Hi,

I'm a X newbie...having bought a 2001 SE 4x4 in mid-March 2007 with 85000 miles (136000 KM); before forking over the cash I took it to Midas for a inspection and apart from a weak battery it passed...good compression and no leaks.

Now, as a new owner I wanted to take it for a trip, do some camping, see it on the highway, check fuel economy, etc. So 3 days before Easter and 10 days after picking it up I took it to my local Walmart for a oil change. I got an engine flush and a new air filter as well. I have used this Walmart with no issues 5 or 6 times before.

We went on our trip to Northern Oregon and back putting on about 800 miles or so and getting about 19 mpg. The day after we returned I went down to the car for something, saw the manual, and decided to check the service intervals. I looked at the oil capacity and noticed it read 3.3 Quarts. I double checked this on the internet and saw that the oil was way above the full line on "the most poorly designed dipstick ever" (took me three trys to get a good reading). I checked my receipt and it indicated that they put 4.8 Liters in (5 quarts). I dropped to the parkade floor looked under the engine and saw no stains (the truck was parked for 12 hours or so). Being close to 11pm I decided to walk to the nearest convenience store and get 4 quarts of any type of synthetic 5W30 they had and drain the Mobil into a little pail. I crawled under the truck started draining and went to get oil. When I returned I noticed that the pail had what looked like about 4-5 liters of oil in it. I plugged the oil pan and poured in 3 and a bit quarts of Pennzoil synthetic. I idled for a few minutes checked the dipstick and it was just shy of full. I did not remove the filter.

Yesterday I decided to check the parking stall for stains...nothing. But upon crawling underneath with a light and I noticed sweating from what I think is the rear main seal just behind the oil pan. It was a greasy spot 2 inches in diameter and was not very dirty. I wipped it with a rag,checked every other seals I could see (looked dry), crawled out and checked from up top. I even checked the air filter for blow by.

I will be visiting Walmart this weekend to discuss. But should I drain the pennz and replace it with a synthetic oil designed for higher mileage vehicles that have seal conditioners like Valvoline Max Life? Or even go back to conventional high mileage oils? Can a sweeping seal be reconditioned or is replacement my only option? Should I have the car reinspected..It seems to run fine. Will it affect my engine's lifespan in the future or is this a thing that once corrected will not cause future problems?

Thank you for reading my long post.

i would go and reaise hell to walmart.... see what they have to say about it.... i bet they say there is nothing they can do..... but give it a try......

I'll go tomorrow (Saturday) during the day, as it'll be the first day I'll have some spare time... I'm sure they will say..its not their fault. But, I have a written inspection sheet from Midas saying it has no leaks 2 weeks prior to oil change, I have manual that states 3.3L capacity,I have a paper from Walmart saying it was filled to 4.8L and I have a leak. I think they'll have to pay for their mistake. I doubt they did it on purpose but the result is the same. I'm a bit ticked a Nissan for the poorly designed dipstick that is difficult to read. If that is the best they can do for a dipstick for this engine then they should have oil capacity stamped on the filler cap.

That totally blows and I have a similar story. It was years ago and it involved an oil change. After the change and a day later it seemed there was no oil and there wasn't. I had walmart change the oil once and never again. I aslo had a quick lube type place change the radiator fluid and 2 weeks later a bubble formed and the engine over heated. This was a $3,200 mistake. I now go to the dealer or do it myself.

I returned to WalMart on Sunday and spoke with the Lube manager who checked his manual and confirmed the mistake. They raised the car up and had me point out the leak. Which I did, they examined it said that that was just grease and that apart from some oil on the drain plug all is good. I'll monitor it and if it gets bigger I'll take it to the dealer or I have them check next time I take it somewhere. I kept my receipts. They were very professional about it but whether I'd go back, I'm not sure. My premise for using them in the first place is that since they do not fix anything apart from tires and lube they have nothing to gain by breaking anything. I've had a mechanic when I had my first car hammer a screw driver through my oil pump in a 1982 Sentra while doing lube service then when I spotted the leak wanting to charge me to fix it. Thankfully a friend of my father replaced it and showed me the damage. Being a stupid kid, I did not pursue the issue. But if there is any fall out from this WalMart experience, I will pursue it. Thank you for all who replied.

Good Luck!

:D

BTW - ALL Synthetic oils, since Mobil1 back in the 70's, etc, have added a seal swelling additive to simulate the damage to seals done by dino juice...because the engine makers made the seals a bit small, assuming the dino juice would swell it to the right size with time, etc.....but, the synthetic oils didn't swell them, etc.

No need to get a "special" synthetic oil.

:D

It's very common for lube places to overfill this engine, since it takes much less oil than the average car/truck.

Keep an eye on the main seal, that has been a trouble spot for some people.