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Post Title: HOW-TO: Fix Your Timing Chain Rattle Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 2:33 PM 3/5/2005 Objective: To get rid of the "marble-in-tin-can" noise coming from the front of your valve cover by removing the two guides for the upper chain. The guides are considered unnecessary by Nissan as seen in their TSB. DO NOT REMOVE THE GUIDE FOR LOWER CHAIN.The procedure is written for a 96 S14 but should be similar for all DOHC engines.
Introduction: There are three possible reasons why your timing chain is making the rattling noise. 1. Oil pressure is low: The tensioners that keep the timing chain tight are operated by oil pressure so if your oil pressure is low then the tensioner will not be working properly hence your chain will flap around and hit the guides. 2. Tensioner is stuck: If you have alot of oil gunk on your tensioner then the tensioner will be stuck and not extend out all the way to keep the timing chain tight. 3. Tensioner is broken: If your tensioner is mechanically broken then you need to replace it. Having said that, before you follow this write-up it is a good idea to check your oil pressure. Also, in this write up I will not go over how to replace the tensioner but rather tell you how to clean it while it's still installed.
Difficulty: On a scale from 1~5 (5 being the hardest): 2/5
Time: Approximately 3 hours. Assuming you have no previous experience.
Tools: -Metric Sockets including 27mm for the crank bolt -Ratchet and wobble extensions -Screwdriver -Torque wrench -Breaker bar (not necessary) -Timing Light -RTV Liquid Gasket
Procedures: 1. Set your #1 piston at TDC on compression stroke -NOTE: You can tell you are at TDC on compression stroke by looking at the cams. As seen in the picture of the cams below, exhaust and intake cam lobes for #1 cylinder should be facing outward. So you might want to open the valve cover first then rotate the crank pulley. If the #1 cylinder cams are facing inwards then just rotate your pulley another 360 degrees until they are facing outwards. -Jack up your car and crawl under your car -Take a 27mm socket and a breaker bar and rotate the crank pulley clockwise using the crank bolt. -Match the notches on the crank pulley with the needle as shown.
-Lower your car
2. Take off the valve cover -Remove the spark plug wires. -Loosen bolts as shown below.
-The bolts closest to the firewall might be a bit hard to get to because of wires and brake lines but try to push those away and wobble extension will help.
3. Remove the upper timing chain guide #1 -Note here the position of the cam lobes on #1 cylinder. They are facing outwards which means its at TDC on compression stroke. If the #1 cylinder cams are facing inwards then just rotate your pulley another 360 degrees until they are facing outwards. -Remove the two bolts circled in yellow
-What my guide looked like. Check out the wear.
4. Take off the distributor. -Now before you start taking off the distributor, make a making on the mount as shown below. This will help you with installing everything back with close to correct timing.
-Using a screw driver take off the cap(part that has the spark plug wires attached) off the distributor. There are two screws holding this. One on top and one on bottom. Once you take it off, you should see this. Make a marking on the rotor and the distributor so that when you install it, you know it's in correct position.
- Now, you are ready to take the distributor off. Unbolt the two bolts, circled in yellow, that are holding the distributor. One on top and one on bottom.
- Tug on the distributor with a bit of force. It should come out with a sound of "pop"
5. Take off the camshaft sprocket cover - Here is a picture of the cover with location of the bolts and their torque specs. Please remember to distinguish between lb*in and lb*ft - You might have to take a rummer mallet and gently tap on cover to get it off.
6. Remove the guide #2 and clean the tensioner - Remove the two bolts, circled in yellow, to remove the guide #2.
-What my guide looked like.
-Now check the condition of the tensioner. If it's really gunked up with oil then spray some WD-40 and move the tensioner in and out repeatedly (many many times) until it comes out all the way and goes in all the way freely. Here is a video of what I am talking about. http://www-personal.umich.edu/...1.AVI To make sure that the tensioner is all the way out, try pushing the tensioner towards the chain.
-Check the condition of the bottom tensioner as well. It it's stuck then do the same thing as the upper tensioner. Here is a picture of the lower tensioner
7. Install the camshaft sprocket cover -Now your guides are gone and your tensioners are working again. It's time to install everything back together. -Using a plastic scrapper of some sort clean the surface where the camshaft sprocket cover meets the engine. Be careful not to drop any gunk down the front cover. -Apply your RTV liquid gasket as shown in the picture. -Install the camshaft sprocket cover and torque to specs. Go easy on the tightening since the head is aluminium and you can easily strip the thread.
8. Install your valve cover - Put your gasket in the valve cover as shown in the picture.
-Apply RTV sealant at the semi-cricle "ditch" in front of the camshaft and also in the back as shown in the picture.
-Install your valve cover and tighten as shown below. Torque spec is around 7~10 lb*ft
9. Install Distributor. -Now this is the tricky part... -If your car is S13, your distributor should look like this when #1 piston is at TDC on compression stroke.
-If your car is S14, you should align the distributor as shown below and it should look like this installed.
-If you made the mark on the rotor before, this would be a simple process assuming your engine did not move.
-Also, your rotor should be perfectly aligned with #1 spark plug wire as shown below.
-Rotate your distributor so that it matches the marking you made on the mounts previously. This should bring you close to the timing you had before.
-Please note the spark plug wire position and install them back.
-Make sure everything is connected and good to go. Start your car and check your timing. If its not in spec, disconnect your throttle position sensor and adjust your idle so that is around 700 +-50 and check your timing. If its out of spec, make sure you installed your distributor correctly and rotate your distributor accordingly to retard or advance timing.
Pat your self on the back and grab a bottle of beer. You are finally done with the infamous timing chain guide noise.
Post Title: Re: HOW-TO: Fix Your Timing Chain Rattle (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:Veriest1 at 2:46 PM 3/5/2005
Nice right up. It was very informative and the pictures were great.
It'd be more usefull if I had a DOHC though.
Post Title: Re: HOW-TO: Fix Your Timing Chain Rattle (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:4felix20 at 2:47 PM 3/5/2005
do i hear angels singing..!?
damn. thanks ALOT man. that is a very nice write up with VERY nice clear pictures too. i think you should get a free NICO shirt or something..
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 3:31 PM 3/5/2005
Thanx guys for the compiment.
Just giving back to the community that has given me so much.
Post Title: Posted by:D1SR240 at 9:04 PM 3/5/2005
Nice write up, now your sig kinda matches mine.
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 9:20 PM 3/5/2005 Ok I admit it... Yes, I copied the idea from you hehehehe.
Post Title: Posted by:Tsukai240 at 11:31 PM 3/5/2005 GR8 WRITE UP i'm probably going to use your instructions soon. ( I H8TE THAT DAMM RATTLE )
Post Title: Posted by:phuphyter at 4:59 PM 3/6/2005 Can a mod sticky this in the tech forum?
Post Title: Posted by:s13EastTN at 6:36 PM 3/6/2005 That picture of the distributor will certainly come in handy for getting my timing in place.
Post Title: Re: (s13EastTN) Posted by:spider_slayer at 10:55 PM 3/6/2005 this should definitally be a sticky thread
Post Title: Re: HOW-TO: Fix Your Timing Chain Rattle (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:DammitBobby at 5:08 AM 3/7/2005 I have read how to do this many times but this article is the best I have seen. Please make this one a Sticky!! Great Job!
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 6:31 AM 3/7/2005 Thank you all for your compliments.
Mods, do feel free to move it to technical and make it a sticky there if youd like.
Post Title: Posted by:Jookmasta at 8:49 AM 3/7/2005
great write up. i havent seen anything like this b/f when it came to our timing chains. u may have just saved the existence of all 240s...............
Post Title: Re: (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:skydragoness at 10:35 AM 3/7/2005 You're the man now dog!!!
I've been real upset/worried/nervous/paranoid about my timing chain, it's not going bad yet. But i do hear the tell-tale rattle now that i have 113k on the odo. This writeup makes it look easy enough that me and my bf could tackle it. Since the FSM seems so cryptic, and pictures/specific guidlines REALLY help. This is a simple way of getting in there and cleaning house/checking out the guides. And since my mechanical fan and the shroud are gone, there's definitely plenty of room for me to try this out.
You ROCK.
Post Title: Posted by:gabossie at 4:10 PM 3/7/2005
Very nice write up. Only one little mistake, the KA block is iron, not alluminum
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 4:57 PM 3/7/2005 Yes you are right the bottom block is iron but the head is Aluminum.
edit: WTF I said block is alum in the write-up lol fixed. thanx for the correction.
Post Title: Re: (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:Zyphar at 8:24 PM 3/8/2005
very nice how-to! very informative and visual!
just 2 quick questions...
1. You stated that you needed a timing light. In what step do u use it ? or did you not use it at all?
2. In order to reach the lower tensioner and guides another cover must be taken off correct ?
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 8:27 PM 3/8/2005
1. After you put everything back together... you have to make sure that your timing is correct because you are taking off and putting on the distributor which adjusts the timing. If you make a mark on the mount/rotor I described and you did not rotate the engine then you probably won't need it but its always good to check.
2. Yes the front cover must be taken off which is a long process and a PITA procedure if your engine is in the car from what I hear... BTW, you can still see and play with the lower tensioner with only the camshaft sprocket cover off.
Post Title: Posted by:jgtc_s14 at 3:38 PM 3/14/2005
thanks very very useful
Post Title: Re: (jgtc_s14) Posted by:Silverbullet91 at 6:39 AM 3/18/2005 Is the picture above showing which way to rotate the distributor for advancing/retarding correct? I thought that the rotor button turned clockwise and therefore turning the distributor clockwise would retard the ignition and counter-clockwise would advance the igniton. Am I wrong? Somebody please correct me.
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 7:32 PM 3/18/2005 Nope, the way I have it in the picture is correct. I originally thought the same thing but it turned out that I was wrong.
Post Title: Posted by:Tsukai240 at 2:17 PM 3/19/2005 once again thanks for the great write up. 2 questions: how do you incerase your oil preasure what are the part numbers on the new tensioners
my timing chain is sooo loose i'm having very noticeable timing drift. (oh and its fugging NOISEY)
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 4:35 PM 3/19/2005
your oil pressure is low when something is wrong for example oil pump, oil filter and maybe the oil pick up in the oil pan, or something is blocking the passage...
You can go to sites like midwaypartsteam or nissanparts and search for timing tensioner for your car and it will give you the part #
Post Title: Posted by:nismofly at 10:08 PM 3/19/2005
somebody do this for the SOHC!!
not going to be me either lol...im waiting for it so i can do it myself
Post Title: Posted by:240sx2nr at 2:39 AM 3/20/2005
dope write up.... imma for sure do this on my zenki cause the tick is super annoying
Post Title: Re: (240sx2nr) Posted by:sanioll at 12:11 AM 3/21/2005 god, this is a great write up, you relieved so much from my shoulders.
So thats where the noise is coming from. its simply the guides.
youre a genious!
i'm simply not going that deep, i have to look into FSM learn at bit more about the engine before going that deep.
But, can I just remove the top guide and leave the bottom guide inside?
I think on mine its only the top guide making that noise. I hope its okay to remove only one. this doesn't cause any kind of looseness in the chain does it?
Modified by sanioll at 3:48 AM 3/21/2005
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 4:37 PM 3/21/2005
You can just remove the top guide but alot of people have reported that even with the top one removed, they still hear slight ticking and trust me most of them regret that they didnt remove the #2 guide while they were removing the #1... As seen in the picture above, its clear that #2 guide also has wear on it. Sooner or later depending on the condidion of the tensioner, that wear is going to get bigger and bigger until the guide snaps, falls into the front cover and breaks the chain and kaboom (worst case scenario)... I suggest you remove the side guide while you are at it.
BTW, the chains are hitting the guides because the chain is loose. So be sure to clean and check the condition of the tensioner instead of just removing the guides. You can do this for both bottom and top tensioner with the camshaft sprocket cover off so go ahead and do the entire job while you are at it
Post Title: Re: (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:sanioll at 5:48 PM 3/21/2005
see i'm still a virgin when it comes to engines, set tdc at compression stroke, etc... i donno what that even means. so i gotta look into FSM more and learn a bit more to get more comfortable doing it
i'll just remove the top guide for now, also my valve cover is leaking since i switched to mobil 1. so i gotta take it out, probabbly replace the gasket and apply some seal.
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 6:40 PM 3/21/2005
TDC - top dead center. When the piston is at the highest point.
Compression stroke - This is the stroke of the piston that compresses the fuel and air mixture before cumbustion.
TDC at compression stroke. The highest point of piston when its compressing the fuel and air mixture. So TDC at exhaust stroke would be the highest point of piston when its letting the exhaust out of the cylinder.
Hope this helped. If you have any questions feel free to email me or im me or post here.
Post Title: Re: (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:sanioll at 7:27 PM 3/22/2005
sow how do youj know that TDC is at compression stroke? Do you start and stop the engine until its aligned??
^--blonde/redneck style --^
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 7:56 PM 3/22/2005
If you align the notches on the crank pulley as shown in the picture, it will be TDC at compression stroke. Also when you take your valve cover off and you see the cam lobes for the 1st cylinder is facing directly opposite to each other that is TDC compression
Post Title: Re: (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:sanioll at 9:16 PM 3/23/2005 how do you turn the engine to align it??
do you use a 1/2 breaker bar? if you do, where does that bar go to turn the engine??
sorry, i'm an idiot when it comes to engine stuff.
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 10:33 AM 3/24/2005
you have to get a 27mm socket.. Its pretty damn big and use that to turn your crank pulley(pulley with notches on it) clockwise. The crank pulley has a huge bolt in the middle that you can use to turn it.
Its alot easier if you use a breaker bar but you can use things like torque wrenches as well. Its not that hard to crank the engine.
Post Title: Re: (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:EstoMax at 11:58 PM 3/24/2005
i just did this today.. was expecting it to be a lot harder thats all i gotta say lol
i also degreased and cleaned the crap out of the front cover and valve cover so its nice and shiny-ish now
gonna double check timing tmrw i started it up for a few sec and it ran fine so thats good haha
max
Post Title: Re: (Silverbullet91) Posted by:jgtc_s14 at 10:19 AM 3/25/2005
Quote, originally posted by Silverbullet91 »
Is the picture above showing which way to rotate the distributor for advancing/retarding correct? I thought that the rotor button turned clockwise and therefore turning the distributor clockwise would retard the ignition and counter-clockwise would advance the igniton. Am I wrong? Somebody please correct me.
thats what i thought too????????
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 5:14 PM 3/25/2005
No... you can try it and see for your self... which way retards and advances. I wouldnt write a how to and not do it my self and just post it.
I used to think otherwise but when I actally did the timing job my self I figured out that the picture shown is the correct way.
Post Title: Posted by:AsanBBoy at 11:32 AM 3/29/2005
uh i think i'm in trouble. i'm stuck at number 6. Something is wrong. I'm a toatal noob on this. I can't move the tensioner at all, but there is slack at the top. Also my cam lobes for the first cylinder is facing each other .
Post Title: Re: (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:AsanBBoy at 11:42 AM 3/29/2005 nervermind i figured everything out.
Modified by AsanBBoy at 3:32 PM 3/29/2005
Post Title: Posted by:ArcherV20 at 11:37 PM 4/2/2005 Did it today and the S13 has a few little differences, but nothing that should stop any process, great write up and thanks for the answer to that stupid noise my engine was making!
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 2:09 PM 4/3/2005 It would be nice if you can list the differences in S13s that I did not mention in the write up so that people can be aware of it.
Thanx!
Post Title: Re: HOW-TO: Fix Your Timing Chain Rattle (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:xterra+hardbody at 2:28 PM 4/3/2005
This may be a silly question, but if you are having this issue due to the fact that your tensioners are gunked up, wouldn't pouring something like sea foam into th ecrank case solve the issue? I am a complete newb at working on cars, but it seems logical to me. If oil moves past the tensioners so would the sea foam. If my understanding is incorrect please let me know.
I currently have a 97 hardbody with the symptoms described. Loud rattle on start, quiter rattle while idle. I plan on putting a bit of sea foam in the crank case today to see if it helps.
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 4:45 PM 4/4/2005
Yes theoretically it would work... That depends on how gunked up it is tho.. Honestly, when I cleaned my tensioner they were stuck pretty hard I doubt it would have been solved with seafoam. Besides, those guides do not belong there anyways... Might as well as remove it.
Like ive said before you have to make sure your oil pressure is good before you do anything... Regardless of your tensioners condition if your oil pressure is bad tensioner wont do its job
Post Title: Posted by:4felix20 at 6:15 PM 4/4/2005
do you guys know what that little knob is for on the distributor cap? it's like a teardrop shaped turnable knob...
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 7:16 PM 4/4/2005 Im not sure what you mean by a knob... do you have a picture or where its located on the dist?
Post Title: Posted by:xterra+hardbody at 10:32 AM 4/6/2005 Well I put the seafoam in. It sounds a little better, but I still have this very violent noise when the engine starts fter it has been sitting for a while.
The noise is like two pieces of aluminum banging together hard.
Post Title: Re: HOW-TO: Fix Your Timing Chain Rattle (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:4felix20 at 3:35 PM 4/6/2005
this little knob here...mine turns a little.
Modified by 4felix20 at 12:07 AM 4/8/2005
Post Title: Posted by:xterra+hardbody at 5:52 PM 4/6/2005 Update:
I had the oil changed today and afterwards it sounds so much worse than it did before I put the seafoam in. The two places that I took it today didn't have an oil presssure gauge to test it with. I would have gotten my own gauge today and done it but I have no clue where to put it. The 2 parts stores that I went to didn't have manuals for a 97 nissan hardbody. I wish I knew exactly what the timing chain issue sounds like. I am in an apartment and its against the rules to work on a vehicle so I would have to pay some one to do it. Would hate to spend that kind of cash on something so easy to fix.....
Anyone got a sound clip of it?
Post Title: Re: (xterra+hardbody) Posted by:sanioll at 11:58 AM 4/7/2005
Quote, originally posted by xterra+hardbody »
Anyone got a sound clip of it?
yes, but its on the hard drive on PC downstairs and ummmm... i'm 50 miles away from home. I'll post it if i can find it.
Post Title: Posted by:yoozef at 3:56 PM 4/15/2005
good write up
Post Title: Re: (yoozef) Posted by:Chaotic_Warlord at 10:45 PM 4/22/2005 I have the sound and I know its my guides, will remove them one of these weekends when it's not raining and my buddy is over. My question is this, when I am sitting at idle I can hear it (marbles in a can) in the area of the top guide, but I can really hear it when I am driving, especially if I push lightly on the gas to go up a hill or incline. I used to have a similar noise in my 84 Olds Cutlass Supreme but that noise was the Catalytic Converter. Would this noise I'm hearing while driving down the road be the timing chain guides or the cat. ? It's really loud from like 10mph up to around 40 mph, between the rattling and the bad rear wheel hub (and now my brakes are starting to squeal) my car is just plain out noisy. I just need some free time some spare hands and some extra cash to do so serious maintenance.
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 9:47 AM 4/25/2005 I bet its the guides as you go faster, higher the rev and faster the chain spins...
Where is the rattling coming from? obviously if its coming from the front then its the guides
Post Title: Re: (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:Chaotic_Warlord at 3:40 PM 4/25/2005
I can't really tell because it only happens when I am driving down the road, if I have it park and rev my engine it doesn't make the sound. Like I stated before, it only does it sometimes and thats usually only when I go up an incline. Having said that I am wondering if its the gears in my slushbox, but I've driven automatics before and have even burned through a couple auto tranny's before and it never sounded like this. Hopefully I'll get a nice weekend the same time I have the money for parts to replace the gaskets on my valve cover so I'll take the chain guides out then.
Post Title: Re: (Chaotic_Warlord) Posted by:brisknfade at 12:42 AM 4/26/2005 So today I decided to try this out after getting my valve cover gasket from autozone. I pulled off the valve cover and i saw that the timing chain was gone... The bolts were still there though. I guess the previous owner must of had them removed at the dealership or something. But then i immediately thought to myself "Why did i still hear that ticking noise???"
I looked at the valve cover and saw that the chain must of been hitting that instead. It had noticeable marks. So tomorrow im going to try and see if the guides are gunked up or not. Hopefully that's the problem.
EDIT:
EEEK! Upon further inspection, it looked like i actually had the guide CRACK OFF in there. Amazingly nothing happend. Must have happened some time back. Engine still feels nice and peppy and pulls pretty hard. Yay.
Modified by brisknfade at 8:13 PM 4/26/2005
Post Title: Re: (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:Neejay at 8:00 PM 5/5/2005
Quote, originally posted by ILikeMy240sx »
I bet its the guides as you go faster, higher the rev and faster the chain spins...
Where is the rattling coming from? obviously if its coming from the front then its the guides
What causes the chain to rattle on startup? Guides? I have a SOHC. Ive always had it, but today I *think* I heard it rattling a bit at idle.
Post Title: Posted by:jgtc_s14 at 8:20 AM 5/7/2005
hey would i have to drain my oil if i remove the front cover? or it dosent matter
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 10:32 AM 5/7/2005 rattling during startup is probably due to little oil pressure during startup...
To take off the front cover, you do not have to drain oil because all the oil will be in your drain pan.
Post Title: Re: (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:Neejay at 10:07 PM 5/7/2005
Quote, originally posted by ILikeMy240sx »
rattling during startup is probably due to little oil pressure during startup...
To take off the front cover, you do not have to drain oil because all the oil will be in your drain pan.
Oil pump would be the only thing causing this?
Post Title: Posted by:DC2 Darren at 5:27 PM 5/20/2005
mine only makes the noise at idle, the minute the engine goes above idle, the noise stops, is this the chain?
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 3:04 PM 5/21/2005 Im guessing low oil pressure at idle causing the rattling but I might be wrong.
There are # of things that will cause low oil pressure. Oil pump, oil filter, oil pick up, oil passage being blocked. As far as diagnosing oil pressure problem, I do not know much about it but checking the oil pressure would be the first step.
Remember, if your chain is rattling not because of the tensioner but oil pressure... even with the tensioners cleaned and guides removed, there is a chance you will still hear rattling due to the lower chain hitting on its guide(which you are not supppoed to remove)
Post Title: Posted by:Blade7764 at 11:57 AM 6/2/2005
I beleive that s13's have the same problem, and if so, Im going to do this for sure. Sweet guide, I would love it if someone were to say the differences between the s13 and s14 so we don't mess up!
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 2:22 PM 6/2/2005 S13 DOHC and S14 procedure should be similar except when it comes to adjusting the distributor. I included the picture of how S13 distributor should look like when its aligned properly. Other than that everything should be similar
Post Title: Posted by:sXi at 4:06 PM 6/3/2005 how do you tell when to replace the whole timing chain thing
Post Title: Posted by:Blade7764 at 8:41 PM 6/3/2005 my s13 is SOHC tho, thats the prob
Post Title: Re: (Blade7764) Posted by:Neejay at 9:46 PM 6/3/2005
Quote, originally posted by Blade7764 »
my s13 is SOHC tho, thats the prob
Same here....so far no one has posted a how-to/common problem for SOHC
I guess no one bothers with it...
Post Title: Posted by:Blade7764 at 12:05 PM 6/4/2005
It sounds like its the same problem, so all we have to do is remove the upper guide on our SOHC engines.
Post Title: Re: HOW-TO: Fix Your Timing Chain Rattle (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:scarboroughdub at 8:41 PM 6/6/2005 so let me get this straight, you remove the guides completely and you dont buy new ones to replace them, you just assemble the cover back on and your set .
let me know cause i got the rattle problem right now and i was going to go to the dealership and buy all new parts thanks.
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 4:21 PM 6/9/2005
those two upper guides.. NOT THE LOWER TIMING CHAIN GUIDE are considered useless by Nissan. Its found in their TSB.. Nissan says you get rid of it. Go to the dealership and ask for those parts and theyll just say you dont need it.
Post Title: Re: (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:Neejay at 5:12 PM 6/9/2005
Quote, originally posted by ILikeMy240sx »
those two upper guides.. NOT THE LOWER TIMING CHAIN GUIDE are considered useless by Nissan. Its found in their TSB.. Nissan says you get rid of it. Go to the dealership and ask for those parts and theyll just say you dont need it.
DOHC right?
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 4:24 AM 6/10/2005
YUP they did it for the DOHC but not too sure about SOHC. Doesnt hurt to see what people did with it.
But upper timing chain guides are usually useless it seems with Nissans
Post Title: Posted by:VinceSez at 11:14 AM 6/10/2005
if i were to remove the two guides i wont have the "ticking of death" problem any more? or will it just slow down the problem?
Post Title: Posted by:SlIp'n'sLiDe at 8:02 AM 6/20/2005 thanks for the good write up, just inspired me to do this.
Post Title: Re: (SlIp'n'sLiDe) Posted by:silviaxspress at 4:12 PM 6/20/2005 6 months after reading this post, I have finally decided to try work on my car.
I need help. I am stuck at the tensioner. It will not move at all! I have tried pushing the tensioner inward toward the chain and outward, but it just doesn't move. A new top tensioner would cost me $42.00, but should i change the bottom tensioner as well($38.00)??? There seems to be a lot more parts involve that needs to be remove, is this so? Please advise me as what i would need to remove so I have some idea before moving foward to replace tensioner(s). My dad is arguing that there might be a way to adjust the tensioners, which I keep saying NO. Is is true that tensioners cannot be adjusted?
At this moment, I have put it on hold. I will post pics of my chain guides later. It did not have much wear or rub on them.
Here how it looks like under the hood.
Now, here is a close up of where my timing tension is currently stopped at, an not even moving. It did move like 1/8" when pushing tword the chain, but that was about it.
Here are 2 videos to show how difficult it was. Video #1 Had a real difficult time, can't figure out why it's so stiff! Used some Wd-40, but it didn't help. https://www.csupomona.edu/~rvan/MVI_5294.AVI
Post Title: Posted by:ILikeMy240sx at 7:30 PM 6/20/2005
Seems like your top tensioner is gone.... If you saw the video that I have... its obvious that your tensioner has something stuck in it or its just plain broken.
No there is no way to adjust these tensioners... They are operated by oil pressure.. its not like a belt tensioner where you can just tighten it.
In order to move your bottom tensioner, you have to remove the front cover I think and thats a PITA to do.. if your bottom tensioner moves fine then I would just leave it.
Make sure there is nothing stuck behind that top tensioner... If its still stuck.. Id replace it.
BTW, my chain did that too when I took the cam sprocket cover off... I suppose the tensioner isnt really tight yet... I think it will be tight when you start the motor...
Post Title: Re: (ILikeMy240sx) Posted by:sanioll at 6:18 PM 6/22/2005
put some soft clothing there, and start hitting it with a hammer, SOFTLY. To see if you can move the tensioner.
OKAY, I GOT NEWS FOR YOU PEOPLE.
MY S13 KA24DE WAS TICKING AS USUAL RIGHT. 114,000 MILES. N/A. ALL STOCK WITH K&N FILTER.
LONG STORY SHORT. IT WAS TICKING BACK THEN, WHEN I WAS USING REGULAR PETROLIUM OIL.
LATER I SWITCHED TO MOBIL 1 FULL SYNTHETIC 10W-30, IT WAS STILL TICKING.
LAST WEEK, I WENT TO MOBIL 1 0W-40, WHICH I LIKE A LOT.
TO MY SURPRISE, THE TICKING IS GONE. YES, ITS GONE BABE!!
I HAVE ONLY REMOVED ONE TOP CHAIN GUIDE. THE ONE THAT SITS UNDER THE VALVE COVER. 2ND ONE IS STILL THERE, AND IT WAS TICKING. NOW WITH HEAVIER OIL IT DOES NOT.
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( I H8TE THAT DAMM RATTLE 
)
lol fixed. thanx for the correction.
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