hi
does anyone know the valve clearances for the 1990 SE Maxima.
my engine is very noisy with valve clicking and it has about 120,000 miles on it, so i am figuring the valve lash needs to be adjusted.
also has anyone here already done this procedure?
i have done this to my 1992 Prelude VTEC, but im not sure what the clearances are for the maxima or if the procedure is the same for this engine.

~boom

 

Hydraulic valve lifters = NO adjustments required.

Noisy lifters usually require replacement. The oil has drained out of the lifter when the engine is shut off. Upon restarting, the oil is pumped back into the lifters and they quiet down.

Only noisy at startup and then it goes away? This won't hurt anything. If they are noisy all the time, then it's probably a good time for replacements.

Tim

 

Often the oil passages get clogged as do the lifters themselves..lack of oil leads to wear and so on. Mine do it too..140,000..done it since I bought it at 115,000. I tried all kinds of stuff..motor flush (basically kerosene, I don't recommend this for any engine especially high milage engine), thicker oil. I came to the conclusion that it isn't hurting anything (too badly..will tick like that for as long as you could ever keep these vg's running..a long long time), so best to run 10-40 in the summer, 10-30 in the winter and let it tick away. Damage is already done. Good reason for changing the oil in any car frequently. If the previous owner did it routinely, all the gummy crap that clogs lifters would never have developed.

 

I've had my 90SE since it was new. Always change the oil at about 3500 miles and the lifters still started to tick on restarts for a few seconds. Been doing this for 3-4 years I think, at least.

I don't think it's entirely related to not enough oil changes, but rather normal wear and tear of the lifters and everything else inside the engine.

I also use 10-40 now in the summer and 10-30 in the colder weather.

I'll probably let them tick away until the car rusts away (upstate NY) or the engine dies and I donate it to the junkyard!

I can't complain about this old SE.

Tim

 

The lifters are so easy to change. Then again, you'll have to pull the valve cover (install new gaskets), remove the rocker arm shafts (easy as pie and go in 2 loosening stages) then use a zip tie to keep the lifters at the top. Just be sure to lube the new lifters good and they run around $23-27 each.

 

I really never looked into changing them, but you are right, pretty easy. Why zip ties to keep them up top? Do you rotate the crank to get them at the top and remove them one at a time?

 

Try using a good motor flush anyway, its worth a try. get a good brand name like Gunk or STP. It'll help dissolve any crud and varnish that built up over the years. follow the instructions.

 

Yes, FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS very closely. Do not rev it up at all while that stuff is in there..just let er idle like the label says or youll eat bearings among other things

 

O, forgot to ask, What type of oil filter are you using?

b/c if it's El-cheapo then there is your culprite. A cheap oil filter like fram or wix or penzoil has a poorly made anti-drain back valve (do an org search as well as the web), so after you shut the engine off oil can (and will) drain out of the upper engine and then will take a long time to 'pump-up' the lifters when you restart.

Personally I'll only use the best filters on my engine, they are: AC delco Ultraguard gold (available at carparts.com), and the second is Mobile 1. These two filters will trap the finest particles circulating in the engine and have well made anti-drain back valves.

 

ok guys
thanx for the info, yea i wasnt sure if it used hydraulic lifters, on my honda it uses ramp tapets that contact the cam directly, and there are two cams, so adjusting the clearances on that were pretty easy (as long as you have a feeler gauge), plus i did it with my engine out of the car on my engine stand, so open work space wasnt a problem.
however the engine bay of the maxima doesnt look too tight, as far as space goes.
i know you guys are all maxima enthusiasts, but check out what im doing to my 1992 prelude engine wise...

http://savehondaprelude.hopto.org

~boom

 

I thought you were supposed to adjust valve lash on a warm engine?
(of course you have to get it close on a cold engine before you start it), but then warm it up for ~15 min or so, then shut it off and adjust lash again.
that's a little harder on most cars today as you can't get to the lifters without spending 1+ hours tearing the engine down. little hard to do at operating temp at that.

either way, my old mitsu 4 banger was easy to work on.. could asjust valve lash and have it back up and running in 10 minutes... but that was back in the days of mikuni 2 bbl carbs and fun stuff like that.

 

I've had this problem intermittently myself. I ran a bottle of CD2 oil detergent along with motor oil after two oil changes and it did help.
Whereas I was getting the clicking action about twice a week on start up, it hasn't clicked in several months now.

Question: How do you know which lifter is going bad? There's 12 lifters in the engine and that can add up $$ quickly.

I thought perhaps doing an entire bank of cylinder at a time if I do it. This way, I won't have to open up the same side again....

 

besically, you tear it down and individually look at the lifters and valves. if they have scarring/pitting on the faces or they are worn, then replace them. there's specs on them in the service manual.