2.5L Engine noise, Normal?

[BlackMetal]

My apologies if this topic has been covered. I have the 2.5L in my 09 coupe. I am not familiar with the engine internals in this engine, IE forged pistons etc...
Since new I`ve noticed that this engine makes a ton of noise when started, especially after it sits for a few days. Thinking it would go away once warm, but it does not... yes as the engine warms it does change a bit but the noises are still there... It sounds like cold forged pistons all the time, or Pistons that have shrunk over time. There is not a lot of mileage on this car approx. 14K and oil changes have been made with quality oils earlier since new, so can rule out neglect... I was just curious if all the 2.5`s make this noise...
It is not the clutch, or throw out bearing. It is a hollow rattle type sound from start up to shut down. like I mentioned very similar to loose pistons.
when first firing the car after a few days I get that normal momentary lack of oil/drainback sound for a split second. then is sounds like a 2 stroke ...
it runs great otherwise. Just very annoying to hear all this engine noise inside the cabin. seems to be more pronounced inside the car then when hearing for it under the hood...

any thoughts? appreciate it folks...

this weighs on my mind from the minute the dealer said this to me when taking possession of the key fob>
"you want to return this car when the lease is up, you don`t want to buy this one!"
now a year later and I`m still thinking about that statement, weird!!!
I had leased this with extra miles and prolly won`t even come close to using them all and the idea of purchasing at lease end is an option, now I`m rethinking this...

I let the good looks of the AC win me over in spite of a not so good deal...

[QR25DE]

It's normal. I noticed the same thing with very low kms. They're known for a bit of rattle. It's fine.

You will notice it more when it's cold out. If it's bothering you go have it checked out to be safe. Only you can tell how loud it is etc. After mine warms up it's pretty quiet.

[BlackMetal]

Thank You QR. it def quiets down when the engine gets up to full temp, just cant get used to the collapsed piston sound... It does have the typical engine noises when cold, but does not entirely go away when fully warmed... I will say that this 2.5 is louder than our 1.8 in the Versa.
not a stranger to engine sounds, valvetrain etc. My 4.6L in the CVPI Ford had it`s own melody I had to get used to...

I will keep an ear to it. I understand it could be absolutely normal, not quite finger on panic button unless it gets louder...
synthetic or Dino oil makes no difference... what`s wierd is it`s sounds exactly like the old 3 finger type pressure plates when the throw out bearings would tap the fingers...it is consistent with rpm`s... thanks again...BM...

[johnnir3volution]

Everytime the weather gets cold my freekn car sounds like a tractor

[QR25DE]

Yeah I paid more attention to it today after I did an oil change yesterday. It's about the same loudness. Once it's warm it's fine. If it starts sounding like a 1st generation neon with knocking while it's warm, then yeah you have an issue hahha

[BlackMetal]

well wether right or wrong, I always let the car idle for 10-20 minutes so it`s warm before i drive it... If I do drive it from a cold start it really rattles and sounds like it will come apart... the tone does change somewhat when warm... wish I could describe it better for you all...
QR25, in your best guesstimate what does your engine sound like?

it really does sound like my 2 stroke triple with loose piston clearances...

I can remember a family members VW Jetta was like marbles in a garbage can with 70K on the engine...

[QR25DE]

Upon cold start up (freezing 32oF / 0oC out) it rattles. I'm used to it. It did it since I bought it in Jan 09. Had colder temperatures, same noises. Once it's warm after a few minutes it's fine. I let mine warm up when it's really cold out for a few minutes as well. Once I get down the road to the stop light, its fine. No noises, just regular running noises, *shrug* I dunno. Nothings wrong with mine and I run the turbo on it etc. If you're concerned take it in for them to check over.

[BlackMetal]

Upon cold start up (freezing 32oF / 0oC out) it rattles. I'm used to it. It did it since I bought it in Jan 09. Had colder temperatures, same noises. Once it's warm after a few minutes it's fine. I let mine warm up when it's really cold out for a few minutes as well. Once I get down the road to the stop light, its fine. No noises, just regular running noises, *shrug* I dunno. Nothings wrong with mine and I run the turbo on it etc. If you're concerned take it in for them to check over.

almost same here. picked up the car in aug/sept 09 really didn`t pay attention to it until shortly after it became cold here in the NE. it very well could be normal running noises. It does it all the time, just a different tone when warm... for the record this one has to be the loudest in all my years of driving all engine types and sizes...
not valves or injectors or chain tensioner. damn, even the Xterra 4.0 was quieter... Guess i`ll have to take the time to swing by the stealership...oooof... well on a good note there is an extended warranty on the car...

[TomNJ]

Yeah, mine does the same thing when cold, but sounds fine when warmed up for a few minutes. I've tried different oil types and viscosity grades, but no change in the noise. Lately I've been experimenting with adding synthetic polyol esters to the gasoline, and the latest one has actually reduced the warm-up noise, suggesting it may be injectors. Next tankful gets a more viscous ester.

TomNJ

[BlackMetal]

Thanks TomNJ.
I could herar the injectors cycle and the normal reciprocating assy noises... there just seems to be a marbling/rattle type noise all through out the rpm range...def has me puzzled that I could hear it more in the cab while driving...

[kerrton]

I have the same 2.5 engine in my 2008 Rogue and the same experience - terrible rattle noise when really cold out but once it warms up a bit it quiets right down. I've been told that the technical reason for this is the shim-type lifters as opposed to hydraulic self-adjusting lifters that all North American car manuafacturers use. Hydraulic lifters adjust to extreme temps and eliminate lifter noise that we experience with our shim-type lifters in the 2.5 - the reason that Nissan engineers went with this design is because it's more efficient and simple. It's just a trade-off, better efficiency and simplicity results in a bit of extra noise when cold. Also, hydrualic lifters are very expensive to replace but with our Nissan 2.5 engine we don't have to worry about this part failing.

The noise is normal for this engine and will not result in any excessive wear, but my advice is to take it easy until the engine warms up a little bit.