ok so i've got 160k miles on my '96 now... i've got this strange clicking sound that gets faster as I accelerate. hard to describe, but you know how you stick a baseball card between the spokes of a bicycle wheel and start riding it? sorta like that haha. Except, it isn't really loud, it's just noticable.. havent heard it from outside yet.

Now the thing is, it only happens when the car has been sitting in the cold for a while. Eventually, the sound does go away when the engine temprature has reached normal. I get this sound when I first start the car up in the morning and drive about 3-4 miles. It can be heard in all gears so I was thinking it was engine related.

I should be changing my oil soon... but other than that, does anyone have any ideas??

 

Any idea where the sound is coming from? From outside of the car?

Try this once the sound goes away (car warmed up or whatever): get up to speed on the highway and brake hard and see if you can get the noise to come back.

I had a really annoying ticking sound, happened once per tire revolution.
It was a while ago, but I'm pretty sure it was caused by a rotor that was out of spec on my rear brakes. (they also "lubricated my calipers" but I dont think that did it)

Actually, at first I thought it was coming from the front end, but it's hard to tell because sound travels pretty well under the car.

EDIT: BTW, I'm not talking about the ticking sound that lets you know you need new brakes

 

hmm my brakes does have some issues... maybe that might be it. Thanks, i'll test it out.

 

Back from the dead. Sorry nadir, but your PM box was full. Were you ever able to figure out a solution? I'm having the exact same issue as you. Clicking only under acceleration. Replaced both axles already, but it didn't help.

 

Is it rotation based, ie; if you stick your car in neutral and roll downhill does it still do it? The baseball card description is how I've seen the timing chain tensioner described (I have that sound from my car, I've just not gotten round to doing the repair yet). So, is it engine, or wheel based?

 

yeah this noise is related to the timing chain tensioner ... never did anything about it. I did notice a pattern when I am low on oil or I have dirty oil, this clicking noise comes up. After an oil change, for hte most part it's gone.

i just rolled over 200k and prob about it. I use that noise as a notice to change my oil lol.

 

It only happens in gear, while accelerating with more than 50% throttle. It happens in all forward gears (1st-5th). I tried reverse, but it's hard to drive in reverse with more than 50% throttle, if you know what I mean...

It sounds like a clicking axle to me, but it also does it while acclerating in a straight line. It made the noise before and after the new axles.

I don't think mine is related to oil. I changed the oil this weekend and the noise is still there.

 

I've never really found the tensioner to be related to clean/dirty oil. I always notice mine more at lower RPM's (that or I'm so used to the high RPM's with it that I don't know the difference), but it may just be when I'm listening.

Is it regular (tap tap tap) or irregular (tap... taptaptap.. tap... tap)?

 

It's definately a clicking noise, not just a tap. It would be a regular clicking if I could make it do it at constant RPM, but it only happens when I accelerate. The speed at which it clicks gets faster when acclerating. So if I acclerate from 2000rpm to 4000rpm, it sounds like:

click.......click......click.....click...click...c lick..click..click.click.click.click.clickclickcli ckclickclick
(shift to 2nd)
click.......click......click.....click...click...c lick..click..click.click.click.click.clickclickcli ckclickclick
(shift to 3rd)
click.......click......click.....click...click...c lick..click..click.click.click.click.clickclickcli ckclickclick

And yes, the clicking pretty much goes away after driving for a while. It has to be driven for the clicking to go away. So if start the engine in the morning and let it sit for 10 minutes until it fully warms up, it will still click for a few miles before it goes away.

 

hmmm... I'm bad at potential suspension/axle issues. Anyone else have an idea?

 

My '96 Maxima has a similar sound. Although I described it as a potato chip bag being crumbled. Although my sound seems to come from the driver's side. I would notice it upon decceleration and/or while in a curve/turn.

 

change the timing chain tensioner. Its fairly easy. my main suggestion is to unbolt (do not remove) the motor mount near the PS reservoir, get a jack, and put a thick piece of wood on the jack, jack it up under the oil pan, enough to see the black cover that hides the tensioner (4 10mm bolts). remove the cover.look at the tensioner notice how tight the chain is on the TC Guides. go counterclockwise on the crank pulley about 30 degrees to loosen chain tension.

unbolt the 2 10mm tensioner bolts, and out comes the tensioner. before doing so tho, hold the spring loaded piston back with ur finger when taking it out or stick a thumb tack in the small but visible hole near the front of the tensioner to hold the piston back. take out the tensioner, put the new one in(be sure to have the new tensioner piston held back with a thumbtack before putting it in) bolt it in with the 2 long 10mm , remove the thumbtack to allow the piston to hit its cylindrical target on the guides, and add the tension buy going back 30 degrees clockwise. put everything back in place
job done.

go to the sticky tho for more detailed info..however the sticky will not give you the hint of jacking up the engine to reach the tensioner better