I have some sort of noise that seems to be coming from my distributor at idle and low rpms. It is a knocking noise and i am wondering if anyone has had this problem and what the solution to it was? ANY help is greatly appreciated.
-Thanks

i had a suttle knocking noise coming from under the hood for a while, i switched to full synthetic motor oil, after a few days it was gone, havent heard it since

I am running full synthetic

then it aint the noise i had
have you opened the distributor and looked?

Yea ive looked and everything seems to be ok...its really weird and i tried getting the code and it brings up that stupid "knock sensor"

what year and how many miles?

2001 Se...

102000 miles

Anybody have any ideas?

dunno man, how loud is it?
maybe change yo cap and rotor?
im assuming you are sure its not a rod right?

Im pretty sure its not a rod...i was thinking about changing my cap and rotor so ill try that and see if it goes away...

I'm thinking aloud here so bear with me...

On another forum someone complained of the cam gear being loose and flopping around on the end of the camshaft. It's about the only thing I can think of that fits your description. Other than that you might have to pull the valve cover and have a look.

I'm thinking aloud here so bear with me...

On another forum someone complained of the cam gear being loose and flopping around on the end of the camshaft. It's about the only thing I can think of that fits your description. Other than that you might have to pull the valve cover and have a look.

That sounds like its worth looking into

do you think it could be that serious?

you never know till you find out what exactly the problem is......

its coming from the distributor tho

the dist. might just be amplifying the sound if you know what i mean... LOL could be something below the dist....

I'll do some research but you can replace the bearing on the end of the distributor. They can go bad.

EDIT. I'm reading some other sites and a new gear is pretty expensive but can be replaced.

So then is the X an over head cam or push rod set up?

OHC

EDIT: By the way, the Bearing I'm referring to is for the first gen Xterras.

Our engines are overhead cammers. Did you have your timing belt replaced? You're due on the miles. If you did, then the cover needs to come off. The distributor is driven off of the driver's side cam. If the cam gear is loose, then the noise can be amplified by the distributor. Check it ASAP!

If you haven't had the timing belt replaced by now (shame shame! :D ) then the noise could be due to the belt slapping (being stretched and ready to go), the diff gear slapping (due to wear, but rare on these motors, unless oil changes were optional) or a bad bushing inside the distributor.

According to FAST, the gear isn't available seperately. You'd have to purchase a new distributor if anything in the distributor was bad. But I'd check the cam gear/t-belt before going that route. And I'd check it yesterday!

Ah sorry, actually he took a bushing off an Xterra from a junk yard as opposed to buying a new distributor for something like $400.

I havent had the T belt replaced...i was actually just about to buy all the parts and take care of it so hope fully here within the next week it can be taken care of...

Yea ive looked and everything seems to be ok...its really weird and i tried getting the code and it brings up that stupid "knock sensor"

So, you're getting a code for the knock sensor and you're asking what your problem is? Think about that for a second.

i almost guarantee if you have a 1st gen X and you haven't replaced the knock sensor and you put it on a reader it will pull up that code.....

Yeah, and if it's not SuperCharged, the knock sensor won't do squat for you. Replacing it just empties the wallet on the naturally aspirated ones.

And a knock sensor detects the knocking, it doesn't cause it.

And a knock sensor detects the knocking, it doesn't cause it.

so so tue.... i have been running with the code for almost 2 years

so so tue.... i have been running with the code for almost 2 years

same here

Hmm...ok then. Far be it from me to impart any knowledge. Usually when we see a DTB come up on Consult, we start by fixing that problem. If the knock sensor is faulty, it will almost certainly continue to feed bad information to the ECU which attempts to correct the 'knock', which usually leads to other problems.

Dude im not tryin to jump on your case, but every forum i have been on has said that the knock sensor isnt a big deal at all...

only if you have a S/C then its a big deal.....

Well, a DT"C" is usually something that you want to diagnose. As long as you know what it's caused by, the function of the part that the code is telling you is bad, and can think around the code to see what the actual failure is.

When a Maxima comes in with Bank 1 Lean and Bank 2 Lean codes, what do you fix? No part is listed.

The knock sensor is a responsive sensor, it's only job is to detect knock. If the ECU is throwing a knock sensor code, then the computer is telling you that it isn't seeing the correct input from that sensor. So the ECU will take the corrective actions, which in this case mean that the ECU won't give full timing advance and it'll add in a bit more fuel for safe measure.

Since most folks are using mid to low grade fuel anyway, the difference isn't even seen. This has been proven on a dyno several times. Only when a person is using premium fuel that they will notice a drop in mpg and perhaps a slight drop in performance. And this is for the naturally aspirated folks.

Folks like me, with a SuperCharger, will notice a drop in power and mileage. The ECU will kick the bypass valve on and leave it there, only allowing minimal boost. This is due to the computer riding the 'edge' of knock with the SuperCharger as far as timing and fuel mixture. A knock sensor is necessary in that scenario.

So yes, when the approriate code is thrown, fixing that issue is paramount. But for a knock sensor code to be related to an actual noise in the engine, no. Just a waste of time, effort and money.

As far as the Maxima issue, it's the MAF. It can be diagnosed using the A/F Alpha readings during full load in real time data (in graph mode) using your Consult II.

Dude im not tryin to jump on your case, but every forum i have been on has said that the knock sensor isnt a big deal at all...

I understand that, but my information doesn't come from the internet.

Regardless, what cyclemut said is spot on

Heh, DTBs DTCs, all the acronyms that are thrown around, you typo them once in a while!


When a Maxima comes in with Bank 1 Lean and Bank 2 Lean codes, what do you fix? No part is listed.


As far as the Maxima issue, it's the MAF. It can be diagnosed using the A/F Alpha readings during full load in real time data (in graph mode) using your Consult II.

Are we talking A32B Maxi's where you replace the MAF (22680-2Y001) and then reprogram?

Yepper!

Now I know you know your stuff. So many folks throw out Consult and think everyone else should bow down. :D

Where do you work at Aretelio? I was at Tynan's Nissan in Denver.

Do you have FAST at home?

Yepper!

Now I know you know your stuff. So many folks throw out Consult and think everyone else should bow down. :D

Where do you work at Aretelio? I was at Tynan's Nissan in Denver.

Do you have FAST at home?

I'm the parts manager at Nissan of State College in State College PA. Been doing this for over a decade, long enough to pick up a few things from the techs in the shop anyway.

And yes, every time I get an update for FAST I take the old discs home. I could probably cover every square inch of my walls with FAST discs!