Something for Nissan 3.5VQ cold start up rattle.

[Gasbuggy]

Friend of mine bought a 2005 Nissan Maxima. It has a rattle on cold start that lasts about 30 seconds. In my opinion it's a timing chain noise. Do you guys have any suggestions about an additive to put in that would quiet this down or stop it? Good running car otherwise very peopy, it gets surprisingly great fuel economy.

I'm not sure what oil is in it right now. I would guess Quick Lube 5w30. Oil is clean.

 

[SatinSilver]

Someone on here was recently talking about a Nissan truck with the 4 liter V6 and the various noise levels using different oils. Aming the quietest were Castrol Magnatec and Forumual Shell available at Home Depot. He was using the 5w30 and 5w40/10w40 weights.

 

[Kuato]

Best way is to replace the timing chain. Several posts here about Toyota's timing chain failures, ncluding mine about my brother's truck that munched the chain requiring a new engine....

But if it must be controlled with oil, thicker.

 

[JTK]

How many miles on the Maxima? The VQ 3.5L in our 2016 Quest @ 33K miles is silent at startup and idle and Nissan recommends 0w20 in it, with 5w30 being a suitable alternative.

 

[KE_1508]

Since VQs are somewhat similar, has he/she kept the oil level above minimum? I know of one friend that has lifter tick on an older G35, but it still runs strong at 230k. Usually the timing chains last pretty long.

 

[ozric]

I had an 02 Maxima, same issue, the timing chain tensioner and plastic chain guides were known issues. The guides could eventually break from wear, causing a mess. If the tensioner is bad then the timing chain will be loose enough to slap around a bit until the oil pressure overcomes the bad tensioner and puts enough tension on the chain, which also increases wear to the plastic guides.

 

[mclasser]

Some people use heavier oil (10wXX) to quiet down the timing chain rattle.

 

[BISCUT]

Originally Posted By: ozric
I had an 02 Maxima, same issue, the timing chain tensioner and plastic chain guides were known issues. The guides could eventually break from wear, causing a mess. If the tensioner is bad then the timing chain will be loose enough to slap around a bit until the oil pressure overcomes the bad tensioner and puts enough tension on the chain, which also increases wear to the plastic guides.


Chances are this applies. Check out some of the you tube videos on it. I remember thinking oh boy, that sux! I wouldn't use 5-20 on the VQ at all. They can shear up an oil pretty well. But mine was an 07 not 05 so not sure of the changes between the years.

 

[bbhero]

Hey Gasbuggy I bet it could be a timing chain guide issue like ozric and BISCUT mentioned. The VQ from that generation had the long timing chain guides that would keep extending the pin to keep pressure on the timing chain. Eventually the pin could only extend but so far and max out. In some of the motors then pin would fall out and cause major motor damage. So, if it is this then a mechanical repair would be a necessity.

As far as oils go that quiet down a VQ... Castrol Gold bottle, Castrol Magnatec 5w30, Havoline Pro DS 5w30, Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w30, and Quaker State Ultimate Durability 5w30 all ran about the quietest in my VQ 3.5. Mobil e Synthetic 5w30, Formula Shell 5w30 ran rather good and quiet too.

And BISCUT is correct about shearing oils in these VQs. A good 5w30 like mentioned above run for 5k miles or less would be good. And some people do run a good 0w40 with very good results as well.

 

[Camprunner]

Ya stay away from a 20 weight oil in the VQ oil shear is not your friend esp if you drive hard or tow anything. For summer you may want to try some Formula Shell 10w40 conventional about $13.00 for 5 quarts at Home Depot for the price you can't go wrong for a test and this oil in any grade is much better then it's price point. And if the 10w40 shears down to a 30 weight in 5,000 miles who cares!

I am running it right now in my Nissan VQ40DE V6 and it's much quieter at start up.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Try overfilling by .5 qt. I think the recommended fill is 4.5 qts. When my car is a little low on oil, it rattles more.

 

[CharBaby]

Well, the 3.5 V6 already uses the smallest filter so going smaller filter to reduce startup noise is moot. My 2004 Altima 2.5S didn't like oversized filters as it made the startup rattle even worst.

To reduce filter drain down, what I had to do was either park on level ground or have the engine leaning more toward the oil filter side(lower on passenger side) when parking for long periods of time prior to my next startup(overnight or at work). Even filters with the silicone ADBV would leak down and cause startup rattle.

Then on cold morning or evening startups(50 degs F or lower), the engine would rattle when driving off, for the first few minutes. I may have let the engine idle just that little bit longer before driving off...I know, I know!

 

[Gasbuggy]

Originally Posted By: JTK
How many miles on the Maxima? The VQ 3.5L in our 2016 Quest @ 33K miles is silent at startup and idle and Nissan recommends 0w20 in it, with 5w30 being a suitable alternative.


Around 140k.

 

[Andrew1972]

Your friend can fiddle with oil or wear ear plugs on startup. They simply mask the problem.

 

[wag123]

Bad timing chain tensioners are a known problem on Nissan V/6 engines from that time period. The solution is to replace the tensioners and timing chain, not an inexpensive repair. The risk of not replacing these is the possibility that the chain will fail and take-out the engine.

 

[BISCUT]

Before I sold mine I moved to M1 0-40 from M1 5-30 and felt it was a better, smoother. I also had some ring issues I was deling with. No empirical evidence so that is why I sat "felt."

 

[Gasbuggy]

Yea, everyone can forget replacing chains on a sub $3000 car. The noise sounds non threatening. I will have him try Rotella T4 10w30 and see what changes

 

[Gasbuggy]

Well, the other day it started and rattled around for minutes until it was driven, stopped after the rpms moved around. I did an oil change on it and less than 3 quarts came out.

Strange because prior the dipstick had shown somewhere near full within the past week. Must be very sensitive to grade. Find out tomorrow if the noise is gone.