'07 Versa Engine 'knocking' and/or 'slapping'

[Kingdom934]

Hey all,

I just recently took notice that there's this knocking noise. First I thought it was just 'pinging', but when I was driving in an enclosured area, I heard it was not pinging. I got a Video with the noise I'm talking about...you can really hear it especially in the video. I'm assuming it's a knocking rod or piston slap as it isn't the typical 'tick' noise that I've grown acustom with.

Noise seems to start happening right under 2K (1,800Kish) and fades before happening again at around 4Kish. Didn't rev it higher than that though.

Engine has had 2.5K~3.5K Oil changes, with the first 10Kish on dino (Dino changed in 3K, 6K, 9K intervals) before switching to full syn. Using the recommended 5-30w.

Engine also currently has 62K on it. Assuming this noise has been around for the last 5K or so.

*EDIT: Forgot to mention, this is when the engine is hot (running 1+ Hr). Not sure if it does same when it is cold.*


Video will be posted shortly after i upload it.
Thanks!

[Kingdom934]

The video is posted.

[Knightro2]

Have you tried turning your A/C on and off to see if it changes during different engine loads? It kind of sounds like a heat shield rattling or something. Had that happen on my S-10.

[biggie]

Does sound like its running normally. If that were an internal noise it wouldn't be running well at all.

Seems like it is something vibrating in the engine bay or under the car.

[Kingdom934]

Does sound like its running normally. If that were an internal noise it wouldn't be running well at all.

Seems like it is something vibrating in the engine bay or under the car.

That cross my mind. I noticed around that same RPM (2Kish), I can feel the engine shaking a little more when I hear the noise.

Have you tried turning your A/C on and off to see if it changes during different engine loads? It kind of sounds like a heat shield rattling or something. Had that happen on my S-10.

I never thought about that. I normally never run A/C (That was taken with car idle after driving 2+ hours and no A/C). I'll run the AC To see if it changes under load. Thanks!

[Kingdom934]

EDIT: Engine seems to be running normal. No noticable peformance drops other than the noise. I checked the oil and didn't notice any drops either.


I've tried driving around a little w/ AC running. Noise still occurs. Occurs when slowly reving (I.e. Hold in L until 2,800 and then 2) and when downshifting (say your in 'L' down a steep hill). I'm assuming this happens under normal driving revs, but I can't hear it. Also happens if your in that range from going up a hill. I can't hear anything going downhill, but thats likey because theres no load on the engine.

I noticed that the noise is very noticable (especially when you got like a wall or something next to you so the noise bounces back) @ 2,600RPM. When I'm in my garaged, I can hear the noise any where from 1,800RPM ish ~ 2,800RPM ish with the 2,600rpm being the most rattle/knocking.

It seems to be related to engine speed also. When I'm say in park idling at 2,600rpm with my foot slightly on the gas to maintain that speed, I can hear the noise, but if I step on the gas, for the split second when it revs up to a higher rev, the noise speeds up and disappears either because the engine is too noisey already or it goes away.

Gonna be doing my oil change and going to look for any metal particles in the oil.

[Kingdom934]

I did my oil today. Nothing unusual. Also drained and refilled my transmission. That helped with making my shifting smoother.

Anyhow, I noticed since tonight is a rather quite night that I can still hear that same sound in varible intervals at idle (with car elevated slightly to the front due to a hill). It is softer, but it comes in and out at idle.

The heatshield you folks are taking about is behind the engine eh? That looks like fun to get to....

I might just go take it to the stealership for an diag and decide from there.

[beeframen101]

Did you ever figure out what the problem was? My engine does the same thing. It will only do it at certain RPMs and it doesn't really seem to effect the performance, but it makes the car sound like crap. My Versa is 09' 1.6 manual transmission.

[Milkmaster]

Yep! Mine has 87K miles on it now and has the same "knock" to it. MY '07 does it when cold up until it warms up a bit and then is not nearly as noticeable. It really sounds like a wrist pin on a cylinder rod, but it runs fine. I just keep the oil changed and run it. Possibly it could be the fuel I have run in it. I have yet to try a tank of higher octane fuel to see if it makes a difference. I think I will do that next time and report back.

[beeframen101]

Mine only does it when the engine has been running for about 5 or 10 min. I don't think its the fuel because I use only Mobil or Shell. Also, my oil is very clean and the level is perfect. I get it changed every 3000 miles.

[Andrews Chalmers]

The engine in the video sounds perfectly normal... what you might be hearing is harsh NVH levels between 1800-2400 rpm, which is a complaint against the MR18.

FYI - for the longevity of your automatic transmission, stop shifting it as if you bought a manual car. If you need to force it down a gear to go up a hill, fine, but there's no need to go through each gear to play pretend like you're driving a manual. It is just bad for the transmission.

[ben79]

hi guys
i have the same noise on with my versa engine also when i rev to about 2rpm
it would be nice to know what is the cause and if its normal.
its sounds like a rod bearing knocking

[ben79]

hi there;
can some one give me an idea what the noise from the engine on the video comes from?
i have it on my car too and the dealier is giving my the rounds saying that all versas have that sound to them.

it also happens to me when the car is warmed up and i rev tne motor to about 2rpm
id like to hear from other owners who have the same problem and what they did about it.
the knocking noise sound scary to me.
thanks

[BBISHOPPCM]

There is one test you can all perform if you suspect a rod (or main) bearing failure; simply perform an oil pressure test with a good quality pressure gauge (or have a mechanic do this). IF there is a failing bearing (and I do not believe there is in either of your cases), the pressure will be significantly lower than spec. I personally believe the engine in that video is suffering from an octane ping. If it were a rod knock, it would get steadily worse the higher you rev the engine. One other possibility is piston slap. My engine made all kindsa funny noises (valvetrain noise, and that knock you're hearing) when I dumped it off the pier @ 60k.

My Nissan Murano did the same thing (I owned it from 67k to 110k when the whole damn vehicle began falling apart).