Zed Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Recently bought a 1995 Pathy LE VG30E 5-speed 4x4. I’ve searched this forum (and others) for a lot of helpful tips - especially being new to Nissan. Love the spark plug locations. Cars got 180k, I cleaned EGR diverter tube and some faulty vacuum lines to erase the ECU code 32 CEL, switched over to redline MT-90 (overfill through shift assembly), plugs, wires, dist cap, rotor, pcv, fluids.. and has been driving like a champ. I drove the thing across the country w/o a hitch. This morning was revving higher than normal, and in urban traffic the oil light came on and I had no acceleration. When I pulled over I could hear the engine clattering much louder - and opened the oil fill access - and no oil to be seen. Dipstick is full, nice color (as always), have a Nissan oil filter (no Fram collapse), nothing out of the tailpipe (pretty sure it’s not the head gasket) and the former owner did the timing belt and water pump. I’m going to check my oil pressure tomorrow. Gotta start somewhere. Do oil pumps go bad in these things? Seems surprising. Any tips out there. I know I’m kinda-sorta-fskced, but want to make sure I knock out the easy stuff and diagnostics first before getting into major replacement time. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 I have rarely heard of an oil pump going out. Check you distributor and cap. I had the rotor screw back out. Other thing I have seen is the woodruff key on the crank shear and timing go out of wack. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 My thoughts as well. My first instinct after the loss of power was electrical. The cap and rotor look as new as when I put it in - everything seems good. I'll also be looking at the timing. Appreciate the input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Your diagnosis sounds logical to me. Not a common problem but the only alternative I can think of is the pickup tube getting blocked. Bad timing could cause the loss of power but wouldn't explain the noise or the oil light coming on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 Pickup tube? Can't say I know what that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 Pickup Tube - I guess you're talking about the oil pressure sending unit? All I see attached to the oil pump in the service manual is a Regulator Valve. The FSM also mentions carefully inspecting the Oil Pressure release valve - based on the picture I'm guessing that's at the the oil filter assembly? Anyone care to enlighten me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 For anyone interested, I first checked the ECU codes. Although I don't have a CEL. Came back with Code 34 - Knock Sensor. Not clear on what the knock sensor does. I do know it's a PITA to get to. I'll know more once I check the oil pressure at the Oil pressure switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Considering the noise you say it made, and the oil light, I'm going to guess the oil pressure will be at or near 0...Could be a clogged pickup tube, don't run it too much like that, a lot of damage can occur in a short period of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 Thanks for the input. Can someone help me understand what the pickup tube is, where it's located, and how to diagnose/clean it? I don't see that part in the manual. New to Nissan, trying to find a way my way through this.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 The oil pickup tube is attached to the oil pump and bolted to the crank girdle. At the end of the tube is a mesh screen to prevent large debris from being sucked up. To access it, you will need to drop the oil pan. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 Thanks CN Damn, is that a typical problem? WTF? Did drive it a mile or two slowly - to get it back to my house. I'm hoping I didn't do too much damage. I'll get on that tomorrow and report back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 If you have heavy sludge then it clogging up can happen. Slick knows well. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Yep, it's the tube oil goes through to get to the pump. I wouldn't call it a common issue, but if your sump looks like the la brea tar pits, it's going to stop something up. Doesn't sound likely on your engine though given your description of the oil. I suspect your knock sensor code means your knock sensor is working properly and picking up all the clattering that an engine with no oil pressure makes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 Well, thanks for the input everyone. Looking at the manual - that's one helluva procedure to drop the oil pan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 What do you mean by you couldn't see oil through the oil fill hole? Things should be shiny as in have a coating, but it shouldn't be pooled or submerged. If you run the engine with that cap off you should end up with some splatter through the hole as the cams and rockers throw it around though. Dipstick level was correct and read full? I don't think this is an internal problem. If something happened to the timing it could cause the engine to spin at a low enough rpm to trigger the light, but as long as it didn't stay on while driving that's okay. This could also be the time that the pressure sensor wire decided to finally just ground itself somewhere triggering the light falsely. Which is a common problem. Also, if the pan was so sludged up that it blocked the oil pickup tube, you wouldn't have been able to put 4 quarts in without over filling it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed Posted March 14, 2016 Author Share Posted March 14, 2016 Started car and pulled out of parking lot. Then the oil pressure light went off and the car lost acceleration and power - I pulled it over (it died once), stopped it, looked under it and popped the hood looking for oil leaks. Nothing. Checked dipstick. FULL and clear. If anything slightly overfilled. Checked electric, wires - cap, rotor, plug wires, battery.... I then started the car to hear the engine noise - surprisingly loud chatter mostly. That's when I looked in the oil fill cap. Should have seen some oil splashing. NOTHING. Let it cool down a bit - drove it about a mile to get home. ----- The oil was freshly changed about a month ago with a Nissan filter.. I'm going to make sure the Oil Pressure Switch is working first, but I don't see the connector harness that's suppose to be attached to it. It's raining like crazy here at the moment. Will probably start with the switch, maybe drain some motor oil, and give it another inspection. Thanks for the input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 Silverton nailed it. Drained the oil, inspected the oil filter, checked the Oil Pressure Switch. Bought a cheap fram filter and oil. Stopped at 3 quarts and checked the dipstick. Totally overfilled. So, I'm pretty sure now that the Pickup tube is clogged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 Just for kicks, I also pulled the coil and fuel pump fuse and gave her a few 10 sec starts - hoping that if things were slightly flowing, it might drop my oil level. NADA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Good way to check--hadn't thought of that. Sorry to hear that's what it is though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 Got an update on the oil pickup tube saga. Pulled the oil pan and inspected the pan and tube. No sludge in pan, the pickup tube mesh sieve had a small hole on the bottom. There was also a small wing-nut bolt in the pan. I have no idea what that is. Someone know what that thing is for? So, I'm thinking something got by the metal sieve and jacked up the oil pump. That's the only thing it could be at this point. Anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed Posted March 25, 2016 Author Share Posted March 25, 2016 Trying to figure out how to post pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed Posted March 26, 2016 Author Share Posted March 26, 2016 Can anyone tell me what these things are? http://s1038.photobucket.com/user/felix9871/media/AUTO/parts1_zpsrfn2gvtw.jpg.html?filters[user]=144907480&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Looks like some sort of oil pan drain plug "repair" BS to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuong Nguyen Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Looks like someone royally messed up and dropped a tool inside the motor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted March 26, 2016 Share Posted March 26, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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