Hey, i bought a K11 Vibe 1L a couple of days ago, its working fine and only done 69,000 miles but does anyone else have a loud rummbeling noise coming from the timing belt?
thanks
thanks
Loud timing belt
- Thread starter twisedrachael
- Start date
OP
OP
okay thanks ill check that out!
pollyp
Club Member
welcome rachael, as glen says the micra has an upper & lower timing chain.
they are usually kept quiet by keeping them snug under tension by these plastic lined tensioner shoes that are pushed against the chain.
this is the lower chain driven by the crankshaft with tensioner in the middle.
this is the upper timing chain that drives the cam shaft, the yellow shoe thing is the tensioner which usually causes the common timing chain rattle
a noisy chain is caused by either too much chain slack (tensioner unable to push against chain to apply tension) or the plastic tensioner lining has worn down to bare metal.
now during morning cold starts when not enough oil pressure has built up yet, springs inside the tensioners help apply barely enough tension to keep the chain in place but not enough to stop the shoe & chain from rattling about, hence why you normally hear the engine rattle for bout 1-3secs till it builds enough oil pressure.
once the pump makes enough oil pressure after bout 3sec, oil light goes out and the high oil pressure usually takes over in hydraulically pushing the chain tensioners with alot of force and quietening the system.
if the chain continues to rattle loudly after 3sec of cold starting, I'd say not enough oil pressure or zero pressure is reaching the tensioner (clogged oil passages from poor oil maintenance, low oil pressure from worn bearings or worn pump) so the shoe basically rattles under the weak springs, or the shoes could be badly worn, or the chain itself could be worn n stretched.
as davy says, changing the oil & filter to a correct grade would be a good next step. (10w40 is normal, 15w40 for more worn engines but can help increase lacking oil pressure)
if it still rattles when warm, either inspect & service the tensioner or replace the engine.
servicing the tensioner involves removing the upper timing chain access panel,
unbolt & remove the tensioner,
assess the condition of the plastic shoe,
clean & blow clear the tiny oil passages in the tensioner and the engine head it bolts to free from any old gunk, debris etc to make sure oil can easily get inside the tensioner,
reset the tensioners little ratchet stopper inside the shoe,
reinstall the tensioner,
push the shoe inwards once to release the ratchet mechanism,
install cover and check if it rattles.
they are usually kept quiet by keeping them snug under tension by these plastic lined tensioner shoes that are pushed against the chain.
this is the lower chain driven by the crankshaft with tensioner in the middle.
this is the upper timing chain that drives the cam shaft, the yellow shoe thing is the tensioner which usually causes the common timing chain rattle
a noisy chain is caused by either too much chain slack (tensioner unable to push against chain to apply tension) or the plastic tensioner lining has worn down to bare metal.
now during morning cold starts when not enough oil pressure has built up yet, springs inside the tensioners help apply barely enough tension to keep the chain in place but not enough to stop the shoe & chain from rattling about, hence why you normally hear the engine rattle for bout 1-3secs till it builds enough oil pressure.
once the pump makes enough oil pressure after bout 3sec, oil light goes out and the high oil pressure usually takes over in hydraulically pushing the chain tensioners with alot of force and quietening the system.
if the chain continues to rattle loudly after 3sec of cold starting, I'd say not enough oil pressure or zero pressure is reaching the tensioner (clogged oil passages from poor oil maintenance, low oil pressure from worn bearings or worn pump) so the shoe basically rattles under the weak springs, or the shoes could be badly worn, or the chain itself could be worn n stretched.
as davy says, changing the oil & filter to a correct grade would be a good next step. (10w40 is normal, 15w40 for more worn engines but can help increase lacking oil pressure)
if it still rattles when warm, either inspect & service the tensioner or replace the engine.
servicing the tensioner involves removing the upper timing chain access panel,
unbolt & remove the tensioner,
assess the condition of the plastic shoe,
clean & blow clear the tiny oil passages in the tensioner and the engine head it bolts to free from any old gunk, debris etc to make sure oil can easily get inside the tensioner,
reset the tensioners little ratchet stopper inside the shoe,
reinstall the tensioner,
push the shoe inwards once to release the ratchet mechanism,
install cover and check if it rattles.
OP
OP
Thanks polly P that helps alot!
Honoured to be mentioned in that reply Poly. Thanks
I did read some time ago that these little micras are nearly bullet proof when given correct and frequent oil / filter changes, and that was from one of the big reviewers in the motor trade, honest john I think, but could be wrong, thanks again.
I did read some time ago that these little micras are nearly bullet proof when given correct and frequent oil / filter changes, and that was from one of the big reviewers in the motor trade, honest john I think, but could be wrong, thanks again.
pollyp
Club Member
Honoured to be mentioned in that reply Poly. Thanks
I did read some time ago that these little micras are nearly bullet proof when given correct and frequent oil / filter changes, and that was from one of the big reviewers in the motor trade, honest john I think, but could be wrong, thanks again.
yep I remember reading that from honest john, honestly
aye mechanically the micras CG engine is overengineered with alot of strengths developed from the GA engines I think andy mentioned, such as a solid girdle cage crankshaft bearing supports and hydraulically tensioned metal timing chains so inherantly there's a high amount of safety margin hence a long mean-time-between-failures.
but as with all machinery, they still require regular maintenance of fresh filters & fluids to prevent dirt & corrosion from reducing the MTBF.
think of maintenance like trying to control a forest fire heading from beginning to end.
regular servicing extinguishes most of the flames, keeping the fire small so it travels alot slower and the journey lasts longer.
lack of servicing is like ignoring the fire as it grows bigger & faster exponentially so the journey ends alot sooner.
Regular scheduled maintenance combined with ongoing anti-corrosion protection treatment is the fundamental key to long-term K11 low cost trouble free motoring Shangri-La!
Reference the motoring Guru @ the Daily Telegraph correspondence website, honest John.co.uk
Ask any motoring question; Reference; http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/
Micra Reviews; http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/nissan/micra-k11-1992/?section=good
Happy days, happy motoring!
Reference the motoring Guru @ the Daily Telegraph correspondence website, honest John.co.uk
Ask any motoring question; Reference; http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/
Micra Reviews; http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/nissan/micra-k11-1992/?section=good
Happy days, happy motoring!
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Bought my K11 1.3 with a slightly rattly chain with 39000 miles on it.... not so much a rattle as a rubbing noise .. bit like a little steam train
7 years later it still has a rattly chain ....although does get a little quieter with an oil change so when the rattle gets loud i know its time for a oil change ... about every 5-6k
Its now done 91000 miles.
7 years later it still has a rattly chain ....although does get a little quieter with an oil change so when the rattle gets loud i know its time for a oil change ... about every 5-6k
Its now done 91000 miles.
Might take the panel off and take a look.... knew i had forgotten to do something .... 50k later lol...
Completely agree with corrosion ..... I have waxoyled the beasty every year ... and the only part that has needed work was a cill repair where the previous owner ignored a split in the rear arch .. that let water in. Got that fixed last year and everything is rock solid .... although i will admit to pouring a litre of wax into the front cross member 7 years ago
Completely agree with corrosion ..... I have waxoyled the beasty every year ... and the only part that has needed work was a cill repair where the previous owner ignored a split in the rear arch .. that let water in. Got that fixed last year and everything is rock solid .... although i will admit to pouring a litre of wax into the front cross member 7 years ago
Posting to thank Pollyp for this explanation post!
mine rustbucket started to work a little louder. I've had "ear open" for rattling chain, but now I think I can hear it...
Not much ,but makes me nervous
First I'll change the oil- 5W40 right now for cleaning but 10W40 is allready buyed as next (222 222 at clock, and drinks 5W a bit so I think its time)
did about 9000km on it,rattling can be heard from about 100km?
If it won't help, I'll chceck the upper tensioner. Too bad I've sealed this plate 2 months ago
also, I've even recorded a video when I "was there" but didn't posted it, chain looked OK for me, was a little loose at "return" part only, not between camshaft cogs.
mine rustbucket started to work a little louder. I've had "ear open" for rattling chain, but now I think I can hear it...
Not much ,but makes me nervous
First I'll change the oil- 5W40 right now for cleaning but 10W40 is allready buyed as next (222 222 at clock, and drinks 5W a bit so I think its time)
did about 9000km on it,rattling can be heard from about 100km?
If it won't help, I'll chceck the upper tensioner. Too bad I've sealed this plate 2 months ago
also, I've even recorded a video when I "was there" but didn't posted it, chain looked OK for me, was a little loose at "return" part only, not between camshaft cogs.
