I have a 95 Maxima SE that I bought about a month ago. The car runs and drives great. I just have a couple concerns about it. The first thing is that the engine ticks. I had people tell me it was the injectors, but I really don't think that is what it is. The tick gets louder as the rpm increases, so that is why I don't think it is the injectors. I think it has something to do with the valves. I had compression done and I can't remember what it was, but it was good and it read the same all the way across the board. The other thing that concerns me is that when you start the car when it has been sitting overnight or for 4-5 hours, it puffs out smoke for a few seconds. I am pretty sure it is oil and I think it is valve seal related. Is there anything I can do to check this or confirm it. Would running a thicker weight oil help. It doesn't do it all the time and some mornings it won't do it at all. Other than that the car never blows any smoke. I am new to the Maxima world, so I was just curious if anybody had any ideas. Thanks.

 

Doesn't anybody have any ideas? Thanks...

 

The ticking sound you hear on a '95 Max is usually the timing chain tensioners. They are usually doing just fine but they make a lot of noise. As for the smoke, valve seals also give you a puff of smoke going down the highway if you let off the gas at around 60MPH and then press it again. It does this as well as when first starting the engine. It may just be your O2 sensors acting up and giving it too much gas from time to time when you start it up. Unless you are losing oil and not leaking any out, I would not be as concerned that it was the valve seals. Good luck.

 

all VQ engines have ticking noises its normal.

 

Thanks guys.