ticking TD42T

[penGUin]

hi guys, firstly i am new on here and joined to help expand my knowledge of 4x4 and mechanical orientated problems. also to meet some great ppl, but enough about me..

now i have read quite a few posts on similar situations but i would like to hear from the horses mouth on this one.
Vehicle: 05 GUIV TD42T wagonST 143,000km
standard engine components no work done(just yet haha)
3" dobinson lift and bushes(not really important).
what i would like to know is what could be causing a ticking/naking/clicking noise from the engine?
i recently just drove from the NW to perth and had a service done and valve clearances done(?) and then drove back to NW a few days ago, i asked the nissan dealership that i got the work done about the noise after i had the clearances done and the mech said "i wouldnt worry bout that tapping, these engines are unbreakable". thats all good but still doesnt stop the ticking noise now does it haha?
at idle you can hear it in the cab with the windows up and down, coming from the top/middle area of engine bay, once revs increased noise is drowned out abit but is still there around 2500rpm in 5th gear on the highway for 18 hours :mad:
any suggestions and help would be much appreciated, i know it is hard to pin point from not hearing it too soo thanks for trying :biggrin:

Willy

[MudRunnerTD]

Are you sure they did the clearances? I would not trust the Nissan Service Tech to be honest.

Have you checked your oil?

[penGUin]

i know i didnt want to think that to be honast, if you ask them and pay for it you would hope that theyt would do it to the required settings?(hopefully)
yeah i have checked the oil, only on the dipstick as yet, nothing wrong with it, looks perfectly fine not cloudy or anything, i would hope that the nissan dealer also done an oil change when i got it serviced too =/

thanks for the reply too Mudrunner

[nissannewby]

I would get them reckecked by a reputable mech or grab yourself a manual and do them yourself. I know both my TD42's still make a slight ticking noise even when adjusting correctly. I reckon you get a slight bit of noise out the injectors working as well.

[penGUin]

i think i will try and ring a few places this week and see what they would suggest, as there are not many mech where i am so shouldnt take long, also i dont think i would like to try it myself, im not the best with mechanics as yet, one of the reasons i joined here to get some more info and experince to do these things my self. plus i dont have a service manual yet either haha

[nissannewby]

It could even be a bearing like for your a/c adjustment or a/c clutch bearing etc any one of those pulleys for you eng accessories.

[penGUin]

well lets just hope its something simple, would there be anything else i could try/check to eliminate some variables? are the bearing hard to change or expensive as well? would it be better to get genuin parts or aftermarket, if AM which brands are reputable?

thanks, willy

[nissannewby]

Could remove all belts and give it a quick run just idling in your driveway ( I mean quick to as your waterpump wont be spinning) but you will sus it pretty soon after start up if the noise is still there or not. Any sort of mounts like the ones for the top mount intercooler, if they are cracked and vibrating can make a similar noise. I have been in a fair few TD42's and they all tick. It will be something simple as you have been told they are a bullet proof donk.

[penGUin]

i never would of thought of that, thanks nissannewby. how quick is quick? a couple seconds, 5 sec, 10 sec? the less the better really hey? i dont think it would be any mounts as it increases with the revs, so i was leaning towards mechanical, but i will try removing the belts when i get a spare day and have a play. i dont think i could just ignore mine though, it would drive me mad :)

[97_gq_lwb]

Quite often exhaust leaks are mistaken for noisy tappets as well.

[MudRunnerTD]

I would have thought you could run it for at least a minute if you had to without the belts on bud. Especially if your running from a cold start.

When Nissan did the tappets did they have the car overnight? Your tappet clearances should be measured with a stone cold engine mate. Park it overnight and measure a cold engine or your wasting your time.

[penGUin]

any suggestions on trying to rule out the exhaust leaks? are you meaning holes in the exhaust somewhere or a gasket or something gone? i will be getting a service manual this week to make these kinds of things abit easier.
thanks for the replies too 97_gq_lwb

[penGUin]

mudrunner.. no my car wasnt cold when i got nissan to do the tappets, although i wouldnt say it was too warm either? it was only a few kms, if that, to the dealer so i dought it woulve gotten too hot. but i could be wrong too?

awesome that gives me abit more confidence of ruling out some more possible problems.. if the tapping is still there after trying the no belts trick, should i try and rule out the exhaust next? or try and get the tappets checked again?

thanks again

[Silver]

I went mad and bought a stethoscope from the local tool place. It has a longish metal probe that rests on a diaghram - and then the tubes run up to each ear. YOu need to be a bit careful with it, as some noises are very loud - unpleasant more than dangerous, I think.

Apparently a long screwdriver resting against a bone near your ear also works, as can a rubber tube held near your ear.

Apart from loud noises, moving parts can also generate some excitement if you are listening too much and looking not enough :-)

I can vouch for exhaust noises being both loud and sounding like tappets - in my case a TB42 Petrol - the gasket between head and extractor had failed, and was ticking like a beauty. Where the extractors/headers/exhaust manifold join to the engine pipe is another source of tick tick ticking if there is a leak

[MudRunnerTD]

mudrunner.. no my car wasnt cold when i got nissan to do the tappets, although i wouldnt say it was too warm either? it was only a few kms, if that, to the dealer so i dought it woulve gotten too hot. but i could be wrong too?

awesome that gives me abit more confidence of ruling out some more possible problems.. if the tapping is still there after trying the no belts trick, should i try and rule out the exhaust next? or try and get the tappets checked again?

thanks again


Yep that is a Fail mate. When steel gets hot it expands. It shrinks when cold. Your clearances should be measured on a fully cold engine only. Not negotiable. Not cooled. Cold..

Factory spec is on a stone cold hunk of metal only.

As Silver stated above a stethoscope will help you isolate your noises. A 1metre length of garden hose works nearlly as well. Stick one end in your ear and poke it about and you will be amazed how well you can hear things.

[penGUin]

haha, i dont think i will go and buy a stethoscope, i did however try the screwdriver trick, but didnt find anything definitive, i will try again with the garden hose and check the exhaust this time.
do you have a rough idea of what it would cost IF its the exhaust? if its just a gasket it shouldne be too expensive right?:wink:

well thanks mudrunner, i will try and get them checked again as soon as i can, it was nice for the nissan dealer to not tell me and still do it and charge me for it? although they couldve been doing as the customer asked, they still said nothing about it needing to be done on a cold engine.. oh well, you learn something new everyday.
maybe a couple more now that iv joined the forum haha

[nissannewby]

An exhaust leak will get difinitively louder as engine load increases and if its decent enough you may see some loss of boost and obviously in a diesel black soot around area where she is leaking. As for the running with no belts if she is cold a minute wont hurt at all but you will be able to hear the difference (if there is one) not long after start up. Theres even the slight possibilty it could be you throwout bearing if it is this it tends to disappear when you put your foot on the clutch. Check for exhaust leaks and recheck tappets after belt trick and see how you go all is quite doable in half a day.

[penGUin]

ok cool, i will have a crawl under her this week and get back to yous with the verdict.
excellent i will try and get a hand this weekend if im not working to check most of it, thanks agian for all the info you guys have given me, i had no idea where to start before :)really appreciate it.
i checked the clutch in/out through all gears and its still there so im pretty sure its not the clutch?
area tappets something i could do if im not really too confident, dont you need a gauge to check them too? i have a couple mates and my partners dad that could help me too.

will try and get back with some results soon
thanks

[penGUin]

ok, no progress as yet but i did grab i small piece of hose and have a listen around the engine bay, and the ticking was loudest right next to the injector lines and injector ports going into the engine, i had a read through my manual and it was saying that a ticking sound is normal but, to what extent, i shouldle be able to hear it in the cab should i? i am going to take the belts of in the morning and test that theory.

[nissannewby]

Yeah you can rule the clutch out. To check tappets you will need a set of feeler gauges these are cheap from most parts shops. Yeah you will be ableto hear it i can hear both of mine and are both regularly serviced and tappets checked. The GQ is certainly louder than my GU but it has no carpet or underlay in it. Does it start easy? Does she blow much smoke out the exhaust and what colour? Your nice and close to your rocker gear when your near the injectors so it could be tappet noise with the noise of your injectors working.

[penGUin]

hi, thought i needed a special tool for it. are the cheap ones accurate or should i get a half decent one? really, you would think if you are doing regular services and checking them that the ticking would subside?
i will get a pic in the morning, do you know if you can upload from iphones to this thread, i noticed that a couple of the injectors had oil around them where they go into the engine, one was particulary bad, i tried cleaning them yesterday to see if it will get worse to see if they are leaking too? I am in NO way an expert with engines, but this noise just doesnt sound right to me. maybe im being to fussy too haha :)
yeah its starts perfectly fine, no harldy any smoke, just the bare minimun black smoke when i put my foot down, but one thing that was abit odd was when i pulled up a a couple times, and shut the engine off it would shutter for a couple times then turn off, it has only done it to me a couple times, one of the times it did run for about 2-3 seconds after turning the key off?
did i just throw a spanner in the works and confuse everyone or is it just because i didnt let the engine settle before shutting off?

sorry for all the questions too

thanks, willy

[nissannewby]

The copper washers for you injectors could be on their way out this would make said noise and possibly a residue where they go into the head. My engine use to that (run on a little) when i had all the egr and crankcase breather in factory setup in my GU. I have since removed the egr and vent my crankcase to atmosphere and it hasnt happened since. I went through the hole saga of checking pump timing and everything just to make sure. And before anyone says anything the GU is a TD42Ti. It sounds as if everything else is in check and is running how it should and dont worry mate there is nothing wrong with being fussy.

[penGUin]

so i have a bit of a progress report,
today i pulled all the belts off, and started the motor. But, unfortunately the ticking is still there, i guess there is a positive there though, i know that my pulleys and bearings arent buggered haha.

i did take a couple pics of where the oil build up was, but its a little decieving, it could be coming from the intercooler or turbo hoses and not the injector? i will give everything a good clean this week sometime and see if i can pip point where the leak is?

[nissannewby]

It certainly looks like its coming from your intercooler. Your engine may be choking hence the ticking. Your manifold will be caked with oily grime which wont be helping your cause and the intercooler looks like she could have a bit of residue in it as well. It would prob be best if you could get your manifold and intercooler thoroughly cleaned, remove and block egr and either get a catch can for your crank case vent or vent it to atmosphere. Could be a good time to recheck your tappets too while all that gear is off.

[tassie wombat]

[QUOTE=MudRunnerTD;238533]Yep that is a Fail mate. When steel gets hot it expands. It shrinks when cold. Your clearances should be measured on a fully cold engine only. Not negotiable. Not cooled. Cold..

Factory spec is on a stone cold hunk of metal only.quote]

every where i looked told me to do the tappets warm @.35mm(0.014")?

[penGUin]

Sorry for the late reply iv been busy with work and fitting my arb compressor.
Thanks or te input nissannewby, and all the possibilities to check and investigate. I had a couple other ppl have a look at it to and they Lso suggested that it is more likely the intercooler that is leaking. Am I able to clean the parts my self with a certain type of degrease or something? Or should I take it to a mechanics or a engine recon place? How much are catch cans and are they pretty easy to fit yourself? I will look at blocking the e&r just had to find some stainless sheet.
Sorry for all the questions still new to this and learnih

Thanks

[Rip'n'Shred]

Been wondering this myself. This is out of the factory nissan manual for TD42T, and TD42TDI same. Warm engine, not running. LOL

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t28/Damfnq/Tapets.jpg

[penGUin]

Haha would be interesting doing when the engine is running. But I understand while it should be done warm. As it would as close to the normal operating situation as possible. But it would be worth trying it cold and if it works no need to warm the engine up then hey. Each to there own thiugh

[nissannewby]

Catch cans are easily fitted yourself. Price can vary have a look on ebay alot of people swear by the provent. There are several threads around here with regards to fitting a catch can. Yeah you can give it a good degrease and a thorough flush and make sure she is dry before re-installing. As for your manifold you will have to remove it to clean it to make sure no dirt or anything goes into engine.

[geoffayres]

Hi all,

I've got a '99 TD42T that I've had from new, and it's now at 200,000km. Always serviced by the book.
Been chasing this ticking noise for years.....it started at about 40,000km. It sounds like it's coming from somewhere around No 2/3 rockers, but I'm stuffed if I can find it. It's worse when the engine is really cold, but is still there when it's very hot. Load makes no difference to the noise.

Checked the tappet gaps many times with feeler gauges, and they've always been within spec. I've always done it with a HOT engine, 'cos that's how the book, and all previous experience, said to do them.....maybe I need to try them cold.....maybe not.....

Checked them with a dial indicator....AOK.
Ran the engine with the rocker cover off.....(it sounded exactly the same)....and tried feeler gauges with it running....none the wiser.
Used a stethoscope on them, while the engine was running, but that also revealed nothing. All that achieved was oil went everywhere.

I'm at the point now where I'm thinking about shelling out for 12 brand new rockers and a shaft, just to eliminate them....

If someone can enlighten me with a simple/cheap cure for this I'd be more than a little happy.....it's really p1ssing me off, now....