Tungsten Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I know the Nissan V6 engines sound weird but I was just wondering if the sound I am experiencing is normal. I had this sound since I got this truck and one friend of mine who owns a 2dr Explorer said it may be a normal sound for this engine. Anyway, it sounds like a bunch of sparks going off and probably comes from the valves. The sound is continuous and not random. It only occurs under load and not at idle. By load I mean over 2000 rpm in Drive in the higher gears when I press the gas down a bit. However, if the load is at its peak then the spark sound also gets some occasional click to it. So I just wanted to know if this is a normal thing for these trucks. I tried getting rid of it by replacing the studs with 300zx turbo studs, replacing the manifold with headers, using 5000 mile oil, etc. However its still there and neither of these things helped so far. The headers made the sound slightly louder too. If you want me to post a video, I can do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Trying to figure out what a spark sounds like.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 its like when you discharge static electricity by touching something metal it makes that sound can't be an exhaust leak at the heads i have headers with brand new studs and the nuts are on tight i even did what doug thorley said and tighten the manifold nuts and flange bolts up even more when they are hot to the peak torque Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastpath Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 could it be lifter tick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beavis0076 Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 could it be lifter tick? I was thinking the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Sounds like your timing may be too far advanced. Try retarding the timing a bit to see if it goes away. You mentioned that under heavy load it got worse, hence my reasoning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted November 11, 2009 Author Share Posted November 11, 2009 (edited) could it be lifter tick? there are no knocks or ticks at idle, it runs smooth and i'm pretty sure its not misfiring how do you set the timing, isn't it set by ecu?! Edited November 11, 2009 by Tungsten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted November 11, 2009 Author Share Posted November 11, 2009 anybody? this is really annoying i thought the new studs and headers would fix this but it wasn't a manifold problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Could just be your fuel injectors clicking. I know on a lot of Maximas, the fuel injectors click loudly, and a Maxima freak at work asked me if my Pathfinder was MPFI and when I said no, he said you're lucky because they're known to click as they age. I've never heard of it happening in a Pathfinder before, but hey it was good to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhardison Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Try a can of 104 octane boost as a quick cheap way to rule out any detonation related issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 there are no knocks or ticks at idle, it runs smooth and i'm pretty sure its not misfiring how do you set the timing, isn't it set by ecu?! Nope. Rotating the distributor will set ignition timing. Too far advanced can cause pinging issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted November 11, 2009 Author Share Posted November 11, 2009 (edited) Tried that...it did help but its impossible to get the timing perfect. Could just be your fuel injectors clicking. I know on a lot of Maximas, the fuel injectors click loudly, and a Maxima freak at work asked me if my Pathfinder was MPFI and when I said no, he said you're lucky because they're known to click as they age. I've never heard of it happening in a Pathfinder before, but hey it was good to know. That makes sense! Could just be clicking injectors and mine is MPFI. Do you know if they click on load or at idle too? I don't have any clicks at idle. Edited November 11, 2009 by Tungsten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Make sure the truck is warm when you do it. The idle will be steadier. You can get it within 1 degree, which is fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted November 11, 2009 Author Share Posted November 11, 2009 What kind of fuel should I use when setting it? I came to a shop to get this done and they did it by ear and said they can use the light but it would be useless. They told me if it keeps doing that try higher grade gas and come back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 87 Octane should be fine. These motors are relatively low compression. Any higher and you're effectively wasting your money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87pathy Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 get a timing light, mark the like with a paint pen. let it warm up and check timing. could definatley be detonation. or.. have you checked your oil level lately? it could be an oil pump. there is less oil in your pan when running at higher RPMs due to volume. If your pump cannot keep up at high rpms it can cause a lifter tick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted November 12, 2009 Author Share Posted November 12, 2009 i doubt its the oil pump, if i rev the engine at idle there is no tick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rydsno Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 I know the Nissan V6 engines sound weird but I was just wondering if the sound I am experiencing is normal. I had this sound since I got this truck and one friend of mine who owns a 2dr Explorer said it may be a normal sound for this engine. Anyway, it sounds like a bunch of sparks going off and probably comes from the valves. The sound is continuous and not random. It only occurs under load and not at idle. By load I mean over 2000 rpm in Drive in the higher gears when I press the gas down a bit. However, if the load is at its peak then the spark sound also gets some occasional click to it. So I just wanted to know if this is a normal thing for these trucks. I tried getting rid of it by replacing the studs with 300zx turbo studs, replacing the manifold with headers, using 5000 mile oil, etc. However its still there and neither of these things helped so far. The headers made the sound slightly louder too. If you want me to post a video, I can do that. This is covered in your owners manual, it actually says that the noise is normal under load. It's knocking or pinging. I was having quite a bit of it as well, but then I changed gas stations and started running a little higher octane. I also ran some "seafoam" through the tank to clean things out. This noise seems considerably better, but I still get it sometimes. I also had the timing belt changed a few weeks ago which seems to have made a difference also. So I don't think you have to much to worry about. Check your manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87pathy Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 i doubt its the oil pump, if i rev the engine at idle there is no tick this is an oxymoron. rev engine at idle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted November 13, 2009 Author Share Posted November 13, 2009 (edited) i meant rev the engine in park... i think i am screwed big time well i got cap, rotor, plugs, and wires now most of the spark plugs came out fine (the one against the firewall is a bitch) the middle plug on the passenger side did not want to budge, can't make more than 2 turns to it i guess ill wait till the engine is cold and try again so without installing the new cap, rotor, or wires yet i put the old cables back on to test it started right up then got the sensor disconnected and hooked up the timing light to the first cylinder (i think passenger side first one is first) and behold the timing light reports that the timing is off by 100 degrees so either the marks on the harmonic balancer are off or the first cylinder isn't a first cylinder and i don't even know wtf to do now i took it to a shop and they said some rubber thing rotated and misaligned with the marks and they couldn't set the timing either would the truck even run with 100 degrees off in timing?! Edited November 13, 2009 by Tungsten Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87pathy Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 i meant rev the engine in park... i think i am screwed big time well i got cap, rotor, plugs, and wires now most of the spark plugs came out fine (the one against the firewall is a bitch) the middle plug on the passenger side did not want to budge, can't make more than 2 turns to it i guess ill wait till the engine is cold and try again so without installing the new cap, rotor, or wires yet i put the old cables back on to test it started right up then got the sensor disconnected and hooked up the timing light to the first cylinder (i think passenger side first one is first) and behold the timing light reports that the timing is off by 100 degrees so either the marks on the harmonic balancer are off or the first cylinder isn't a first cylinder and i don't even know wtf to do now i took it to a shop and they said some rubber thing rotated and misaligned with the marks and they couldn't set the timing either would the truck even run with 100 degrees off in timing?! if you rev it in park and it knocks.. very well could be a rod. engine no issues with no load and a ping / knock upon load. also. i doubt the rubber came loose. there are 6 small bolts on the front of the damper. If somebody changed the timing belt and don't know what they were doing, they probably pulled the pully and not the dampe first and when they put it back together they were miss aligned. it wouldnt run 100 deg out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted November 13, 2009 Author Share Posted November 13, 2009 no the rod is good, there is no knock at rev in park the balancer only goes on one way right? is it keyed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87pathy Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 thats what i'm saying. if it only does this UNDER LOAD it could be a rod. rev in park is not under load. look at the front of the damper, there are 6 bolts that holds the pully onto the damper. the timing marks are on this. the damper and pully are not keyed together, but the damper is keyed to the crank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87pathy Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 thats what i'm saying. if it only does this UNDER LOAD it could be a rod. rev in park is not under load. look at the front of the damper, there are 6 bolts that holds the pully onto the damper. the timing marks are on this. the damper and pully are not keyed together, but the damper is keyed to the crank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted November 13, 2009 Author Share Posted November 13, 2009 under load i can tell you its definitely not a rod knock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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