When I start my 03 Z in the morning I always turn the car on first and wait til the beeping stops and then start it. Everytime I start the car it sounds like the lifters are chattering, like the oil has not yet been pumped up to them. I even wait longer than normal and it still does it. Someone told me that it could be the check valve in my oil filter causing the filter to fill up in the filter too slowly and not getting oil to the lifters soon enough. The car runs perfect and I always use sythetic oil. Has anyone had this problem or can help?

 

The chattering is an indication that something is wrong. It will not fix itself. At some point the chattering will continue AFTER the motor is warm. Have a mechanic look at it now.

 

It is common issue according to a service tech.
I have that issue with only one VQ on a G coupe.
I let mine run as is. No additional problems except it is annoying.
We have 5 others that have not had that issue.

 

More than likely, the lifters leak down because there's something under the seating surface of the valve in them. The amount of oil supplied to the lifters is very small, so it takes a while to fill them back up. Once filled, they perform normally.

The lifters in my Silverado V8 have been chattering for over a year. It takes almost two minutes at idle speed for them to pump up. They're quiet when the engine starts, but one cylinder is missing. After about thirty seconds, the miss goes away and the tapping starts. About forty-five seconds later the tapping stops, and the engine runs smoothly and quietly from then on.

I always baby the engine for the several minutes anyway, so it doesn't hurt anything or bother me.

Actually, I baby it all the time. It's never been over 2000rpm during the almost ten years and 50K miles I've driven it.

 

FYI, You guys know there really isn't a "lifter" persay. Its literally an up-side down cup that rides on top of the valve assembly. I'd call it a more of a shim but they have been given the term lifter by Nissan. As for the noise it more than likely the timing assembly. While it could easily be the valvetrain waiting for additional oil as stated above, but it is a know occurance that the timing systems (more or less the slack guides) become worn and create alot of noise when cold. Most techs will not break open a motor to repair and will likely tell you its not worth it (cost to repair in this area are huge). But it is always a good idea to get a proper dianosis.

Also don't worry about priming the oil system, the oil pump is driven by the crankshaft. So when the engine is off there is no oil being circulated. You are merely priming the fuel system.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I dont know what it is but it doesn't do it every single time. It chatters for like a half a second after start up and thats it. I don't think it will be a big problem, I just wanted to know what it could be. Once I got to thinking Zazz93, the oil pump IS drivin by the crankshaft, thanks for mentioning that. My Z has 100,000 miles on it but it runs perfect.

 

Yeah, the lifters in the Z are too short to work like the ones in an OHV engine. Sorry about that.

 

No worries man, its a common to think considering the name Nissan gave them.