Hey everyone,

My KA24E is idling rough and uneven like a cammed V8. What do you guys think? Sometimes it idles a little lower around 600-800 but never goes higher than it should.

Also i have a loud noise like a timing chain, does that show signs of wear? Should I just replace the timing chain or try to tension it up? Let me know guys. Thanks.

Loud noise on the older KA could be timing chain or could be lifter tap. Both are documented here and a little research can help you pinpoint that. The chain tension comes from your oil pressure, so clean oil and internals contribute to those functioning properly.

Rough idle could be a vacuum leak. Taking a timing light to set your timing with the distributor and a screwdriver to adjust your idle air control valve is a good idea.

Please let us know how it goes. What year is your S13?

Thanks for the info. My S13 is a 1990. Never had a car with a timing chain before so still learning.

I'll take a timing light and check it out. It's not really an idle problem, only when it idle so low for a few seconds, more of the way it sounds. I can post a video of it later.

My idle



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9VyoTXR9XSU

The tick



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1Oi7qcHfUak


I can take longer videos of the tick at some diff angles if that would help. These are just short Snapchat videos I had saved.

What do you guys think?

Could my timing chain have stretched and need replacement and that's why my timing is possibly out? I want to get this car going asap thanks guys.

Speculating isn't useful without follow up diagnoses/ testing. The way to find out is to check it with a timing light. Did you check it and is your timing out? If so, then we could work on that. Anyway, timing chains are awesome and keep these KA's running for years and years. Way better than a belt that needs replacement at intervals. I don't believe they 'stretch' much, if at all. You do want your tensioners working properly and that is part of the regular oil pressure duty, they're hydraulic. Same for those lifters, I think they are hydraulic and have a pin hole for oil to move through.

I listened to the videos. The first one of the exhaust sounds like old truck engine, kind of poorly maintained. Like a tune up would help, oil change and engine degreaser. The second video, maybe more angles would help. Go exhaust side, from front to back cylinders slowly, same on intake side. I do hear the tick gets louder as you move towards the valve train. I've had the timing chain rattle and it doesn't sound like that. I don't know exactly what the lifter tick sounds like from personal experience, but the other threads that have discussed it, sometimes they have a video or audio link. The descriptions often lead one to hearing the sound most from the exhaust side of the engine. I hope someone else can chime in, but until then, I think you could look further into the lifter tick issue. I'm sure there are videos of those and I know we have threads discussing it.

This is an article we had put together a while back. The picture links no longer work for me and would be really helpful, but maybe between this and some other threads you can learn a bit more.
http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/ka24e- ... epair.html

Ooh, check this thread for ideas also. I think there are both links and a video clip in there. May or may not help.
topic607080.html?hilit=lifter

So I got the valve cover off and chain is tensioned nice and looks new ish. Is there a way to clean out the valves while the valve cover is off?

Also when I put the new valve cover gasket on should I use RTV with the gasket or just on the half moons?

I follow the instructions and only put it on the half moons and I haven't had an issue with the 2 or 3 I've replaced. I'm not sure how much cleaning can be done with the cover off and I don't have a SOHC, sorry. Per the linked article about cleaning lifters, it seems like you could accomplish that task with the cover off, but like I said, the images don't work and I don't have one, so I can't guide you much on that.