O-M-G. This ticking noise coming from the engine bay is killing me. I cannot stand that sound. It gets faster with the engine RPMs and is super loud in parking garages since the noise can bounce off the walls and other cars.

Dealer tells me that it's a valve lifter and the cost to go in and fix the issue is far too much for such an old car (2003 with ~146K miles). Dealer also says that the engine is fine and the ticking will not harm the engine (I guess it is common in older VQ's?). I've tried oil additives that claim to quiet noisy lifters, but those did not work.

Any other suggestions out there? Is it possibly something other than the lifters?

 

I would check your timing chain with a long screwdriver or a mechanics stethoscope.

Once upon a time I had a dealer tell me the exact same thing.....spent waayy too much on valves, lifters, shims, cams, etc. to have the same ticking once everything was done.

Tensioners wear out. The chain gets a little slack in it and slaps against the timing cover resulting in a nice tick tick tick which naturally changes with RPM.

Good luck.

 

^ Ahh nice. Thanks, I will definitely look into that!

 

videoooooooo?

 

Went outside to the garage and made these real quick. Excuse the dirty engine bay, excuse the crappy production/direction, excuse the non-commentary....I was concentrated on trying to get the sound on tape.

http://s80.photobucket.com/user/mix1...c8af7.mp4.html

Revving...

http://s80.photobucket.com/user/mix1...5fe84.mp4.html

 

the snapshots were the only things that uploaded. unless I can't see the vids for some reason.

 

Yeah grab a stethoscope and locate the area as 4thgentuner said, should be fairly obvious if it's in the timing case or the top end.

If it does it all the time, not just when it's cold, it's probably the chain tensioner.

 

That's pretty loud.

Does it seem to become less pronounced as the engine comes up to temp?

It kinda sounded like it got a little less evil as the RPMs increased. Could just be the video though.

Out of curiousity, how many miles are on this engine?

 

Maybe it's just the video, but that sounds more like chain slap than a stuck lifter to me. Hard to tell without being there. As others have said, check around with a stethoscope.

 

It stays the same whether the engine is cold or warmed up.

Engine has about 146500 miles, oil changed every 3000.

 

Sorry, tried to embed from photobucket, but that did not work. Changed it to links, they should work now.

 

If it's always there, again, I'd point at the chain tensioner. But do check first.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will definitely look into the tensioner when I get a chance. If that is the culprit....is it a costly repair?

Fixed the first link above. It is me sticking the phone around the engine compartment, trying to determine where the noise was loudest/coming from. It appears to be driver side, near the firewall.

 

The tensioner itself isn't particularly expensive.

The labor to change it could be though....especially if one drops the bolt down into the timing case. Ask me how I know haha.

http://www.courtesyparts.com/kb_search_result.php?keywords=[13070]+\(A33B&cPath=1956_1957_1958_1967

I was under the impression mine was ticking near the ds firewall too.

It really helps to isolate the area which the ticking/tapping is coming from.

Also, mine seemed to reverberate through the engine bay. As soon as I poked around with my stethoscope I could clearly tell where it was coming from.

Get a stethoscope. Or get a second opinion from someone who has one.

Good luck.

 

Pfft, I dropped a whole socket down an oil drain that goes into the timing cover (worst design ever) of an E36 It hit the oil pan, so who cares

 

Ha! that's fun.

I eventually got a badazz magnet and fished it out. Took longer than I would like to admit.

Many beers were drunk that afternoon.

After I sobered up I got the tensioner in and the ticking was no more. Hopefully that's what the deal is with OP's ticking.

 

Update - but nothing exciting.

Took my car to an independent auto shop in the area to get a second opinion/diagnosis. The owner used to work at a Nissan dealer, so he was familiar with the engine. They also chalked up the noise to a valve lifter. And just like the dealer, the fix would be 2-3K (rough guesstimate).

He did suggest running a heavier oil, 10w-30, to see if that would at least quick the noise down. I will do this at the next oil change to see if it helps. If not.....maybe it's time to sell the car.

 

Normal for mine.

 

i think i might have this noise too, i thought it was the noise of the belts.

have you considered trying using the TC-W3 additive? its proven to reduce engine noise.(granted not the same noise but it may help)

 

I haven't tried that particular additive, but I have tried others......they did not work.

 

its really rear for this Maxima to have that kind of problem...goodluck

 

Maybe try it ? People have measured the db of our engine and it was proven to be quieter.

After I reviewed your original video again, I def don't have ticking like that. But for some reason I could relate to nmexmax's video....

So what would happen if you let it go?

 

I want to get back into an American V8....miss the sound and feel.

Currently have my eye on a new Charger.

The new Chevy SS is intriguing, but it's a little too pricey.

 

Um, the VQ doesn't have hydraulic lifters, it's a bucket and shim set up.

 

Made the switch to 10w-30 oil........yeah that didn't do crap either. Looks like I'm stuck with this ticking noise. Dealer assured me that it is not harming anything.

Still annoying as hell.

Anyone wanna buy a 5.5 gen?

 

I'll take your shifter and cables.

 

It;'s not a problem, IMO. Both my 4th gen and fifth gen do this. As heard in my link, it's fine. That was about 8 years ago when I posted that video.

 

Have a local forum member fix it for you. Car looks great btw.

 

before i bought my current 03 i found an 02 that was a killer price. cranked it up and had the exact same ticking noise in it. got my mechanic on the phone and held the phone up to the engine and he immediately knew it had something to do with the lifters. which in his shop is about a $2k job. i ran away as quick as i could from that car!

and on a side off topic note, i just registered today, will i always have to watch a commercial and enter in an answer just to reply/post

 

Sorry for the crazy bump but did anyone find a solution to this? (other than the 2k job) Or must I put up with the ticking. Mines sound exactly like MixSE's