Hella 240

Hey guys, I need some help. I have a 1992 240sx and recently it started making this horrible ticking sound. At aroung 2500rpm the sound goes away. I was told it is prolly a timing chain guide. Any of you have any idea what this is? or if it is a timing chain guide how hard it is to do? Can you pull the timing chain cover off w/o removing the head? Any of you had this problem? Thanks guys

-HyJynX-

Most likely is the timing chain guid, maybe even the chain itself. Its pretty easy to do, just a bit time consuming. IIRC, you need to remove the head. This is a commen problem with 240s

Hella 240

Sh*t.... i need to remove the head even if im not takin the belt off? even iff im just replacing the guide w/the chain on? It looked to me from teh manual that the head only needs to come off for the chain to come off...does it need to come off even for the timing chain cover? thanks again

-HyJynX-

Check this site out
http://www.**********/faq/index.html
If I were you, I would not only replace the guide/tensioner but also the chain since it probably hasnt been replaced. Just a percaution

96drifter

when i rebuilt my engine a month ago, i read in a few places nissan issued a Technical Service Bulletin that stated the guides were not nessasary (top and drivers side)..to confirm this i called the service dept. at my local nissan dealership and asked a mechanic, who confirmed, neither guide was needed, my engine is a 96 however, so im not sure if it is exactly the same, being that some of the ka's look/ are a little different. but for mine, you didnt have to remove the head, for the top guide, just remove the valve cover and its bolted down with 2 bolts, and then the ticking may also be coming from the side tensioner, when your looking from the front of the car to the back its on the right side (drivers side) and the only way to get to that is removing the distributor and taking the upper timing cover off...make sure you mark where the distributor is @ when u pull it out....

thats my 2 cents

Hella 240

Thanks

BoogiepopJDM

yea i remember having a grainy/ratling sound around the mid range RPMs never knew what it was till now i alos had a 92 240sx

SneakyMilo

The guides are not necessary...correct. But the chain is. The ticking is a sign that you need to get in there and replace the chain before you get fizzukled. Seriously, do not ignore the messages your car is giving you. Luckily the chain is very obvious when it is starting to fail. And while you replace the chain you might aswell fix the guides so you hear no more annoying klacking.

Another bad part of the guide problem is I have been told that as the guides fall apart the pieces find their way into the oil pan causing hots of other issues.

WILDACEXXX

how much would a shop charge for this job (guesstimate)

Hella 240

shops will charge 1500-2000 bucks i got several estimates before i did it myself.

twistedriver

How would i determine if i need to replace the chain or not?
ANd why would i need to remove the head to replace the chain? Can i remove the spoket instead? ANd how much does the parts cost to replace the chain and guides?

96drifter

When i took my '96 to a shop they told me that it was without a doubt the timing chain that was rattling, however without taking the front covers off the engine it would be hard to tell exactly what is wrong, not to mention...if its a good shop the only way they will guarantee their work is by installing a whole new kit. Im pretty sure you DO NOT need to take the head off to replace the timing...and if you did shops would probably charge you another 1k to do the job...im 99% sure you can just remove the sprocket from the head. As far as parts an entire kit should be somewhere in the 200-300 range, shops charge so much soley because you half to take the entire front off the engine incl. accesory belts and the timing covers, the shop i went to also told me they had to drop the oil pan, although i would think you could just remove the screws that attach it to the lower timing cover.

Hope this helps