Hello all,

Before anyone starts to flame me, I have done extensive amount of searching on here and google to isolate my problem. I was leaning towards a timing belt tensioner, until i noticed that its a a chain related sound. Its more of a tick tick tick sound comming from back of the enigne just below the intake manifold it seems. Some other people said that it could be injectors, knock sensor or even a crank sensor. I have pulled codes and there arent any. No CEL. Its pretty loud tick or tap if you will. Here is a video of the noise. Also I checked the oil, drove the car and let it sit on a level gound for ahout an hour and checked. Its right in the middle between H and L. Other then the noise, the car drives perfectly fine, but the noise is driving me nuts. If any of you veterns can chime in I would really appreciate it. Where should I start? Thank you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_11Ky...ature=youtu.be

 

Wow thats a loud sound. Too loud to be injectors IMO. It changes with RPM correct? Its only at idle not not while revving?

 

Yes, it changes with rpm, but above 2k-2.5k rpm not much to hear. Prob cause of the engine noise...

 

Check your oil pressure, my oil pump failed and it was putting out just enough at idle to keep the light off, but not enough to properly lube the engine. When it was above 2k the oil pressure was adequate. Definitely not injectors, you can hear them tapping in the background of that knock.

 

alright, thanks g.man06! I will start there. Did your car kinda sounded like mine?

BTW do you think that there is a possibilty that it could be the timing belt tensioner?

 

Sounds more like a knock?

 

I don't really notice the difference, but when I did some poking around, my sounds a lot similar to people having stuck lifters...



i tried the seafoam method in the intake and in the crankcase. The noise still remains...

 

thats not a timing belt tensioner

 

what do you think it is pj? Its driving me nutzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Update,
I took the car to a muffler shop. They raised the car in the air used a stethoscope to find and leaks... There were no leaks. However I do have an engine light on. I will be going to parts store to find out why.

 

could be a wrist pin...depending if it keeps steady w/ rpm. idk how solid the internals are. hard to say with that video.

 

sounds like when I blew a coil. almost identical.. it didnt throw a code until WOT on the highway... lol just a FYI

 

aviation005,
the sound is like a valve tick, but i am not sure. The sound is for sure just below the intake manifold or at it. I am doing coil pack research as I type this....

Steezemuffin686,
When the rpms or up so does the noise. It follows the rpm. But its hard to hear after 2500rpm. When I am just driving through resi streets, you can hear it. Or driving against a wall or rail.

Also,

Can a bad knock sensor cause my noise?

 

the code was for a 02 sensor....

Noise still remains and its making me very very annoyed

 

How about some thicker oil.....lucas oil stabilizer

 

Are you able to hear if its from the front valve cover or it didn't seem like the noise changed much when you were moving the camera.

 

doesnt sound like a sensor or anything sensor related to me or an exhaust leak, definitely sounded mechanical, like lifter/rod/piston/etc. If you are going to take it somewhere next, I suggest an actual repair shop

 

Ya sounds like a loose or stuck hydrolic lifter or somthin in the heads are bad. that or your not gettin oil to top of motor due to weak oil pump or bad oil pump.


i wouldn't be driving it like that.

 

It really sounds like its comming from the back of the engine towards the firewall. Just below the intake manifold. The funny thing is, it doesn't burn any oil and the car drives fine. Just the damn noise. I have added marvel mystery oil and have been running for about 400 miles. Nothing has changed. I also did the seafoam thing in the intake and a lot of white smoke came out but that was about it... I think I might try to put in some seafoam in the gas tank next... Really out of options. I really don't want to spend money into repair it at a shop. The car has over 150k miles on it and I paid $3300. Other then the noise, the car drives perfect.

 

Any update on this?

Sounds identical to the same problem I'm faced with on my 02' Maxima... Gonna try changing the spark plugs, but I'm betting this isn't gonna help. Try the least expensive fixes first.

Btw, does it sound similar to this? Sorry for the airplane in the background

 

I don't think that sounds good. You both should take your cars to a good mechanic to diagnose it. I have 02 that had similar sound and the engine ended up dying.

 

We had a 2003 came in at our shop with only 112k miles with that same noise. Customer didn't change the oil in 50k miles! He didn't want to spend money on the car, only thing he paid for was an oil change. A year later he called back quoting a motor job..

 

Car has been maintenanced almost perfectly... They did the front plugs but not the back lol. Gonna change them. Idle is a little off. Even have all the records from the previous owner. Had one mechanic say the timing chain but the noise is more towards the rear. I'll reply back with the result

 

As I suspected after hearing the car, the ticking is from the cam lobe slapping the bucket due to excessive lash. This car was either neglected at an oil change interval and/or the oil port that feeds the #5 exhaust buckets is clogged and has caused excessive wear. More specifically #5eb (the very last exhaust bucket on bank#1)
VQ35 buckets/lifters are solid (once piece) and can't be adjusted. They, and probably the cams as well, have to be replaced which is a VERY labor intensive and expensive process.

VQ30 engines have replaceable lash pads but they require just as much time in labor to replace.

 

I've had that same ticking sound on my 02, it got really bad when the oil was low.. My car burned oil all the time and after months of trying to figure out what it was, the noise progressed and one day my car lost nearly all its compression. Piston ring went bad on cylinder 4 causing a horrible misfire.

I think a bad ECU helped contributed that problem over a long period of time..

 

I'm betting you have exactly the same issue. Shows how neglecting simple maintenance can make a expensive and frustrating situation. Thanks to SR20DEN for finding my culprit, unbelievable valve lash. My advice is to put back a few hundred bucks a month, some thick oil (not going to fix it, but will buy a little time), and drive it easy. It'll give you some time to shop around. Make sure to research on .org what engines are compatible, might save ya some money. The price of a replacing that engine is about the same as replacing the needed parts and labor. I found a few motors for around 600-800 and engine swap labor for 800. Gots to be better than 12 hours labor and possible future problems from oil starvation or the like. Not sure the route I'm going to go since the car seems to have had very little in repairs needed. Last person to install the valve cover added gasket sealer wayyy too much and to gaskets not needing it. Probably got some in the engine causing a clog or stickiness. Either way I'll do a nice little write up on my fix and thanks to posting back on things you tried that hadn't fixed the issue. And my apologies if it seems I'm thread jacking, just want to share the information in hopes you get your whip on the road.