'11 Altima+PP=Warm Idle Tick?

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My bet is it is injectors ticking as already mentioned. If you're concerned have the dealer listen to it. Some oils do such a good job at buffering engine noise [especially thicker oils, probably not the case here though] that the injectors ticking become more pronounced.
 
I work for a Nissan dealer and I never paid much attention to the other Altima's (its a 2.5L 4 cylinder) I'm sure that I'm overreacting but I wanna be safe.

When should I start increasing the rpm's? I've hit 3500 once, maximum twice very briefly to pass someone. I'm just under 2,000km's now.
 
Shoot, 3,500rpm is nothing, even during break-in. Just drive it normally, and accelerate when you need or want to. There will be no harm in that.

If you're really concerned about the noise, change the oil and filter for something else. No one oil works best in every engine out there. I really like the Mobil 1 I have in my '05 Acura right now, but Mobil 1 (in the correct viscosity grade) made my '07 Chrysler sound like a diesel. Pennzoil Platinum was the quietest oil in that Chrysler. It took a few different oils to find the one I liked best in it.

So try a few different oils. I now have Quaker State Ultimate Durability in my '11 Camry, and I do believe that it's the quietest that engine has been, including the factory fill and other Toyota dealer oil changes.
 
OP- You work for a Nissan Dealer, why not have one of the tech lend a ear on a break? That should give you closure, before you start changing oil and filters, possibly needlessly.
 
Originally Posted By: Striker
I work for a Nissan dealer and I never paid much attention to the other Altima's (its a 2.5L 4 cylinder) I'm sure that I'm overreacting but I wanna be safe.

When should I start increasing the rpm's? I've hit 3500 once, maximum twice very briefly to pass someone. I'm just under 2,000km's now.


Drive it how you want to drive it, that's all I have to say.
I bought my 2001 Neon R/T brand new back in 2001 and I took it on a road trip on the 2nd day I had it, with redline pulls onto the highway. That car never had a single engine problem in 130,000KMs and ran perfect the day I traded it in after 5 years.
 
When it comes to oil everyone has their own opinion and their favorite brand viscosity just remember not to stray to far from what the fsm recomends, I don't know about injector tick has to be examined but if no symptoms are occuring with driveablity I would not worry about it. But again if you want peace of mind get it checked out.
 
I have an '07 Altima with the same 2.5 QR engine that you have, though mine has a manual transmission attached to it.

I have tried a couple of different oils in it over the years:

Kendall Semi Synth
Kendall Full Synth
Valvoline SynPower
and Pennz Platinum.

So far, the Valvoline SynPower has been the stand out oil in getting the engine quiet in a quicker amount of time.

When I changed from SynPower to Platinum, the difference was immediate. The ticking was much louder, and stays longer.

After I finish up this run of PP, I'm going to switch back to SynPower, to see if the quiet engine returns once again.

The whole time I've owned the car, I have been using PureOne or Mobil 1 oil filters. I prefer the PureOne filters, as they are slightly less expensive, but the engine tick wasn't any different with either filter, and the run on SynPower was with a PureOne filter.

If you can, try SynPower on your next oil change, and see if that changes anything.

And for whatever reason, the ticking is much louder inside the car than it is outside the car. Since the injectors are on the windshield side of the engine, that makes sense, and I've been tempted to cover them in some form of sound proofing material just to see if that deadens the noise somewhat.

BC.
 
Originally Posted By: Bladecutter
I have an '07 Altima with the same 2.5 QR engine that you have, though mine has a manual transmission attached to it.

I have tried a couple of different oils in it over the years:

Kendall Semi Synth
Kendall Full Synth
Valvoline SynPower
and Pennz Platinum.

So far, the Valvoline SynPower has been the stand out oil in getting the engine quiet in a quicker amount of time.

When I changed from SynPower to Platinum, the difference was immediate. The ticking was much louder, and stays longer.

After I finish up this run of PP, I'm going to switch back to SynPower, to see if the quiet engine returns once again.

The whole time I've owned the car, I have been using PureOne or Mobil 1 oil filters. I prefer the PureOne filters, as they are slightly less expensive, but the engine tick wasn't any different with either filter, and the run on SynPower was with a PureOne filter.

If you can, try SynPower on your next oil change, and see if that changes anything.

And for whatever reason, the ticking is much louder inside the car than it is outside the car. Since the injectors are on the windshield side of the engine, that makes sense, and I've been tempted to cover them in some form of sound proofing material just to see if that deadens the noise somewhat.

BC.


Your post is much appreciated. Is synpower a synthetic? Stupid question I know, just not familiar with Valvoline at all.

My next filter will be a PureOne (14610)
 
Some oils flow back to the pan quicker than others. So, you'll hear the tick because oil is also a sound insulator. That tick you hear is NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT.

IMO, Nissan engines sound better with thicker oils and/or with high moly oils.

If there is a thicker oil available in the weight, or similar, that you require, then use it. Castrol Syntec 0w30 is one of the thicker 30wts. Valvoline Maxlife Full Synthetic 5w30 is another. And, I think that the Mobil1 highmileage and extended performance 5w30's are worth a try. Support your economy as 0w30's from Petrocan Duron or Supreme Synthetic, or Co-Op Sonic Gold are some that I'd definitely use if I finished my sentences with an eh, eh?

Higher moly oils are from the likes of Redline, Schaeffers, or Torco.

My recommendations are to use that PP for the 5000km and then pick another oil. If the ticking is that annoying, add in about 4 ounces of ANY oil snot/honey from the local store. Lucas or Hyper-Lube are easy molasses choices. The other option is to turn up the stereo.
 
This is not the first time you will see someone suggest a Valvoline product in a Nissan.

I have spent a lot of time over the years on Nissan sites and the most popular oil among people who are fairly savvy, is Valvoline conventional. I ran it in my VQ35 and it ran quiet as a mouse.

I've still yet to be able to score a deal on SynPower but I'd love to give it a try someday.

I noticed the same thing with PP in my dads VQ30. It makes a slightly more metallic noise when running. I am not worried about ia s I know the engine is protected, but its not as quiet as other oils at least at idle.
 
Originally Posted By: Grambo
No matter of what oil you use, I have a sentra with a maxima 3.5 in it and it ticks until the engine is up to operating temperature the tensioner has a little bit of slack and it will tick and rattle, however if it doesn't subside after fully warming up get it checked out. I doubt you have any problems its just annoying. Do you have the qr25 or the vq35? Both do it, each have their individual valvetrains so it varies. Run mobil 1 0w40 you will notice a difference in the valve tick. In the spring run m1 10w40.


Your not far from me, can I drive your SPEC V? What did you have to do to make it fit? I can't even imagine how fast that must be!
smile.gif


Gotta be a beast!
 
Originally Posted By: unDummy
Some oils flow back to the pan quicker than others. So, you'll hear the tick because oil is also a sound insulator. That tick you hear is NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT.

IMO, Nissan engines sound better with thicker oils and/or with high moly oils.

If there is a thicker oil available in the weight, or similar, that you require, then use it. Castrol Syntec 0w30 is one of the thicker 30wts. Valvoline Maxlife Full Synthetic 5w30 is another. And, I think that the Mobil1 highmileage and extended performance 5w30's are worth a try. Support your economy as 0w30's from Petrocan Duron or Supreme Synthetic, or Co-Op Sonic Gold are some that I'd definitely use if I finished my sentences with an eh, eh?

Higher moly oils are from the likes of Redline, Schaeffers, or Torco.

My recommendations are to use that PP for the 5000km and then pick another oil. If the ticking is that annoying, add in about 4 ounces of ANY oil snot/honey from the local store. Lucas or Hyper-Lube are easy molasses choices. The other option is to turn up the stereo.



The ticking doesn't bother me in the sense that I need to tune it out. It's a concern that I now feel that I've brought up out of my own OCD nature. Not something that is actually wrong.

Having said that, I'm still interested in trying different oils.

*I just did a search on valvoline synpower and a toyota owner just mentioned how much louder his motor got by switching to it, from PP??
 
No one drives car my except me lol, Maxima BellHousing, Maxima Clutch, One off Wiring Harness CODELESS! Cruise Control one exception it won't pass due to a catless exhaust but its not what you its WHO you know. Other then that basic engine modification short ram intake and 3 inch all the way back. planning on a stock boost setup, goal (375-400 whp) And (400 Ft Lbs of Tq). im not going to go on about the turbo setup but if your interested your more then welcome to pick my brain.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Striker

*I just did a search on valvoline synpower and a toyota owner just mentioned how much louder his motor got by switching to it, from PP??


Don't worry about the experiences of a Toyota owner in this case.
Its the people with Nissan engines that are going to give you a much better snapshot of what to expect.

Especially those of us who also have the '07 and newer versions of the QR25DE that you have in your car.

I really love the engine. Great torque, good power band, great car for the towing that I do with it. Excellent fuel economy in town, and on cross country trips.

And my car has 54k miles on it, all done by me.
Hasn't skipped a beat yet.

BC.
 
hows the gearbox, stock fill? IT has the 6 speed right? stock clutch must be quiet mushy. NISSAN POWER!
 
Originally Posted By: Grambo
hows the gearbox, stock fill? IT has the 6 speed right? stock clutch must be quiet mushy. NISSAN POWER!


I'm gonna assume the gearbox is 100% better than the [censored] 6 speed that came in my '02 Maxima.
 
My 1992 Honda Civic VX with 248k miles has loud ticking, even after a valve adjustment. I think it's in relation to this, but really don't believe in changing oils just to mask it. It's a non-issue for what I'm hearing. Annoying? Yeah. Harmful? I'd need an educated person to comment. I'm sure a thicker oil could mask it.

Sometimes, I wonder if going to a certain oil from another, that during the FIRST oil change there may be a need for a flush out of the remaining oil of the previous fill, since some does remain over.
 
Originally Posted By: Bladecutter
Originally Posted By: Striker

*I just did a search on valvoline synpower and a toyota owner just mentioned how much louder his motor got by switching to it, from PP??


Don't worry about the experiences of a Toyota owner in this case.
Its the people with Nissan engines that are going to give you a much better snapshot of what to expect.

Especially those of us who also have the '07 and newer versions of the QR25DE that you have in your car.

I really love the engine. Great torque, good power band, great car for the towing that I do with it. Excellent fuel economy in town, and on cross country trips.

And my car has 54k miles on it, all done by me.
Hasn't skipped a beat yet.

BC.


You raise some good points. On a positive note, I love the car too. Great car.

Can someone show me a comparisons chart of PP and synpower?
 
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