I just recently bought a 2008 LE with the 5.6 Liter V8. I was amazed by it's equipment and V8 performance and was happy to take it and drive it home that same day. The truck had about 54,800 miles on the clock. Immediately the next day, I noticed whitish/bluish smoke coming out of the tailpipe upon start-up. I figured it might be just condensation from sitting on the dealer lot so I didn't think much of it.

This continued into the next day, so I became concerned. Upon checking the oil, the was NOTHING on the end of the dip stick. Found some sludge in the oil filler tube which goes into the passenger side valve cover. I added 3 qts of oil which brought the oil level to around to the 1/2 way point on the dipstick. I kept driving the truck keeping a close watch on the oil pressure and oil level. Funny think I noticed is that the oil gauge does not move AT ALL when the vehicle is running... regardless of the engine RPM or load. Is this normal? Whenever it's on, the needle sits exactly at the midway point. When the truck is shut off, the needle drops down as the rest of the gauges do.

The next day, the oil was down again, so I added another quart.

I contacted the dealer from which I bought the vehicle (new Hyundai dealership). On the way there I watched what the vehicle was doing like a hawk. Then I noticed that when I punch the gas from a red light, it also smokes from the exhaust. I thought this was only happening at start-up, but that's no longer the case.

When I told the service advisor what was going on, he seemed to not really understand until a porter had to move my truck to move it down the service aisle. Upon start-up, he too saw the smoke. They put me in a sweet-ass (ugh) Hyundai Elantra station wagon loaner car. That was last Thursday. When I called last Friday, they said that they couldn't duplicate the problem and that they were going to send my truck down the road over to the Nissan dealer for a diagnosis.

I've read several posts here regarding engine sludge and smoking and possible cures (changing the PCV valve, replacing with new valve covers, etc.). Is there anything else I can expect? My truck is still under Nissan's powertrain warranty. Is this a common issue with the 5.6 Liter V8 or was my truck just not properly maintained by the previous owner?

The truck runs fine without any engine noise, oil warning light and seems to have all the power that it's supposed to have, but it smokes and seems to be consuming a large amount of oil.

Any suggestions/input would be greatly appreciated.

I'm not aware of any known problems with that engine. A coworker has an '07 Armada with 110k miles on that engine and runs like a song. Hopefully they'll take care of it under warranty and you'll be in good shape. I assume you had it inspected for previous damage/flood/etc. before buying? Unless someone just never changed the oil. This wasn't a rental vehicle was it?

If oil is getting past the combustion chamber, it won't take long to poison the Catalyst.

If its just a leak somewhere, that would be better. Easier to fix too!

t

I have an 08 with the 5.6 and have 35k miles. I don't have any blue/white smoke problems from mine. I think there might have been some neglect from the previous owner on proper oil change intervals.

Usually blue smoke indicates an oil burn. White is usually a sign of leaking coolant.

Thanks for the replies guys...

My LE was never in a flood nor was it a rental car. It was a leased vehicle. I honestly believe that it just didn't receive oil changes at the intervals that it was supposed to. My guess is that the motor is sludged up and oil is getting into the combustion chambers and burning. I'm ASSUMING that the motor isn't damaged since it runs really smoothly and quietly although the amount of oil being burned does indeed concern me.

I called up the Hyundai dealer awhile ago and they said they've still yet to hear from the Nissan dealer on the diagnosis. I'm hoping that all it needs are the valve covers/PCV valve and a good de-sludging.

I've already bought Auto Rx to run through the engine to hopefully clear it of sludge. Has anybody tried this and had good luck?

http://www.auto-rx.com/

i'd do anything i reasonably could to get them to take the truck back
if adding 3 quarts only brought it up to the 1/2 way point, it must have been nearly dry
that said, i wouldn't hold much hope for the long term for an engine that has suffered what i consider to be insufficient lubrication (for any length of time)
and who knows what it went through before this point............

perpetual wrote:Thanks for the replies guys...

My LE was never in a flood nor was it a rental car. It was a leased vehicle. I honestly believe that it just didn't receive oil changes at the intervals that it was supposed to.

Well I'd put a leased vehicle just one small notch above a rental. To do damage they would have really had to skimp on the oil changes. My family used to own a dealership and you'd be surprised how often someone comes in with a 40k mile vehicle with the engine fried and they never changed/added oil. Are there any service records on the car-fax? Realistically Nissan could decline warranty if the damage is caused by abuse/lack of maintenance. That is a situation where being a second owner can be a real bum deal since you likely have no records.

I would stay very involved particularly if you're coming close 30 days or whatever your state law requires on used vehicle sales. If Nissan balks you'll want to go after the Hyundai dealer.

Ok, so I just heard back from the Hyundai Service Department.
The Nissan dealer took a look at my truck and discovered sludge (well, duh) and possibly low compression in cylinder #2. They said that they need to put a couple more hours of diagnostics into it to drop the oil pan and see what lurks inside.

The Nissan dealer said that depending on what they find, they will try to get Nissan involved in this but can't promise anything since the engine does indeed show signs of possible neglect. In the event that Nissan declines help with this, I told the Hyundai dealer that I expect them to do right by taking care of this matter since I purchased this truck with the promise that it has been inspected and given a good bill of health. The Service Manager and General Manager are now involved with this, so I hope I have some good news soon.

In the meantime, I will continue driving my Hyundai Elantra Touring wagon in style... yeah, it's now what I like but I'm really digging the 30+ mpg as opposed to the 15 mpg in my Pathfinder LE! LOL

if you can get your money back i would suggest you do so. you will probably be screwed with this one unfortunately. nissan does not like to pay for anything so they will try to find a way to back out of it claiming neglect. the dealer will probably source you a junk yard engine if nissan declines it.

Good luck. If Nissan won't help just hope the dealer wants to take care of you. Perhaps remind them WOM accounts for ALOT of customers.

I'd also be trying to give this truck back and get a refund. Low compression is a sign of lack of maintenance and abuse. Its probably the tip of the iceberg. There are better trucks out there.

t

Follow up...

Got a call today from the Service Advisor I was working with. He told me that that Nissan "flushed" the engine and got a lot of the sludge out of the engine. Upon re-checking the cylinder compression, I was told that it had gone up considerably up to Nissan specs. He said that my Pathfinder was on it's way back from the Nissan dealer to the Hyundai dealer where they will flush the engine a couple more times just to be sure that it's all ready to go before I pick it up tomorrow. I asked that they have documentation from Nissan stating the findings, what they did and the engine compression documented. He said that he will have everything ready for me.

I sort of have my doubts that this has "fixed" all of my vehicle's issues, but at least they were willing to work with me... if everything seems okay after I drive it for awhile, I'll probably order new valve covers from Nissan and replace them out. I'll also run AutoRx in my engine oil just to be sure that any of the "hard to reach" sludge dissolves out.

I'll follow up again to let you all know what happens. Again, I really appreciate all of your valuable posts! This is a great community and I'm glad that I have joined!

perpetual wrote:I'll follow up again to let you all know what happens. Again, I really appreciate all of your valuable posts! This is a great community and I'm glad that I have joined!

Welcome to the forum!

Nice follow up. Let us know how the first drive goes.

Follow up again....

So, I picked up the LE last night. The Hyundai dealer ran engine flush through the engine twice upon recommendation by the Nissan dealer. The drive home was good with no apparent smoking. I stopped in at Walgreens to grab a few items and then when I started up the engine in the parking lot... to my surprise, white billowing smoke screen all over AGAIN.

Once I got home, I checked the oil. It was crystal clear after about 35 miles of hard driving. I'm willing to guess that the engine flush did it's trick to clean the bottom end of the engine. I pulled the PCV valves off and the driver's side valve was completely sludged up and clogged. The passenger side wasn't as bad. When I stuck a flathead screwdriver inside both valve covers to see what kind of sludge I might be able to pull out, it was bad... imagine sticking your finger inside a jar of creamy peanut butter and swirling it around. I think that the engine flush didn't reach these areas and I don't think it was ever designed to do so. It's sludged up pretty badly inside those valve covers. I'm sure that the baffles are coated in sludge too.

This morning, I called up the dealer again to report my findings. They told me to drive it another 1,000 miles and then come in for a free oil change when they will take another look at it. He also said that it might take the engine this much time to burn off/clean out any residue that was dislodged by the engine flush.

Today, I'm gonna stop in at Nissan and order a set of valve covers, PCV valves and gaskets. This is my only hope, because I don't really trust the dealers and frankly I don't think they know whet the hell they are talking about!

Meanwhile, the truck runs fantastic. It has plenty of power, and I can barely even hear the thing run at idle.

Only if I can get her to quit smoking...