Al Savage's 1982 Maxima Wagon

This is where we can post about our rigs, specs, ongoing plans, etc., links to pics.

Moderators: goglio704, Nissan_Ranger

Post Reply
User avatar
asavage
Site Admin
Posts: 5431
Joined: 18 years ago
Location: Oak Harbor, Wash.
Contact:

#61

Post by asavage »

Back on 01-Apr-07, asavage wrote:FSM says 6.5 US Qts, I put 6.5 in and it's above the 'H' mark, as usual. I'm running the Wix 51085 filter.
Changed oil today, 4300 mi. interval, 166,631 mi. total, exactly five months.

I never added oil.

I levelled the Wagon this time, and let it drain a solid hour. I measured 5 qts exactly when I poured it into recycling jugs, so I suppose that means I used 1.5 qts in 4300 miles. But the dipstick still was only a smidge under the H mark for all of that.

What if I had oil that didn't drain out last time? That would explain the 6.5 qts. being way over the H mark last time.

This time, I filled with six quarts instead of 6.5 . Still above the H mark, but only just. Still using Wix 1085 filter, AMSOil 5W30 gasser-but-SM/CF synthetic oil. Nissan called for SE/CD back in the day, so this oil handily exceeds spec, though I'm also running it longer than Nissan's recommendation of 3k mi. or less. I just haven't been stocking the AMSOil diesel-specific oil lately, but since the regular gasser oil is so much better now 25-yrs on, I don't worry.
Regards,
Al S.

1982 Maxima diesel wagon, 2nd & 4th owner, 165k miles, rusty & burgundy/grey. Purchased 1996, SOLD 16Feb10
1983 Maxima diesel wagon, 199k miles, rusty, light yellow/light brown. SOLD 14Jul07
1981 720 SD22 (scrapped 04Sep07)
1983 Sentra CD17, 255k, bought 06Jul08, gave it away 22Jun10.
Carimbo
Posts: 467
Joined: 18 years ago

#62

Post by Carimbo »

asavage wrote:I levelled the Wagon this time, and let it drain a solid hour. I measured 5 qts exactly when I poured it into recycling jugs,
Did that include the oil filter? Filter can hold 1/2 - 3/4 quart.
asavage wrote:Still using Wix 1085 filter, AMSOil 5W30 gasser-but-SM/CF synthetic oil.
How long have you been using the synthetic? I used Pennzoil synthetic for a 3000 mi. stretch, nice during last winter's cold snaps but now find much larger drips from the front and rear crankshaft seals.
User avatar
asavage
Site Admin
Posts: 5431
Joined: 18 years ago
Location: Oak Harbor, Wash.
Contact:

#63

Post by asavage »

I forgot to mention: the oil seems a LOT cleaner than usual, meaning less "black". I mean, the oil is solid black but I spilled quite a bit by dropping the filter and rolling it across the floor out of reach (maybe two cups -- which now that I think about it, I didn't include in my recycle measurement), and cleaning it up, it seemed a LOT less sooty than usual. Maybe it's just the temperature being warm yesterday, but this stuff didn't have nearly the staining power that diesel lube oil usually does.

I'm going to ascribe this to running B99 only ;) Why not?

I drained the filter into the catch pan, so whatever oil was left in the filter, that oil is included in the tally.

At 86k/1997 when I bought it from the original owner's family, I ran Castrol Syntec 5W-50 for about 30k miles. Sold the Wagon to a co-worker. I do not know exactly what oil Dan ran for four years/30k miles, but I think it was Q-Lube synthetic. I got it back with 154k miles, now has 166k. The first oil change when I got it back was with Chevron 15W40 non-synth, and the last two changes back to AMSOil 5W30.

By late 1997, Castrol Syntec was no longer an API Group IV base stock, so it was no longer a true synthetic, though still a very good oil. My oil consumption from non-leak sources had gone up on all my rigs that were using Syntec shortly after that, but I didn't figure out why until I discovered Castrol's reformulation of Syntec, which is when I stopped using it.

In the early days of synth oils, oil leaks due to the oil were common: the seals composition (esp. "rope" seals in the rear seals of GM engines) in those days were compounded with the idea that the crap in oil would actually be part of the sealing composition, and synth didn't provide the crap. It was a real problem.

All synth mfgrs added seal swell agents to the formulations to help keep elastomer-based seals pliable. Seal composition has changed over the years to accommodate cleaner oils.

I am seeing slight oil leakage at either the pan gasket and/or the rear seal area, but it is nowhere near the point of being "wet" or dripping. This leakage was evident at 154k when I got the Wagon back.

I am not a fan of Pennzoil or Fram.
Regards,
Al S.

1982 Maxima diesel wagon, 2nd & 4th owner, 165k miles, rusty & burgundy/grey. Purchased 1996, SOLD 16Feb10
1983 Maxima diesel wagon, 199k miles, rusty, light yellow/light brown. SOLD 14Jul07
1981 720 SD22 (scrapped 04Sep07)
1983 Sentra CD17, 255k, bought 06Jul08, gave it away 22Jun10.
User avatar
asavage
Site Admin
Posts: 5431
Joined: 18 years ago
Location: Oak Harbor, Wash.
Contact:

#64

Post by asavage »

I've had B100 and B99 (an on long trips PD) in this Wagon since I got it back from Dan in Apr-04. So over three years of biodiesel, though not a lot of miles. I've noted that the IP has been leaking, probably at the shaft seal, but not enough for me to want to go and fix it yet.

However, the fuel filler cap gasket is going south rather faster:

Image
Regards,
Al S.

1982 Maxima diesel wagon, 2nd & 4th owner, 165k miles, rusty & burgundy/grey. Purchased 1996, SOLD 16Feb10
1983 Maxima diesel wagon, 199k miles, rusty, light yellow/light brown. SOLD 14Jul07
1981 720 SD22 (scrapped 04Sep07)
1983 Sentra CD17, 255k, bought 06Jul08, gave it away 22Jun10.
User avatar
asavage
Site Admin
Posts: 5431
Joined: 18 years ago
Location: Oak Harbor, Wash.
Contact:

#65

Post by asavage »

Well, it finally happened to me.

We've had temps hovering around freezing here for the past few days. I run B99, and was expecting some gelling, but while frost at work and halfway home, no frost at home and temps never below 36°F overnight.

Our local BD business has gone bust again, possibly for good this time. I got notice of this last week. I had filled up just before then. I am down to 2/3 tank because I have been driving the Aero off & on the past week.

I got exactly six miles toward work this morning, and had fuel starvation, to the point that I couldn't nurse it and had to stop. After 15 minutes, it would restart but not continue running, so I called for a ride and left it.

At 5pm I got a ride back to it, put 3 ounces of Power Service Biodiesel Auntie Gel in, it cranked and fired up OK. With friend following me, I headed back to work, got about 1.5 miles and died again.

We'd brought a filter -- planning for Just In Case. Pulled out old one and poured it over my white-latex-gloved hand: pretty opaque for biodiesel, but at least no water. Spun on new Wix, but then . . .

. . . the dreaded failed purge pump! Yup, it would not pump fuel out the discharge. I could get a vacuum at the bleed screw but would not move fuel.

Back to work, picked up 1.5 gallon Mity-Vac and adapter hose & clamp, back to the Wagon, and pulled 1/2 gallon of fuel out the OUT nipple of the filter housing -- just in case. No more problem, though did have to crank about thirty seconds to get it to fire up this time. Drove 20 miles and no problems.

However . . .

On the way to/from work to take back tools and friend and such, I stopped by the biodiesel trailer. Official notice that they are no longer selling fuel was inside, but this most disturbing sight:

Image Image Image Image

That's my wall thermometer, that I donated to them about three years ago. It reads 44°F -- I came back to take this picture; an hour earlier it read 49°F but the filters looked the same. If you click on them, you can see that the filters are solid. (Actually, there is only one filter, on the right; the other two housings are empty at this time, but the one on the right is a 10 micron, so it doesn't really matter.)

The totes are all empty, but the few inches on the bottom look solid.

It appears to me that there is a large amount of unreacted oil in this batch of BD. My friend following me, who knows biodiesel, said he smelled what smelled like SVO, not BD, when following me. Oh, joy.

Since it looks like I'll be driving the Wagon on petrodiesel for a while, I'm not going to worry too much about it. I just thought I'd share another "bad fuel" story with y'all, and let you know that I, too, have been bit by the failed purge pump thing. Not that I'm going to rush out and buy a trouble-prone electric pump now, but I do want to find a hand pump that can supplement or replace the OEM one -- I think I am No. 3 or so of our members that have experienced this failure.
Regards,
Al S.

1982 Maxima diesel wagon, 2nd & 4th owner, 165k miles, rusty & burgundy/grey. Purchased 1996, SOLD 16Feb10
1983 Maxima diesel wagon, 199k miles, rusty, light yellow/light brown. SOLD 14Jul07
1981 720 SD22 (scrapped 04Sep07)
1983 Sentra CD17, 255k, bought 06Jul08, gave it away 22Jun10.
glenlloyd
Posts: 640
Joined: 18 years ago
Location: Des Moines, Iowa

#66

Post by glenlloyd »

Sorry to hear about that Al. What seems to be the big problems with getting this biodiesel coop to be sustainable? Isn't this the second (maybe third) time that it's been closed?

And the unreacted oil situation is really not good, I mean that is unless the shack has a liability waiver on what it distributes?

Anyway, hope this doesn't cause any long term problem with the wagon!

steve a
97 Jetta TDI, 86 VW Golf D
89 VW Fox diesel, 92 MB 300SD W140

gir - won't the sploding hurt?
zim - silence!
Carimbo
Posts: 467
Joined: 18 years ago

#67

Post by Carimbo »

You may not be the only BioD customer to be suffering. Wonder how many others filled up w/ the bad fuel? You may be able to find an alternate source; aren't there like three new large BD refineries operating in the area now?
User avatar
asavage
Site Admin
Posts: 5431
Joined: 18 years ago
Location: Oak Harbor, Wash.
Contact:

#68

Post by asavage »

1982 Wagon oil change post -- henceforth all oil changes post here.

Changed oil, 171,711 mi.
Added a quart of coolant to reservoir.
Changed hitch ball 1-7/8" -> 2" to match new coupler on util trailer.
Need to change brake fluid again, it's dark (last change was four years ago).
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests