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I imagine a mechanic would go about it similarly to how any of us would, with the exception of having a lift for easier access to the underside, or maybe having a few more common culprits in mind. Mine (VG engine) has a brief rattle on startup, especially if it's cold, especially if it's time to change the oil. That's just the lifters making noise until they see oil pressure, not sure if this is as common on the VQ. There is another ticking on mine that is worse when cold, and worse under load, and that's the exhaust leak. An exhaust leak at/near the engine can sound surprisingly metallic, and if it's a small leak, it may close up a little as the system warms. I don't know the VQ's weak spots for exhaust leaks, but if you're staring at the exhaust, keep an eye out for soot marks. (If it was a VG30, I'd say look for broken exhaust studs, but AFAIK Nissan had figured that one out by the time the VQ came out.) Could be a heat shield no longer has room to rattle when the system is warm. I don't know the VQ well enough to say it's definitely not the timing components, but I would expect most internal noises to get worse as the engine warms and the oil thins. If it was pinging I'd expect the computer to be all kinds of unhappy, and if the knock sensor wasn't working, I'd expect it to complain about that, too. If you want to rule out a lean burn, check a spark plug. I worked on a friend's Buick once that was running lean and going into limp mode if he stepped on it. I suspect it was running lean and pinging, and the knock sensor was triggering the limp mode. All I know is the plugs were white and the MAF was filthy, and cleaning it resolved the issue. Doesn't sound like your issue. I like the idea of brakestanding it to see if you can make it act up, but, yeah, I wouldn't roll under a brakestanding truck. I'll bet you could clamp a pair of vise grips to the the shield you suspect of making noise, and take it around the block, and see if the noise goes away. Even if you can't vise grip the shield to something solid, I would expect the weight of the grips hanging off the side to silence the rattle, or at least change it somewhat. I have removed loose heat shields without issue. Easy when they're rotten. Harder when they're still welded/bolted on most of the way around.

i would suggest identifying a clear communicable issue, for example, my steering wheel doesnt return to the exact same place after taking a curve (steering rack bushings) or it is harder than it should be to drive in a straight line (tie rod, ball joint, alignment). if you present a vague issue then we can only really provide vague responses. when you say mountain roads, do you mean paved roads, gravel, dirt? i cant imagine driving in a straight line would be an issue traversing a mountain since there wont be any straight lines.

The boys and I went to Charlies Creek last weekend to camp and it turned out to be one of the best camping experiences I've ever had. The spot we got was one of only three established camping areas on the entire trail and was right beside the trail. I didn't like being right beside the trail at first but we ended up getting to see several convoys, one that was comprised of at least 30 vehicles, travel right next to us. It was pretty cool. Only one vehicle came thru after dark and was lit up like a Christmas tree with amber light bars. I remembered hawairish saying that the amber color produces more usable light and it did appear to be the case. It was like the trail was awash with very warm light instead of the abhorrent purple blue light that light bars otherwise output. I think I am going to get some gel film to either go full amber or at least get down to about 3000k. The only negative was I couldn't sleep a wink. This however enabled me to be present when two owls began hooting to each other at precisely 2:36AM and ended at 2:40AM. There was one owl which was, I would guess, 20-30 yards away from me and then another one which was much further away. When the one close to me would hoot I could almost feel the sound. It was a powerful hoot with three smaller hoots right after it. After the one close to me did its thing, the other one made the exact same hoot with three smaller hoots behind it. Toward the end of their hooting to each other they started changing the amount of smaller hoots. The one close to me only did two smaller hoots and then the other one still did three. The the one further away did two smaller hoots and the one close to me did four. They were clearly talking to each other and when they finished they did not make a single peep the entire rest of the night. It was truly something and I will always remember the wonder I felt when it was clear to me they were talking to each other. Here are the pics and vids of us. It really was so much fun and my youngest son, who is incredibly picky and wont eat anything, tried all the camping food I made. I was so proud of him. What a great time and the trees surrounding the campsite were amazing. I dont know what kind of trees they were but it was a beautiful twisted mess of dense woods above a crystal clear creek.