# Oil Filter - Genuine Only???



## Lionheart (Oct 5, 2015)

Hi guys

I noticed my Murano has got very smoky since I serviced it.

One thing I thought - does the oil filter have to be a genuine Nissan one?

I bought a branded, but not Nissan, one from Euro Car Parts. Fitted spot-on and replaced the previous old oil filter which was not genuine Nissan either.

However, I spotted this in the workshop manual:

*CAUTION:
Oil filter is provided with relief valve. Use Genuine Nissan
Oil Filter or equivalent.*

So, is this true. Does the oil filter have some kind of valve built into it???

And if so, could this be a cause of a smoky engine???


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## quadraria10 (Jul 6, 2010)

I think your smoky engine is from spilled oil burning off, but if not you should have it looked at. Regarding the oil filter pressure relief valve, pretty much any brand oil filter indicated for your car has one, and quite a few are higher quality than the Nissan offerings. But I do marvel at Nissan service managers' ability to put an expression of concern on their face while stating Nissan filters have a pressure release valve ( needed in case filter clogs and doesn't flow). It would be nice to smile back at them and in succession pull out Fram, Mobil 1, Castrol, Purolator, Bosch, etc filters, and say jeez isn't that nice-- so do all of these!


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## Lionheart (Oct 5, 2015)

lol - that's what I figured.

I think the smoky issue is the valve seals (


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

You don't "have to" use genuine Nissan oil filters, though I usually do. There are several good alternatives on the aftermarket, many of them are made by Purolator, including Bosch and Motorcraft. I've used Purolator Pure One filters in a pinch. Wix, Mobil One and Napa brand are all good alternatives. I can't say "every" oil filter is a good option because of the number of them out there and not all have a pressure valve in them. I do not use Fram because they are a cheap construction, but that said, I've never run into problems with one. There are often two types of valves in a oil filter. The bypass valve comes into play when the filter becomes clogged or restrictive so that the engine does not get starved for oil; it allows the oil to bypass the media. The second valve is the anti-drain back valve, which helps keep oil inside the filter when the engine is not running, preventing a dry-start scenario. 
I would replace the oil filter with another brand, preferably a genuine Nissan filter, and see what happens in regard to the smoking. It may not be the cause, but it's a cheap and simple way to make sure before wasting a lot of time and effort chasing down other possibilities. It's rare to hear of Viton valve stem seals failing on any engine and I don't recall of hearing about valve seal failures on any VQ-series engine. I've heard of stuck oil control, piston rings on some VQ35DE engines in the early 2000 models and even some PCV system issues. Of course, check the oil level when cold and make sure it's not overfilled. 
Here's a great, albeit a little dated, article on oil filters:

Oil Filters Revealed - MiniMopar Resources


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## Lionheart (Oct 5, 2015)

*"It's rare to hear of Viton valve stem seals failing on any engine and I don't recall of hearing about valve seal failures on any VQ-series engine. I've heard of stuck oil control, piston rings on some VQ35DE engines in the early 2000 models and even some PCV system issues. Of course, check the oil level when cold and make sure it's not overfilled."*

This is very useful - thank you.

I am assuming it is the valve seals because from a cold start it puffs out a lot of blueish smoke. This settles down a bit, but is always smoky. Also, if you go downhill (i.e. not accelerating) for a while and then hit the accelerator again at the bottom it blows out a large cloud of smoke.

It also uses a LOT of oil (1 litre every 3 hours of driving approximately). So I believe the oil is getting into the combustion chamber/s, which would point to the valve seals.

The mileage is high at 165,000.

I've checked the engine oil level and it's spot on in the centre of the dip stick (I have to keep topping it up as it's using a lot of oil!)

I was hoping it would be the PCV valve and put a brand new one on, no different.

Interestingly, I tried putting in Wynn's Oil Treatment (like Stop Smoke). The smoking immediately stopped after I had poured it in (remembering it goes straight over the valves on the left/front side where you fill the oil). No smoke at all. For a couple of minutes. Then as it was diluted down the smoking started again so assume the leak is bad enough to be beyond the limitations of the product. A couple of blasts on the accelerator and smoke was back.

Pretty sure it is the valve seals TBH. I was going to do a compression test to confirm, but a) I can't see what else it could be (any suggestions welcome!!), and b) if I'm right then it's an engine out job to fix the valve seals (stupid cam chains!!!)

Any idea's?


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

Lionheart said:


> *It also uses a LOT of oil (1 litre every 3 hours of driving approximately). So I believe the oil is getting into the combustion chamber/s, which would point to the valve seals.
> 
> The mileage is high at 165,000.
> 
> ...


*A lot of these so-called oil treatments are a waste of money and sometimes could be harmful to the engine. It looks like if you're burning that much oil, the rings may be shot. A good way to test for oil burning is to first fully warm up the engine. Stand behind the car. Have someone rev the motor to 4,000 RPM and hold at that RPM for about 15 seconds. If you see a lot of blue smoke come out of the tailpipe, the engine is burning excessive oil; time for new rings.

Perform a compression test on all cylinders to determine the general condition of the engine; compression standard: 185 psi, minimum: 142 psi. A compression test will not determine if the valve stem seals are bad.*


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## Lionheart (Oct 5, 2015)

Thanks for the info - much appreciated!!!

Can I ask - if it were worn rings then is that also an engine out job? I assume it is, but thought I'd ask!!


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

Lionheart said:


> Thanks for the info - much appreciated!!!
> 
> Can I ask - if it were worn rings then is that also an engine out job? I assume it is, but thought I'd ask!!


Some people have replaced the rings only with the engine in the car but to do a full rebuild, the engine needs to be removed from the car.


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## Lionheart (Oct 5, 2015)

Wow - any links you know of from people who have replaced the rings in a Murano with the engine in situ?


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## rogoman (Dec 16, 2004)

Check out this Nico Club article:

********.com/archives/piston-ring-replacement.html

(replace the 8 asterisks with nico club spelled as one word)


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## Lionheart (Oct 5, 2015)

Thanks for the link - is that definitely done on a Murano?

I think the big issue is that this engine is cam chains, so you cannot (I believe??) remove the cams without removing all of the engine timing chains, which is defo engine out.

It doesn't say what car he did the work on. Anyone know?


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