My GF has a 95 SE auto and when you start it up in the morning or the car has been sitting for quite a while, there is this weird mechanical noise and it lasts for like a second or 2 after the car starts, I have no idea what it is and I don't think the starter is going out.

I have a feeling its the timing chain tensioners or something inside the engine, does anyone have any thoughts on this? The car has 107K on it.

 

does it sound sort of like its having trouble breathing air somethin? cuz i get that sometimes too and i think its got somethin to do with the intake. i havent been able to figure it out either cuz if i took it to the mechanic it would be warm and it would take a real long time to get cold again so i jus left it like that. i dont think its inside the engine though.

 

I don't think its the intake, we drove it to Los Angeles and it drove fine, got good gas mileage and all, just when you start it when its cold, it makes this bad mechanical noise!

 

If it is only when you start the car and on cold mornings....it is the starter. It is a common problem. There is a write on how to fix it on motorvate.com.

 

ben99sel, you have a lot of mods, I have a 96 SE 5 speed, what should I do to make my car more lively? CAI, y pipe and how much would it cost? I need to do susp stuff too

 

I had that, I changed my timing chain tensionor.. It was doing that on cold starts, eventually it wouldn't go away... even when it warmed up.. Sounded like bad knocking after a while.. Thought the engine was fried once :\

 

Does it sound like someone is playing drumsticks on your engine? That's the Timing chain tensioner. There's a TSB to fix it at a dealer but from what i've read it's pretty in depth. My 95 does it pretty bad for about 30 seconds or so until it's warmed up.

 

her car does it for a few seconds after start up, s0ber, I am thinking its more the problem you had, was it a big job and did you do it yourself or had it done? and how much did it cost?

looks like you have the 18' G35 rims on your car, do those bolt on directly, they look pretty nice.

 

thanks, they bolt on fine... the offset is a little off... 32 in the rear and like 30 in teh front.. something like that.. so they stick out with the fender.. Other than that no problems really, some rubbing but I took out my subs and no more rubbing..

Also the tensionor.. I didn't do that.. It happend right after I got my car and a repair like that messing with the chain was out of my league :P Some shop charged me $900...

I got it done for $300 tho from a mechanic.

 

can you tell me what exactly was done with the tensioner, because I think there is like 2-3 tensioners on that car? and were those the 17' or 18 infiniti rims? and what tire size did you go with? were those rims kind of on the heavy side?

I know the maxima 17' SE rims are really heavy, heavy enough that I didnt' want to put them on my car even though I think they look really good on our cars!, what year is your max?

 

I think I just started getting the same noise with our 95 SE. It's a clattering sound for maybe just a split second at the time when the car just starts. If that's the sound you're getting, it's most likely a timing chain tensioner problem.
I heard the same noise, but for a few seconds, after I had just finished re-installing the timing chain cover and was so scared that I put on something wrong, I opened back up the cover to make sure . Turned out that the oil pressure didn't get to build up enough the first time to activate the tensioner and all I had to do was turn the engine over a few times and the noise would have stopped.
Not sure if this makes sense but maybe you're due for an oil change and your oil filter is really dirty and reducing oil pressure.
Oh yeah, replacing the tensioner is a really big job. You don't really have to mess with the chain itself but getting a mechanic to do it would be a good idea.

 

I am going to go with an oil change first and go from there.

 

NO idea, I wasnt there.. lol had to leave it over night..

there 17's... I got 235/50/17's in the rear and 225/50's in the front... Heavy.. ehhh, not too bad.. But definetely not stock.. Plus the extra profile makes my car sl0w.... Im supposed to have a 45 profile not a 50.

Im wearing out the tires so its not a problem since they came like that off the g35.

 

It seems I have the exact same problem as you. I kept wondering where it came from and I guess it's the timing chain tensioner for me too.

Based on your experiences, I think I've had it worse. Mine lasts for at least 5 minutes or more depending on the temperature. Colder it is...the louder and longer it lasts. LOL

Excuse my ignorance but is this something that is critical? Like something that would build up to cause serious damage of some sort? I've had this problem for at least a year and I figured since it eventually goes away, I didn't pay much attention to it. However, it gets really annoying especially when someone else's riding on my car. LOL I'm like please please go away!!

I would have this fixed in a heartbeat but on the other hand, I'm really short on cash at the moment. Any advice I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

 

I believe if you mess up your tensionor your chain is loose and hitting everything, you might snap the chain.. bye bye vq lol

 

hehe

I guess they don't look at the tensioners(or perhaps hard to tell if anything's wrong?) when they replace timing chains cuz I replaced them a year ago.

damn I guess I better get this **** fixed. lol

 

Really, im curious why did you replace your chain, was there something wrong with it??

 

just how many tensioners are there in our cars? the 95-99 car that is? and any estimates on cost of parts and repairs?

 

Looking at maybe $250-300 from a local mechanic or like $500-900 at a shop.. I got quoted $900..

Make sure its that before you attempt anything :P

 

I bought the car around July of last year and took the car to the Infiniti dealer for full inspection. Supposedly they said the timing belt's cracked...of course back then, I had no idea it used chains. So, I had them fixed along with the CV joints.

Ever since then, I've never taken the car to the dealers. But, I wanted Infiniti to check the car out the first time around. Not that I wasn't aware of them overcharging on pretty much everything. hehe

 

Yeah, that's my main concern. Cost is one thing but I want to make sure it is just that.

The problem being by the time I get the car over to mechanic...the noise is gone. LOL

 

Really... thats weird.. Never heard of that one before, there supposed to last... "forever"

or until your tensionor breaks.. loll

 

Dang Sober, haven't seen you in a while! We had fun at Maxout lol. I'm having the same thing, but some of you guys get it for 5 minutes? That's scary. My car does it just barely after start up. For like the first second after it's been crancked. Sounds like "clackalaka clackalaka"... or like nissanguy8 said, a mechanical noise, lol. It only does it on a cold engine. To me it sounds like dry start, but it could very well be a tentioners of the timing chain. It should make just about the same noise as mine makes. I should add that to my list of things for my hookup at the dealer to check for me, arg!

 

lol yeah I know I been MIA.. Hope you goto the max meet in november =)

Thats how mine started, cold starts it would do the quick clack but eventually it got worse for me and just did it all the time.. I wouldn't worry about it until it starts doing it even after the car has been warmed up.

 

damn that sucks!!!! my 96 se 5 speed does not have that sound at all thanks god! It has more miles than my GF's. I got 122K on mine.

 

Yea cus I asked Jeff from Exotic Creations while at Maxout about it, and he told me not to worry, that that sound in the beggining is normal, as long as it only in the beggining I shouldn't worry. But I'm a prevention guy, if i can pay some $ now to save me big $ later in time, I'd do it (especially since I'm crazy enough to do this myself, lol).

 

lol if your crazy enough to do it urself i'll goto over ur house to take pics of your fustraition after u cant get it back together again! lol

 

Mine is a 95 SE 5-spd with 106k miles. It's had the noise eversince I went to synthetic motor oil. Could that have something to do with it? This was within two weeks of buying the car, so it could have beent here from before and I just didn't notice it until then.
The car had fake-*** blend Castrol 10W40, and I changed to Mobil 1 10W-30. I noticed the noise then, so the next oil change i did something a little too drastic and put in 15W-50. Of course, i waited for a while for the engine to warm up before driving it with that thick oil... but the noise was still there the same. So i went back to Mobil 1 10W-30 and no difference at all. The noise still happens in cold start, but it hasn't increased.
This year after New Years, I even put in that expensive *** Redline 10W-30. I must say, I didn't feel any difference in smoothness over Mobil1, but I did notice one thing. After ONLY 2400 miles, that Redline oil took a crap! It was blacker than black (the longest I've taken to change my Mobil 1 has been 3500 miles, and even then it still had that caramelish color to it... and I've been using the same type of filters since I got the car, Purolator Pureone, and lately I've been using K&N).
That day, I had that noise last a while, like 5 seconds, LOUD. Like the top of the engine wasn't getting oil at all for that time. THAT SAME HOUR I was under the car changing that expensive, good for nothing motor oil for some good ol' reliable Mobil 1 10W-30. It never did that noise for so long again, thankfully. But it made me think that I should take off my oil pan and inspect my oil pump's pick up and clean any sudge that might be there.

 

thats the thing about if someone is buying an 95-99 Maxima, most people selling them must know of the noise, but as a buyer, you would never know the noise because by the time you see the car, the car has been warmed up already!
Man I still want to know just how many tensioners are in our cars?

 

OK, from what I can make out from the pictures in the Haynes repair manual, we have three chains. One main one chain from the crank area up to the tops of the V of the engine. This main chain moves the two secondary chains that each connect the exhaust and intake camshafts of thier respective side of the motor. FROM WHAT I CAN MAKE OUT, there are three tensioners. Small ones for the secondary chain sit right in between the sprokets from the intake and exhaust cams. The big one is for the main chain, it's around middle-height of the engine, towards the firewall. Do not quote me on this, check the repari manual yourself and see waht you understand from it, but that's what I get from it.

 

thanks for looking man! I got to check out how much those parts cost! Luckily my buddy works for the dealership and I can get a good discount!

 

i have a 95/se/auto w/108k miles. i also have this problem. lasts like 2secs on start up! should all 3 tensioners be replaced? will this let go on me soon? thanks!

 

I've got the same noise in my 96 SE w/ 101k. My 95 SE w/ 205k hasn't had a peep. Mine lasts like 2 or 3 seconds at cold start ups. We'll see if it gets any worse. I've done plenty of timing belts on Honda's, but tensioners on chains could be kinda interesting. Anyone know if there is a spring release for the tensioners or if it's hydraulic? I remember the Mitsubishi Eclipse's were hydraulic and were a nightmare to install. You basically had to buy a new one that was already compressed and ready for installation.

 

also it happens even w/ clean oil...i change v. frequently..i've been using lucas oil stabilizer..helps a lil bit..like some starts dont make the noise...

 

http://www.jatan.net/tsbs/047941.pdf
Stealership: 7.6 hrs x $90/hr labor = $684 for labor ONLY

Start with the cheapest fix: regrease the starter If it's the tensioner then find a cheapER mechanic

 

Can you all feel small vibrations through the pedals when it's making the noise? cuz mine does that. But, the sound is not that loud and certainly not "clackalaka clackalaka" kind. lol

It's somewhat more subtle but still noticeable enough. Especially so while driving.

I'm going to try and record it. Then, I'll post it up probably this weekend.

 

I also went through this, Yes it's the tensioner, and with the amount of work to change it, you might as well change the chain while you're in there, no guarantee that the chain hasn't stretched. It's the larger chain and there is a tensioner kit for it, three chains in total, only need to change the timing one to get rid of that chatter, mine started out making noise for 1-2 seconds on startup, then as time went by it got louder and longer in duration. This is no easy job to do because of minimal space to work in, I gave up after 3 hours and took it to my mechanic, he had to tilt the motor and 6 hours later done! He said if he was to do it again he'd remove the fender for easier access. I did mine at 110k

 

Yeah....i had a 92 stanza, and it used to make a sound like that when it needed an oil change, my max does that....ive noticed it a few times...maybe i should get it checked out. did the oil change make a difference?

 

if the timing chain decides to break or loosen up too much, is the VQ engine a non-freewheeling engine? i mean, will it start to bend valves and whatnot?

 

Just wondering if this is a common problem among 4th gen Maximas and I30s once it reaches a certain mileage...perhaps 100k.

Also, I realize this is just a normal wear and tear but I want to get a general sense on how common this particular problem is for all cars. At least it looks like it's quite common among the 4th gen Maximas as we have seen a number of us posting this similar problem.

On a side note, I'm going to be commuting to school from about 50 miles away and the car will be packing some good mileage. As much as I love the car, I have to consider whether or not I should just go ahead and sell this car for a newer, lesser mileage car or pay the $$$ to fix whatever it is that's causing this.

If I do end up selling the car, I'd like to consider a Maxima or another I30 since I love em so much, but I certainly hope the next one won't be a repeat when it comes to maintenance.