I just listened to that clip again, do you remember over-rev'ing it? Maybe a missed downshift (looking for 4th and grabbed 2nd on accident)?

 

OP, as far as the ticking noise, can you hear the ticking while inside your car, revving or idling? and if so, is it barely audible or is it something you can def. hear even with the windows rolled up?

 

Yup. Still can hear it with the windows rolled up

 

I know this is really late response, but... I didn't miss a downshift, but there were a few occasions where it didn't fully lock into a gear and stepped on the gas. It made a metal screeching noise...

 

I have a very similar (if not identical ticking noise on my car) it has been about the same since I bought the car 10,000 miles ago.

I've had people tell me its just lifter/valve noise nothing to really worry about. Performance of the car has not changed at all. Used quality synthetic oil during oil changes with no change in noise.

I am changing my belts in a few weeks, I'll post up if it makes a difference like the other guy mentioned.

 

It looks like two different mechanics have told you that it's a valve issue...

22k miles over 9 years ends up being around 50 miles a week. But it looks like more recently, you jumped from 22k to 27k miles pretty quickly based on your posts. Is the car sitting during the certain months and driven during others? Or has it been sitting unused for a period of time and you're just now starting to use it again? Were you still changing the oil every 3 months regardless of mileage? If not, what was your maintenance schedule?

 

I may have driven it more lately and there was never a time it was sitting still unless there was a snow storm. I changed my oil every 3k miles.

 

ok im after reading this whole tread , im having 100% the same ticking noise as in the video .. and im 100% is the same i even dream with that tick sound in my head ;( .. im going to change the belts , spark plug , 10w 30 castrol, and pray

 

IDK why you're using synthetic when Nissan strongly advises against it.

 

^ you sir need to do some research on what you just typed.

 

Sorry for the bump, but I had to chime in a little. I discovered an audible tick when the motor was warmed up a few weeks before Thanksgiving and have been trying to figure it out. The motor has been whisper quiet for a few days now and what has worked for me was a bottle of Redline Fuel System Cleaner for a tank followed by an ECU reset by using the gas pedal method. I figure why not. It could help clean carbon buildup and the ECU can adjust itself to the valve timing. I'm not even sure my '05 has variable valve, but it seemed to work for the 37s with the same problem. What also could have contributed was making sure your coolant system is properly bled. During the week I remember having the car idling on a incline with the heater on enough to have the fans come on a couple of times. If it was indeed the cooling system making noise that may have helped. I noticed that the overflow bottle had lowered itself a little bit into the normal range since I purposely overfilled it an inch or two above the F mark during a coolant change also done before Thanksgiving. It seems like a mysterious phantom noise to me, but it has since been better. I hope it continues to stay that way. I'll continue to drive without the radio on lol

 

The coolant system making the ticking noise? Lol no. That's valve lash noise. Valve job or replace the motor even tho this is 3 years old now.

The 03 has a factory recall for the injectors making the "tick" noise as well. But his problem is valve train related I've had it for 10K miles. Doesn't hurt the car it's just a aggravating annoying tick.

 

Yeah, I get where you're coming from. My noise is similar to yours. I'm just not sure about the volume of it since it's via youtube. Mine was intense enough to be heard with no radio and windows closed during warm idle. There's so many theories like the timing guides, water pumps, fuel line buffers, injector noise, valves clearance or carbon buildup. I did notice a noise as I changed my coolant. It's a real pita to bleed the cooling system. Perhaps it was amplified due to the plumbing having air in it. I'm just hoping it's nothing serious and the noise stays away. I mean it was consistent for over a month and just stopped after me doing a few little things like the Redline fuel treatment, the ECU reset and the coincidental extended idling on an incline...also, my oil (castrol syntec 5W-40) has always been near full or topped off the entire time.

 

I wouldn't let it bother you. No power loss, it doesn't consume oil, it's just a annoying ticking sound. I've looked into this for about a year now. You can do a valve job (roughly $4-$800) on your own. Or have a shop do it which is like $800 in labor plus parts. I know Nissan wanted like $2500? Or something like that to fix mine.

Or do what I'm doing. Find a low mileage DE motor pre 06 year and swap it in. It will cost about the same as getting your heads rebuilt.

Or just drive it and listen to the tick. I've had it for over a year and I'm finally fed up with it. It's making me not want to enjoy my car.

 

Ya, goodluck. I know I want to keep my car for a good while. It couldn't hurt to redo the coolant, reset the ECU and run some Redline fuel system cleaner through it

 

I find that my DE uses about a quart every 2K miles. When it starts to get even a little bit low, I find that the ticking gets more audible. It just sucks thatit's so f***ing difficult to accurately check the oil level due to the stupid dipsticks on the VQ35. I also know I have a minor exhaust leak from a bad gasket between the header and my TP's, and the ticking I'm actually hearing is the exhaust valves on a cold start. Once it warms up and everything expands, the leak goes away and so does the tick.

As a precaution, I also substitute 1 quart of my oil with Lucas oil additive every change. Consumption has gone down, and ironically, my compression improved too.