hey guys i have a rattle and i'm pretty sure it's my timing chain. it's a little weird because it's not always there. it's on that side of the motor and it bugs me and makes me worry. any suggestions? thanks

 

Could be the tensioner but try the simple stuff first: Make sure you use oem or mobil1 filter. I changed form an unknown to a mobil1 and my rattle is gone.

 

check your oil level.

 

my friend and i had the same problem with a max like this. it occured to be the timing chain like you said. it didnt cause any problems with the max, but it was just annoying. to put in a new chain and tighten to factory specs you have to pull out the engine and pull appart the whole side of the engine. we just pulled it out and stuck another engine in there with low miles. ill try to find some pics.

 

I'm starting to get a small rattle noise as well after my first oil change. The previous owner over filled it just enough to kep it from rattling, I think. I haven't confirmed if its the chain or the lifters yet, but if its the chain ill probably replace the tensioner and see if that helps. I think its just over a one hour job.

 

It's "normal"

 

I had to too .. to get rid of 90% of the rattle make sure you use the OEM oil filter. It has a catch valve to prevent oil from going back the other direction, aftermarket oil filters dont have that valve. That prevented 90% of mine

 

so i guess i need to change my wix filter to an oem one. i'll do that on my next oil change. thanks

 

It won't make any difference. OEM filter is not the problem (and aftermarket oil filters DO have a drain back).

 

Complete BS

 

the timing chain tensioners are known to occaisionally die in the 5.0 gens.

 

Now you got me worried. The timing chain rattle is one thing...I'm concerned about the tensioner becoming weak and the chain skipping a tooth. I did a search and couldn't find this as a major problem with these, but when the timing chain tensioners die on a 97-98 Exploder (4.0 L) for example the chain will skip a tooth and the engine is shot. (bent valves, broken cam, cracked pistons, etc)

 

The chain shouldn't slip, but the tensioner will cause a rattle.

 

on 2002 maximas there is a tsb for the vtc which rattle on startup. the oil drains fro mthem and when you start it up the first time it takes a couple of seconds for the oil to get back to the vtc so you hear a rattle. but there is nothing liek that o nthe 2k-2k1 maximas

 

yeah well that got rid of 90% of mine so I dont think its bs. maybe mine was just coincidence, happened all the time before the oil filter and now hardly at all after, weird huh?

 

It's not the filter. coincidence

 

Is it also a serenipitous occurance that more than one person in this thread alleviated the rattle by replacing the filter? When I purchased my Maxima I changed the oil and used a spare filter that the previous owner included with the car. I experienced the infamous rattle until I changed the filter with mobil1 m105 midway through my oil change interval. The rattle dissapeared and has not recurred since. Coincidence?

 

See? At least somebody is with me on this one. I still say filter.

 

I use the mobil1 m-105 filter too, but still have a rattle. It also seems that when the dealer replaced the crank pos sensor, the 2-3k rpm rattle got a little louder, but my startup rattle isnt as bad as before. Sucks.

 

I've used the OEM filter for 50k miles (bought the car new) and have had the rattle. Switched to Purolator (normal and pure-one) the last two oil changes...I still have the rattle. Coincidence?

 

The only logical answer is that our symptoms while similar have entirely different causes.

 

YES i had a friend with a brand new explorer that did that, get yours checked out ASAP

 

The Same Filter for 50K miles?!

 

If you thought about it for a sec, you would know what he meant.

 

Not the same physical filter, but the same OEM brand filter.

 

I would agree with that.