05 engine whine???

Just a bit over 30k now on my 05 S and I am noticing a whining noise coming from the engine area. Sounds like a combination of a turbo/gear whine. It happens when accelerating, even when out of gear, definitely the engine area and not trannny or dif.

Highway driving, nothing changed except oil, no after market items. The noise goes up and down with acceleration.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Most likely it is the Idler pulley. They had a recall on it. They changed it and the Belt under warranty for me.

Good luck.

The only recall information I found on an 05 x was for the trailer hitch....

I should have said TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) Sorry. It is a warranty item though.

Thanks for your help. The sound doesn't sound like a pulley or belt, no squeaking, but I could be wrong. Seems more like it's coming from the intake manifold area.

Sounds like you better make a call and get it looked at. Hope it is ok and keep us up-to-date.

I just started noticing this on my 05 @ 30k too. Sounds like a metallic chain, almost gearing type sound, hard to explain. Only hear on acceleration - especially when you're going slow and your engine is at a higher than usual RPM - for instance in 2nd or 3rd with RPM's around 3k - 4k..

One thing to note though - I only started hearing this after 30k - which, incidentally is when I switched over to synthetic oil.. Coincidence? Possible cause?

Vondy,
I also had a whining type noise on my 05 OR that started around 30K miles. I would describe it as a turbo type whine that would start around 2000 rpms. Most noticeable by then , anyway.
At first I thought it was the serpentine belt and had the tensioner replaced per the TSB.
Since this didnt fix it, I went to a couple of dealerships before finding one that would diagnosis it correctly.
It turned out to be the timing chain guide which was replaced under warranty. Apparently in 2005, some of the timing chains were manufactured wrong which eventually damaged the guides. In my case, the dealer replaced everything... timing chains, guides, cams etc...
The x now runs better than when I first got it!
Like driving a new car, 2 years later.
When my X was getting fixed, There was also a Pathfinder in there with the same problem. When picking mine up, the dealer had appointments for a couple of other pathfinders also with the same problem.
I have heard of the same issue on Frontiers also.
Same engine... same problem.
Dont know if it is just 2005 but seems to be from what I have read in user forums.
Good luck.. Hope your dealer is as cooperative as the one I went to!

Wow Steve-0 first I've heard of this issue. I'll keep that in mind if I hear anything funky under the hood.

The noise is most likely coming from the cam timing chain tensioners.

We/I have done a couple at our dealership.

The 4.0 and 3.5 have 3 timing chains, a main chain and 2 sub chains that drive the cams, each chain has its own hydraulic chain tensioner, so 3 tensioners also.

What is happening is the tensioners that hold the cams chains tight are wearing the teflon surface off, as the teflon wears away the steel plunger of the tensioner comes in contact with the surface of the chain, and their in lies the problem.

I just went out and took a short video of the engine revved at different RPM's. It's kind of hard to tell from the noise (engine is pretty loud) but you can make out the metallic whine in the background.

Before I take this in, is the the same sound you all have been hearing? Checking oil and all other fluid levels I'm fine.

Click HERE for the video.

Hard to tell from the sound clip. If the noise exists when the serpentine belt is removed and it sounds like it is coming from the timing chain area, then chances are, the issue is with the guides or tensioners.
Mine was caused after the guides were chewed apart by the timing chain. Just going by what the dealer told me.
I'd have it checked out if I were you.
It might be a conincedence but the engine now runs really nice and my gas mileage has improved to 400 miles per 17.5/18 gal fillup.

Doesn't sound very good, what was the RPM range that was taken at?

400 Miles per tank, you driving like a grandma?

Contrary to what you may think, on the highway/expressway i usually travel at 75-80 mph. When driving on roads that require me shifting, i drive as if I have a 350Z.
I'm not complaining about the gas mileage!

Took it to the dealership and they diagnosed my problem as a "compressor pulley" - whatever that is. Parts on order, should have by Thursday. I was so busy with work things that I wasn't really paying attention on the phone, but figured whatever their guess was I didn't care so long as it was under warranty coverage.

It was raining out and my truck was parked out in the rain so I didn't stand around asking for much of an explanation when I picked it up. When I call on Thursday to check on the parts status I'll be sure to find out what exactly they were talking about.

One thing about mine though - the whining sound doesn't come on immediately - it takes about 5 seconds at greater than 2k RPM before it starts, and then it's pretty noticeable from then on. The guy at the dealership concurred - it was definately 'something.'

I'm lucky to break 300 Miles per tank. :rolleyes:

Thanks for everyones help on this matter. I dropped it off at the dealer this morning, will keep you all informed...

Well they just called. Sure enough, it's the timing chain guide or something in that area. They have to pull it apart first to be certain. Couple day job assuming they can get the parts soon enough.

This dealership has done a couple of these so far.

Glad to see they are going somewhere with it. They did give you a rental in the mean time?

Glad to hear they are going to do something about it. My fix took 4 days but I dont know whats typical.
I'm surprised Nissan hasn't created a TSB related to this problem since it does sound somewhat common.
And, as mentioned, if you vehicle is in the garage more than 1 day, then have Nissan give you a paid loaner.

Yes the gladly paid for a loaner, new Altima. It won't be out of the shop till Tuesday at the earliest.

Great! Now we'll loose another X'r for a car. J/K!

Seriously though, Let us know what comes of it and if you notice a performance increase.

Well I wouldn't be lost to an Altima, it's a nice car but not in anyway exciting to drive. Actually I had a BMW coupe before the X and loved it. But then I bought a house. You can't bring much home from Home Depot without some kind of truck. Not to mention the amount of road debris around here in Dallas makes having lots of ground clearance very nice. You never know when you'll come up on a chunk of concrete, ladder or bed at 70 mph. Now that the X is around we tend to go camping a lot more. I'm sure it will be around till the wheels fall off. Or a better one comes out!

I'm interested in seeing if there is a performance increase. Not that I really ever noticed a lack of. As long as it doesn't break again in 30K more miles I'll be happy.

Phew! Glad to hear that you'll be keeping the X around. The only drawback to the clearance issue is the likelihood of rollover if you swerve to avoid something. The VDC works great but at freeway speeds I'd hope I never need it.

I'm like you and expect to keep my X around a very long time and also hope that the rear Diff doesn't go poo in another 24K Miles. If it does I'm covered, but who needs the hassle especially if you're in the middle of nowhere!

Hey Vondy, what dealership did you take to get that diagnosis? I'm in Dallas too, and the dealership I went to (Texas Nissan - formally Don Davis Nissan in Grapevine) is telling me mine is something different.

I'd like to have a back up plan incase the repairs they are planning to do tomorrow do not work.

Bankston Nissan, I-635 and the Tollway area, around REI.

They must be pretty sure of mine because it's a big job for them. I'm still going to take a listen before I drive out of there and make sure though.

Since it is a big job and under warranty, some dealers dont want to take the time to do it. The first dealer I went to in addition to " they all make that noise" told me that since the engine is under 50,000 miles warranty, then live with it.
Needless to say, I got another opinion and I'm glad I did.

Well, finally got her back today, took over a week for them to get all the parts and put the X back together. So far so good, but I have a 4 hour drive in front of me tonight so we will see how she holds up.in

Thanks All! Keep an ear out for the whine!

Cool, let us know if there may be any difference in performance, etc.

I'm with you Adam, my X has barely seen 300 miles per tank.

Man, what's up with Nissan and timing chains? The KA24E engine in my 240sx had a chain, and the guides would disintegrate on those pretty regularly too. The problem is, when they were gone there wasn't really any noise to notice (the damn fuel injectors were so loud many people mistook them for the valves, but I digress). Over time, the chain slapping against the housing would wear through - it was either the back of the water pump or the front of the block - I forget now. Anyway, the end result is coolant everywhere and a very expensive repair

Glad you got it taken care of!

Well.... the X is back at the dealership. I noticed, after my 4 hour drive to my brother's house, that there was a burnt smell and a bit of smoke coming from under the hood. Sure enough, someone didn't do a very good job sealing up a valve cover and there was a small oil leak dripping onto the exhaust. Fortunately it was small enough for me to get back home.

They put me in another rental, hopefully it want take long for them to get it back to me. I pretty much expected this to tell you the truth. The dealers can't ever seem to do anything right the first time. How hard can it be to tighten things to the correct specs?

I noticed instead of an actual gasket, they used a gasket maker sealant to reseal the valve covers. Anyone know if this is proper?

That sucks Vondy. I had my S/C replaced and they forgot to tighten one of the coolant lines for it. I noticed after a trip to CA from AZ and Back. Fortunately it was a very short line and could not blow off.

Hope all goes well and I don't know if the gasket is correct but these days they use a lot of liquid alternatives.

Since the late 80's manufactures have switched over to permatex or other alternatives for most assembled products---they still use head gaskets and intake gaskets, but that's about it.

The X is all fixed up now. It was a valve cover leaking, they replaced the gasket and put it on right this time.

Of course last night when I was driving home someone cut in front of me and a rock it my windshield. So now I have a lovely crack making a journey across the glass.

I guess the tires will explode next!

I'm getting my X checked out again on Monday. They initially thought it was the tensioner belt too, but after reading this I gave them a call. Hopefully I get positive results because my X sounds like my friend's GTI right now and that's just not right.

Turns out it IS the timing chain components. My X has been there since Monday... It's Wednesday and they're just barely starting the work today because a part was backordered. Hopefully I get it back working like new.