FOOSE

I know theres many threads on this but mine is a little different than most that ive read. I bought an 04 maxima a couple months back and when i first went and checked it out the engine was making a loud ticking noise. The guy changed the oil and it went away. I went ahead and bought it because it was cheap. We drove it a few weeks and then the tick came back but it was just on start up and would go away after warmup and it didnt do it all the time. Now the weather has changed to cooler temps it does it all the time and has gotten louder. Ive noticed though at about 2500 rpms the rattle goes away. Does that sound like the tensioners and chains to you guys? just trying to get an idea before i go and tear the motor apart. The car has around 170k on it

po8pimp

If replacing the oil made it go away, it sounds like your oil pump might be going out. The reason I say this is because your oil pump supplies the oil to your timing chain. The timing chain is very well known to cause the "ticking". If the oil is not getting all the way up where it needs to be in the timing chain cover, then it would cause this. So at low Rpms the pump is not pushing the oil as hard as it is when at around >2500 rpms. I don't know how else to explain it. What type of oil did you put in the car?

FOOSE

I dont have any idea what kind of oil he put it in. Ima change the oil in it again tonight and see if that helps. Any recommendations on oil?

smplyamzng

Sounds like already pass the point of resolving by changing oil. Those tensioners have got to go!

FOOSE

Where's the best place to get the parts..I'm about an hour from the nearest Nissan dealer..any place online to order them?

Terrentius

http://www.courtesyparts.com/

po8pimp

Now normally I would agree with this, however I recommend you try using Seafoam or an oil flush and break up what old oil might be in there. You could have gotten a car that was neglected and could just be clogged up a bit. Not giving the pump a clear path to get oil where it needs to be. You live in Kentucky and are about to get into the winter months, so I recommend using 10w30 or 10w40. I personally have been using 15w50 for about 3 years and I live in Washington. That is a pretty thick oil, however these engines run pretty hot so it works pretty good for me. I also don't have any starting issues that you would see by using too thick of oil sometimes in the winter. Again this is just a recommendation. If you do this and it still doesn't work, then you would definitely need to replace the tensioners.

brandt724

You can also use about a half quart of Automatic Tranny fluid in yiur oil and drive it 50 or so miles, youd be amazed at the sludge that it will break loose.

also at these cooler temperatures the oil will be thicker which could also be a sign that your oil pump is going out since its harder to move a thicker liquid vs a thinner liquid. Which in return could cause the chain tensioner not to get enough oil pressure to kwep the timing chain at the right tension causing your tick.

po8pimp

yup... I have also seen people use a cap of diesel fuel to clean it up. I usually play it safe and use the Seafoam for this type of thing. I have however used the "Flush" and it didn't do the job. I bought a 96 pathfinder in 2008 that had never had the oil changed. The truck ran fine, I noticed when I took off the oil cap and saw what looked like hard shelled chocolate on my valves. Tried the flush and it didn't do that great at breaking the shell down. I ended up pulling the valve covers off and spooning it out with a plastic spoon. Used some cleaners and a toothbrush in the end to get it back to new again. Loved that truck. Only sold it because of rust starting on the roof where the roof rack was.