TimC Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 (edited) Started car up this morning and was greeted to a dreadful noise coming from engine. Engine turned over and chain tensioner started to adjust and then got a really strange noise almost like crunch for a few secs with tapping noise. Turned engine off and tried again and turned over for a few times before it started and got the tapping noise again. I sounds like cam noise coming from back of engine. Everything had been perfect previously with maybe only 3-4 times it did not start on first turn over in morning when cold in last month maybe. Oil looks ok and has not been losing any but will have to wait till morning to know for sure. Any suggestion on problem, car off road till spring now, video of noise below. https://vid.me/a5xl Edited November 15, 2015 by TimC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 (1) Check your oil from cold. (2) Check the fuel damper (3) Remove the inspection cover and check the chain tensioner. Alex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted November 15, 2015 Author Share Posted November 15, 2015 Will check oil in morning but suspect its ok as I checked it 2 weeks ago and was ok. Is there any way of checking tensioners without removing engine, it seems most likely problem as there was a very unnatural noise just after tensioners kicked in followed by tapping noise from back top of engine. I really hope its fuel dampers but cant see how the noise could have come from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Fuel damper noise is very common. As in my post, remove the front inspection cover and check the tensioner, which is a 5 minute job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted November 15, 2015 Author Share Posted November 15, 2015 Thanks will check them out over the weekend and try not to worry too much in the meantime. Seems fuel dampers can be very noisey when they go, was thinking it was just a faint ticking but there are some videos out there with quite load tapping noises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 (edited) How can a 5 minute job take hours, when you drop one of the inspection cover bolts and it does not hit the floor. Searched high and low for it and eventually saw the thread from underneath the car on the inside of one of the pulleys, magnets and cable ties got it out. Anyway the inspection cover would not move, tried everything to get it off seems to be glued on unless there is a knack to it. So could not check that but thought I would go round the engine listening with a screw driver for the noise, fuel dampers sounded noisy but the opposite one to where the noise was coming from seemed to match the noise and if I put my hand round it there was no muffling. Tried on the rocker covers and nothing to match the noise, could hear the chain at the front of the engine so I would have thought I should have heard the knocking if it was coming from the cam area. The only place I could find with a screwdriver where the noise was really loud was on top of the plenum, not sure what that proves. I have had a similar noise from a previous car and it was the water pump and noise sounded like it was coming from top of engine strangr. Car started ok apart from a bit of a backfire from exhaust and no excessive chain tensioner noise. Not sure where to go now apart from taking to a garage or just tried some dampers, strange the noise seemed to be loudest on the top of plenum unless its just amplifying noise from engine. Edited November 22, 2015 by TimC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted May 14, 2016 Author Share Posted May 14, 2016 (edited) Thought I better say what the problem was in case anyone else finds this thread in the future with a similar problem. It turned out to be a blocked lifter, the engine had a couple of flushes and the garage dismantled the engine and cleared some sludge out. I ran the engine for the bare minimum while the lifter was blocked and after some new oil everything seems fine. I have been driving it for a couple of months now and everything seems ok, car runs as good as it did before the problem. Now onto what is most likely to have caused the problem. To be on the safe side when I got the car I changed the oil and filter even though the garage said they had changed it. Everything was fine for a year and a couple of months before the problem. Looking at the mileage before I bought the car between 2010 and 2012 it had done 300 miles and the year after 1100 miles, thats a lot of sitting around in a garage not getting used for 3 years. I only got a partial service history on the car and I wonder how many oil changes were done in those 4 years, not many I would think. Cant help but think that was the most likely cause.My feeling is on a 13 year old engine I got off lucky on what could have been a more serious problem. I will be keeping my fingers crossed for the future and hope no other problems linked to it happen. Edited May 14, 2016 by TimC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted May 15, 2016 Share Posted May 15, 2016 Glad to hear that you are sorted, however what do you mean by a blocked lifter ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted May 15, 2016 Share Posted May 15, 2016 Agreed! I would be asking the garage exactly what they mean and ask for a full diagnosis, and apart from modern oils not forming sludge, and are fine to sit in an engine for years without a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted May 15, 2016 Author Share Posted May 15, 2016 (edited) Valve lifter, I always just call them just lifters. Not sure if they were using sludge as a accurate description on what was there or just a term a person may understand. They did say which lifter it was but can't remember now. They did not say that was what caused it but I can't help but think it may have been a contributing factor. I am no expert on engines but it seems like a logical assumption. They did the repair and said to try it, which I did and so far everything seems great. Long term I will find out if it is a permanent fix, I suppose the noise was caused by oil starvation to the cam and this may cause a problem in the long term but as I said I am no expert. I was expecting to have to pay thousands on a repair which turned out to be few hundred with a transport to the garage. Edited May 15, 2016 by TimC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted May 15, 2016 Share Posted May 15, 2016 Glad you have it sorted now, sorry but I am always a little cautious of garage mechanic diagnosis, when they come up with statements like "blocked filter" etc, for the follower/lifter to be noisy due to lack of oil it would have to be a blockage in the camshaft oil feed, if they told you it was a hydraulic lifter they are feeding you bull as they are not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted May 15, 2016 Share Posted May 15, 2016 Firstly, there are no valve lifters on a VQ35DE motor. There are however valve spring buckets which sit on the top of the valve/spring and it is these buckets that determine the valve clearances. It is purely a mechanical set up and not hydraulic, hence my question "what do you mean by blocked". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted May 15, 2016 Share Posted May 15, 2016 Don't know what your on about, the bucket is a valve lifter, the terms are many, and I used follower to clarify things for the OP, yes we know they are not hydraulic, hence the comment on it would take one of the camshaft oil feed hole to be blocked to cause noise due to lack of lubrication, which was the other possibility for explaining lifter/bucket etc noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted May 15, 2016 Author Share Posted May 15, 2016 Yes I think that by blocked they mean that the oil feed hole was blocked by sludge, or whatever that is or means. As I understand it the hole is in the buckets or lifters, so the flushing cleared this hole and allowed the oil to reach the area starved by oil. That's the way I understand it in a way that makes sense to me whether it is right or wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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