Clacking/rattle

[whootwhoot]

I have a 97 d21 4x4. I recently did my timing chain as I had the rattle on startup and a clacking/rattle sound when accelerating thinking it was broken guides. I was going to do it anyways but this just gave me some motivation so I bought the kit from courtesy and got it done along with a seafoam treatment, mobile1 5w30 synthetic, nissan oil filter, ngk plugs, cap and rotor and did the ignition timing. While inside everything looked good including the guides/chain etc. There was no sludge or signs of excessive wear (motor has 116,xxx miles on it) However, I'm still getting the clacking/rattling sound and have been able to pin point when it does it since I have been driving it for a day or two now.

It seems to make the noise In gear around 2700 - 3200rpm either when giving it about 1/4 or less throttle and very briefly when I let of the throttle when changing gears. It is very pronounced when in first/second and I can hear some rattling when cruising on the highway when giving it a little gas and letting off to maintain my speed. If I completely let off the gas in gear I hear nothing and if I give It more throttle it will go away.

I am by no means a mechanic. I'm just cheap and can follow directions which is why I do all of my own maintenance. When it comes to engine internals I am pretty ignorant lol. Does this sound like lifters or piston slap or oil starvation or are these motors just noisy? My dad just tells me its truck noise haha

[StephenG]

The timing chain rattle usually only occurs when the engine is first started cold and in my experience wont last more than about 20 seconds. I would say the timing set was probably a good thing to do, but wasn't the cause of your noise.

Can you say for sure its in the engine bay, or do you think it could be vibrations causing something that is just a tad loose to rattle around? I remember my truck had a funny rattle around 2400-2800 when I first got it due to some loose screws in the gauge cluster.

Also, is it a V6 or the 4 Cyl? The KA(this is the engine code for the 4 Cylinder) is kind of a noisy engine in general, so it could be nothing.

[whootwhoot]

The timing chain rattle usually only occurs when the engine is first started cold and in my experience wont last more than about 20 seconds. I would say the timing set was probably a good thing to do, but wasn't the cause of your noise.

Can you say for sure its in the engine bay, or do you think it could be vibrations causing something that is just a tad loose to rattle around? I remember my truck had a funny rattle around 2400-2800 when I first got it due to some loose screws in the gauge cluster.

Also, is it a V6 or the 4 Cyl? The KA(this is the engine code for the 4 Cylinder) is kind of a noisy engine in general, so it could be nothing.

Yes, I'm glad I did the chain. It definitely gave me some piece of mind.

I want to say I'm pretty sure but its hard to tell when driving the truck. I'll have to go over the truck again and see if I can find anything loose. I kind of want to have some one drive it while I have my head in the bay and hanging onto the bumper lol.

Also it is a KA.

The CEL came on yesterday. Turns out it is a P0400. Think any going wrong with the EGR would cause noises?

[whootwhoot]

Can anyone describe what pinging sounds like? I have tried to look it up on the interwebz but I am getting mixed reviews. From the smart a** who just says a ping sounds like a "Ping" to an exhaust rattle or suspension knock. I read that a malfunctioning EGR system might cause ping so I am going to take another look at this evening and maybe take a sound clip of the noise. Any thoughts?

[whootwhoot]

Turns out the EGR is stuck open. Stuck my fingers inside and tried to lift the diaphragm and it seemed like it was all the way up. Used a good amount of force just to make sure. Seems like a PITA to get to so I might have to take it to my mechanic haha.