2005 Altima SE-R: Oil Pressure Switch Issue

[05graySER]

Originally Posted by Sily_Rabit

No, you will only loose a few ounces of oil when you take the switch out.

Thanks! Switched it out today a,nd works perfect.

[jdane65]

Mine started acting up last night. Pressure dropped off about 30 psi through entire range. Sits at zero or nearly zero at an idle when warm, but responds when the throttle is blipped...
Hopefully, a new switch will solve my problem too...

[Sily_Rabit]

An update to my situation. Besides the low oil pressure, I had a ticking\tapping noise at cold start up. Research on the forum showed that its common for the lower timing chain guide to fail, then the chain can't get tight enough even with the tensioner fully extended. There is an inspection cover on the timing chain case that you can remove and see this. So, I had the cover pulled and I'm getting the chains, tensioner and guides replaced. With the cover off, there were small pieces of a paper gasket found. These are part of oil seals on the back side of the rear timing chain cover. When these fail, you loose oil pressure. So, now I am getting the rear cover replaced while it's all apart. There is a good thread about the timing chain HERE. There is some good info about the oil seal HERE.
I'm not saying that everyone with low pressure issues has the same problem as me, but if you replace the switch and still have issues, it would be a good idea to pull the oil pan and take a look for parts of the oil seals.

[jdane65]

Thanks Rabbit!
Mine isn't making any noise at all. If the pressure switch doesn't work, I'll put a wet gauge on it to test the pump.
By the way, I have an 06 with 78000 miles. I get the oil changed on time and I use full synthetic.

[BomBay]

I've replaced 3. 125 k miles. It's easy and cheap.

[iceman_arc]

sounds simple enough. I saw ppl complaining about this in 08/09 and before frankly I am surprised my sensor made it THIS far, I've driven across the country 6 times across all sorts of terrains.

will get it ordered tomorrow when I get the mirror estimate.

thanks for the posts...

[jdane65]

Update on my loss of oil pressure.

Apparently, there are paper gaskets on the rear timing cover that are prone to blow out under high oil pressure. It's a known problem with the VQ35DE. Nissan has even redesigned the rear cover with metal gaskets and you can't buy the old paper gaskets from Nissan.
The replacement cover costs $153.23 at the dealer and the labor time to replace it is 14 hrs so, it's going to cost me $2700 to get my car fixed when you add in the $800 in additional parts that should be replaced while they are in there because of a design flaw with no offer of compensation from Nissan
See attached photo for location of gaskets. (circled in black)

[artm01]

What size or type of socket did you guys use to unbolt the sensor

[Sily_Rabit]

Originally Posted by jdane65

Update on my loss of oil pressure.

Apparently, there are paper gaskets on the rear timing cover that are prone to blow out under high oil pressure. It's a known problem with the VQ35DE. Nissan has even redesigned the rear cover with metal gaskets and you can't buy the old paper gaskets from Nissan.
The replacement cover costs $153.23 at the dealer and the labor time to replace it is 14 hrs so, it's going to cost me $2700 to get my car fixed when you add in the $800 in additional parts that should be replaced while they are in there because of a design flaw with no offer of compensation from Nissan
See attached photo for location of gaskets. (circled in black)

Just went through the same thing. I had to replace the entire rear cover. All back together and pressure is much better now. The gauge sits at the first mark even at warm idle now.

[jdane65]

Originally Posted by artm01

What size or type of socket did you guys use to unbolt the sensor

24mm Deep Well socket. Be careful with the plug and be ready for a little oil to come out. Make sure you use thread sealant on the new one.

[artm01]

Originally Posted by jdane65

24mm Deep Well socket. Be careful with the plug and be ready for a little oil to come out. Make sure you use thread sealant on the new one.

Thanks

[kjohnson2444]

I had the jumpy Oil Pressure gauge problem yesterday. Kudos to this thread for explaining the issue, making sure I got the right part, letting me know about that deep socket, and giving me some good advice. The only issue I had was the electrical connector was really stuck to the switch. Eventually the electrical unit broke off from the metal unit altogether. At that point I was able to pry it out of the plug.

[handyjoe]

This problem just started on my car last night. Before I order the RockAuto sensor, what is the life expectancy on this? Should I pay for the OEM what will last another 140k, or should I just buy the cheap one because there's no way a sensor will last that long?

Thanks everyone.

[way2fast91]

Terrific thread, was about to take the car to the shop this morning and then saw this. Replacing the switch fixed the issue for me, however when I was finishing tighten it down, the wrench slipped and knocked the plastic portion of the switch a little loose. It seems still work fine and I didn't notice any oil leaking from it. Does any one know if this can cause any issues if I leave it like that? I guess I could take the old one apart and see how the unit looks inside where the plastic connector portion attaches to the metal hex bolt in portion.