Pololo

Hello all Maxima fans,

This is my first post to this thread and I hope I get to know a few good people that are Maxima nuts as I am.

I have a question:

My car has 180K miles 1989 VG30E engine and I just did a MAJOR maintenance on it:
- Timing Belt kit
- New wires, spark plugs, dist cap, rotor, water pump, thermostat, PCV valve
- Clutch
- Shaft Boots
- Brakes
- New OILS...

.. and so on.

However, Now everytime I start the engine I hear a valve/lifter tapping on the engine! I used to have this "problem" once in a while but not al the time like now. It's loud and it lasts for about 5 seconds. It seems that the oil doesn't get to the upper part of the motor quick enough...

Besides, the speedometer now vibrates (makes a noise) between 25 and 45 mph...

Do you guys have any idea why this is happening?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Czar

your car is getting old... some things we just live with. My car has nearly 160K and when I start it up in the morning, (I have a VE engine) the VTC's rattle for about 2-3 seconds until the oil gets to them. Irritating? yes, but I can live with it.

I may recommend that you flush out your engine if you haven't done it in the past couple years or so to break loose any sludge which would restrict the oil galleys, and use a high quality anti-drainback oil filter to keep the oil in the galleys when your engine is shut down. What viscosity oil are you using? If it is too thick, it will take longer for the oil pressure to build at startup.

Its also entirely possible that you have a flat lifter that 'sticks' a little, but if the problem goes away after the oil pressure builds, then you may be able to find a cheap solution.