is my ka24 dying? its noisy...

[BronkStang]

so my 94 nissan d21 2wd currently at 169000 miles has been making noises for the past year or so now (15000 miles), and i dont think they are getting any better.

when i first start my truck up in the morning, the engine makes a rattling noise for about 2 seconds.if the truck sits for more than, say 3 hours, it makes a similar noise though not as bad.

i was thinking this was a rod noise but its not deep enough, i think its the lifters. However this is merely a presumption so if any of you have/and or had the same noises feel free to chime in.

the truck still does this just after receiving an oil change. previously the oil was changed by a friend at jiffy lube for free, with pennzoil and approximately half a quart of lucas oil stabilizer (thick oil)

awhile after the oil was changed i was beating the hell out of the truck offroad and had the truck stuck in a narrow ravine that had the rear right tire up in the air and tilted a bit more than 45 degrees. while my friend pulled me out i left the truck idling, and the motor started to make the similar early morning noise. when we got the truck out i kept beating the snot out of it because the noise died away. it was fun but i regret beating the truck like this because i have grown to like it.

4000 miles later i just changed the oil. did it at my house so i could take my time to notice anything out of the ordinary and change the oil filter plugs , cap and rotor. i used straight castrol 10w30 to the correct level, prefilled the fram filter. i tried to prime the motor with oil by disconnecting the coil and cranking for about 15 seconds, which was plenty for any of the cars ive had, even turbocharged ones. I reconnected the coil and started it up. the oil light was on for about 3-4 seconds, which felt like an eternity because i was worried to begin with. since then ive put about 1500 miles on the truck and the morning symptoms are the same.

the truck still has plenty of power to 5000 rpm (rarely goes that high, and never past that) and does not blow oil out of the exhaust. there is a small rear oil main and valvecover leak so the truck needs a 1/2 -full quart every 3-4000 miles.

i'm just wondering how many more miles i should expect out of this truck before i put money into it. let me know if you have the same issues. maybe its the lifters? maybe its the timing chain? maybe the bearing clearances are so big its rattling itself to death? lemme know what you think.

[Rev_D21]

Fram filter is 1 problem, it doesn't have anti-drainback like the Nissan filters do. 2nd, sounds like your timing chain guide has gone the way so many others have...crumbled and fallen into your oil pan. Time to pull the front cover to install new guides, chain and related. It'll be less than $1000 to fix which should quiet that engine down.

[BronkStang]

$1000? 200 to 500 is what people want to do timing chains, and ive purchased them for less than $100...

[breadbox]

he said less than

but this is a problem that you see after about 120,000mi on KA's

[Rev_D21]

If you want to do it RIGHT then you will want OEM parts. This includes Chain, Guides, Tensioner, Water Pump, T-Stat, Cam and Crank Sprockets, Gaskets and O-Rings, Sealant, Oil and Filters (yes more than one), Coolant and some other things I am forgetting. I went all out on mine doing the labor myself. $200? Does that include labor? Sounds like cheap China crap to me.

[turbomario98]

i have a 2003 v6 frontier that has this same noise.....117k miles. i thought the lifters..any suggestion