Why? I once read that the mobil 1 10w-30 has to cover such a small multivis spread that it has no need to VIIs (viscosity index improvers).
This means it is likley extra stable and possibly a bit higher in the other additives. (detergents, anti wear, anti acid etc)
I added a little over a third of a quart.

I prefer my level close to the F mark the the L mark.
When I checked it they had filled it about 40% between the L and the F.
I know thats 100% ok (and I did ask them not to overfill) but I like the fill a bit higher.
So I added approx 2/5ths of a quart and am now 80% up from L to F.

Perfect : )

We are blessed with one of the very best engines on the planet.
So I want everything perfect for it.