I may be in a spot of bother...

[shaunus88]

Hey guys,

Been noticing in the last few weeks a rattle on start up...Now, this has indicated to me I may be looking at requiring a new timing chain but on the other hand it could pass as something AC related? I'm not sure

It is hard to explain, it only does it sometimes. Usually when I have the AC on and the motor is cold but it has done it before with AC off. It is a rattle typed noise that only last for a few seconds and is then gone. Some days it does it and other it doesn't it really is hit n miss. The motor runs normal and is not making any other noises at all. Runs as per it always has.

Any advice or similar experiences would be super helpful!

Nav is an 08 Navara Outlaw (YD) (Spanish build) with 120,000kms.

Will try and get video of it this afternoon to post...

No doubt it wont do it when I try record though haha!

 

[nuckin futs]

id be taking the top timing chain cover off and having a look. mine rattled a bit on start up for a few seconds also. for piece of mind i fitted a double row timing chain kit. the old chain really wasnt that bad, could of got plenty more km out of it. but after reading some of the horror stories about timing chains i just had to do it

 

[MrCBR]

Mine does that too (09 Spain built YD25). I spoke to a mechanic about it and he said my timing chain is quite. I don't know what the noise is though so if anyone has any ideas I'd be interested too.

 

[OneMofo]

Need to describe the noise more, does it alternate with revs??, appear at idle or while accelerating?? could it be an injector or pulley bearing?
I ask as I thought mine was doing the same but have figured it to be a noisy injector.

 

[shaunus88]

Well its almost like a cross between a clicking noise and rattle. It seriously has me stumped... Had my mate under the bonnet the other night trying to determine where in the engine bay it was coming from...It chose not to make the noise at all haha.

Will try capture it on video this afternoon. I do think though that it may be related to the AC system somehow. Leave it with me. will get video up tonight and wont stop trying till we get it on film!

 

[shaunus88]

And it only ever makes the noise on start up.. Never when driving around etc.

 

[Jason]

I reckon it could be a pulley bearing as we'll, maybe try giving them all a spray with wd40 or something similar and see if the noise goes away for a while?

 

[sparra04]

Change ALL your v belts
they are quite often the source of noise that can be mistaken for a tchain
You can check for worn idler pulleys by refitting belts one at a time and starting engine
your ac pully can get noisy in the off pos especially if you have been through muddy water

 

[WayneD40]

Unlikely to be an injector. They rattle until the engine temp comes up, so would do it for longer than a few seconds.

 

[RustyNav09]

As Sparra mentioned a simple belt could be mistaken for a timing chain rattle. If it's just on cold start up then it could be that it a tensioner. Pour some water on your belts directly after starting car cold in the morning. If it disappears it is your belts

Onemofo I'd give this a go with yours and see if it helps. Fixed mine it's on 09 D22 though

 

[kernels]

The timing chain uses a hydraulic tensioner, so surely it is possible that the 'loose' chain will rattle for a couple of seconds sometimes until the oil pressure comes up ?

 

[nuckin futs]

just a word of warning if you do remove the upper timing chain cover. there is a small locating dowel that is a loose fit behind the cover. if your not careful it can drop into the sump

 

[OneMofo]

Rusty, already changed my belts and it helped for awhile but slowly returned, iv also used some injector cleaner and it helped for a coupe if tanks but again returned, maybe time for an injector clean or repayment. 180k and as far as I know still original.

 

[Navmania]

I have found that adding water to the belts at any time of the day will make it make the rattle sound. I found it when I was doing a coolant change in the middle of a hot summers day. I think it happens on the cold mornings due to moisture in the air and the belts sitting all night. If you are worried about dirty injectors Onemofo, do a diesel purge and then tip a can of the liqui moly injector cleaner in the tank. I could not believe the difference it has made to start ups and smooth running. Rusty has done a top write up on it.
Cheers, Brad.

 

[OneMofo]

I have found that adding water to the belts at any time of the day will make it make the rattle sound. I found it when I was doing a coolant change in the middle of a hot summers day. I think it happens on the cold mornings due to moisture in the air and the belts sitting all night. If you are worried about dirty injectors Onemofo, do a diesel purge and then tip a can of the liqui moly injector cleaner in the tank. I could not believe the difference it has made to start ups and smooth running. Rusty has done a top write up on it.
Cheers, Brad.

Yeah I will be mate very soon but every time I head to the store they are out of stock. So I used the Liqui Molly on it own and that helped quite a lot.

 

[Navmania]

I used the one in the gold can last time. Next time I will try the diesel only one.

 

[MrCBR]

I will try to recreate the noise with some water on the belts. The noise is there for maybe 1-2 seconds on the first start in the morning - sometimes. Other mornings and through out the day it is not there. It does kind of sound like the timing chain tensioner "catching up" as the oil pressure comes up. I have not changed the belts as yet (they are in the shed waiting to go on) and I will be getting new idler pulleys also.

 

[Ben54b]

Hey mrcbr, I have a 2010 d22 with 90000 on it, I have what sounds like the exact same noise. Similar to someone shaking a few coins, only on morning startup. A few revs it gets better. At last service I left it over night at the stealer ship as the lovely gentleman around here had me paranoid about the chain. According to there head mechanic he believes it to be the v belts on the front being worn. They quoted me about $250 to change them, given it was an$800 80000 km service I declined their kind offer and will start looking for a new mechanic in the cardiff area haha. Hope this helps a little. You could leave it overnight on your next service for piece of mind. Ben

 

[Navmania]

No doubt that the timing chains do have issues, but 90% of the time it will be the belts. Changed my chain to a duplex only to find a week later that the noise was still there while I was doing a coolant change. I sprayed the belts to wash the glycol coolant of and there it was. I plan to do a fair few performance mods so I wasn't to worried, but if I wasn't it would have been an expensive exercise for nothing otherwise.

Cheers, Brad.

 

[MrCBR]

Hey mrcbr, I have a 2010 d22 with 90000 on it, I have what sounds like the exact same noise. Similar to someone shaking a few coins, only on morning startup. A few revs it gets better. At last service I left it over night at the stealer ship as the lovely gentleman around here had me paranoid about the chain. According to there head mechanic he believes it to be the v belts on the front being worn. They quoted me about $250 to change them, given it was an$800 80000 km service I declined their kind offer and will start looking for a new mechanic in the cardiff area haha. Hope this helps a little. You could leave it overnight on your next service for piece of mind. Ben

Cheers mate, Yeah I will change those belts soon as it sounds like what you are saying. I don't get my car serviced at a stealership nor a workshop for that matter. $250 to change the belts! I see why you want a new mechanic.