Nissan VC-TURBO BAD ALREADY? 2021 Rogue 1.5 3-Cylinder Engine Teardown
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- Опубликовано: 12 апр 2024
- To buy parts check out www.Importapart.com or email us at Sales@importapart.com
WELL WELL WELL! We have a very special engine on the stand today. After a hard search, I have finally found one of them variable compression turbo engines from Nissan. This is a KR15DDT 1.5L Turbocharged 3-cylinder with variable compression from a 2021 Nissan Rogue. I do NOT know mileage but from the looks of it, its not a super high mileage engine, as its only a few years old at the most. This teardown was pretty crazy. The top of the engine is fairly normal, but the bottom end is an engineering marvel! I really was impressed by the implementation of this technology however....adding all of these moving parts to cars that aren't that well taken care of is a recipe for future disaster. Is this failure going to be a common occurrence in the future? Should you avoid buying a vehicle with one of these engines? I'll let you make that call.
Why am I doing this? My name is Eric and I own and run Importapart, a full service auto recycling yard. Part of our model includes buying core and blown engines, dismantling them and selling the good parts. We do not rebuild engines, we merely sell parts to those who do.
I really hope you enjoyed this teardown. As always I love all of the comments, feedback and even the criticism! Catch you on the next one!
-Eric 
Авто/Мото
I haven’t seen a full teardown of a VC ever. This is really special. Js.
to bad my wallet is empty/poverty-4-covid/2023 😐 otherwise id be interested in buying the piston/rod's+to-actuator ( Nissan should do independent cylinder's-tunes rather than being linked-bar'd like this engine/video has it 😉 ) assembly as im looking/working on copyish ( vipers gen5 style and multi-air etc aka modernising it, o fyi im the 90's gen-kid so seeing boomer's as tunner-car's might have rubbed off on my taste's 😉 ) for my 2gen hemi dodge charger 7-speed, at least i got to see a video in the wild/shop but don't have anything for scales for parts sizing etc
@@richardprice5978that’s what it needs …
More independent electronic controls ?
Um no😂
@@fastinradfordable ECU is already doing the mathematics for pistons/PSI vs valve's vs fuel and spark, right now i bet it can notice it but can't do anything about it and or is tuning for the 💩lowest tune/cycle-cylinder as it's along for the ride just as my fixed 1970-setup 383BBM ( 727 auto ) was, people though in 1980's COP/dizzyless was a dumb idea ( as well as GDI and or FPI/EFI ) if even-possible but now spark is free from the rotor-cap and fixed-compromise's that comes with dizzy's and or mag's
so actually it might simplify + $$-as-software-is-cheaper-vs-mechanism's it as well as reducing specific parts like the bottom rod's+cam-thingie+extra-arm and stepper-motor, as the bottom row can be ball-screw+stepper's ( cloned/same parts inventory and less warehouse and dealerships space etc needed ) or hydroelectric controled ( in theory or at least im going to tryout shutting down pistons and skip-firing to remove pumping losses aka my-hemi-spec's ( other mathematics would also apply but i know/remember my math-works better even with some parts not being freshly done as iv been at it sense 2018~/started my turbocharged kit math and or had vandalism+theft that delay/derailment of some of my original ideas/work hence why the hemi-head's vs 906's etc ) 4.3-boreX4.5in-stroke=50Ci~ with-pie/3.2~... vs actuator-rod 1in X 5 = 15ci~ as well as valve's stays closedown as in multi-air and big-3/borg skipper-fire style lifter's, so there's still room for bigger/ie-v8's engine's and or MPG's ( my educated guess for mine is 20-30% so 383 best-possible was 30~mpg so new should be in the high 30's lower 40mpg aka 43mph@60mph~ no hybridisation/BEV, gasoline-mode-only active otherwise it's even higher ) with smaller cylinder-counts but being 3 already in the video 1-on means more loading and or boost/DA to get the same result/power-needs etc ), tune wise yes i did the maths at last for my setup and the back N-7&8 run hotter than 1&2/front-block cylinder's as well as torsional vibrations/fluctuating-loading and intake's and exhaust-manifold's aren't perfect in the real world as well as cynical-operation, go look at testing for nascar and rally and F1 and Harley v2 and there willingness to focus on in cylinder-temp+PSI and vibration's/NVH 50hp~ difference also noteworthy that changes in independent cylinders CR-ratio can reduce pressure/nocking after it's started/chain-knocking/pre-ignitions depending on how quickly the process works like ECU sensing and maths and actuators etc
@@fastinradfordable slightly different topic someone asked me about my setup and if it could be done on a 440RB ( and different guy asked for a chevy 350 or small-block-mopar or ford 🤔 ? sorry fuzzies memory bit ) without being electronically controlled ( and on a carb and mag etc aka 1960's era themed ) and yes it's possible to use oil-PSI ( hard part about part-adjustment is knowledge about locations and or cluttered relays boxes ect as seeing for 1/2 or 1/8th etc way comes tricky to get results-reliably on 1950's era-tech and fit under the dashboard etc, as yes they could use a copy* of mine/rod's/short-build but it meant for a ECU/2014-up era's ) and switching off and on aka max-high ( there maximum they wanted was ~12:1 aka C116/meth racing gasoline ) and maximum low 8:1 ( for crapy pump gasoline ) setting or using bolts and a wrench 🔧 ( as changing the rod's+side-plate fixed-oil-pan like a 1920~ camshaft chest or ball/hime-joint's+pan-anker-points/hight up and down less messy way but more spots for oil-leaks as bolt/nut-head's sticking out to the roadway/bottom-side etc ) to adjust it while parked
cable or rod's might work but that's clutters the dashboard and bay and also a weaker adjustable system but then if your not distracted to much at least it can be done at speed/cruising setting
Nissan dealership tech here. We had a 2022 Rogue come in with rod knock. The car never even had its first oil change. Only had roughly 6,600 KM
thats why i bought the 2.5 not turbo with a proven engine wish we had the diesel here in the US
Same cylinder????
Any thoughts by Nissan on pinning the centre bearing shells to prevent spin???
Yea i immediately understood the bearing are severly under engineered or cheap
@@lutomson3496Diesel is neat, but so many of them are so expensive to maintain in the long run. So much expensive emissions hardware and content. Plus, the MPG isn’t what it used to be years ago. Tough business case to make.
Eric, Nissan Master Tech here. I have two of these at my shop right now awaiting engines with under 12k on both of them. There seems to be quite the problem considering there was 80 units back ordered in the northeast area.. Love all you videos. Patiently waiting for the VR6 tear down. One of my favorite engines ever made.
And even then, a customer who isnt a rental company gets a new motor. Pretty good customer service
Yeah, but does anyone know why? Insufficient oiling? Flex? I assume that, aside from this one tear down vid, all other engines will be examined by Nissan, so that they can make changes. We'll never hear what the cause was.
The vr6 heads are fascinating engineering, and they make such a cool unique sound
@thomasbird1463 The two that I have are actually both for rental car companies funny enough.
Is the problem inadequate lubrication?
The ghost of Rube Goldberg smiles.
Exactly! 😂
No lie there for sure!! You're right!! Lmao!
😂😂😂
The spirit of Rube lives on in every Nissan 1.5 Variable compression engine.
Heath Robinson shakes his head, muttering "That'll never work. They left out the pre-oiler, post-oiler, tea kettle and mousetrap." 🤦♂
It's not the carnagefest we normally turn in for but taking a close look at some really alien looking pieces from that variable compression setup is a treat.
Man do I love the bearing sea, don't you?
Can you see Russia from where you are? ;)
@@iamalittlepepper 😂
@@iamalittlepepper"the 1980's called, Mit......they want their foreign policy back"
The world's smartest man, probably
@@iamalittlepepper Probably
I have to tip my hat to the engineers who created this engine. From a technological point of view, it is very impressive. Now, owning one is a whole nother animal. The more complex the machine, the more points of failure.
And that is why BEVs will rule in the near future, a whole lot less moving parts , and that is why legacy auto is scared of them , imagine all the lost revenue for not having ICE maintenance and oil changes!
Nissan was all like "Yo dawg, i heard you like con-rods so i designed a con-rod that connects to your con-rod..."
You were wondering what holds the pivot pin for the VC actuator arm in place: it's that bracket at 27:48.
You could almost jump rope with those extensions Eric.
I won’t try it.
I might try it
@@I_Do_Cars well make sure to video it if you do.
@@I_Do_Carsdo it! 😅
I'll sell tickets!! 8--)
😂
That variable compression control shaft and links is a work of art. But a 3-cylinder with more rod bearings than a 6-cylinder doesn't sound like a good idea.
Small 3 cyl with turbocharging, direct injection, variable valve timing AND variable compression pulling a heavy suv. That poor thing!
This eco friendly downsizing is not so eco friendly in the long run.
200 bhp from a 1.5 would be unheard of outside of racing just 10 years ago.
My car made 181bhp 10 years ago out of a 1.5 so pretty close, i would've rather had a 2.5 n/a or 2.0t
200hp isnt a poor little thing... most suvs weigh less than most cars, 2016 rougues were small? until 2020 or so, made em bigger and i no longer wanted one
Weight has nothing to do with the stress of the engine directly
@@nilssjoberg2522 it kind of does, when an engine has to pull more weight it's usually at higher Rpm and Load
That loose pin you were concerned about connecting the actuator arm was retained by the small 'cover' you removed first under the oil pan. I agree with your comment; engines this complex have no business in inexpensive cars, unless the technology is bulletproof. I guess we have the answer to that. Thanks Eric, for your consistently good work finding us new content.
I saw this, also. Eric was lifting it off, couldn't see those to ears extending on either side of that, er, wrist pin.
Too complex. Poor engineering of materials, tolerances, and lubrication. This is junk.
Yeah when they were initially talking about putting the well engineered versions in Infinitis, it made sense. When their cost cutting department got wind of it they were better off just binning the whole idea!
I'm a rental fleet mechanic and back in '21 we had a rogue with less than 1k miles developed a bad misfire so we sent it to the dealer. The tech there said he found a smashed spark plug so they consulted Nissan and they had him replace them all and shipped it. That fix confused me but I put it back out on rent. Less than 1k miles later it was back for an engine knock and the dealer replaced the engine. I believe we had 2 more make a mess of the bed and they got new engines also that year. It's cool to see how it works (or is supposed to work) and confuses me even more why replacing the plugs was supposed to be a fix. Glad you got one to tear down and now I hope I never have to get into the guts of one.
Nissan didn't (or maybe DID) know what was happening and basically said "Turn it off then turn it on again"..with new spark plugs....
hoping maybe a renter would then total the car before more went wrong......
Were the failures you know of also the centre bearing???? (Going by the smashed sparkplug location)
The rotating mass has got to be tough on the bearings
@@markntexas8265 That's probably the best explanation for it. And 8:1 verses 14:1 compression changes with turbo pushing it along. I'm astonished this was not fully understood to be a problem in developmental testing, given a 3-cylinder screamer crank is typically in natural balance. But this does not seem to be a screamer. ... hmmm.
Maybe they put in shorter electrode plugs
THe 21 Rogues did NOT have this VC engine discussed here, it was not even a turbo.
I googled this engine Eric. The NHTSA are currently doing an investigation into both the 1.5 and 2.0l. Due to link and bearing failure. I think they may well have a problem.
"The more complicated the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain" - Engineer Montgomery Scott
The VC must also stand for very complicated. That engine is bananas.
2022 was the first year for the Rogue with this engine. We have a 2023, and it's making a noise on start up at 10k miles already on it's 3rd oil change. Nissan says everything is good. Got lifetime warranty on the engine, and trans. Warranty is going to hate us.
Fuck yeah they are 😂 you’ll be going thru an engine a year the way those run
@trikksster my coworker has 70k miles on hers and no issues
@@occckid123 and I’ve seen 5.4 tritons make 300k. Doesn’t make them good engines overall
@trikksster well I guess we will see down the line. The platinum trim is made in Japan but it seems even the lower grades are made in Japan now. Must be a supplier issue on a part. That's what the investigation is about. Something during the manufacturing process...
@@occckid123 it’ll take some years for sure but I think I speak for most mechanics when I say we are skeptical 😂
I'm sure everyone has figured this out, but as to the link names:
A = Actuator
C = Control
L = Lower
U = Upper
I cannot help but think of what Saint-Exupéry said about perfection as I watch the disassembly of this engine. "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away".
If you can achieve what they want to achieve with less complexity I am certain they'd love to hear from you. I'm not arguing with the concept, but it leaves out the fact that some things we want to do are complex and difficult to achieve elegantly.
...within the context of your goals.
That sounds like Colin Chapman's philosophy.
By that argument, a single-cell organism is more perfect than an overly complicated human being... they achieved 37mpg out of a big heavy SUV with 225ftlbs of torque on only 87octane fuel. That's hybrid levels of efficiency out of an ICE, that's pretty impressive and requires more complexity.
@@cageordienonsense. This is complexity for complexities sake. This is what you get when companies that only reverse engineer or license technology do their own R&D.
Yep the Nissan VC sounded like a bad idea the first time I read about it. And let's pair it with a JatCo CVT ⛔
Wonder where the adult was when this thing was developed. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. This thing has to cost more to manufacture than the 4cyl it replaced. I used to think Nissan's were ok...
Driven the Rogue many thousands of miles as a rental. This is a very interesting engine. Just completed a trip in Colorado where I did nearly 900 miles. Averaged 31 mpg. Engine makes great power in high boost low compression mode. Wish it had another cylinder. Can’t speak to its reliability. The CVT is already suspect.
Since I retired, this is what I do on Saturday night. But, every night is Saturday night. I was rebuilding engines and transmissions in 1972. Does that make me awesome? No. That makes me a mechanic. And, that is awesome.
My father quit being a car mechanic in 1972. With much foresight, he said, I hate flat rates, and I hate electronics. He became a CEO driver. Now, he said, I am sitting inside the car, instead of under it or inside the engine bay. He was a perfectionist. He worked slow, but made no major mistakes. No come backs in his shop. But times were against him, cudos that you survived.
I had no clue variable compression was a legit thing until tonight, thanks for the knowledge!
On the positive side, Nissan has improved the perceived durability of their CVT's by designing an engine that will fail before the transmission. 😔
Awesome tech tip! Rounded bolt? No problem. Just peen it over enough to fill the socket. Genius!
Yeah, interesting. I think, his father was a mechanic, so he grew up with this stuff.
@edrannou3914 Another tip is to dip your socket in some water. Then dip socket in some beach sand. The water is only used to help the sand cling to the socket. Push in hard on the socket as your attempt to remove bolt cuz you don't want it to try to torque out any amount.
Depending where you're working, obviously you don't want sand residue falling just anywhere so a bunched up oil soaked rag underneath can help collect residue. This trick can work on Allen head, torx, even normal screwdriver tips. 👍
@@user-3tf67bk46u Water and sand sounds like too much work. We just dip the socket or screwdriver bit in some valve lapping compound. Fast and easy, and works well. You're also less likely to end up with some sand where it should never be.
What a tremendous amount of rotating mass.
I picked up a 2023 Rogue with this engine in mid August 2023. Currently have about 6000 miles on it, (old retired guy here), This is why I leased it. Thanks for your informative video,
Boy that sounds like good idea. Leasing
Yeah, easy way out of it at lease end. Issues become someone elses when they buy it at an auto auction! LOL
Eric regularly watch your you tube channel on your engine tear downs. Quite therapeutic to me to watch your skills and abilities to dismantle these modern engines that are frightening in their complexity. This one is exceptionally bad who in the fcuk thought variable compression was a good thing on a utility 3 cyl engine. That and the Ford (and others) thought a wet “rubber “ belt was a good idea. Keep doing your tear downs love to watch. Dave from Scotland UK
"I do like the fact that they give you a place to pry everywhere."
It's almost like they expected the engine to fail.
Ever since I first seen the animations of these engines almost 10 years ago, i yearned for the day id get to see one torn down in the real world. For the longest time i actually kind of forgot about them and occasionally would remember them and go watch the animations again. I know VC technology has been done before in the past (I.E Saab in the early 2000s) but unfortunately I was only 3 years old then GM scrapped that project, and I think its cool seeing such a unique engine actually being used in the real world. Im glad you finally found one, im one of the many people that has requested one 🙂
I love when Eric say "this will all be fine" using a ten foot driver.
I was wondering if you'd even be able to FIND one of these. Reason I say that is because I used to work at a Nissan dealer and I was told that we (Nissan dealers) were replacing these left and right. One of the master techs showed me a thrust bearing from an engine he had partially torn down to diagnose; somehow the thrust bearing walked out the front crank seal (his words; I never saw the engine it came out of so I cannot disprove what he said). I was also told by one of Nissan's trainers that these engines were originally built in Japan, with no issues, then production switched to Decherd, Tennessee, and that's when the problems apparently started, which makes me think it was a local supplier issue; any Rogue currently on dealer lots will have an engine out of Japan, though I'm not entirely sure when the change occurred.
I had also speculated that the failures they were seeing might be because people were running the engines too far on the break-in oil (the so-called 'Oil Control System' will let the car go nearly 10k miles before it says to change the oil; I programmed the manual reminder for 3k or 5k on EVERY Rogue I did a PDI on); the aforementioned master tech did say that all of the bad engines he had seen hadn't even had their first oil change yet, so there might've been something to it. I can't tell you the number of Rogues I put 5W-30 in, even though this engine calls for 0W-20 and 0W-20 ONLY (the writers at the dealer I was at never put their feet down and explained to customers that this engine wasn't one of the Nissan engines where you could run 5W-30 in it); I wonder if that might've had something to do with it; I also couldn't tell you the number of Rogues I saw without the manual oil change reminder programmed. I personally would not take a Rogue with this engine much past 5k miles on an oil change because of the overall complexity of this design.
This engine and its brother, the KR20DDET, are under investigation by the ODI for failures, and the master tech I was talking to said he had heard whispers of a stop-sale, but that hasn't happened as yet. I will also say that when you start a Rogue with this engine, it sounds very odd, like it doesn't want to turn over. I don't know if that's normal 3-banger acoustics or if it's related to the variable compression mechanism. Both engines don't feel as unique as you'd think to drive, either (part of me would like to see how a KR20 does when mated to a fixed ratio auto, or a manual). I also saw a few of these with the exhaust VVT solenoid(s) leaking; never got an explanation as to why.
1:32 the VC-Turbo engines didn't come online until the 2019 model year for this market.
I did not work at the Decherd engine plant, but I did work at the Smyrna, TN production plant for a few years before moving out-of-state for a career change; & I would never personally buy nor drive a Nissan. The amount of acceptable errors on the production line is a little sickening, and the line supervisors are all fine with it because the corporate culture in the factory is just so highly competitive and cost/time-oriented that it looks better for them to send errors out of their production zone than to flag a unit for a mistake. I could only imagine the pain and trouble Nissan dealer service techs have to go through every time they have to remove the dozens of underbody plastic trim screws on a Rogue or Leaf just to find a cross-threaded subframe bolt. It's probably not even a Nissan thing, I'd bet the US OEM cars still built in the USA suffer from the same lack of work ethic and care for the consumer. Nissans are just low quality vehicles nowadays, I wouldn't invest my money or safety in them.
@@propertyrights907 oof. How long ago was that?
That's why a simple engine will aways outrun these modern craps
That is not a normal sound for a 3 cylinder. My mother has a Buick Envista with the 1.2L Turbo and it turns over quickly and starts instantly. Maybe they are using the same size starter as one of the non-VC engines and it is too heavily loaded?
@@theodorgiosan2570 Couldn't tell you. No one said anything about it while I was there so I presumed that that was how it was supposed to sound.
That creaking sound as you undo the head bolts reminds me of the sound my knees and back make in the morning :)
I can relate 😂😂
Yep I'm due for a fusion mines that bad I hear you
and afternoon, and evening, and night. i thought Snap Crackle and Pop had retired to my knees when I was in my 30's
I believe that Eric could sell the sound of those head bolts to a movie Foley artist. It sounds exactly like what a door hinge that has been rusted together for years would sound.
The bolt noises make me feel good, because popping my back feels good.
The more complicated the engine, the harder they have to work, the quicker they die. What good is "36 MPG!" when your motor kills itself? Zero MPG isn't all that efficient.
In the words of the late Montgomery Scott "The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain".
Yes, I tell everyone that. I prefer a 5mpg v8 that lasts 500k miles than a engine that makes 50mpg and 5000 miles
I have heard corvette owners getting good hwy mileage out of them
@@paulv2411 if my grandmother had wheels she'd be a wagon. great quotes, long live james doohan and deforest kelly. exceptional actors and great sense of humor
They don't even need to do it to get 36 MPG. Toyota went the right way with their hybrids.
Eric : "This is the C-link,"
My brain: Sea Link? I thought they went bust.
Eric: "There is some wear . . ."
My brain: . . . over the rainbow.
It's rare to find something that is both entertaining and informative at the same time. This was easily the most interesting video you've posted to date. This teardown was amazing to watch. Kudos to Nissan for being innovative, and thanks to you Eric for bringing innovation to the masses.
Nissan Rogue - Rube Goldberg Edition
Truer than you'll ever know.
How about we just call them Nissan Rubes instead?
They never intended these to be opened. By making an engine so complex that the average consumer would have no chance at fixing it, they get to not only charge more for the replacement parts due to complexity but also ensure that you can only go to them when it breaks.
The average consumer can't change their own oil
All modern engines are designed to preclude user serviceability. They want you to see how much of a pain it's going to be to do anything with it, and have that motivate you to take it to the dealer to pay their exorbitant fees to get anything done.
My mom is car shopping and she just mentioned Rogue, and I was like "nope".
That engine should win the Rube Goldberg award for unnecessary complexity. "Get fancy, get f**ked"
I grew up in the fifties and started working on engines in the sixties. The engines were garbage, but they were easy to understand and easy to work on. The huge amount of stuff that they hang on engines today sure make much more horsepower, and better mileage, but it seems as if they are much more difficult to work on.
So that's the choice, do you want easy but frequent or hard but infrequent?
@@alro2434 infrequent like the three year old engine that he tore down yesterday?? That was ruined?
Take it to the dealer. 😂 (cha-ching)
They are built to last ulntil the warranty expires
@@gabrielv.4358 I seem to remember that the warranties were a bit longer back then.
I applause the innovation and clever design. Can’t make progress without some failures.
You applaud the innovation, but would you buy one? Not sure I’d want to be the first kid on the block with one
@@richtes Ha, no. I don’t need the headache and cost that comes with being a new tech beta tester. But I can still admire it :)
VAG uses her customers to try new technology. Google 1.4 tsi
If they could make it reliable this is such an amazing engine. But Nissan will never figure out how.
You know what other engine won a Ward's Ten Best Engine Award? The MINI N14! LOL!
The BMW N54 also made it on the list several years in a row despite being absurdly unreliable and expensive to own even back in '07 when they first came out. Those lists tend to prioritize engines with massive technological advancements over everything else and that usually doesnt go hand in hand with reliability
@@lukewest708 True. What looks good on paper doesn't always pan out in real life!
@@lukewest708 back in the day the GM 3800 made that list multiple times and it was far from super high tech. just a good old pushrod cast iron v6 with waste spark ignition, even in it's day it wasnt super advanced..... it was super reliable and delivered good fuel economy for a large 6 cylinder.
sometimes that wards list correctly selects the most reliable engines for that day. i still have 2 3800 powered cars, one of them is supercharged.... aside from some really cheap and simple maintenance items they are bulletproof. mostly intake gaskets, coolant heater elbows ( factory are plastic replace with metal it's one and done), and valve cover gaskets.
i dont drive my 97 grand prix or 2003 bonneville SSEi in the winter, they just dont make them like this anymore. my winter car is a 2022 crosstrek 6 speed manual.
😂🤣
MINI - one of the worst cars you can buy.
Engine was very clean inside. So, it wasn't a lack maintenance or oil starvation that made it fail.
Your point makes sense, but if a fairly new engine was quickly starved of oil (no evidence of why in this case), that would explain the damage.
The only thing I could think of is the engine being under-filled with oil at the factory, or the oil pickup being too high (which I doubt such a major thing would get overlooked).
Either way I've wanted to see this technology used for years, and although I'm happy it made into production, I'm very sad to see how poorly it got executed from the other comments on how often this happens.
Most of it was clean, the pistons were quite nasty around the ring area.
@@DonziGT230 Maybe a turbo problem !!!
@@garyalford9394 Pretty unlikely since the spark plugs and combustion chambers were fairly clean.
Pistons looked like they had burnt oil on them to me !!
3:12 a burp followed by a fart😂😂😂
That's a man's engine
Buahahahaaa!😂😂😂
Always blame it on the dog
Variable compression is a nice idea in theory. The implementation of it seems to come with many difficult side effects.
It’s like the V-22 Osprey
The funny part for me is, all the complexity and added failure vectors it introduces don't really give you that much back in return even compared to modern offerings in a comparable price point. 181hp is a lot...but not really. 25mpg is a lot...but not really. I may be the fuddy-duddy in the bunch, but if I've got that much gadgetry waiting to go bad at any second, I either want 450+ horsepower, or 50+ mpg to pay me back while I wait for the big clunk. Rule #1 for me is simple; if there are added failure vectors, they must be countered by enough benefits to outweigh their risk. This gadget reminds me a lot of the 8-6-4 Caddy engines; a novelty that will be looked upon long-term more as a pain in the ass than as an actual benefit.
@tjfritts9013 variable compression would do more about emissions than necessarily mpg
the v864 is just dod it's still in active use to this day not a novelty
@@tjfritts9013 Yep. And the V8-6-4 "Gadget" gave GM a black eye that took a long time to fade away. Not all innovation is good.
This Nissan engine will be Nissan's black eye to last for quite some time... It's laughable. I would not buy one.
I have been a tradesman for 40 years and I still work at the age of 63 physically and I find it very humorous that you actually talk to your work. I talk to my work. Can't help it. My work talks to me first.
That is a vastly overcomplicated engine, but some really neat ideas. Thanks for showing us this. New stuff to learn, new and interesting ideas, just what I love to see in YT.
Look at the amount of stuff to be able to get variable compression. I can't imagine the added performance equals the bother
Thank you for getting this and taking the time to show this. Truly unique!
Always enjoy watching you teardown a engine. Love to hear those bolts "snap" when you break them loose. Great job as always.
We all better enjoy our Vice Grip Garage now, cuz it won't be too long until there's just no way to save 40-50yr old cars like he does from the 70s and 80s
The same thing people have been saying for the last hundred years and more.
EV revivals would manage to be both boring and expensive
"I simply replaced the battery and it runs like it was parked yesterday"
Yes, the old cars of today will still be running when the cars of today became the cars of yesterday
Excellent!! I was intrigued to see how this works. Thanks for taking one of these apart.
As a kid in the 70s & 80s I watched/helped my dad tear down & fix mini 1100 engines. This was hugely interesting, thank you for the effort😀
Love the tear down, especially your observations and points to consider. You've elevated your videos to a higher level again. Thank you.
I work at a Nissan dealer as a parts advisor. I've never seen one of these engines go bad. But thank you for tearing it down. Its very very interesting to see.
Cool engine! thanks for the tear down and posting Eric! Love the channel!
I really appreciate seeing these new engines it helps me understand what we’re buying and the nightmares we have to repair
Finally! I've been waiting so long. Definitely gonna watch after work.
I have been waiting for you to get into one of these VC turbo engines. I enjoyed it, thanks for all the good camera angles!
What kills me, look how high the drain plug is "up" in the lower pan... It looks like at least half a quart to a quart could easily remain during a drain...
Noticed that also!! Don't know why they do that!! 🤔
Yep, saw that too. Plug should be on the bottom, not the side.
Good thing they have those long-ass oil change intervals to make up for it. ((✊🏻))🙄
I assume so a regular oil change doesn't let any oil drain out of the pickup, so the next engine start still has oil pressure. That tiny pump has a lot of oil galleys and bearings to feed
@@viperidaenz1 interesting 🤔
I arrive quite early into the release of this video so yay. Am glad for these videos, I enjoy them as they are quite nice. (i personally like taking apart things typically when given the chance.)
Soooo happy you posted this. Was just talking to my coworker a few days ago saying I wanted to see you do one of these.
Excellent presentation of the variable compression! I like how you spent the time to show it working, and not working.
Interesting engine to say the least glad you got one to show us the inner workings of
Great video Eric! It is so fun to see the construction of this engine, it !looks like a recipe for a short lifespan in in terms service.
Thanks for posting Eric and Co.
Such an interesting engine. Thank you for sharing its tear-down.
The extensions 😂 LOL, thank you for the attempt and the rounded head fix demo😎
I enjoy your channel. Thanks from the west coast!
Really enjoyed this teardown, it was great to see one of a VC engine. Thanks very much Eric.
1) Thank you for the tear down of a VC engine, adds a great deal of understanding to the various animations on YT.
2) Others have mentioned the astonishing short life for this engine. None the less, not at all satisfactory.
Thank you!
This was awesome to see.
Neat to see the variable compression disassembled, thanks 👍
Wow, what an engine. 3 cylinder engines are hard to balance for primary balance. A variable rod linkage changes secondary balance as well. The engineering to make this design work is crazy.
My opinion on VC engines is the Jurassic Park one. The engineers were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.......
love those new engine teardown
Wow, what an unorthodox engine!
I would have never known about the existence of this engine had it not been for your video, sir!!
Thanks for the continuing education your provide for us, your subscribers every Saturday night!!!
I sell auto parts for a living, and I've never heard of this engine either!
@@ivertranes2516 go look at a cam-in-cam lolz 😂have one for my v8 off a gen5-viper to copy/mod to fit my dodge engine, anyways iv knowledge about this but this is the 1st video in a aftermarket shop/wild=VR and also my local guy's didn't know about was this or muiti-air or my camshaft or VR-tech in fact i showed my camshaft as i was trying to get phasers/bolts for it and they thought 💭it was broken lol 😂nope my LSA can move maximum-parts ( tuning needs less and or im probably should put limiter-bar's in etc ) 20* to 40~* change on top off VVT/main-timing gear-kit/mod
@@ivertranes2516 Ist the CV trans now the 3cyl engines !!!
Thanx for showing the VC in such a detail. Really cool!
That was a fascinating breakdown. It’s interesting to see something unique like this. Thanks!
Ratchet extension on the tensioner... CLASSIC!
the ongoing snackpack background gag is beautiful btw
Is somebody sending them in or is it an Adam Sandler thing or what?
I watch every one of these videos, and I've never seen a snack pack hiding. Where is it in this video?
@@meanderinorangesthere's a case on the shelf behind him during the intro
@@yeahitskimmel awesome, thanks! I have a whole new thing to look for. 😀
Snack pack should really be paying him for that because it makes me want one every time I see it!
Great vid! In my time of engineering, 45 years of making machinery from scratch, we sometimes got to point in a design that things were not doing what we thought they should, and back to the drawing board literally! Adding stuff to fix other stuff, we called it 'wigwaming' - this engine is a proper wigwam! It does the job, but far too much stuff to get there - I would not wish to have one, but seing it opened is a real gas!
Immense! Loved every second aswell Eric, thanks. 👍
Been interested in these engines since they came out and was curious about bearing wear. This teardown answers my questions. Way too much stress on the bearings.
There's just too much going on in that engine. Plain and simple. Everything is becoming so throw-away due to over-complication. It's kinda ridiculous. Interesting looking guts, for sure! Nice job, Eric, figuring out how to disassemble that Rube Goldberg device!
Its not complication without cause. The Rogue and Equinox are virtually identical in size and weight. The Chevy 1.5T makes 35hp less, 41ftlbs of torque less, and 5mpg less... that's a HUGE improvement by Nissan over a much bigger competitor that has way more resources for R&D.
Been reading about variable compression since the 70's. I'm probably wrong, but I never saw it in production till now - and it sure was under the radar! Never heard a whisper until my favorite engine channel put it on display. My thought is that most people who have this engine don't even know it. Great video!!
I think its by design. All the consumer cares about is that it makes 225ftlbs of toque on 87 octane while getting 37mpg on the highway in a big SUV, which is quite amazing. They also managed to eliminate turbo lag, which is also surprising considering how big the turbo is, and because its a muffled (from the turbo) 3-cylinder it actually sounds more like a V6 when you floor it. They even put fake shift points on the CVT to trick people into thinking its a traditional automatic. So most people will just think it has a V6 under the hood with a regular transmission, which isn't a bad thing to feel.
Finally, I’ve been hoping you’d get ahold of one. I’d been reaching out to old dealers looking! I left the brand right after this engine launched. I never seen it fail but had a hunch exactly what you found was going to happen. The twins and I needed something to sit down to tonight. Keep it up!
Subaru H6?
Outstanding video
That was a very interesting Tear down. I've never seen anything like that either.
I don't know if I wanna own something like that.
I like something I can work on.
Wow that's some cool tech stuff inside... Thanks Eric, and that was definatly some interesting stuff inside that engine, 1.5 Liters Making 200 HP, I bet it was torquey too... Thank you again Eric,it's not Saturday without a tear down video...
It is, 225ftlbs from 2,800rpm and up, and that's on 87 octane, and while getting 37mpg on a big SUV on the highway. My old 4.0 liter V6 in my Jeep took more RPMs, made way less power, and was way less efficient. Even by modern standards, if we compare it to the virtually identical size/weight Equinox, the Chevy 1.5T makes 35hp less, 41ftlbs less, and 5mpg less. Nissan went complicated, but it did produce measurable results.
@@BoopSnoot But at what cost
@@gabrielv.4358 about tree fiddy
That was a pretty darn cool teardown! Some good technology there, just needs some improvement in the future. Thanks!
Thank you for this, I had no idea this VC technology even existed!
The decision to go forward with this Rube Goldberg contraption which offered only marginal if any real world efficiency gains is, weird. I can appreciate the effort but can't understand why.
Nissan should have called it "cranktronic" just to make BMW jealous
While it is a super cool system from an engineer's perspective, I feel as though the design's tolerance for the average Nissan Rogue/Altima owner's maintenance schedule is fit to guarantee a short service life for these engines.
They were crapping out before their first oil change...one at 6600kms......
All those parts Eric tosses are going up in value as ICE powered vehicles disappear from production. 10, 15 years from now Eric just may regret not labeling and saving most of those parts. But I do really like your tear down videos. They have taught me a lot. Thanks.
Yeah, I was like you. I’ve never seen one of these taken apart pretty interesting for what I’ve read on this engine. They are pretty robust and yes, I do believe that the sleeves are coded. Great video.
It’s like they want to see how many customers they can screw over before they finally go out of business. Somehow their CVTs didn’t set the bar low enough. What an abomination.
Yep, abomination is the perfect term for this. All that complexity and extra resources that could have been better used to just build a 2 litre that would last.
My old Suzuki Swift Turbo 3cyl, now that was an awesome engine!
I miss that car!
I miss mine too!
Wow - back in the 90's?
It's actually a really cool technology to get high compression efficiency when off boost. SAAB actually had a Variable Compression engine design project engine back around 2000, but it involved the HEAD actually moving! They dropped it due to costs... which makes sense. Having the whole head move just sounds like a long term reliability nightmare.
I've never heard of this engine until I watched this but I wouldn't want to own anything with one. Thanks for another great teardown.