Loud startup noise

[fastdave]

I have a 96 nissan pickup with a 4 cyl. On the first start of the day there is a very loud noise in the engine area that lasts for about 2-3 seconds. Might be lifters but not sure. Anyone else experience this?

[Big-Bird]

It is lifters. When the oil passage and springs get gummed up a bit they tend to rattle until the oil pressure increases then the noise goes away.

This is more of a nuisance than a real problem because once lifter noise starts you really can't get rid of it. You might try using a 5/W/50 synthetic oil and this might reduce the noise.

I have tried several 'engine cleaning' products to clear the lifters on my 95 D21 but nothing worked. The synthetic oil did reduce the rattle though during startup about 75% of the time. When it got down to -20 degrees Celcuis ( dam cold to you US folks) it would rattle for about 20-30 seconds..then it would go away when the pressure came up fully.

[SR20drftSX]

haha blame canada! yeah that ****s pretty cold indeedy , but yeah..its a thing yu'll have to deal with , deff cant stop lifter/rocker tap , it happens on my dodge dakota on a 95 degree F. day ..good luck , get some earplugs or something

[EstoMax]

bumping this out of nowhere, since my 4 cyl 5spd does it too.. seems to sometimes not do it when its warm, but almost always when its cold. the oil light stays on for the duration too. Running 10w40 right now.

will try 5w30 next round to see if it helps..

Noone has found a fix for this ??? interesting. i'm guessing the 240sx sohcs do this too?

[moneymike]

Noone has found a fix for this ??? interesting. i'm guessing the 240sx sohcs do this too?[/QUOTE] i have a 91 hb sohc does the same thing for like a quick 2 secs im running 10 w 40 atm going to switch to 20 50 and see what happens soon

[seang]

Ahh, how our knowledge has evolved since 2006. KA24E timing chain guides have been a thing for some time now.

The hydraulic rocker arms are known to get sticky sometimes, but the rattling on start-up is likely caused by a sticky timing chain tensioner, which is common for a KA24E.

KA24E's produced from 89-95 have plastic backed timing chain guides that wear through over time. The chain then proceeds to eat through the front cover, which eventually mixes the oil with the coolant - not good. 95-97 models found in HB pickups had metal backed guides, but can still suffer a sticky tensioner.

[RT22]

Mine does a rattling and it seems to be the timing chain guides, known issue on higher mileage ones.