Xourque Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Hello folks! While driving or sitting still in park in my driveway, if I rev up my engine to about 2,100 RPMs, I hear an odd metal on metal grinding noise coming from my engine compartment. If I were to guess which side I hear it coming from more it'd be the right side. This has been happening consistently for the past four months. I have about 2k miles on a 10w30 fully synthetic oil change. This noise occurs when the engine is at full operating temperature OR when it's cold. Any ideas what this could be? 175k miles on a 2003 Nissan Pathfinder LE. I have zero other symptoms to report - my Pathfinder is running pretty great otherwise. Thank you all in advance!! Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowboarder12345 Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 I'd start by changing the oil and looking for shavings if I were you. If the oil comes out clean then it probably isn't anything in the engine. It might be something in your tranny too if it's RPM but not speed dependant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawairish Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 Hopefully it's something external to your engine. Not sure it'd be the transmission if it occurs in park. Check that all your pulleys are tight, yet spin freely. Any slight grinding from them, and the bearings may be ready to go. It's not fun when one of those grenades on you (ask me how I know). Checking may require removal of the belts. May make sense to change the belts while you're at it...but if you suspect a bad pulley, just re-use the current belts so that if it fails, it won't damage a new belt. Having an extra helper to throttle it will you listen under the hood helps, of course. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemExposure Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Hopefully it's something external to your engine. Not sure it'd be the transmission if it occurs in park. Check that all your pulleys are tight, yet spin freely. Any slight grinding from them, and the bearings may be ready to go. It's not fun when one of those grenades on you (ask me how I know). Checking may require removal of the belts. May make sense to change the belts while you're at it...but if you suspect a bad pulley, just re-use the current belts so that if it fails, it won't damage a new belt. Having an extra helper to throttle it will you listen under the hood helps, of course. I'm going to go ahead and ask you how you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citron Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 You should get a mechanics stethoscope. Listen to the noise outside with the hood up. Either throttle it up yourself with the throttle body, or have someone inside rev it up. It will be much easier to narrow down where the noise is coming from, things can sound odd inside the cab. Once you narrow down the area, use the stethoscope to pinpoint the exact spot. I am leaning towards a pulley as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawairish Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 I'm going to go ahead and ask you how you know. This was on my 4-cyl Frontier. Had a noise, not so much a grind as it was an occasional screech/squeak, but I knew the bearings on an idler pulley were getting a little worn. At the time, though, replacement bearings and pulleys weren't available, not even from Nissan (later determined that a 240SX bearing fit, but different pulley despite similar engine). Best I could do was pull it and try to inject some grease. But, while driving (and making a turn, no less), instantly lost power steering when the bearing grenaded, shooting steel balls everywhere. Sounded like a glass bottle had exploded under the hood. The sound and the steering feedback...I damn near shat my pantalones. Either throttle it up yourself with the throttle body, or have someone inside rev it up. Will need someone to rev it up...drive by wire; no throttle cable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karmann Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Might sound stupid, but if it's closer to a rattle than a grind, it could easily be your cat heat shields. I had to completely remove mine after I got tired of the rattles. You can then line the area with header tape or whatever you like that can stand the heat to perform the same function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onespiritbrain Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 Might sound stupid, but if it's closer to a rattle than a grind, it could easily be your cat heat shields. I had to completely remove mine after I got tired of the rattles. You can then line the area with header tape or whatever you like that can stand the heat to perform the same function. +1 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xourque Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 Holy crap it WAS my cat heat shields!! Unbelievable. You guys are amazing - thank you all for your help!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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