problem help! noisy engine

[FaberNZ.blaaack-S15]

ok guys please help i'm kinda scared hoping there's nothing too major wrong with my engine. It's making a loud clunking noise sounds like a tractor, it sounds like its coming from the camshaft area could be camshaft I duno. As i get more revs its louder and faster. help cheers

 

[spoonman]

get a length of hose about 500 long put one end to your ear and one end over the intake cam (dont touch the engine as you will hear everything else as well), the bit that sticks out towards the radiator in particular , if the sound is really loud there then its your VCT cam solenoid, if it is then its a really common SR problem, but move the hose around over your cam cover to find out exactly where the noise is coming from, as i t could be a lifter or something too

does it sound like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95qdoK44zQg

 

[FaberNZ.blaaack-S15]

yes! that is exactly what it sounds like. So what caused it and is it major and how do I get it fixed. I recorded the noise also

 

[spoonman]

the VCT solenoid & cam gear, its the thing which adjusts the intake cam under load, like hondas vtec but no where near as good. you can run with a normal intake cam gear but it will be slower, just find someone whos parting out a DE and get the gear and solenoid ask this guy

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/nissan/engines/auction-493453115.htm

 

[spoonman]

oh and if you wreck something trying to fix it yourself, dont worry its just DE engine anyway, i just brought one for a laugh to see what I can do for $350

 

[FaberNZ.blaaack-S15]

yea i might have to buy a normal sr20det soon. Should i still be driving or no? because I am have no other transport haha

 

[spoonman]

take the evo

 

[FaberNZ.blaaack-S15]

haha my brothers he doesn't live at home anymore. It's going to be embarrassing driving it around now its crazy loud like 10x louder then the exhaust..

 

[FaberNZ.blaaack-S15]

but should i really not drive it will it just cause other problems and make everything worse?

 

[Auss15]

Noisy VCT wont affect driving it around. Iv'e had mates drive them around for months before replacing the solenoid or gear.A few of the reasons they go is lubrication,they are poorly designed to pick up oil from the rocker, stage 2 cams or aftermarket valve springs kill them as well

 

[spoonman]

haha my brothers he doesn't live at home anymore. It's going to be embarrassing driving it around now its crazy loud like 10x louder then the exhaust..

since you live in Auckland you MUST have at least 20x 100" subs in the boot, just drown the tractor noise with that

 

[FaberNZ.blaaack-S15]

so i took it to a mechanic he said my oil i put in was to thin when i done my oil change last week. because the holes on the oil tubes squirters had been drilled bigger. So he changed it to thicker oil and said that should fix it. It was a bit better but still making the loud noise he said go buy new oil tubes, so I did put them in today the noise is nowhere near as bad but is still doing it and isn't quiet how the engine use to be. What the hell do I do now..

 

[Auss15]

I wouldn't go back to that mechanic, he doesnt know what he's talking about. That money you wasted could have gone to a new VCT cam and solenoid.

What oil weight did you put in. Thick oil is not good for SR's as they have small oil galleries. The Nissan recommended oil weight is 7.5W-30W for the SR20DET

 

[FaberNZ.blaaack-S15]

so what i done today was just playing around with things. I removed the plug off the vct and it was silent and perfect when idling then put it back on and its perfect. Didn't take it for a drive though so when i test it tomorrow hoping its going to be good!

 

[FaberNZ.blaaack-S15]

Where do I get a cheap VCT from? I need a brand new can barely find them anywhere. Found one on a site and it's like $250.. is that normal if it is i'm going to go insane

 

[spoonman]

just ask this guy for the gear and solenoid, being second hand and not knowing the condition, i would offer him $50 - $80

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/nissan/engines/auction-497717040.htm

of just ask people on here for one.

 

[FaberNZ.blaaack-S15]

Ok so what do I need exactly the VCT solenoid and Cam?

 

[Auss15]

I would take the VCT solenoid off and give a clean in kerosene by hooking it up the 12 volts to open and close it while its in the cleaning solution.You need to clean any oil gunk that might have bult up in the oil feed. Thats why they fail most times due to poor oil or not changing it regularly enough.

The Cam sproket is a little more resiliant but I know guys who change them over at about 100K's

 

[spoonman]

Ok so what do I need exactly the VCT solenoid and Cam?

yep pays to get both

 

[spoonman]

has anyone heard of any group buys from nissan going on for these two items? would not be a bad idea to get one on the cheap just in case