Questions and Answers
Oil Burning Nissan King Cab
Q. We have a lovely 1987 Nissan that was running wonderfully. Suddenly, last week it began running really rough, stuttering and the like. We also noticed that it was burning a lot of oil, though we are not seeing any blue/black smoke from the exhaust. Our local mechanic said it wasn't leaking, it just had some water in the tank and suggested dry gas.
Needless to say it is still burning oil, roughly one quart per 80-100 miles. I placed cardboard under the engine overnight, and aside from a small quarter sized dot there was nothing. We are also smelling a weird burning rubber smell that comes and goes, but are not sure if it is related. Any thoughts?
1987 Nissan Pickup King Cab
4 Cylinder
Automatic transmission
9,7000 miles
Fuel Injection
P/S - A/C - Cruise control
Power Steering. A/C went out after head gasket blewThanks!
Warren
Brooklyn, NYA. Well, there's only two places oil can leave the engine. It either leaks out or is burned.
Now the cardboard test is a good one, and it works well quite often, but sometimes it does fail. With that particular engine, I would look at the valve cover gasket and the front engine seal. These two places were notorious leaking points on this engine. A leaking valve cover gasket on this engine and in this truck could cause a vehicle fire since the oil drips on the exhaust manifold. That could be the origin of the smell you describe.
If they are okay and there are no other signs of leakage then a wet/dry compression test is next. This will tell you if the oil is coming up past the rings or down from the valve seals.
I would pull the plugs out and look at them. I'll bet at least one of them is oil fouled and not firing. That is your rough running.
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