meezusthegoat

Hi All,

I have an 03' Z and for a while (even when the car had its pre-purchase inspection) my car has been making a rattle noise on cold starts, at first I thought it was just the starter motor which is no big deal but after doing some research it turns out its much worse than that. It seems I suffer from chain rattle, a pretty common issue with the VQ motor. The question now is how should I go about dealing with this problem with the least headache possible?

Do I 1) Deal directly with Nissan to get my chain replaced? 2) attempt replacing it myself? or 3) Buy another VQ and just drop it in If the chain in my current motor does break? I’m leaning towards my first option of just bringing it in for service, paying a diagnostic fee, and then contacting Nissan directly to help me pay for it. The last option is appealing as well since its far less labor intensive compared to tearing apart my motor.

People that have had this problem before guide me on this I'm really in a bad situation and I don’t know what to do. I know Nissan has a class action lawsuit for this problem and they're supposed to reimburse owners, however, I’m not faithful that will happen since my car has 96k and is 15 years old. What should I do?

Cracka350

iTrader: (1)

I've been hearing my chain for a couple of years. (I know) Specifically if I reved the motor at a stop you could here it drag as it powered down. I would try the primary timing chain tensioner first. You can get to it from the black Access Cover just behind the upper left belt. Change your belts while you're in there as they'll need to come off to do the job. It worked for me. But if that doesnt solve it then you're going to need to pull the timing cover which is a long job.

Obviously this is a chain so the only way for things to go catastrophic is for it to jump a tooth.

meezusthegoat

Thanks for your input man Ill try to change my primary tensioner; if it worked for you it may work for me even though I want to pull the cover off to get a decent look at what I've got first. from what I know most of our cars really get the rattle not because the tensioner goes bad, but more because the tensioner guides break. In short there's a good chance its not just the primary tensioner but the chain guides and secondary tensioners as well.

As of right now I only get the rattle on cold starts or when the car has been sitting for about 5-6 hours. Other than that it runs great. Also, Should I in the meantime try a thinner oil as well? Castrol magnatec 5w-30 may be a bit too thick and may not be reaching the tensioner until as the car is turning over.

Cracka350

iTrader: (1)

You could play with your oil weight. In MD we get both extremes and I run 10w - 30 and just let it warm up in the winter. If you're eager to pull the timing cover which is a project, go ahead and replace the secondary and at least inspect the guides. But since you'd replace the primary anyway, go ahead and do it via the access cover. FYI pick up a narrow putty knife at home depot to help get it off and black or grey RTV to seal it back up.

JaReal

Hey Meezus what was the verdict? I seem to have the same problem with the VQ35DE in an Elgrand.