I have 1993 GA16DE Sentra since it was new, and it has shown a pattern of light engine knock, up to moderate on ocassions, since the car was new. My Sentra was built at the Aguas Calientes Nissan Mexican Facility, in Mexico. Most of the Sentras available here in Puerto Rico came from Mexico, even the newer 2003 models.
Because I have heard from others that their Sentras do not make engine noise, and some web sites confirm that the GA16DE engine is prone to engine knock, I think my Mexican built Nissan Sentra might have some quality issues which are very hard to detect and correct. The only thing I was able to do was to reduce the engine knock problem, but it has never dissapear completely.
Other 92-94 GA16DE Sentras here in Puerto Rico have the same problem, to the point it could be called a "typical" characteristic of the engine, which by the way I hate. Other than this always present light engine knock, sometimes worst than that, the GA16DE engine of my Sentra is fine. It is close to 154,000 miles.
I use Premium fuel always because a dealer's tech. told me to do it since the car was new, to reduce engine knock. I think an economic car should run well with the cheapest fuel, but that is not the case with this car, unforrtunately. Other than that, I live in a country where there's no real winter and we can use the same kind of clothes all year long. We have heat all year. Our Summer season is really hot, and I know this contributes to more engine knock in many cars. Similar models like Proteges, Corollas, and Mirages from those years 92-94 have that same problem here in Puerto Rico, even newer Proteges may have the problem
If anyone has the same experience with their GA16DE engine and wants to share his or her opinion, I thank you in advance.
I also used Techron to help clean the combustion chamber many times, a s well as Premium 93 fuel, but I think an economic car should be economic so no additional expenses occur. But, I also understand that only newer models,2000 +, are better avoiding engine knock and my car doesn't belong to that bunch.
Thanks for reading.
Have the same type of engine in similar weather although our temp averages 24-26 C all year. Can't say there has been any noticeable knock in my eng...
Naemus, I am not sure but I think the GA16DE engine in the
B-14 Sentra of the years '95-'99 is a little different in terms of
what can be called settings, and I am not sure if the Nissan Direct Ignition System is included on it because I saw once a photo of the engine showing the different and new style of what use to be the spark plugs cables. Anyway, whatever the adjustments made,
the B-14 GA16DE is not exactly as the one of the B-13, I think it makes 5 hp more too right from the factory. The little enhancements make it less prone to engine knock, I think
This web site shows a Nissan manual describing the specific enhancements of the 2000+ Nissan Sentra engine over the GA16DE of the "past": http://www.smartnouveau.com/Sentra-Pathfinder.pdf
Thanks for your comments.
Mine used to knock like a bitch too, and no matter what I did nothing helped and this went on for years. I traced it down to an air leak: the resonator is easily cracked if you lift the top half of the air filter housing too high, and I remeber hearing a "crack" years ago while checking the flter. So I junked the resonator and blocked off the opening...all is good now.
Centurion:
After checking the resonator visually, it seems ok. I will remove it to see if there is any crack not easy to detect.
My car is more than 154,000 miles old, and a few thousands of miles ago I also discovered that a hose ending in the resonator (that black box below the Air Flow Meter and to the left of the filter) was disconnected, with its rubber connector broken. Fortunately, the main local dealer had that connector at a very cheap price and I didn't have to invent. The engine knock was reduced considerably, but there was some light knock remaining on ocassions.
It could be that the resonator black box is also broken, but I have other problem too. (I have heard cracks too)
The main local Nissan dealer told me that the Idle Air Adjusting Unit, or Idle Control Unit of my Sentra is defective. I ordered the part and it costs $245 !! It is located nearly behind the pcv valve , where you can see two pieces in one, and a screw right in front, which is the idle adjusting screw. One of the valves is the Fast Idle Control Device Selenoid Valve and the other is the Auxiliary Air Control Valve. The first one (long one) provides additional air when the a/c is on and the second one (fat one) is activated by the Computer by what the big Nissan Manual I have on hand (I don't know a lot, but I have the big manual) an on/off pulse providing larger amounts of air the more time it is on.
After this, I understood you eliminated the resonator and blocked the opening, I think you refer to the one ending in the hose before the filter, or anything open in the area? One important thing is that my car is as it came from the factory, with the exemption of the conventional non-platnium Splitfire Spark Plugs. I think Nissan will ask me to remove them and install the NGK OEM before proceeding so I will before going to the dealer again, hopefully next Thursday (the part might arrive on Wednesday. I was told they have to adjust with equipment after installing the part. The dealer gave my car an extreme adjust so it could work until the part arrives and is working, but my car doesn't sound too good for now)
One thing was the dealer never reconnected the little hose that was hanging from the resonator, and never talked about what you say in the past. Now, I am going to remove the resonator and look for cracks. Thanks for your help and any other info you might add.
Maybe the end of the knock problem of my car is close.....I am going to check now.
The invisible crack on mine was the plastic tube, or fitting, that goes into the resonator form the intake. It was cracked at the junction between the tube and the resonator, but the crack didn't go all the way around the circumference of that joint. After junking the resonator, I took a 35mm film canister and jammed it into the rubber hose and then clamped it shut.
I just came from re-installing the resonator and it is fine, even in that junction between the tube and the resonator, unfortunately.
I checked every hose around the area and there are no other visible broken vaccum hoses or any other kind of hose broken. Apperently the only one that was broken at its rubber hose connector was the one I replaced in the past few weeks and it is ok.
I checked more than twice those areas you mention and it was fine, as well as any other junction because I think those are prone to cracks.
Other thing is that I live in a country with hot weather all year long, with heat indexes of over 100°F at anytime of the year like we have a couple of days ago at the West of this island. I live in the North, but is at sea level and it is very hot usually, with the high temps. at 87°F - 94°F at any time. Many people don't use the recommended 5w-30, 10w-30 oil on their cars because many people think it is to thin for this hot weather, but the fact is those oils flow better in this cars and you can read over the Internet that 5w-10w-30 oils are recommended for 1993 and newer models always. I used for many thousands of miles Mobil 1 15w-50 Synthetic. Expensive, and fuel economy is reduced, but I wanted to win the battle against the heat. It works, and the manual says it usable in our 1993 Sentras if the ambient temperature is above 50°F for all seasons and temps. here are always higher than that even after midnight in the cooler months.
This always present hot weather is the enemy of this GA16DE engine.
I also use a 70% coolant 30% water mix, or more, in my car as many people do, trying to fight the heat, anytime.
Check this link I posted and see what Nissan did to fight this problem in many areas, unfortunately for the new 2000 + Sentra which costs at least $15,500 new here in Puerto Rico:
My sister has a 2001 Sentra GXE, built in Mexico too, but in nearly 30,000 miles it has no hint of engine knock. I drove it for many miles and it runs better in stock form and beats my GA16DE, hands down.
But, it has more sensors and electronics than our GA16DE's. It uses more coolant, but less oil. The coolant flow according to Nissan is complete through the combustion chambers and sparks, even through crucial valves, and our GA16DE's are not that way.
Plus it has the new Direct Ignition. Too bad our GA16DE's are not upgradable with Niissan OEM parts to achieve this and enjoy it.
Would it be more reliable in the long run, after more than 150,000 miles? One thing is sure: It would be more expensive to fix....... Thanks.
Last edited by Pablo14 : Jan 19th, 2003 at 06:12 PM.
If I am not mistaken, the 70% coolant 30% water mix is too concentrated for effective heat transfer. Try 50% or lower coolant concentration.
Also, why not try a cool air intake for the engine. I believe a cooler air-fuel mixture should help resist knocking or pinging.
To add a little more, after more than a year, my 1993 Nissan Sentra had that tendency to make that annoying engine related knock since it was new, specifically it started to appear before its first oil change when it was brand new in my hands. Back then, more than 10 years ago, the car came with the factory oil, factory coolant and everything, but there was engine knock and I went to the dealer since it started. At the dealer I was told that sound was "typical", that annoying answer, and that I needed to buy premium fuel always in order to reduce the engine knock.
They told me that at the dealer they replaced on other Sentras the EGR valve and at first, the engine knock was dissapearing, but only to come back again soon. I always, always, buy premium fuel since the car was new. A few months after it was bought, the 93 octane premium came and I always buy that fuel for my car. Even with that, there is engine knock. I also buy Techron fuel system cleaner since the begining to help cleaning the combustion chambers, valves and injectors since it was new. There is a link about how Nissan improved the car in this aspect for the 2000 model Sentra:
The 2000-'04 Sentra is better in that aspect and its ignition is better.
Many other owners were complaining here in Puerto Rico about the same thing, but all the Sentras here, starting that year 1993 and even before, started to came from Nissan Aguas Calientes Plant in Mexico instead of Japan. The quality was not the same as the quality from Japanese built vehicles, and even at the main local dealer's parts department I have heard a few comments suggesting that in Mexico, "Nissan employees drink too much Tequila", because the quality of the Mexican built vehicles is lower, not the same. All Sentras sold in the Americas, since the year 2000, come from Mexico. My car is now old, close to 168,000 miles, and maybe the time is coming for a rebuilt for the engine and transmission, and maybe it would cost too much.
Yesterday, a good local mechanic told me he can find a Nissan engine for my car, but this one from the Japanese market, and he could charge me $850 for the whole job of buying and installing the engine. He said the engine is new, but after I checked over the Internet I found that those engines are used or reconditioned engines that were used in Japan and because the japanese don't use their cars as much as us in the Americas, the mileage is relatively low. But, at the same time there is no way of knowing how much mileage those engine really have.
Fella's this is a dumb questions.. What does engine knock sound like or feel like??
Would you feel it or hear it always when the engine is running??
Would you feel it or hear it when accelerating??
Would you feel it or hear it at certain rpm's or certain speeds??
The reason I ask is because I have this really bad vibration on my car. The vibration starts to be noticable at 25mph (~30kph) at by the time you are going 60mph (~100kph) the car feels like it wants to fall apart. I changed pretty much everything that rotates in the front, for example, wheel bearings, tires, rotors, brake pads and calipers. I still have the vibration (feels like pulsing) and I wanted to know if it might be engine knock?
Thanks in advance for any information that can help me determine what engine knock sounds or feels like..
Engine - Spark Knock
Classification:
EF & EC94-007a
Section:
Engine Control System
Reference:
Technical Bulletin NTB94056a
Models:
1991-94 Sentra (B13)
Date:
February 22, 1995
1991-94 SENTRA GAl6DE SPARK KNOCK
This Bulletin contains amended service information, please discard the original.
APPLIED DATE 9/90 thru 4/94
SERVICE INFORMATION
If a Sentra customer complains of spark knock or pinging noises during high ambient temperatures, perform the following to diagnose this incident:
1. Check the ignition timing. Set the initial timing to 8°BTDC (specification 10°+2°BTDC). Test drive vehicle.
2. If spark knock persists, change fuel to a name brand, higher octane (premium unleaded). Test drive vehicle.
3. If spark knock still persists, remove the spark plugs and inspect the piston tops for excessive carbon deposits. Removal of carbon deposits should only be performed with an approved technique. Call Nissan TECHLINE for details.
4. If very high ambient temperature (greater than 100°F) and low humidity (less than 40% conditions are present*, and the above techniques do not reduce the spark knock to an acceptable level, replace the air flow meter with the part number shown below.
* If spark knock occurs outside these conditions, consult the Nissan TECHLINE for further assistance.
Fella's this is a dumb questions.. What does engine knock sound like or feel like??
Would you feel it or hear it always when the engine is running??
Would you feel it or hear it when accelerating??
Would you feel it or hear it at certain rpm's or certain speeds??
The reason I ask is because I have this really bad vibration on my car. The vibration starts to be noticable at 25mph (~30kph) at by the time you are going 60mph (~100kph) the car feels like it wants to fall apart. I changed pretty much everything that rotates in the front, for example, wheel bearings, tires, rotors, brake pads and calipers. I still have the vibration (feels like pulsing) and I wanted to know if it might be engine knock?
Thanks in advance for any information that can help me determine what engine knock sounds or feels like..
jorge
It sounds like a metallic sound coming from the engine, also like when you hear a blender or an Osterizer with hard to disolve ice cubes. Some people also compare it to the sound of a diesel engine, but because it is not a diesel engine, that engine related knock of spark knock will eventually damage the engine.
This sound should not happen while you drive your vehicle on a highway, or every time you accelerate the vehicle, but it could happen after you come out of a traffic jam after several minutes of having your vehicle at close to zero mph for a while, and it can also happen when you accelerate on a hill.
Newer Sentras, and I mean the 2000-2004 Nissan Sentra and other Nissans as well as other vehicles, have more advanced ignition systems and other technologies that doesn't allow the car to present engine knock or spark knock as the technical bulletin posted below by Centurion says.
Hope this helps, but also ask someone who could be with you when the car makes the sound or noise, someone who knows a little about cars and he or she might tell you at least if it is engine knock.
Thanks for reading
Last edited by Pablo14 : Jan 17th, 2004 at 10:26 AM.
Engine - Spark Knock
Classification:
EF & EC94-007a
Section:
Engine Control System
Reference:
Technical Bulletin NTB94056a
Models:
1991-94 Sentra (B13)
Date:
February 22, 1995
1991-94 SENTRA GAl6DE SPARK KNOCK
This Bulletin contains amended service information, please discard the original.
APPLIED DATE 9/90 thru 4/94
SERVICE INFORMATION
If a Sentra customer complains of spark knock or pinging noises during high ambient temperatures, perform the following to diagnose this incident:
1. Check the ignition timing. Set the initial timing to 8°BTDC (specification 10°+2°BTDC). Test drive vehicle.
2. If spark knock persists, change fuel to a name brand, higher octane (premium unleaded). Test drive vehicle.
3. If spark knock still persists, remove the spark plugs and inspect the piston tops for excessive carbon deposits. Removal of carbon deposits should only be performed with an approved technique. Call Nissan TECHLINE for details.
4. If very high ambient temperature (greater than 100°F) and low humidity (less than 40% conditions are present*, and the above techniques do not reduce the spark knock to an acceptable level, replace the air flow meter with the part number shown below.
* If spark knock occurs outside these conditions, consult the Nissan TECHLINE for further assistance.
Thanks Centurion.
I heard about that bulletin in the past, but this is the first time I read it.
Do you have the part number for the Air Flow Meter that the bulletin should have? Maybe it is a different part number than the one the 91-94 Sentra uses from the factory.
The ignition timing on my car was set at 8 degrees and the car has a tendency to make engine knock there. I always use premium fuel since it was new, and when Premium 93 octane was available, I switched to it. This was in 1994 and since then my 1993 Sentra uses Premium 93 fuel. Also I have bought many bottles of Chevron's Techron Fuel System Cleaner, and I add that cleaner to the tank at every oil filter change. Chevron does not sell gasoline here in Puerto Rico since many years ago, but Texaco, Shell, Gulf, Esso, and other companies like CITGO and a few others are present.
The timing was set to 7 degrees and it still was making excessive engine knock so now it is at around 6 degrees or less, with two bottles of Techron fuel system cleaner. As far as I know, the main local Nissan dealer where the car was bought, never replaced the Air Flow Meter with the recommended part of that bulletin, much less cleaned the top of the cylinders of the excessive carbon deposits. The bulletin also doesn't describe the procedure for cleaning, but maybe it requires to remove the valve train or cylinder heads so the top of the cylinders are visible clearly and that requires lots of work.
Also, the bulletin you include here says that the engine knock would be reduced to an acceptable level, not eliminated.
Regarding that, I found over the Internet that the engine or spark knock problem is one of those problems that continues to develop with the past of the years, and that means it turns worse with the many miles of use. The amount of carbon deposits is suppose to stabilize with time, but this Sentras are too sensitive to engine knock in hot weather. And remember my Sentra was built in Mexico. The quality is lower than the one of Japanese built Sentras.
I heard that the Air Flow Meter of my car costs hundreds of dollars. Maybe, is better to order it from Mossy Nissan in California, but I honestly think the more crucial thing to do is to clean the top of the cylinders and probably the bottom of the valves. This procedure is suppose to be done before buying the Air Flow Meter.
If I pay to do that, it would be better to replace the valves, the lifters, the chain, the tensioners, because with the past of the more than 170,000 miles soon all that is suppose to have considerable wear. Is not a good idea to open an engine that has considerable mileage and not to perform all the other required repairs, as many mechanics will tell anyone. It would be nearly an overhaul, or a complete overhaul. A local mechanic estimated the cost for this to be $1,800, I don't know if including the parts, maybe not.
This mechanic suggested me to buy a "new" engine from the Japanese market, that is one engine straight from Japan, and that he will buy it and install it for $850. I made my research and found that those engines are reconditioned and used from Japan as I wrote in my previous response on this thread, the first response of this year 2004.
My dad says that probably is not worth it to pay for a reconditioned engine or to rebuild this engine, but is better to buy a new vehicle. He says cars
today are disposable. Some information over the Internet suggests that cars built by Nissan are made for about 10 years of use.
Mira Grandisimo Cabron..... Decir que la calidad de los autos hechos en Mexico es mala porque los trabajadores toman mucho tequila es como decir que todo (poco, realmente poco) lo que se produce en Puerto Rico tiene pesima calidad porque todo el tiempo toman ron. :dumbass:
Para que te informes.... La planta de Aguascalientes esta produciendo un chingo de autos para todos los paises BANANEROS del caribe que no producen ni medio automovil, ahhh ademas producen carros para USA, Canada, todos los paises que venden Nissan en Sudamerica ahhhh, preguntale a Mossy donde compra el grill y los headlamps para los B13's, que por cierto lo disenaron ingenieros Mexicanos.
Tengo una idea: o es el maldito calor o es el mendigo ron el que tiene dañado tu cerebro....
Para que te eduques.... en la Ciudad de Mexico se tiene una perdida de eficiencia por la altura de alrededor de 25% y aun asi, los nissan son los carros mas silenciosos... a mi se me hace que son puros pretextos los que te estan diciendo todos tus "mecanicos".
Dejame decirte que aqui tenemos muchisimos carros pequenos importados de Europa.. Espanoles, Franceses, Ingleses, Alemanes y es reconocida la calidad de los Nissan al grado que con frecuencia el B13 (que para que sepas se sigue produciendo y vendiendo tanto aquí como en muchos paises de Centro, Sudamerica y el Caribe) es el carro que mas se vende en este pais.
Aprende, lee, educate y despues opina ahhh si no entiendes algo... porque uds suelen no entender bien el Espanol.... te lo pongo en ingles.
Y se me hace que el 14 es tu IQ.
Ademas se nota que tu mecanico si toma mucho ron.... los motores japoneses estan hechos al reves... para montarse con la caja del lado izq y el motor del lado derecho.... porque quiza no sepas que en Japon manejan del lado derecho como en Inglaterra.
Last edited by manuelga : Jan 17th, 2004 at 10:07 PM.
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
Engine Knock on Mexican built GA16DE Sentras
Uds que demonios producen????
Decir que la calidad de los autos hechos en Mexico es mala porque los trabajadores toman mucho tequila es como decir que todo (poco, realmente poco) lo que se produce en Puerto Rico tiene pesima calidad porque todo el tiempo toman ron. :dumbass: 
Linear Mode
