Okay - I've put this problem on the back-burner for some time now, but it really got me worried yesterday. My truck is closing in on 250k miles and has been a real warrior. The problem is when it has left to sit for more than 3-4 days. In the past, the first start up would kind of sputter – but then idle would regain by itself. Recently, the truck sat for almost two weeks – and when I went to start it, it sounded like a rod was trying to surface. I heard some really loud knocks/clacks, and I quickly killed the engine. Second time, it started and did it’s sputter thing and haven’t had a problem sense. Runs as usual, no abnormal noises (except the manifold leak of course) Has anyone ever experienced this before or have any suggestions on what to check.
I guess my truck was upset I didn’t drive it to NC.
Heath,
Thanks for the reply. I believe if the valves made a knock as loud as I heard, they’d be sitting in the bottom of the crankcase right now However, you have me thinking about the timing belt (V6). It’s getting close for its regular change out – could a worn belt be the root to my problem?
Thanks again
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Current Wheels: 86 SVO 1E, 89 Nissan D21 VG30E, 50 Fleetline Cpe
Past Wheels: 94 Vette LT1, 01 Vette Z06, 87 Vette L98, 80 Vette L48
Sounds like valvetrain noise to me. I let my 96 pk 4cyl sit for 3 months once and it the better part of an hour , of idling,to get the valves settled back down. And yes it can be quiet loud. And scary.
I don't think a belt would make that noise.
Also I had a friend who purchased a reposessed 91 with a 4cyl. It was high mileage and sitting for over a year. The valvetrain never settled back down and he had to have somethings replaced.
It's generally bad to let an high mileage vehicle like that sit. It has a tendency to cause things to sieze. like fuel pumps,my old CD player, blowers,anything electric.
Originally posted by lovemysan Sounds like valvetrain noise to me. I let my 96 pk 4cyl sit for 3 months once and it the better part of an hour , of idling,to get the valves settled back down. And yes it can be quiet loud. And scary.
Thanks for the helpful info. I guess it sounds like I have a runoff problem then
Quote:
Originally posted by lovemysan
I don't think a belt would make that noise.
I didn't think the belt would make the noise - I was wondering if the belt would cause something else to make the noise. Sorry I wasn't more clear.
Quote:
Originally posted by lovemysan It's generally bad to let an high mileage vehicle like that sit. It has a tendency to cause things to sieze. like fuel pumps,my old CD player, blowers,anything electric.
I wonder what I can do to help the valvetrain next time I let it sit. I guess I could try running some TX7 in it before hand. I run synthetic in it all the time - I figured that would have helped.
Thanks again!
Last edited by CarGuy : Jul 9th, 2003 at 03:38 PM.
Perhaps disconnecting the coil wire, cranking the engine over til the oil pressure comes up prior to starting it would help. It may or may not make a difference to the engine, but the lack of noise would certainly make you feel better. Are you still running the 5w-30? It may be time to go to the next thicker grade. I run 10W-30 in mine cause I bought it in AZ and started using it there, then moved north but never went back to the 5w-. Not sure if it would make any difference, but it may be worth a try. I truly believe you are doing yourself a favor by running the synthetic, keep it up.
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Aaron Ford
95 2WD Nissan PU E
2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue GX
"The hard part about playing chicken is knowing when to flinch" Scott Glenn in The Hunt for Red October
Last edited by aaronford : Jul 9th, 2003 at 02:20 PM.
Arron,
I've ran Mobil 1 10W-30 sense about 150K. I would bet sitting out in the 100 degree heat for so long, I guess its possible that the valvetrain could have dried up. Well, it must be true what they say about cold starts producing the most wear on an engine. I'm going to go with the TX7 - http://www.polydyn.com/tx7.htm - I have a friend that swears by the stuff. The FAQs say that its synthetics bond to the friction wear points and temperature is not a factor. I think it'll do the trick. Thanks for all the help
Originally posted by CarGuy Arron,
I've ran Mobil 1 10W-30 sense about 150K. I would bet sitting out in the 100 degree heat for so long, I guess its possible that the valvetrain could have dried up. Well, it must be true what they say about cold starts producing the most wear on an engine. I'm going to go with the TX7 - http://www.polydyn.com/tx7.htm - I have a friend that swears by the stuff. The FAQs say that its synthetics bond to the friction wear points and temperature is not a factor. I think it'll do the trick. Thanks for all the help
I've heard -- and this may be complete bullsh!t -- that the synthetic oil has a lower surface tension which causes it to vacate a surface quicker than conventional oil, just like it allows the oil to get pumped up to the upper end faster. I've also heard the opposite -- that synthetic is supposed to stick around longer. I guess the only way to find out is to try it for yourself.
Next time you plan on going away for a week or more, try changing the oil with a conventional the week before and run it through there before you leave on vacation...and then see if the valvetrain rattle comes back. You can always switch back to synthetic after the experiment if it doesn't work, but if it does work, that's a pretty cheap remedy.
Thanks Jadcock - I'm always up for cheap remedies BTW - didn't see any white 4X4 cruzin around - but I noticed other awesome off-road nissans inhabiting NC. I was planning on sending you a PM to see if you were interested in meeting up before we left - but I noticed from the forum you went to Virginia for the holiday. I'll catch you next time
No sweat! Yep, went to ol' Virginny for the 4th. We're about 4 hours away from family down here in Fayetteville, so we go home pretty regularly (once a month or something).
I'd love to take my truck out to the beaches and play around, but I'm afraid of getting the hubs choked up with sand. But I do live in the Sandhills of North Carolina, so I guess all the 4-wheeling I do anyway is in pretty sandy "soil". The last time I came home from 4-wheeling, I had enough sand in the driveway after washing the truck to fill up a sandbox!
Most of 'em here (as you noticed I'm sure) are 2wd vehicles. It's cool to see a nice 4x4 running around. Did you see a lot of them out at the beach?
Honestly, didn’t get to see as much of the beach as I wanted. Time was mostly taken up by family events. But I did see quite a few trucks – yes, most looked like imitations tho. I did see an unfortunate accident while I was up there. Coming back from Smithfield, it was raining and a lady in her Escalade slides right into the back of a 4X4 Hardbody. The Nissan’s rear bumper went on top of the SUV’s hood and was dragged into a ditch. No one was injured – but both vehicles took some damage
Second time, it started and did it’s sputter thing and haven’t had a problem sense. Runs as usual, no abnormal noises (except the manifold leak of course) 
Has anyone ever experienced this before or have any suggestions on what to check.
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