ticking sound in my engine of my s13????

[dppflyinhawaiian]

when at idle, the engine ticks. as the rpm's go higher the ticking gets faster??????

what is causing this? i already changed my exhaust gaskets so thats not it.

thank you

[nrmskate]

It could be multiple things, the worst would probably be bent rods...

But, it could be something else pretty simple.

[Felipe]

sticky valves?

[dppflyinhawaiian]

It could be multiple things, the worst would probably be bent rods...

But, it could be something else pretty simple.

i can pretty much garauntee that its not a bent rod. but i have no othe idea what it could be. the car runs so smooth, but the ticking is just so irritating. it doesnt affect the performance.

could it be the alternator or something?

[xekushnr]

Make sure your oil level is fine. Sounds to me like a stuck valve due to a frozen rocker. Change your oil, maybe put a little on the rocker arms under the valve cover and run it for a bit to let it soak in.

[moulton712]

what oil and weight are you using?

[dppflyinhawaiian]

Make sure your oil level is fine. Sounds to me like a stuck valve due to a frozen rocker. Change your oil, maybe put a little on the rocker arms under the valve cover and run it for a bit to let it soak in.

i am using castrol GTX 10w-40

the oil level is perfect and less than 500 miles since my last oil change. but i guess i could try another one.

what about that stuff at auto zone that u can put in ur engine and it supposedly goes through and patches everything up? should i try that?

[Rucca]

I assume this ticking noise sounds kind of like a poorly maintained sewing machine....

SOHC? Just the noise of the hydraulic lifters not fully pumping up. Pretty normal on a high mileage KAE - no simple fix.

DOHC? Excess valve clearance. Only adjustable with shims on the bucket lifters.

Sound more like a bunch of marbles swirling around a can?

Timing chain is loose and needs new tensioners (should replace all timing chain components) or needs the upper guides removed.

[nrmskate]

For oil I also use the Castrol, but through a quart of some Lucas in there.

Its supposed to be REALLY efficient.

[aziankingz]

i am experiencing the same thing, but it goes away after a while of driving..it started after i pushed the car a little on the highway... i thought it could be my cat converter having a leak or some sort of exhaust leak.. i also noticed my car kind of overheats and even the shifter gets hot? any ideas on that?

[dppflyinhawaiian]

I assume this ticking noise sounds kind of like a poorly maintained sewing machine....

SOHC? Just the noise of the hydraulic lifters not fully pumping up. Pretty normal on a high mileage KAE - no simple fix.

DOHC? Excess valve clearance. Only adjustable with shims on the bucket lifters.

Sound more like a bunch of marbles swirling around a can?

Timing chain is loose and needs new tensioners (should replace all timing chain components) or needs the upper guides removed.

it is a DOHC. how hard is it to adjust the bucket lifters with shims? how would i do it?

[dppflyinhawaiian]

For oil I also use the Castrol, but through a quart of some Lucas in there.

Its supposed to be REALLY efficient.

is it called just lucas motor oil?? i have lucas gear oil? is that the same thing? but i have never put any of it in the engine, i guess i could try it?

[pflicht]

no don't put "GEAR" oil in the engine... What he is talking about, I think, is Lucas Oil Stabilizer.

[Rucca]

It isn't really hard to adjust the shims but it is time consuming and not something I'd recommend a novice do. Also, you need a micrometer (pricey) and feeler gauges. It is outlined in the FSM.

Basically remove valve cover and measure the gaps between cam and lifter. Any of the gaps that are larger than spec you note. The spec is .012 - .015 inches with engine hot. So, for example, if you found a gap of .019 inches you would need to add .07 - .04 inches of material to that lifter to bring it into spec. Remove the cam, remove the lifter, remove the current shim and measure. If the current shim was .15 inches, then add .07, result is .22 so you would order a .22 inch shim for that lifter.

The full procedure is under Engine Mechanical starting on page 28 in the service manual. Actually reading it I see that you don't need to remove the cam

[azn_b110]

LOL HEY U MIGHT WANT TO OPEN UR VALVE COVER AND REMOVE THE TIMING CHAIN GUARD THAT IS HOLD BY TWO BOLTS ON THE TOP U WON'T MISS THAT PEICE TAKE IT OUT BEFORE IT FINALLY BREAKS OFF INTO THE ENGINE. ASAP DON'T HESITATE GOOD LUCK

[pflicht]

LOL HEY U MIGHT WANT TO OPEN UR VALVE COVER AND REMOVE THE TIMING CHAIN GUARD THAT IS HOLD BY TWO BOLTS ON THE TOP U WON'T MISS THAT PEICE TAKE IT OUT BEFORE IT FINALLY BREAKS OFF INTO THE ENGINE. ASAP DON'T HESITATE GOOD LUCK

Hey! You might want to turn caps lock off!

[alkemyst]

It isn't really hard to adjust the shims but it is time consuming and not something I'd recommend a novice do. Also, you need a micrometer (pricey) and feeler gauges. It is outlined in the FSM.

Basically remove valve cover and measure the gaps between cam and lifter. Any of the gaps that are larger than spec you note. The spec is .012 - .015 inches with engine hot. So, for example, if you found a gap of .019 inches you would need to add .07 - .04 inches of material to that lifter to bring it into spec. Remove the cam, remove the lifter, remove the current shim and measure. If the current shim was .15 inches, then add .07, result is .22 so you would order a .22 inch shim for that lifter.

The full procedure is under Engine Mechanical starting on page 28 in the service manual. Actually reading it I see that you don't need to remove the cam

Don't need the micrometer. Just a feeler gauge. To get the shims out without removing the cam is a PITA I have heard if you don't have the tool.

Removing the cam is easy though.

From what I understand you almost never have to change shims if going from one Nissan cam to another.

OP, If you have ticking make sure it's not an exhaust leak. It will sound very similar.

[Rucca]

Don't need the micrometer. Just a feeler gauge.

How do you measure the currently installed shim without a micrometer?

[alkemyst]

the shims have the number on them...

[XMSducksauce]

Pop your valve cover off and check your timing chain guides.

[dppflyinhawaiian]

thank you all for your support. the timing chain gaurd is already off and it still ticks. i also thought it was an exhaust leak but than i changed all the exhaust manifold gaskets and it still ticked. new timing chains and timing chain guides were replaced not to long ago so that cant be it. so i guess the only thing i can think of right now would be the lifters?

a shop said that it would be around $700 to fix that.

i am going to try the lucas oil.

what about that stuff that you can put in your engine and then it fixes all your stuff? do you think i should try that?

thank you

[Rucca]

No additive will fix your problem, although, the Lucas oil additive is good stuff.

[dppflyinhawaiian]

sticky valves?

what would i use to get rid of sticky valves?

[dppflyinhawaiian]

Pop your valve cover off and check your timing chain guides.

how would i know if i had to replace the timing chain guides?

[Rucca]

If they are chewed up. Your chain has probably eaten through the plastic and is down to the metal of the guide. Also make sure your tensioners are applying tension, and will move back and forth freely. There is a good guide for that, just search under "Tensioner Guide" or "freeing stuck tensioner" or something.

[GaMBiTx]

I also have this ticking sound...Might be a piston that needs to be shaved.

[XMSducksauce]

You don't need the upper guide that you can see from taking the valve cover off as long as your timing chain is tight enough. Check and make sure it doesn't wiggle too much by just pushing and pulling it up and down and if it's not too loose then just take that guide off cause it's an unnecessary part that's just a hazard to break off and fux your motor up. Most of the time when you take it off, it's already mostly worn out and that can become a huge problem. I know people that have blown the bottom end of their KA because of these things snapping.

[Banging 6 in a row]

Woah guys. dont go tearing into your valve train unless your positive that this is the problem. take a screw driver and poke parts of your engine with the driver end then put your ear on the end of the handle. just repeat this until you hear it. or get a mechanics stethescope (sp?) to find the noise. i dont have a 240 so i dont really know what noise your talking about but it sounds like you automaticly assumed that there are serious engine problems when murphys laws would tell us other wise.

[3VoL]

you said you thought it was exhaust at first... did you check the egr tube to make sure its not loose/leaking

[GaMBiTx]

Could it be the timing is off. But the ticking seems to be coming from the side of the engine closer to the firewall.Don't know if its the timing chain guide. I don't really want to open it up if i don't have to....Or maybe ill just bring it to the shop. =T