Engine is ticking and the exhaust rattles

"Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car" (pilot-and-car-guy) 07/21/2015 at 14:19 • Filed to: None

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I just did my oil change (20 miles)

Before that I had about 5 miles on the oil change (long story)

When I started the car after the cooling system replacement (Thermostat housing, Thermostat inlet, Thermostat, and water pump) It was ticking. Added oil and slightly overfilled (oops) and it burnt off the excess (most recent oil change was after burning, filled properly) and it still ticks. (It was ticking before the slight overfill and 2 oil changes) The exhaust rattle is also new. Any ideas?

B14 (‘98) sentra, GA16DE

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/21/2015 at 14:58

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Do you know if it’s in the valvetrain? Also, depending on how much you overfilled, burning off can take the form of eating the oil through the intake *or* forcing it up through the rings. Neither are good, but the second is much worse. Some related engines look like ticking and other noises can come from bad timing components - for example, chain guides.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 07/21/2015 at 14:59

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Not sure. About a quart over. It started ticking before I overfilled though.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/21/2015 at 15:00

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Might mean cam wear, I’m also seeing - which would be helped by adjusting your valves, but might not be cured.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/21/2015 at 15:04

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Quart over is not good, but then, you’ve probably got some other wear/broken things at this stage anyway that are more of a problem than abused rings. Apparently the two number one things to check are the valve clearances and the tensioners/guides on the front of the engine - at least that’s the sense I got from a quick Google and some results a couple of places like nissanforums.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 07/21/2015 at 15:17

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What’s the likelihood of damage from ignoring it? Already at 230k and don’t want to drop any more money or time.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car 07/21/2015 at 15:37

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Well, if the valves are being noisy and have closed up, you may eventually get enough wear that you lose compression. Damage, not really, but would increase need for a head job to make it “right”, which you may need anyway. If it’s your tensioners and guides, on the other hand, you might jump time and start running screwy or lose time altogether and brick the engine. You can see from this that knowing whether it’s valves or something else wouldn’t hurt. If you can afford to spend like $5 on a pack of feeler gauges, pop off your valve cover, and turn the engine over with a wrench, that’s what’s involved in checking your valves - less than *fixing* them if they need adjusting. Pretty easy if you look up how to do it. I would.

Jake Huitt - Two Alfas And A Nissan, Not A Single Running Car > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 07/21/2015 at 16:10

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Will do, thanks.