Hello All,

This afternoon after coming back from some errands I heard this ticking noise inside the passenger cabin. I first heard it when at a stop light, and it sounded kinda like an exhaust leak (that pop/puff sound). Here is what I know (think I know) about the sound:

-I only hear it when the car is warm. When the car is cold I can't hear it in the cabin
-Oil level looks good (oil was changed about 1k miles ago by Nissan Dealer)
-No CEL's
-Can feel the pop/tick pulsate in the 6mt shift ****.
-I have included a picture of where I hear the sound from. But that might not be true because I can still hear it when I go towards the back of the engine. (near transmission)
-Engine and Transmission were replaced by Nissan dealer about 3 months ago. Not sure if it was a new crate engine or rebuilt (oil consumption issue and grinding of the gears from 2nd to 3rd)
-Broke the engine in to spec and got oil changed at 1k.
-Red-lined a couple times, but also shifted before or at rev-limited (never money shifted)

That's a lot of info, but I'm trying to narrow this down. It sounds like lifter noise, but oil levels are good. Could it be a broken rod? I haven't tried to test the performance, but it doesn't feel sluggish into 3k RPM. There are a few threads about engine ticking noise, but none have a resolution in there.

TIA for your help.

I plan to take the car in to the dealer at their first appointment, but need to get to work tomorrow and am wondering if it's safe to drive (about 3 miles each way to work).

Hooman

 

What's your oil level @?

 

I checked it a few times. When warm it's near the top notch, and when cold it's in the middle of the two notches. Oil looks clean, golden brown, no specs of metal or anything that I could see in it

 

Could be this

http://www.nissanhelp.com/Ownership/.../NTB06-042.htm

 

Ok....cool. It could be that. I do have close to empty tank, could that be exacerbating the problem? Since it's a TSB is that covered by Nissan? Or do I pay out of pocket?

Thanks!!!

 

Also...how big of a problem is this? Can I drive my car normally or do I need to take it to dealer ASAP?

TIA

 

Dealership will take care of it, write the TSB # down and take it in w/ you. Take it in and tell them about the noise. Let them listen to it and then mention the TSB #. It'll give them something else to check out and let them know your not clueless when it comes to these kinds of things.

 

So it happened again today, and does not seem like the Fuel Damper. It has something to do with the clutch. When I push my clutch in, put the car in gear, and begin pressing the gas, it's happens. But only when the car is at normal operating temperature.

It kinda sounds like a belt that is ripped and is slapping against something in the engine compartment. Does that make any sense?

 

Sounds like it's misfiering - you might want to check to see if you have a coil out

 

Would a misfire have a physical kick? Because that's what this has.

 

misfire would come with a CEL

 

I was looking at it some more, and it seems like the oil pump may not be lifting oil to the top of to the lifters, but the pressure gauge reads 30psi in idle and when at 3k rpm it's around 60psi. When i open the oil cap, it seems the top of the lifters are a little dry.

Why does the dealer have to be closed on Presidents day?

 

So I just got a call from the dealer. Aparently my crank shaft pulley was loose and causing the noise. Here's the frustrating part though...since they only did an adjustment I have to pay over 200 dollars for the repair. If they replaced the part completly then it would've been covered by the powertrain warranty.

Now I get the pleasure of talking to the service manager to see what cocka mainly BS rule this is.

 

BS!!!!

 

So I talked to the service manager, and basically told him, "are you serious". He looked at it, and said the service advisor shouldn't have quoted me the extra fees. He waived all fees, and I walked out paying nothing.

I'm happy I didn't have to pay, but frustrated I had to talk to people higher up in the food chain to get it resolved.

Anyway...for those with the same problem the resolution was "bolt F on Crankshaft pulley was loose"

Thanks for all the help!