I'm having a problem with my '92 5-Speed SE... there's a ticking noise when im running the engine, its not constant, it just comes and goes, but its very annoying... my father suggested that it was either the rocker arm or the lifter, and since the noise wasnt constant we concluded that it was the lifters... my question is have any of you had this problem and what exactly needs to be changed or replaced, b/c ive heard that its due to bad VTC's but im not completely sure if thats the case here... thanks for your help...

 

It's almost certainly your VTCs. They usually come and go. Mine does it sometimes when the car is warm, sometimes when it's cold.

 

What happens if you have a GXE and not ticking but not the quietest engine.......is there anyway to fix this?

 

dkris, try pouring a quart of Marvel Mystery oil into the engine about 1000 miles before your next change.. (make sure you're not going to overfill it though.. you may have to drain some oil out first)..

that's helped clear up a lot of top end noise on my car in the past. also use a GOOD oil filter with a proper anti-drainback valve.

 

thanks mat....where can i find this......and is it safe to use everytime?...it's not loud but it's not that quiet either.........thanks for the input

 

thanks, online i see a guide for rewiring the vtc solenoids to disable the vtc's altogether... do any of you know if there will be a noticeable power loss if i decide to take this route?

 

and i didn't notice any performance difference. i gunned it a few times through 1st and 2nd.... the car is a lot quieter now too!!!

matt

 

I think MrGone was telling me that you lose a bit of power at the lower end, but I can't remember if that's right.

He has his set up on a switch inside, so he can disable them at will (I thought that was genius and cool, BTW). When we drove it, he would just flip the switch when they acted up and then down the road a ways flip it back. Especially nice when VTCs ticked at a stoplight or something.

 

My 92' SE does the exact same thing. Mainly when cold and only on occasions. Funny thing is once you get out on the road and it warms up it stops. I've have also heard it's the VTC's and it probably is. I did notice the problem being less frequent when I went to a Synthetic blend oil. I'm not sure how that would make any difference though.

 

If your VTCs are just starting to tick, you can help prolong them by using a Toyota filter (look in the FAQs for the part number). It seems to have marginally helped mine, which tick pretty bad.

 

I think people have complained of a tiny loss of low rpm torque and a slightly rougher idle with the rewire. A good amount seem to have the noise stop or at least lessen. There seems to be alot of variety to results though. Definitely try the rewire as a possible cheap fix. I like the idea of wiring them to a switch inside the cabin. Do other cars with variable timing have this problem, or is it unique to the VE? What engine is in the Infiniti J30-I though it might have variable timing?

 

The q45 has variable timing as well