I've had my 240 for about 3 months and for about the past month the engine has rattled under excell at part (10-35 percent) throttle (from about 2000-3500 rpm). The noise seems to come frome the either the exhaust side cam or the distributers locastion. I have read other threads with people with similar problems but I'm not sure If my problem is the same. The noise is loud as hell and I really would like to know what I can do to fix it. My engines performance doesn't seem to have been affected by it. It is just really annoying more than anything else. Also I don't know if this helps but my car as 87000 miles on it

 

with the engine running, pop the hood, and listen around the front of the valve cover, if its comin from there, its the timing chain guide or the chain itself...

 

I tried that and revevved the motor and it sounded like it was either the distributor or something under the valve cover. I guess I'll check the timing chain first.

 

i might have similar problems ... and i figure i'd post here instead of starting another post with the same title. i DID search posts here and have found a little helpful info, though most on <95 240s. i have a 1995 240sx w/ 123000miles

i have a ticking noise under my hood, similar to that of a baseball card on bike spokes, but fast ticking. This happens when the car is idle, i haven't checked to see if this ticking occurs when the car is revved higher or if in gear.

i am told that it is the timing chain and other components relating to that, and i guess there is a slight oil leak there. i was quoted $1500 parts and labor to fix.

i'm wondering if the timing chain area is easily accessible. it seems on other posts that the <95 can be fixed easily by removing some chain guard.

i'm not sure if my "rattling/ticking" is the same as the commonly posted "rattling" under the hood.


any information or help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

 

djradam: most likely it is the timing chain guide, which can be fixed with some knowledge and proper tools...

 

$1500 is probably a gasket set, new timing chain, + labor. Thing is, you don't need a new timing chain really - just the guides replaced or fixed (depending on wear). There's an upper chain guide that is commonly the source of all that rattling noise. Owners usually remove this upper guide to eliminate the noise - and it's not a Mickey Mouse fix; Supposedly Nissan had a TSB on it suggesting to remove the guide, so you don't have to be paranoid wondering about driving around with missing parts.

As for the procedure, check this page out (from **********):

http://www.**********/faq/articles/ti..._questions.htm

 

Thanks I found that to be very helpful. So the problem is most likely the timimg chain. It may be a wk before I get a chance to check it so I'll let you know if that is it.

 

Be aware it might be the timing chain GUIDE, not the chain itself... the KA chains seem to last a long time, and you'd be wasting a significant amount of $$ if you replaced it and it wasn't time yet

 

In the DOHC KA there are two timing chain guides, one on top and one on the side, which can both be removed to reduce the noise. Nissan has some Tech Service Bulletins on them. It's been discussed to death on Altimas.net.

I can't say for sure if this applies to the SOHC KA if that's what you've got.

 

Just a thought - the side one, can that be removed just by taking off the valve cover? I peeked it real quick but I didn't think it could be done

 

http://www.nissantalk.com/forum/show...5&pagenumber=2

In this thread is a writeup a member of the altimas.net forum did for removing the chain guides on a DOHC KA (scroll down a bit). According to this you do need to remove the timing chain cover to remove the side guide.

Accuracy not guaranteed because it was done on a FWD KA.

 

I know it has been a while but I got a chance to take the car in (the timing chain guide had already been removed). I took it into the car max dealership I got it from and my timing chain was stretched out and needed to be replaced (thanks to the extended warranty I bought it is going to be only 50 bucks). I thought I would just let everbody know.