Loud Knocking Noise :( Ideas?

[Macca86]

Hi all, Was driving my '89 JDM Q45A when the check engine oil light came on, turned it off immediately, and topped the oil up, light went off, and all seemed fine...Drove the car out at night, and the next day to work, and when i started it to go home, there was a loud ticking/knocking noise...Increases frequency with rpm, and when the car is getting towards 3000rpm, it seems to make more of a whirring noise... Any ideas? How long till it lets go?Thanks guysMacca

[Macca86]

Oh, and i searched, haha

[ScottJackson]

topped the oil up? if the oil light was on due to low oil level I'm guessing that "topped up" means "added 6 quarts". Get a mechanic's stethoscope or length of rubber hose to put to your ear. You can then search for the location of the noise. Have the chain guides ever been done on this car?

[96Qowner]

Have the chain guides ever been done on this car?

Yeah, this doesn't sound good at all. Plugged oil pump pickup? Immediately go here and read everything under " Chain Guides (CRITICAL for 1990-1993)":

zerothread?id=266815

Then search NICO for the term "guides" in three forums - Q45 Forum, Infiniti Online Mechanic and Infiniti General. Be sure to click on "post bodies" and search both "recent" and "archived". That's 6 separate searches.

Here's a thread with posts from a fellow Aussie who had to deal with the issue:

Above, is a pic of one of my guides. As you can see, it has broken in half!

Below, is the same guide, placed back together, to show a chunk from the center is missing (in the sump!) So that's another thing to think about too. You will probably have to remove the sump to get all the broken pieces out of it, so they don't block the oil pump pickup....

zerothread?id=198186

And don't even think of starting that engine again until you're sure it won't drive a valve through a piston.