HOW-TO: Fix Your Timing Chain Rattle

[ILikeMy240sx]

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

[sanioll]

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.

[ILikeMy240sx]

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.

[EstoMax]

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

[jgtc_s14]

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????????

[ILikeMy240sx]

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.

[AsanBBoy]

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 .

[AsanBBoy]

nervermind i figured everything out.
Modified by AsanBBoy at 3:32 PM 3/29/2005

[ArcherV20]

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!

[ILikeMy240sx]

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!

[xterra+hardbody]

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.

[ILikeMy240sx]

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

[4felix20]

do you guys know what that little knob is for on the distributor cap? it's like a teardrop shaped turnable knob...

[ILikeMy240sx]

Im not sure what you mean by a knob... do you have a picture or where its located on the dist?

[xterra+hardbody]

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.

[4felix20]

this little knob here...mine turns a little.
Modified by 4felix20 at 12:07 AM 4/8/2005

[xterra+hardbody]

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?

[sanioll]

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.

[yoozef]

good write up

[Chaotic_Warlord]

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.

[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

[Chaotic_Warlord]

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 transmission'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.

[brisknfade]

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

[Neejay]

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.

[jgtc_s14]

hey would i have to drain my oil if i remove the front cover? or it dosent matter

[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.

[Neejay]

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?

[GrilledCheese33]

mine only makes the noise at idle, the minute the engine goes above idle, the noise stops, is this the chain?

[ILikeMy240sx]

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)

[Blade7764]

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!