240sx Timing Chain - Mechanic in Atlanta Area?

[Invictus]

As with a lot of the timing chain noise posts here, I'm experiencing a ticking rattle sound at the front of the ending, especially at low speeds. When I first start up the car, it doesn't happen, but by the time I leave my neighborhood, I can hear the noise even with the windows up. If I stop someplace for a couple hours and come back, the sound will immediately resume. I've had my car up to a mechanic where my family usually gets our auto-work done, and he said just from looking at the outside that he was pretty certain that the noise was caused by the timing chain mechanism, but unfortunately he doesn't do engine work.

Unfortunately, I don't exactly have the fattest wallet around, so dropping $500+ to fix this isn't going to be an easy. At the same time, I also need a working vehicle, so I'm caught in quite a bind. This might be a long shot, but does anyone here know of a good (reasonably priced) mechanic in the eastern Atlanta, GA area? I have a few places in mind, but I was hoping for a recommendation.

After reading some of the posts here, it seems like the cheapest solution would be to do it myself, but I know virtually nothing about how a car is put together, so I'm a little hesitant to pop the valve cover off, have something go wrong, and then not even be able to drive it to a mechanic.

In addition, having not taken a look at the inside of the engine, I don't know how much damage may have already been caused. I saw some estimates of the car running for another 5,000-20,000 miles, and I certainly haven't gone that far (I just bought the car used in January), but my experience has been that when it rains, it pours.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[nlzmo400r]

its probably your timing chain guides. You can DIY if you're somewhat mechanically inclined. Search for it on NICO, you'll see write ups and what is involved, good luck

[navysnail]

there is some good mechanics up here, but they are fairly expensive

next time you change your oil, cut open your filter and look for plastic, metal fragments,. etc....

[Invictus]

Thanks for your replies, fellas. Looks like I'm going to have to just bite the bullet and put out the money to have it done right. I found a number of mechanics in the area who were charging close to $500, but it's kinda risky as far as quality work goes. I had a shop do a diagnostic on it and they definitely narrowed it down to the timing chain mechanism, but of course they won't know exactly what's wrong with it until they open the thing up.

I guess the moral of the story is that simply knowing how to use a machine isn't good enough. I'm really hoping to get into this and learn a little more about how my car is put together. Maybe in the future I can save myself some money by doing some of the smaller repairs myself, but something tells me fixing a timing chain isn't exactly the best place to start .

Thanks again.

[yellow_jacket]

iirc the chain noise is primarily caused by the upper chain on the ka24de. This can easily be fixed by removing the valve cover and the upper timing chain cover.

[Wolf240SX]

before you sepnd any money simply remove the 8 or 10 bolt holding the valve cover on. Then at the fron of the head you will see 2 10mm bolts holding a guide. Remove this guide and that will probably solve your problem. Nissan found out that this guide was not necessary and was cuasing noise so they deleted it from there tech manuals and inventory.