Hi! I'm from Romania. My new Almera 1.5 petrol 2005 have a misterious problem for the Romanian NISSAN Sevice. Starting from arround 5000km (now is 6600km), a metalic ticking may be hear for 5-6 seconds, right after I start the cold engine. I went to the NISSAN service, they replaced gradually engine oil, distribution chain, axles, but they got no result. They sent me home telling me that it must be a fabrication problem but they are not sure. Is anybody who know what can it be the problem? Sorry for my bad English and thank you very much!

IUSTIN SIMION, November 2006

Hi! Almera has no hydraulic tappets. This problem appeared only for models manufactured after the year 2004, on 3% of cars,most of them between 5000-35000 km. I suspect that they changed the origin of some parts of the engine, the factory know the problem but they try to hide it. This metalic ticking is stroger and longer when outside is cold... Thank you for advices! Iustin Simion

Iustin Simion, November 2006

Hi Terry,

Good point on the V8s however they were not OHC they were OHV with a central cam and push rods as I remember. Chevvy short block. The problem with flushing the V8s was it dislodged all the crud that lay harmlessly on the internal slopes of the V and caused detriment to an already crap oil pressure !!

Cheers Steve.

SB, November 2006

Having said that Land Rover V8s have hydraulic tappets too. NEVER Flush those engines. My MX5 sounds awful for about two seconds but it ain't a problem.

Terry, November 2006

It is quite common for overhead cam engines to have hydraulic tappets, these are infact small pistons that charge with oil as the engine runs to maintain the correct valve clearance on the cams. If for some reason one of these is sticking slightly (Wear, Manufacturing poor tolerance or production defect) the engine will tap lightly at the top end (Valve gear) until it warms or enough oil pressure is gained to overcome the stiction of the tappet. It is not dangerous or really detrimental to the running of the vehicle, its just an annoyance until the engine has warmed. On older engines I have had limited success using a good flushing oil/carbon deposit remover to cleanse the internals of the engine prior to an oil change. May be worth a go, just follow the instructions on the flushing oil, drain away, change oil filter and add new oil.

Good Luck

Steve

SB, November 2006