Ticking---Timing chain???

[sideways]

This is for a 1998 SE 5spd w/ 79,000 miles.I just noticed a fast ticking sound under the hood of my car today while it was running with the hood popped. It is either coming from the front of the engine or the fan area. Could it be the timing chain, do they usually need to be replaced at this mileage? Could it be the injectors or something else, how can I tell? I've only had the car a couple weeks and hadn't noticed it before, but then again I haven't had the hood popped much while it was running.

[Aries]

Timing chain tick of death.

They tend to need replaceing between 80 and 100k miles.

[sideways]

well I did some cruizing around the internet and found out some more info. Being a chain and not a belt, it's supposed to last the life of your engine(or at least definetely more than 79,000miles!). Ka24de's have a problem with clicking caused by the chain rubbing with two timing chain guides that aren't really necesary, by removing the guides the ticking goes away. After a while these guides can break and get sucked into the engine and then there's your trouble...

[sideways]

I read about this problem in models up to 1996, does anyone know if the '98's came with the timing chain guides or did nissan quit making them by then.

[bruinbear714]

They all come with guides. Problem is they wear out prematurely or break up and you get that extra slack on the chain.

You'll know for sure that it is the chain if the ticking only appears at idle.

[TrunkMonkey]

You'll know for sure that it is the chain if the ticking only appears at idle.

not necessarily.

first, it's not just a ticking. if you here ticking at idle, it could easily be your injectors.

the timing chain is more of a rattle. at first it will sound like a soft baby's rattle (seriously, it will), and if you procrastinate (like me), it will develop into a deep clunking. it sounds kind of like someone dragging a thick heavy chain across a wood floor. ask me how i know.

oops, you guys are talking about the dohc aren't you?

then again, i'm sure the same applies.

-demetrius

[bruinbear714]

not necessarily.

first, it's not just a ticking. if you here ticking at idle, it could easily be your injectors.

the timing chain is more of a rattle. at first it will sound like a soft baby's rattle (seriously, it will), and if you procrastinate (like me), it will develop into a deep clunking. it sounds kind of like someone dragging a thick heavy chain across a wood floor. ask me how i know.

oops, you guys are talking about the dohc aren't you?

then again, i'm sure the same applies.

-demetrius

I knew someone was going to comment on that. What I meant to say is that the ticking/rattle (whatever it sounds like to you) will be there at idle and will go away as you rev up the engine.

[TrunkMonkey]

What I meant to say is that the ticking/rattle (whatever it sounds like to you) will be there at idle and will go away as you rev up the engine.

nope.

if you procrastinate, like me, you'll hear at low rpms also.

-demetrius

[Bay Dog]

Don't screw around with this! You need to go get it replaced ASAP. I let mine go because I had the thought that it was a chain and nothing bad could happen...........I just put an engine in it last week. Whomever said it was the timing chain rattle of death is exactly right. Spend the $350 or so in this repair to save the way more amount of a new engine install.

[TrunkMonkey]

Ka24de's have a problem with clicking caused by the chain rubbing with two timing chain guides that aren't really necesary, by removing the guides the ticking goes away. After a while these guides can break and get sucked into the engine and then there's your trouble...

make sure you remove the guides first to see if this is your problem. no need to spend money for a repair you may not need.

-demetrius

[sideways]

thanks guys, I'll get my girlfriend to rev the car up a little while I listen under the hood to see if it goes away. It is a very light ticking, so it's probably in it's early stages. I saw some writeups on how to remove the guides, so I'll probably do that when I get a free Saturday. Should I even speak to the Nissan dealer about this or just try to take care of it myself. --and then again like demcj said, it's a ticking and not a rattle, its hard to pinpoint the sound so it may be coming from the inectors...

[Bay Dog]

I have never done it myself as my tool collection prohibits me from doing so. However, if you have a reputable garage nearby, they will do just as good job as the dealer for far less money. I have also been told, that if you replace your timing chain, it is advisable to replace the water pump as well. I don't know why this would be, but wanted to pass it along FYI.

Good Luck!!!

[sideways]

thanks, I talked to one of my friends with a 95 240 last night and listened to his engine. his ticks louder than mine and he said his old 93 was even worse, but he drove it to over 160,000 miles and it never caused a problem. he said every 240 he's heard has had the tick from the chain hitting the guides. I'm still planning on removing them but I'm not in as huge of a rush now

[nnkfws333]

Actually I have 181,000 miles now and I have a slight tick there. I've had it since 132,000 miles and no one has ever replaced it. Knock On wood. I was always gonna take out the guides but too lazy too. I talked to a bunch of 240 guys here in Orlando and they say its fine. They mentioned that the chain is suppose to last for a while as long as you got the guides out. Im always worried its gonna break because I hear of everyone saying they have to replace it.

[Bay Dog]

Chances are it isn't going to break. What you have to be concerned about is it flapping around wearing a hole in your case. That will let the antifreeze in and boo-yah a new engine. That is what happened to me anyway. There was a ticking when I got it and 4,000 miles later i needed a new engine so it is hard to tell how long it will last like that. Conversly, a friend of mine has a Nissan truck and it rattles all to hell and he hasn't had a problem in the 3 years it has done it and he drives the hell out of it. It all is pretty much a crapshoot.

[sideways]

i'm gonna take my guides out definitely...just not this weekend while it's thirty degrees outside. brrrrrrrrrrrr, shake shake, chatter teeth

[Queamore]

I have a 90 240 with a ticking problem I took off the valve cover and started it up. you can see straight down were the timing chain is at. but put something around the engine because you'll have oil going everywere. turns out for me it's a blown head gasket and it's making it tick. A loose timing chain should sound like your draging a chain on the ground.

[TrunkMonkey]

turns out for me it's a blown head gasket and it's making it tick.

i've never heard of a ticking head gasket. how do you know for sure it's the gasket?

btw, on a sohc you can pop the valve cover off and look straight down to the oil pan and still not see any damage. the only way to be sure is to take the front cover off.

99% of the time, on a sohc, if it's a ticking (rattling) and it's not the injectors, it's the timing chain.

-demetrius

[nnkfws333]

Do your injectors actually tick?

[Bay Dog]

Yes, that is a good question. As previously stated, I had the timing chain tick of death that I did nothing about and now I have a new engine. Yesterday (Sunday) my 'new' 30,000 mile engine started ticking. I can't believe it would be the same thing! However stranger things have happened. What is this injector tick? I also have noticed that when I hit the gas to pass it delays before speeding up. Almost like it stops then goes. I have been told that it is probably running rich. Your thoughts??

[hotshot240sx]

well if you still got that problem its prob the tensioner or the guides the guides have a tendency to snap...and the tensioners naturally fuc*in suck...so check those...if its not those it might be the damn crank seal..so...check those..laters...

[Structure240sx]

i jsut read a thread on this somewhere. i have the same prob but im goin to doin an sr swap in a month or 2 hopefully so im not worrying about it. what i remember is that the factory guides are plastic and the chain eats through them. they will break off fall into the case then the chain will start hitting the stubs of the guides or bolts that hold them in maybe. but what that can eventually do is make the chain snap if it get caught on there and that wil make u blow. a guy said he got a complete kit including a new chain from autozone for like $90. also to me the injector sound is like a lawn sprinkler and the chain rattle is a metal on metal contact

[YomnyM]

I just bought my car today but i hear the same rattle noise, at first i thought it was a heat shield or something, but then i started reading and it sounds like the belt, anything i could do, it sounds like is coming from the inside of the engine. One more thing i wanna change the spark plugs and the wires, can you give me some suggestions, im totally new to this , help me out if you can, thank you.

[VRT SydWays]

dunno how old this is, but just remove the upper guide. i have a 97 KA24DE in a 91 fastback and removed the guide before i installed the motor. the reason i had to replace it was that guide broke on my 91 and shredded timing chain... i then replaced the timing set up and it cost about $300.00 in parts... only to find out i had bent valves.... so remove the upper guide. keep the side guides. the upper guide has 2 10mm bolts holding it and is directly between the cam gears....

[YomnyM]

nothing will go wrong if i do this? so simply remove the upper guide, i will have to take out the valve cover ofcourse to do this am i right? thanks a lot for your response.

[leper421]

If its the chain you will hear a rattle/tick/whatever when you start the engine when its cold. It sounds similar to a loose heat shield. The chains almost never wear out, its the tensioners that you have to watch out for. $200 will get you both chains, 2 tensioners and 3 guides. Nissan recomends you remove the top guide and the guide on the right side of the upper chain. If you have 100K+ you might as well replace everything whether or not it is the problem.

[YomnyM]

is there a place online that sells timing chain kits, with all the guides and tensioners needed, or do i have to go to the dealer.

[leper421]

http://www.expressautoparts.com

[YomnyM]

thank you.

[jgrady]

Oakay if anyone is searching this forum for a ticking sound that is comming out of their KA24E or DE then stop right here at this reply! Here is my story...About a month ago I started to hear this horrible ticking sound that was comming out of my 1995 Nissan Pickup truck, normal cab 4X4, 4 cylinder, 5 speed with 55,000 miles on it. It would not do it when I started it up (25 degrees outside...this was in the winter). But after say a night out on the town with my girlfriend making various stops at Best Buy, Borders, dinner and what not...it, when I started it would make this horrible ticking sound. It almost sounded like a diesel engine. The funny thing was if I just snapped the throttle from say idle, to about 1100 RPM. The engine would sound like a "tick-tock." I was like what the heck is that. So being the anal person that I am I made my lovely girlfriend snap the throttle in the Best Buy parking lot while I was looking under the hood. Also being the moron that I am, I thought that it was simple the throttle cable that was sitting on top of the valve cover, and when the engine would rev. it would also flex back and "tick-tock" on the throttle cable. WRONG! This is a funny problem because it would only do it when it was warm. So anyway, it kept on doing it and then I would hold the throttle cable out of the way and it would still do it. That was when I found this excellent forum site. I printed this whole thread and took it to my mechanic. I was like look at all these people who say that these timing chains are defective and the plastic tensioners break easily. They looked at me like I was a moron. So they put my truck on the lift and removed some rusted heat shields from the exaust, changed my beltsand $150 later... sent me on my way. Guess what...it still did it. Only now the weather was warming up and it was doing it alot worse. So I then went back to them when it was doing it real bad. I started it up and let my mechanic listen to it. He was like, "It sounds like your valves need lashed." I was like whatever...whatever it takes to make my gasoline engine not sound like a diesel is fine with me! So I left it there and the next day they pulled the valve cover off and found that the valves were fine...but there was 2 INCHES!!! of slack on the timing chain!!!...2 INCHES!!! That was a bomb just waiting to go off. So now they are fixing it, and lucky for me I bought a 3 year warranty when I bought the truck last fall. I love the truck, it is perfect in the snow...it is close to my old 1993 Chevy 2500 3/4 ton 4X4 in the snow and that thing was a tank! The Nissan in 4X4 just grabs the snow. I have never (knock on wood) once skid on the snowy roads, and I drive 75 miles a day and also live in the snowbelt. I love my truck, it's great. I would recomend it to anyone! Anyways...moral of the story...if you hear a ticking sound from you KA24E or whatever 4 cylinder Nissan pre...o I don't know 1998??? It is probably your timing chain. I am an anal oil changer and rarely go over 3200 miles. But if you hear any ticking sound comming from your motor. I would suggest pull the valve cover yourself, it is not that hard and then look at your timing chain and see what is going on. The reason why I would recomend you to do this is because no mechanic likes to be told what the problem is. So you could take it there and they may tell you that they looked at it, but really they may have been too busy, and probably not going to make you pay for them to look at the valves so therefore they are not going to make any money off of you and figure hey whatever. So do it yourself and it you see a problem then take it in. Believe me it is worth it...we have all heard the horrors of a broken timing chain, and I don't think that none of us want that! I would also like to say that my mechanics are top notch and would highly recomend them to all. They hooked me up immensiely when my Chevy was going through some tough times and have come through with my Nissan. I hope this helps anyone who is as annoyed as I was with the mysterious ticking sounds. To me if you take care of your vehicle, need it and depend on it some will do almost anything for it so be good to your car because you need it alot more than you think...these three days without mine is horrible!!!