Gunk inside valve covers on 2004 3.3L NA

Well, my personal experience is that it’s just what you see when using traditional motor oil. It really doesn’t look that bad. I don’t see this with synthetic motor oil.

MeToo said:

Here is what the spark plugs looked like. I wrote the numbers on them. 2, 4, and 6 are driver's, 1, 3, and 5 are passenger's.
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Here is how the new Ruthenium NGKs compared:
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Me oh My! You had some serious plug gap issues going on there with those old conventional electrode plugs! Ignition must have been struggling to jump that gap! Hopefully she has some more pep in her step now.

@dezurtrat and @XT2015, thanks for the input.

Since getting the rig, I've been using full synthetic oil.

I think it will once I've finished everything. I'm replacing the FPR and all 6 injectors, then re-routing some hoses so they don't run under the plenum anymore. I have a little time on Weds to work on it, then part of next weekend. Hopefully I'll have it all wrapped up soon.

Any progress always feels good. You might even experience some better gas mileage with the new plugs firing. One can hope.

MeToo said:

Speaking of gas mileage, I found a local station that sells NON-ethanol fuel!!! It's a little spendy, but it has zero ethanol (they claim).

Over at Sam's Club, they have only 87 and 93, and their 93 is just a bit more than this E-Zero, but it has 10-15% ethanol.

Me thinks that getting this rig back on the road and then topping off with E-Zero will net me the best MPG it can deliver.
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I run nothing but the Non Ethanol in all my lawn equipment to keep the ethanol from destroying all the fuel lines. I have never done any real testing to see if it boosts the MPG in the Xterra since the cost difference would wipe out any improvement there.

Hey MeToo,

My Xterra's valve covers didn't look much better, at 238K even with full synthetic I had some sludging changing at 7.5K miles. I have done a few shorter OCIs scheduled (3k miles, supertech 5W-30 full synthetic) and cheap WIX filters. The VG33E motor has a small oil pan (3.5qt) which I thing exacerbates the issue. I'd do shorter OCIs with full synthetic oil.

Also, don't gap modern plugs.Most are pre-gapped and gapping modern iridium, platinum or rhodium plugs WILL damage them. Just get at least good quality platinum plugs (I use autolite platinums which work fine) and put a bit of ATF on the threads, and always change out plugs on a cold motor. Torque specs is 18-25ft-lb.

I didn't put any oil on the threads, but considering how much was already in the wells, they likely inherited some on the way in.

These came pre-gapped so I installed them straight outta the box. I could not find my gapping tool just to measure them, but they all had the same gap, and as you can see, they're in way better shape than what came out. They were overdue for a change. (Understatement!)

I would really like it if I could find an oil pan that adds another 1½-2 quarts of capacity. Oil is not just a lube but also a coolant, along with gas, air, and water.

MeToo if I get myself a spare oil pan I plan to extend the sump and add baffles, maybe even wings to it. My friend is a Nissan guy and said he's down for making in-demand parts -- it wouldn't really be cheap for us to do an extra oil pan, but for you I'd not mind and we'd do it at cost. You've helped me out with my stuff lol.

I'm willing to consider it. Lemme know if/when your buddy gets it done.

Heck, I think that if you just swelled the sides without making the bottom rise, it might add enough capacity without having to cut or weld.

I don't wanna just swell the sides because IF the sump is low on oil it could get starved in turns. I want to extend the sump forward towards the front of the motor and add baffles to reduce starvation.

Remember that those of us with 4WD have to have clearance around the diff. If not, then I could see the pan easily holding quite a bit more oil.