add a little bit more oil and see if it goes away, our dip stick tends to to trick us often

sounds like the valves are grinding, from not enough oil.

 

again, what type of oil do you use (brand/weight) and how often do you change it? also, what is the ambient temperature range?

 

I bring it to my friends shop and he does the oil change for me. They use whatever weight the owners manual calls for (I forget).
I live in the SF Bay Area, so it's normally between mid 50's to mid 70's.

 

i would be very curious to know what brand and weight you are running.

if you aren't already, try a synth oil at your next change and see if the sound goes away (when the engine is hot). i use amsoil 5w-30 ("asl") and also live in the sf bay area. only get ticking on cold startups and it goes away pretty fast, as i said.

 

I just changed my oil. Might as well change it again with syn and see what happens. Thanks.

 

+1 Altersys.

This is my 3rd Nissan. We have two in the garage now and the fuel injector tick is just a characteristic of their engines.

Don't worry cnugs, but you might run it by the dealer to set your mind at ease...

 

hmmm, i said hydraulic lifters, not fuel injectors.

those make noise too, but they're quieter than the lifters and are usually drowned out by all the other engine noises. you usually only hear those when you're testing them with the engine off.

 

Ooops. Based on several previous discussions about the fuel injectors I misread your post.

But the sound I am referring to has been present with all 4 Nissans I have owned:

'97 Hardbody pickup
2004 Titan
2004 XTerra
2007 G35

It comes and goes. You'll hear it and then the next moment it will be gone. When I am driving the engine purrs like a kitten.

No informed opinion from me on the hydraulic lifter sound.

 

Ticking at idle and ticking a full throttle are two completely different issues.

It sounds like this guy has the same problem I have, ticking at high rpms under full throttle.

It's not an exhaust leak or anything like that for me because..... 1. It doesn't happen all the time, only about 50% of the time. and 2. It's not load based, for me it's rpm based.

I can cruise at 6k in 1st gear with no load (using manual mode) and I get the same tick as WOT in any gear.

 

I have no ticking, but I do have a sort of tinny, almost raspy sound, somewhat reminiscent of my M3, at WOT. Is this what you're describing OP? Seems normal for a high strung engine like this.

 

+1 i've noticed that too. i think it's an artifact of the intake system. it does sound kinda funny at WOT. first time i heard it i was surprised.

 

I have the regular engine sounds too.

But the loud ticking is definitely NOT normal sounds. And like I've said before, it only happens 1/2 the time. "Normal" sounds happen all the time and are consistent.

When I floor it.... 3k, 4k, 5k, normal revving sounds....... 6k plus..... A wierd loud ticking (twice as loud as regular engine sounds) kicks in until redline.

The service manager that heard the sounds agreed they aren't normal.

 

I think everything is fine. The sound is gone, I just hear it more often after oil changes. I think you are describing my "problem."

It was definitely not a tick, that's for sure.

 

I have the same noise on 08 sedan with 2500 miles (still on factory fill oil) and sometimes it sounds "normal" and other times it sounds like something is loose in the drivetrain. Are there shields on the exhaust to protect the cats? My '92 Q had those and removing them fixed the buzzing/rattling noise.

 

I have the same noise. As far as i can tell it's the Nissan lifters as others have stated. I was next to a newer 350Z with our engine and it had the same sound as ours...

The raspy sound i hear on acceleration is from the exhaust when it's cold.

Just my .02