JDwyer2821

Now do I have to get both replaced when I here a tick or is it just one? How can I tell which one? Would a mechanic know? They would not automatically replace both if only one failed?

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

Considering how expensive they are, just one. But many opt to replace both becuase of the labor costs. You can tell which one by putting your ear near each clyinder bank.

93 SE

all this vtc talk is scaring me...it makes my mind play games with me when i drive,im not sure if i hear ticking or not

93 SE

oh btw..ya think pro-long would be good for the car

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

Pro-Long? No. Definately not.

JDwyer2821

the guy said he had the vtcs fixed 60000 miles ago for $600, do you think he had only one replaced and now the other is failing? Is that about how much one costs?

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

Hard to say. It's possible. The front side is alot easier to get at than the back side. The costs are covered here.
http://www.geocities.com/maximamike/nvcs-bible.html

One side would cost about $600 more or less I guess.

JDwyer2821

Is there any way to slow down the ticking from happening more often? I am going to change to full synthetic today, would that help and should I let the car warm up before driving?
Thanks jon

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

You could try an engine flush but I have no experience w/ this.

JDwyer2821

if you let it get worse and worse what will it do to your engine?

JDwyer2821

I went and got a qoute at my local nissan dealer and the guy said it would run me about $800 for both. He said the failure is from not changing the oil on time!

Maxmann

I have this condition with my 93 SE. It was repaired at about 57k miles (previous owner). I have 130k on it now and the ticking is back (was back @ 114k when I bought the car). Scared me, so I did a lot of research. Bottom line, is I was told by multiple dealers that I questioned about this that they have never seen any car engine fail due to this problem. In fact, the noise is typically what drives people in for the repair, not mechanical failure.

I have also been told by these dealers cost to repair ranging from $1400 to $1800 or more. I began having the dealer change my oil. Previous owner used off the shelf filters...not good. If you do it yourself, ensure you have the Nissan filter which supposedly has a valve which prevents oil from draining out of it. It was designed for the VE30DE engine and this feature is supposed to help oil get up to the VTC quicker upon start up, minimizing wear. True, lack of oil change could contribute to deterioration, but it is NOT the sole cause of the problem. Whoever told you that is someone to avoid.

I have added oil treatment to my crankcase. Can't vouch for improvement, but it may slow down the process. One dealer also suggested 1/4 cup transmission fluid to the oil mixture, theoretically helps to loosen grime which causes failure and noise. Tried that, too.

Mine makes the ticking intermittently, but for now, I can live with it, and about the only harm it does (aside from embarassment) is rob us of low-end torque. To drop the bucks on the repair when there is no noticeable impact on driveability is, in my opinion, a waste of your money. This is obviously a part that fails after or around every 50-60k. The dealer that did the initial repair was surprised it was back, because he thought that the replacement parts would last. Well, they are wrong.

So, if you can live with the ticking periodically, save your cash, and turn your radio up. If you keep the car long enough, the day will come when you can't stand it anymore, but for me, that's a long time off, yet.

Good luck. srm

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

srmtn

Yes the special oil filter designed for the Nissan engines that feature nvcs is a good idea. I happen to run a Toyota filter that also has the anti-drain back valve that maintains the oil pressure in the motor after you shut it down. That is what helps get the oil up to the heads faster when you start it up.

But regular oil changes are VERY necessary(better with synthetic oil). Reason? You CANNOT allow sludge to build up in the tiny oil passages that feed the upper head valvetrain(and vtc assemblies) If it does get gummed up, it will starve the VTC assemblies of oil and wear out the springs.

Most of this info and more is available on the page that I wrote and MaximaMike was kind enough to host.
http://www.geocities.com/maximamike/nvcs-bible.html

Maxmann

I did not mean to imply that you could neglect your oil changes. That is essential part of maintenance for any car...even more essential for these. All I said was that it is not the ONLY cause for the VTC failure and any dealer that will assert that as an excuse is wrong. This car I have was serviced regularly at the dealer where the original owner bought it, yet it had to have the repair at less than 60k. So, on its own merit, regular oil change is not going to prevent the failure. I change my oil faithfully, and I can always tell when it is time because the occurrence is more frequent. EVERYONE reading this should have sense enough to know you gotta change the oil.

Thanks. srm

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

IMHO after doing this repair myself and butting heads w/ the "nissan qualified mechanic" - oxymoron statement, I've come to the conclusion that keeping the oil passages clean is the overriding most important thing to preventing the VTC failure(if these failures are even preventable in the first place w/ the early designs) I would conclude that even oil filter the VTC would be okay as long as the oil passages were clean. But every little bit of protection helps and using the correct oil filter is important.

So I do agree w/ you, but maybe disagree on the importance level. Which I classify as:
1) Regular oil changes. (keep passages clean)
2) Using the correct type of oil filter.
3) Keeping the oil level up.
4) Using synthetics to keep the grundge to a minimum.

93 SE

whoa...putting 1/4 cup of atf is good for engine...even if i may not have ticking....so far im thinkin i put atf in,then put on highway miles,then get an oil change that good idea

Czar

Why use Nissan filters? Fram filters have the antidrainback valve... I thought that most if not all filters had this feature. Anyways that is what I am using. Is there some reason I am missing as to why I shoud use OEM nissan filters??????

James92SE

iTrader: (31)

jeff did you say you did this repair yourself? i dont have the problem (at least not yet) but i'm kinda paranoid that i may get it. i do not wanna pay that much money if i can somehow do it myself if/when the vtc's go bad. and if anyone has done the repair themselves, what all did it involve? cost?

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

Yup, but I did it in a very odd way. I took the engine out(not necessary for VTC repair) becuase it needed a clutch job and the exhaust studs needed replacement. So I went ***** out and did it all. Just make sure you change your oil regularly and make sure the level never gets low. There's not much else you can do. Changing to sythetic will give some insurance also. That's what I've been using since the repair. I also use extended change intervals also(synthetic oil only)

Cincy94Max

Do you have any pics of your OBX FSTB?