Hey guys, just joined the forum.

My issue that I'm having is my timing chain makes a bit of noise on startup, but instantly goes away. After doing some digging around on here, I found someone with a similar issue and they said it's due to a faulty tensioner as it can't hold oil pressure that well? Seems logical to me.

Anyway, the question I have that didn't seem to be asked in that thread is, is it bad when you hear the chain slap around? Like is there anything bad that can actually happen from that? I only ask because winter is here and I know the colder it gets the longer it will take the oil to get up to the tensioner, meaning the chain will be slacked for longer.

Thanks guys!

 

Heres my post that i just posted on a fb "nissan maxima car club"
I just found the problem

For a few months now I've been researching about a rattling noise in my 03 maxima engine. Happens at start up (cold) & in between 1500-2000 rpms only & in 1st & 2nd gear is when i hear it.
Ive been told don't use low octane gas, its the heat shield, its the pre cats.... then i read about noisy timing chain & could possibly be anything from low oil pressure causing the tensioner to not fully engage, bad tensioner, chain rattling on guides because slack due to tensioner.... then i come across this video & it all makes sense.... damn tensioner cant work correct due to plastic guide shifting out of the correct position.
Heres the video that eased my mind, now to get it fixed....

 

 

From the info i gathered, shouldn't cause any major damage.... just a little wear on the plastic guides from slapping & rubbing. But then again thats what its there for. Only problem for me is i don't like hearing that sound & it can be heard from outside, so everyone can hear it too. Make the engine sound broken 😡

 

It's nothing to worry about. A lot of us here have the same thing. My 02 has been doing it for years. The timing chain setups on these cars are pretty much bullet proof. It's nearly unheard of to have a timing failure on these cars. The 6th gen cars are another story but up through 03 they're solid.

You could open it up and replace the tensioners but it's a pretty big job.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I have seen that video before, but I don't think my guide is broken because the ticking goes away after 1 second, only to return the next time I start it. It runs perfect after that.

I'm just relieved to hear that it won't cause any issues. I just don't want it to start ticking all the time. I'm not gonna bother with removing the access cover because it's a pretty tight fit and move no desire to jack the motor up and such.

Thanks guys!

 

The video is of an 06. The 04+ VQ engines did have issues with the guides. Technically it's the same engine but the guides are different.

Mine only does it on a fully cold start. Pretty much once in the morning and it's good all day. It's a bit more likely to do it in cold weather.

You may try an oil flush or switching to an oil that's good for cold starts.

 

Replace O ring in tensioner or ignore it. Use 0w oil.

 

Dang, I already bought 5W-30 synthetic. Guess I know to get 0W next time.

I guess we'll see how it goes.

I'm curious as to why Nissan thought it would be a good idea to use cheaper guides. Makes me glad I have a 5.5gen haha.

 

Nissan started cheaping out on everything after the 5th gen.

As far as the noise, just keep the oil full, change it regularly and fuggedaboutit.

 

Don't say that too loudly or the evil emissions god will have the precats eat your engine.

 

Hahaha, good catch. The O2 sensors were replaced when I bought the car so I hope that's the only emission issue. I don't burn any oil so I don't think they've broken apart. Oops, I jinxed myself lol.

 

FTFY

I harp b/c it's real and serious. The age of the vehicles makes it that much more pertinent. You can find them all over craigslist dead and dying.

 

I know it needs to be done, but I certainly won't have the time to do it. I might have free time in summer, but otherwise I'm pretty busy. Not to mention how dang rusty it is down there. I bet every bolt is gonna snap.

I might buy headers, probably the ones for the Altima as they're way cheaper and only need slight modification. But if I gutted them, that saves money . I have to see first.

 

On a side note, I checked to see if my car has any recalls. It does, one for the passenger airbag. Should I even bother with taking it in?

 

Yes, it's a safety issue and it's free. People have been hurt by these things.

 

People have died from these takata airbags
because of the shrapnel and they bleed to death.

 

I hate taking my car into the dealer because they botched a recall fix on my Accord once. I bit the bullet and took my I35 in since flying metal is no fun. Everything went smooth and I was in & out in less than 45 minutes.

 

Ok, I'll take it in over the holidays then.

 

This is the exact reason I don't want to. Because some angry guy who's mad he's not getting paid is gonna take his anger out on my car or do a half-*** job.

 

Appointment scheduled for January 2nd .

 

When did Nissan begin using Takata? The NHTSA site says there are no recalls associated with my VIN, and that's supposed to cover all safety recalls conducted over the past 15 years. The airbag recall site says simply "no open recalls."

 

01

google is hard, i know

 

It's only gonna tell you if it's still open. So if the previous owner already got it fixed, it won't show up.