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 Cure for VQ35 Timing Chain Rattle in 05 Quest Forums > >  Cure for VQ35 Timing Chain Rattle in 05 Quest $67 Cure for VQ35 Timing Chain Rattle in 05 Quest
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  #1  
Old 10-07-2010, 05:44 AM
x_files x_files is offline
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Default $67 Cure for VQ35 Timing Chain Rattle in 05 Quest

Hi, My first post to this fantastic forum. Fortuantely I'm posting some good news about the fix I used to resolve a frustrating nissan quality problem: primary timing chain rattle. Here's my story.

Our '05 Quest with the VQ35 3.5L V-6 has 78k miles on the clock. About 3k miles ago I began to notice a fairly loud rattle from the cam drive side of the engine right after its first start of the day. The noise would go away after backing out of our drive, shifting into drive, and as the engine speed climbed above 2-3k rpm. Also, sometimes there would be a lesser, shorter duration rattle after shutting down and then restarting after a short period of time. Based on what I read here on the forum and what I heard coming from beneath the engine's front cover, I figured it was the primary camshaft timing chain slapping against the front cover housing.

Changing the oil & filter did somewhat reduce the intensity and duration of the timing chain rattle. I'm thinking this is mainly due to the new, clean filter and its reduced pressure drop resulting in faster oil delivery and therefore faster pressure rise at the oil fed primary timing chain tensioner. The tensioner needs oil pressure to push its plunger into the timing chain guide to remove the slack in the timing chain. Not enough plunger force = too much slack = chain rattling against the housing. Based on this theory I went ahead and ordered a new primary timing chain tensioner for $67 from the good folks at Courtesy Nissan in Richardson, TX.

The Waterpump replacement instructions in the Cooling System section of the Nissan service manual do a good job outlining how to change the tensioner without removing the whole front cover assembly. Basically it involves removing the small access cover directly in front of the primary chain tensioner, rotating the crankshaft slightly to get slack in the timing chain by the tensioner, and then removing and replacing the tensioner. I deviated from the instructions by leaving the front motor mount in place, and instead removed the power steering and coolant resivoirs to improve my access to the tensioner. Regardless, it was still tricky fitting 2 hands down there to move the chain guide to gain room for installing the new chain tensioner. In total it took me about 3 hours to do the job.

The new tensioner appears identical in form and fuction to the original. Regarding its installation, I did something not mentioned in the manual. The tensioner's piston has two very small oil bleed holes drilled into the "top" of the plunger/piston body: 1 directly centered in the "top" of the plunger, and a second drilled laterally into the "rim" of the plunger. I oriented this second,lateral drilling pointing straight up. The thought was that this orientation would trap more oil in the hollow ID of the plunger body on shutdown and therefore reduce oil pressure delay within the tensioner upon engine start-up. Unfortunately I didn't note the orientation of the old tensioner's plunger before I removed it. So this may not really matter, but I figured it couldn't hurt. I also fully dissassembled the tensioner and oiled all the internal components before installing it.

I did not notice any obvious wear in the old tensioner's plunger, plunger bore, spring, or the small piston & seal on the end of the spring within the I.D. of the plunger. There does appear to be small, one-way valve in the body of the tensioner at the base of plunger bore. This apparently controls the flow of oil from the oil rifle into the tensioner. Perhaps this was worn and allowed too much oil to drain back on shutdown??? Or, maybe just the opposite - its "stuck" closed and now takes more oil pressure to open the valve so oil could flow into the tensioner and cause the plunger to extend??? After writing it out, I think the second is more plausible. If I get really bored this winter I'll consider building a test rig to measure opening pressure and see what's really going on with this flow control valve.

In conclusion, for one week now its been starting like a champ without any rattle. I'll post back again in a few weeks with an update - hopefully still silent!

Scott
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  #2  
Old 10-08-2010, 10:25 AM
kenimpzoom
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Super cool! Thanks for the info. I have a wierd engine noise and will investigate further if it is the chain.
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  #3  
Old 10-13-2010, 08:52 AM
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Starless Starless is offline
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Thanks, Scott! Good to know.
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Last edited by Starless; 10-18-2010 at 01:00 PM.
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  #4  
Old 11-02-2010, 04:45 PM
x_files x_files is offline
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1200 miles on the repair and still no noise
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  #5  
Old 12-20-2010, 08:35 AM
gmcjing
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I have the exact same problem you described on my '06. Thanks for the info.
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  #6  
Old 05-13-2011, 10:36 AM
x_files x_files is offline
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Thumbs up

10,000 miles now and doing great!
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  #7  
Old 07-05-2011, 12:42 PM
2004questsl
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hows it working now?
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  #8  
Old 01-17-2012, 05:08 PM
estrick estrick is offline
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Default 2005 Nissan Quest

Scott,

Thank you for the great posting !!! Do you have any additional information you can supply me, like partnumbers or pointing me in the direction to find the manual you are referring to in the post? From your description, I am 100% sure this is my issue and plan to change this out over the weekend. I have the skills and the tools, but you could save me some time with a little more info. Thanks in advance.

From reading on this issue, there are a lot of dealerships that should be ashamed for ripping people off. Someone should sue their butts and Nissan for not making this a mandatory recall.

Is this the part?
 Cure for VQ35 Timing Chain Rattle in 05 Quest-timing-chain-tensioner-jpg
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  #9  
Old 01-18-2012, 05:34 PM
x_files x_files is offline
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No, the part shown in your picture is the chain guide that the hydraulic tensioner acts upon. The tensioner I replaced is Nissan p/n 13070. Check out the Engine Mechanical, 130 Camshaft & Valve Mechanism parts schematic at Courtesyparts.com for more details.

I downloaded the Nissan service manual info directly from this forum - there is a link to manuals on the front page

Good luck!
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  #10  
Old 02-15-2012, 08:31 PM
Orlando Nissan Victi Orlando Nissan Victi is offline
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Default OH MY GOD THIS FIX SAVED ME $1700 BUCKS. i AM SO HAPPY

I was having the morning rattle and loud ass mettalic sound when i fire up my baby and it was depressing trust me. Been doing that ******* noise for a month and I finally searched google to be blown back that I have the dreaded famous most common rattle timing chain problen. So anyhow, I found this bullshit and thought..."no way" 67 bucks? !!!!...this guy is full of shit. then after reading it two or three times it made sense his theory. So I said **** it, it's either that I rip this ******* engines face off on my driveway to repair this rattle or I try this bullshit theory. ...so I drove all the way to Orlando Nissan and started asking questions to the service dept. The asswipe there said that it will cost $1500 to fix my rattlw dilemma and when I asked him to just swap my god damn tensioner behind the access hole...he said " we wont do that, you will have to replace the whole assembly , chains, secondary and all" I told him to go **** himself and left to parts counter. I purchased the tensioner and oil cooler seal only and went home to try this forum post. It was the easiest repair I did. It was a pain in the ******* ass to try and put two hands down there and squeez the timing chain towards me and put the freakin tensioner in there with the pin inside and with one hand try and screw one bolt at a time without droping that bad boy inside the timing chain cover....it was a successful install with a 12 pack of natural light, remove the reservior and the power steering reservoir and you just have to have patience and try to put that little bastard with two bolts in that hole while holding the timing chain guide out of the way. if I did it with huge monkey hands (I am a big six foot mofo with xtra larg ape hands....any idiot can accomplish this...do not drop the soap! I mean the bolts into the timing chain cover or you are fucked like a prisoner! ...anyway, I started her up seven times after I pulled the pin on the grenade and it's perfect... I am so happy and thankfull. The dealer said that you will be sorry for not doing them all ...they are scaring me....is this a bluff or did this solve this for once and for all? I am a little worried now
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  #11  
Old 02-15-2012, 08:42 PM
Orlando Nissan Victi Orlando Nissan Victi is offline
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I let that ***** sit for hours and everytime I start her up....no rattle!......damn I am so happy! thank you X!
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  #12  
Old 02-15-2012, 08:47 PM
Orlando Nissan Victi Orlando Nissan Victi is offline
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it was a nasty rattle! trust me......it sounded so bad I thought my engine has to be shot. but thanks to and motherfuking X files....I am back in Black and on my way to the liquor store with no rattles. Though I am a little concerned with what the dealer left in my brain that this wont work and I will be back......any thoughts? or is this fool bluffin?
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  #13  
Old 02-17-2012, 01:02 PM
x_files x_files is offline
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Glad it worked as well for you as it did for me. I'm now at 17,000 miles since replacing only the primary chain tensioner and still no rattle!
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  #14  
Old 02-17-2012, 08:07 PM
Orlando Nissan Victi Orlando Nissan Victi is offline
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Posts: 7
Unhappy

Quote:
Originally Posted by x_files View Post
Hi, My first post to this fantastic forum. Fortuantely I'm posting some good news about the fix I used to resolve a frustrating nissan quality problem: primary timing chain rattle. Here's my story.

Our '05 Quest with the VQ35 3.5L V-6 has 78k miles on the clock. About 3k miles ago I began to notice a fairly loud rattle from the cam drive side of the engine right after its first start of the day. The noise would go away after backing out of our drive, shifting into drive, and as the engine speed climbed above 2-3k rpm. Also, sometimes there would be a lesser, shorter duration rattle after shutting down and then restarting after a short period of time. Based on what I read here on the forum and what I heard coming from beneath the engine's front cover, I figured it was the primary camshaft timing chain slapping against the front cover housing.

Changing the oil & filter did somewhat reduce the intensity and duration of the timing chain rattle. I'm thinking this is mainly due to the new, clean filter and its reduced pressure drop resulting in faster oil delivery and therefore faster pressure rise at the oil fed primary timing chain tensioner. The tensioner needs oil pressure to push its plunger into the timing chain guide to remove the slack in the timing chain. Not enough plunger force = too much slack = chain rattling against the housing. Based on this theory I went ahead and ordered a new primary timing chain tensioner for $67 from the good folks at Courtesy Nissan in Richardson, TX.

The Waterpump replacement instructions in the Cooling System section of the Nissan service manual do a good job outlining how to change the tensioner without removing the whole front cover assembly. Basically it involves removing the small access cover directly in front of the primary chain tensioner, rotating the crankshaft slightly to get slack in the timing chain by the tensioner, and then removing and replacing the tensioner. I deviated from the instructions by leaving the front motor mount in place, and instead removed the power steering and coolant resivoirs to improve my access to the tensioner. Regardless, it was still tricky fitting 2 hands down there to move the chain guide to gain room for installing the new chain tensioner. In total it took me about 3 hours to do the job.

The new tensioner appears identical in form and fuction to the original. Regarding its installation, I did something not mentioned in the manual. The tensioner's piston has two very small oil bleed holes drilled into the "top" of the plunger/piston body: 1 directly centered in the "top" of the plunger, and a second drilled laterally into the "rim" of the plunger. I oriented this second,lateral drilling pointing straight up. The thought was that this orientation would trap more oil in the hollow ID of the plunger body on shutdown and therefore reduce oil pressure delay within the tensioner upon engine start-up. Unfortunately I didn't note the orientation of the old tensioner's plunger before I removed it. So this may not really matter, but I figured it couldn't hurt. I also fully dissassembled the tensioner and oiled all the internal components before installing it.

I did not notice any obvious wear in the old tensioner's plunger, plunger bore, spring, or the small piston & seal on the end of the spring within the I.D. of the plunger. There does appear to be small, one-way valve in the body of the tensioner at the base of plunger bore. This apparently controls the flow of oil from the oil rifle into the tensioner. Perhaps this was worn and allowed too much oil to drain back on shutdown??? Or, maybe just the opposite - its "stuck" closed and now takes more oil pressure to open the valve so oil could flow into the tensioner and cause the plunger to extend??? After writing it out, I think the second is more plausible. If I get really bored this winter I'll consider building a test rig to measure opening pressure and see what's really going on with this flow control valve.

In conclusion, for one week now its been starting like a champ without any rattle. I'll post back again in a few weeks with an update - hopefully still silent!

Scott
I got too happy ahead of time...there is a huge problem Huston! Even though there is no rattle now...I did discover that the piston is resting on the metal behind the plastc chain guide. The plunger is almost fully extended at 75 percent I'd say. I checked it with a dental mirror and a flash light and it's confirmed. The new tensioner is doing a miraculous job pushing on the metal backing of the chain guide, but if you look really good...the top part is missing and the whole plastic peice slid down . In conclusion, the piston is suppose to push on a plastic square not on the metal...This gad damn fuking chain cover has to be pulled reguardless. Might as well mentally prepare for it. I just don't see how one can access these chains with the motor in the car when the chasis is in the way. Any photo's of how it looks when I remove all accesorries? So I can have an Idea of what I am looking at? I will also replace the cam tensioners and water pump. I knew this was too simple and too good to be true. The noise went away but the main lower chain guide plastic top end broke off causing rattle in the first place and this plastig guide slid down the metal shaft and it's plastic stop that rests on the tensioner piston is not there. It is working fine for now, but this is bullshit. There is no short cuts or way around this rattle, whinningdillemma unless you just wanna sell the car and do a quick fix so the buyer does not hear the rattle. any photo graphs or links to photos of the engine in the van with the face off? please help.
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  #15  
Old 02-17-2012, 08:09 PM
Orlando Nissan Victi Orlando Nissan Victi is offline
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Posts: 7
Default super bad news about this short cut, sorry about the hype and cursing,

I was too happy early in the game.
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$67, chain, cure, quest, rattle, slack guide, tensioner, timing, vq35

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