Hey orgers,as the title indicates , my 2k2 MT with 122k miles (built 10/2001) is making that dreaded rattling noise , not everytime I crank , but let's say 90% of the time , definitely it happens when I start up the engine when cold in the morning , and sometimes it even happens after sometime warming it up and starting to drive (probably at 5mph for a second or so) ..... I don't know how the car was driven or maintained before 118k miles on her , but it was completely stock when I bought it......Did many things on it ,MAF,air filter,cleaned TB,plugs,precats (mechanic had some hard time loosening and returning the heat shield to its position, is it related ?),exhaust,gear oil,updated ECU....etc....I use Castrol GTX conventional 10w30 every 2000 to 2500 miles with Nissan OEM filter........

It runs good most of the time,mild oil burning (probably half a quart each 1k miles) , NO CEL or hidden codes now...But I started to worry about the rattle I hear from the start ups recently ... I heard about the TSB for the engine rattle , but wondering if Nissan Corp. or the dealers will be committed to that on a 2002 car and 122k miles ? it would be a headache for sure to have this fight with them ...... And also I'm not ready now for an engine swap if it needs so (hopefully not)......

Please post your ideas ... and is it a serious issue I'm having that rings an alarm or you think it would survive for a while ?
thanks

 

My guess is the timing tensioner. Mines is currently noisy and is only noticeable on cold starts.