I decided to have a close listen to my engine idling and I noticed a bit of a ticking sound – which before today I hadn’t really noticed – with hood closed it isn’t really noticeable. I’ve identified that my knock sensor is stuffed via the ECU, and is probably the main cause of sluggish acceleration as in my other thread http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=498014. Ill be replacing it this Thursday and will post what the results are.

Although i've got a small clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWwZfjAPFpE of my engine running idle, it’s a bit hard but you can make out the ticking if you listen close at the start…. Would this actually be the result of a stuffed knock sensor or possibly injector, or is it just normal engine noises?

Also, immediately after I apply some throttle there’s a rattle (can hear in clip), which dies out within several second. I dont think this is normal, and was wondering if it could this be my timing chain or something else?

Finally, I noticed from a cold start, my engine will idle at about 1100rpm, and then goes down slowly to about 700rpm after a few minutes… my cars been doing it as long as i remember. I know i should probably just wait until i get my ks replaced and see what improvement it has made to my slow acceleration, but i don’t think all these things are directly related to a faulty KS...

Any help will be appreciated. You guys have been very helpful!

 

The clip hasnt loaded for me (56k) yet...

But i think i have the exact same thing. After cleaning my IntakeM i noticed this clicking. Never paid attention to it before, but you described when you rev'ed it it would get louder and then die out, Mine does/did too.

The nissan dealership gave me a drive-thru ear diagnoses and said its "normal wear" on a 140K engine. Said it could be the chain or injectors, or "lifters"...no idea what that is...his words.

Anyway, ill listen to it and comfirm if i have the same.


As for the Idle being above 1000rpms at cold start, i think thats normal until the engine warms up. Mine does that too.

 

sound like timing chain tensioner starting to fail that rattling sound

 

I thought those things last the lifetime of the engine?

 

Your engine sounds perfectly normal.
You never told us what year or how many miles are on your car.
What is your knock sensor stuffed with? Crab meat?

Check your ECU for the KS only code.

 

It's a 1995 with about 150k miles on it. Thanks for the info.

 

Thats what a mate of mine told me. The rattling is really bad for about 3 seconds after a cold start the dies down. I don't think tensioners are too expensive... so ill see if i can get one this week and replace it.

Thanks.

 

You have a right hand drive maxima ??

-matt

 

Yeah i do, although i've sort of havnt bothered changing my profile, cos when i signed up i think i just picked a random state in the US out of lazyness. I actually live in Sydney Australia. Sorry for the confusion!!

 

im not able to listen to ur vid, but my guess is the timing chain tensioner as mentioned before ... should go away after an oil change and the car is warmed up if the noise hasn't been there forever before

 

you should hear it when the engine is cold soaked over night its normal but when it warms up and you still here rattling then posiblilty tensioner is going bad basiclly oil pressure is the issue far as the tensioner can get clogged

 

My 1995 Maxima SE has the same trouble. When it gets cold out, the timing chain WILL rattle until the oil temperature/pressure is adequate enough to adjust the timing chain tensioner. Once warm, the problem goes away.

I've had this for about 7 years now. Thought about replacing it, but it appears to be at least $1.5K or more. Just go easy on the car before it's warm and when fully warmed up, LET it RIP!

If you buy a s***hoscope for the car, put the end on the timing chain cover, start the car, watch for the noise and you'll be convinced it's from the timing chain. Good luck. BTW, I have 135K on my 1995.

PM