92TJMAX

hey whats good? im tj i have a 92 se with 130k and an sparratic and very loud vtc clatter. i will rebuild it myslef or get my mechanic at work to help me but i just need to know where to get the best vtc rebuild kit i can get. i also am not able to be online that often but u can email me websites or whatever to help me fix my max. my email is tjd420wp@yahoo.com.

slickblack94

iTrader: (5)

So, It seems a jdm motor might be the way to go if the vtc's fail.
My motor has 230000 miles and the the last 60k has been with the
clattering vtc's. Just grounded them 2 days ago and is ALOT quieter.
Only withdraw is the idleing is sparatic.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

You still might have damaged the valvetrain. Even though the chains are still physcially on their VTC sprockets, I guess it depends if the assembly themselves are damaged enough to allow the cams to out of of time enough to let the valves touch the pistons etc.. This page as alot of pictures that show the relation of the lower/upper chains: I think if only one VTC assembly failed inside, the other side "might" be okay
http://www1.autozone.com/servlet/UiB...3d801f49f3.jsp

I also think if the tensioner piston slide that far out while it was installed, there's a good chance that the chain could have jumped (as you suspect). I wonder if the tensioner slide out after the VTC failed:


I have a spare VE engine. I pulled it because I lost compression in the #5 chamber. I think it may have cracked an ring. The engine ran fine (so probably not a main/connecting bearing) and was smooth. I even drove it into the garage to do the engine swap. It just showed very low compression(on #5) and smoked out of the tailpipe. I was going to see if someone local wanted the whole engine. But I might be able to just tear it down and sell parts off. Then just throw the short block away. I won't know until I actually pull everything off but I'm 95% sure the heads/cams/chaings/timing assemblies are all fine. The VTCs are of course intact but should have a rebuilt kit installed.

92 Max

Just an update. I've finished my VTC rebuild and found that the special silver links were OFF! Luckily I marked the links that coincided with the dimples marked on the cam sprockets, at TDC, and put the chain back there. The silver links on the timing chain that were supposed to line up with these dimples at TDC didn't line up with where I made my marks. After much anxiety I put the sprockets back where I had marked them, rather than on the silver links, and turned the engine by hand; no interference. After reassemling the rest of the engine I started it up with much trepidation. It runs perfectly! (whew!)
I bought this car new and have never had major work done, so these links must have been off from the factory!

lunchie

VTC with missing cap.
I just came across this posting with a photo of a vtc assembly. I just bought a used maxima with the exact same issue. The front vtc assembly is missing a cap resulting in the top timing chain being pulled out of alignment and wear on the front cover and valve cover. Was curious if you had anyone had a vtc cap out there for sell.

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

if the cap is gone, there is a good chance that you need more than just a cap.
if the timing chain is off then you have a good chance of damaged valves

lunchie

The cap is gone and it run fine except for a ticking sound. It probably won't run fine for very long though will it.

Greeny

iTrader: (43)

Not likely...

Think about where the cap went....

viperbite

hmm... hate to ressurect an old thread. but can i delete this vtc bull crap lol

and i read some stuff about grounding it? is it electric.

it looks like its run from oil pressure.

eh ill probably just need to get a vtc rebuild kit on google or nissan or something.

this is good info. glad to know this is a known issue and lots of support to fix it.

upper timing issues are easy relative to lower timing chain issues LOL

internetautomar

iTrader: (30)

yes but no
yes
yes Google doesn't sell them

Ryan93SE-5

just a quick question about the dreaded "clack"...

so when I got my car, it was clacking fairly quietly, and when I looked into it I found that my VTC's were already grounded. So just for piece of mind, I ungrounded them to see how it would sound and it almost completely went away. over the past few days its got a bit louder and its coming from the front VTC but when I ground them out the rear clacks and the front stops... just wondering if its normal for them to be this way.

I'm also hoping a fresh oil change will help a bit.



~Ryan

mikekantor

iTrader: (5)

I think your rear one is probably always clacking, but difficult to hear over the noise of the front. I didnt even know my rear one had a problem until I repaired the front one.

Oil changes and etc. will help a bit, but the noise will always come back eventually until they are repaired.

JET_MMPro

My ’94SE is not dead as I originally thought; yeah! It does, however, have what I think is an intermittent VTC problem. I start it up cold and there’s NO significant clack, just the normal Nissan tick. I can let it idle until it reaches full operating temp and there’s no clack. I can give it a little gas and still no clack. If I give it a lot of gas or drive it the clack shows up; it can be distinctly heard with the hood closed. If I take it on the interstate for a length of time or run it hard, the clack is LOUD! Sounds like a diesel F250! Even at an idle. At times, if I let it idle for awhile the clack will quiet down and eventually go away. Other times, no way.

There’s no apparent loss of power; it still out runs those pesky SUV’s and fuel thirsty trucks! The car really doesn’t burn oil; 0.5qt in 3 months. The motor has 194,000mi on it. I parked it at the end of last summer because I thought the motor was dead. At that time the clack was loud and constant regardless of outside temp, motor temp, load on the motor, etc.

What do you think?

Do you think it’s the VTC? Should I rebuild them? Or swap ‘em out with a set from a junkyard?

---JET_MMPro

Ryan93SE-5

I thought that maybe I just couldnt hear it over the front also, but it seems like theres a period of a couple seconds of no clack at all when I un-ground it.

and I'm really hoping that a good oil change will help cause I know the oil thats in it is quite old and very thin. So that will be the first thing I do when I get paid on wed.



~Ryan

505max94se

iTrader: (15)

They won't clack for a second because it takes time for the oil to excape the vtc assembly at idle.

An oil change won't help vtc clack. The only solution is to rebuild them.

A good temporary solution so that they won't clack at idle and you don't lose top end power would be to hook them up to an rpm switch.

Ryan93SE-5

wow, Sean...I'm suprised you posted here. as I recall your last post in this thread was saying you were going to post pics of your VTC rebuild.

Anyway, yes... the RPM switch would be a great idea but I would rather rebuild the VTC'S. Give me a good weekend after I start getting regular checks again and I'll get it done. when I got the car, the sticker said it was changed in 00 .

maximagician

my 92 ve motor and most everyone elses i read on here only "clack" when cold.... mine seem to "clack" more when cold started on up or down hills
keeping my oil a half quart overfull seems to help. no oil leaks since i put it together out of 2 ve's 30,000(EDIT i meant to say 15,000 miles ago and almost 2 years+counting
the car now has 230,000

505max94se

iTrader: (15)

Why, lol? I would have posted pics, but the pictures came out horrible and who needs my pics if there's THIS awesome write up.

Sounds good! At least you have seen/helped me replace mine.

AcIdBuRn02ZTS

Hello dead thread...

A couple questions about this guys...

Here is the issue... Car has a slightly rough idle, LOUD (aka cant hardly handle having your head under the hood while the car idles) rattle at all rpms / temperatures/ etc.. coming from the rear cyl. head... almost sounds like rod knock however its too fast to be rod knock and it gets quieter as the rpms increase.... very loud at idle but not as bad when reving the car up.. doesnt ever quit completely however... also very low power while taking off... can here some puffing back through the intake so I know its valvetrain related and after some searching, I'm thinking its VCT failure...

So.. I pulled the intake and rear valve cover... turned the motor over and let it sputter and could hear the noise but couldnt see anything off... for giggles, I tapped on the end of the intake cam (the VCT) and the cam jumped... so is the VCT shot or was it just bound up or...?

On the underside of the valve cover, you can see wear marks from the VCT rubbing the cover as if the cam was walking and there is an odd looking washerish thing on the opposite end of the cam that Ive never seen before...

Here are a few pics...







Now... after a bit of research... The front cap is obviously gone... And the car has been driven like this... it ran fine exept the horrible power.. huffing back through the intake under a hard load... and the rattle...

Ive ordered the rebuild kits but Ive noticed a lot of people say that when the cap fails like this, its unlikely that more damage wasnt caused... Now I'm wondering how likely it is that one of the cams jumped time and bent valves due to the movement allowed by the cap being missing..?

When the car wasnt under a load, it drove great... didnt have any issue running 45-50mph.. no misfiring or anything like that... but under a load.. it would huff back through the intake pretty good and be a complete dog...

The car only has 130k on it and I would hate to have swap motors at this point... so did I get lucky?

I suppose I could run a compression test but I dont really want to crank the engine over anymore since learning about this little issue...

Should I just rebuild the VTCs and throw it back together and hope for the best?

Thanks for any input guys
-Chris

Hectic

iTrader: (20)

If i'm understanding you correctly, whatever "jumping" or movement of the cams you saw is most likely within the normal range of the VTC. The scoring you see on the valve cover is common, sometimes it's so bad it will wear all the way through the cover. Your lack of power is a completely different problem, or series of problems. Replace the knock sensor when you rebuild the VTC's and make sure none of the coil packs are cracked. If it still runs badly, you probably have a bad injector or two.

When you're finished, look into buying a VG and selling that unreliable, badly engineered VE.

Augustus Maximus

iTrader: (6)

Sounds a little opinionated buddy, but no thanks .

AcIdBuRn02ZTS

Well.. when its lacking power... its lugging and huffing back through the intake... I was contributing this to the timing being off at a cetain point or something along those lines... so low power output isnt a sign of vtc failure?

Mine has completely failed.... but anyways... I'll see what happends.

-Chris

Augustus Maximus

iTrader: (6)

Right now I'm prepping an VE30DE with VTC rebuild etc. and when/if my current engine starts doing as quoted above...it will be replaced immediately.

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

Wow someone else having VE trouble with the same name as me. Only not me. HAH! For some reason the end of that cam looks bent to me. the front cover holds the spring in place for the VTC doesn't it. I'm to the point of trying to fix mine or buying another engine and swapping my stuff over to it (maybe what I should have done in the first place).

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

My stepdad tried telling me the same thing last night. NO WAY IN HELL!!! I'm not giving up. To hell with that idea. (toss that idea to the birds & sale ur old a$$ truck).

Augustus Maximus

iTrader: (6)

I got a spare VQ35DE too...call it a habit of mine. Take it out and put another in, that's how we roll over here. Word!!!

maximo018

iTrader: (6)

I have to get another one of those too. How in the hell I let both my motors go Idk. But never again!
P.S. I just got a spare VE motor with lower miles. SWAP!!!