Timing or Valve issues...
 

Okay, so my wife talked me into trading our G20 for a 240sx. Well, when we got it, I knew it had issues. They said it needed brakes, and that is why it had NONE. by none I mean the pedal was at the floor with no pressure behind it. They also said that there was a sticky lifter, and that was the noise that I heard upon acceleration.
Well, I added brake fluid, and 10 miles later, the brakes came back. Now I have this "sticky lifter" to deal with. This is being such a PITA.
I have done the Seafoam flush. I have done the Amsoil Engine Flush, and today I changed the oil again.
No luck...SO, I started talking to a couple of people about the issue. Here is what I told them.
When it is idleing, coasting, and past partial throttle, the engine is fine. Yes, it still runs a little rough, but not as bad as when I push the throttle in a very little bit, up to an inch or so in. It starts to make this gawd awful knocking. It is getting to me.
So, here is what the others have answered.
1. It is your cam/lifters/valve area. (yes, that is where the noise is coming from)
2. sticky lifter.

and ironically, my dad just called me back and said by the sounds of it, It could be, and I quote, "Sounds to me that the timing is off."
"Maybe you should try some high octane fuel, and get someone to reprogram your settings."

From what I said about the noise, and the area that it comes out of, does number three sound like a viable option?
If there is anyone out there that has had this problem before, please chime in... :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

so performance wise the car is sound right?

if you have a sohc then you just learn to live with certain noises. i've taken my lifters apart cleaned them and sea foamed the engine afterward only to have the ticking come back. synthetic oil quiets the lifters some but the ticking is still there. this is assuming that it is a tick and not rod knock.

if it's pining then it could be due to a few things such as improper timing, bad gas, or faulty ignition components. you should start by checking the timing and work from there.

Yeah, no, It is really F'ing loud. I am going to try to get some video/audio of it tomorrow. I know that will help with my description.

the audio/video will help alot, but it sounds to me like u have a rod knock and not a sticky lifter, wich sry to say means bad rod or main bearings, possibly even a wrist pin but unlikely, thats just what im gathering

but like jramosthe1st said, start with timing an work from there, an get the audio/video up ASAP unless u get it fixed

+1

Okay, so I started the car up, and tried to get some audio of the sound. Unforutnatly, there was some wind noise, so you cannot hear the sound that the car is making.
Some things that I did notice, It is now backfiring like crazy when I slow down. In addition, it makes a nice cloud of blue behind the vehicle.
I will be looking more into this on sunday, but for now I just parked the car.
It scared me.
I was talking to my pops again, and told him what I just said. He asked me if the timing chain fell off?
I did not look at anything, but isnt there two chains?
and wouldn't this make the engine run differently than what I just described?
Okay, the RPM's are right on, I can accelerate, fine, except today, I didnt try to get them above 1500. As, I would rather not blow the motor up in the middle of our new apartment building area. (Too many yuppie bastards there)
I don't know, I have a mechanic/buddy coming on sunday to look at the car, and see if he can pin point what is wrong. I would like to get this driveable, for the time being, then work on a rediculous engine swap for the future.

you have a sohc engine that only uses one timing chain. if it did fall of the car would not start. it is possible but rather unlikely imo that you could have skied a tooth on the cam gear or crank which would cause these problems but like i said i don't think that's the case.

is the blue smoke only viable right after start up or is it still smoking after the engine reaches normal operating temp?

the backfiring could be caused but incorrect timing which if not set to spec could destroy your engine.

once again, check the timing.

What is it supposed to be at?
I am horrible at finding information on the web. Very very horrible.

it's right on the hood, 15º

OUR?!?! OUUUURRR?!?!? that's real, funny. ahem, i traded MY g20 for a 240sx. goofy.

I am pretty sure that MY name is on the title...;p
Just kidding. Besides. I think everyone knows that it is only my car, until it doesn't work.
THen it is YOUR POS. XD

So, my buddy came to look at my car this Sunday. He said that by the sounds, it could very well be the Timing Chain, slapping, from stretch. Also, the blue smoke, might be a whole lot of things, but he mentioned that the way it starts to go away after driving until it gets up to temp, it could be the valve seals.
So, I am going to work with that.
Timing chain kit, and valve job...ghey.

There is nothing I can really do to the engine to make it more fun. At least not this time around.
I suppose I could have the guy order performance parts, a new cam, and what not, but that would be too pointless for this engine.
Ohh well, at least once this gets fixed, we can start to save the pennies for a newer, um, cooler, bigger, badder, beasty-er, engine.
I still say Big Block. She says no. American engines aparently would not be as cool in this car as I think.

Hey, I do have one question. How would I know if the arse-clown, previous owners, had this car's computer tuned?
Would there be any marks on the ECU casing itself?

^ valve seals dont make any noise and only smoke a bit at start up

That would be what I meant by "by the way it starts to go away after driving it"
The car really only smokes for the first couple minutes, (2-3) Then it puffs a little at each shift.
But the noise is always there. Ohh well, it's going to the sinclair station next week.

does it get louder right at shift change? If so it sounds like you might need to check your rod bearings.