Removing timing chain guide would mess up my ka24de engine?

[Surge777]

Hi everyone.
My engine was making a ticking sound just under the valve cover and I thought
it was a rod knock but it was too light and sounded just under the cover.
So I removed the cover and also the chain guide. It went away completely.
I am just worried that it would mess up my engine or something.
Please help me man. Thanks


I have a s13 240sx fastback by the way. Its really fun.
Working to make it look as close to a 180sx kouki as possible.
Any 180sx tail lights for sale?

[Slims]

Put on the flame suit.

Surge, unless it was the one on the very top in between the cams, put that crap back on. The KA is notorious for having the timing chain rattle, nothing you can do.

[TougeSR20Kid]

^ that.... KAs rattle, get use to it. As for the timing chain guide, well I dunno if not having it is so bad but that rattle you heard was the chain hitting the guide so it may turn out that guide was keeping that chain from skipping a tooth because your tensioner is bad or your chain is worn, either way just put it back on and deal with the sound

[nu_born]

My KA did the same thing, I removed my upper timing chain guide (turns out it had actually broken) and ran my car (hard) for another year or so with no ill affect before I did my SR swap. Not saying this will be the case for you just sharing my experience as far as that is concerned; though in retrospect if my chain was smacking that upper guide that bad, it might have been time to change my lower guides, chain, and cetera, and cetera.

Not a sermon, just a thought...

[Surge777]

O snaps men, what have I done.
I will put it back on and save to do a full
rebuild. Thank You guys a lot.
I just care about my car so much
and I want to keep it as a treasure for
my kid lol
Thanks

[JasianBlazin]

alot of people remove the chain guide on the KA. I have as well. It does get rid of the timing chain rattle. some people even recommend removing them because they can break off and end up in your oil pan. i see no harm removing them. Also make sure your tensioner is working properly.

[91cupcake240]

I took off mine. Well it broke off so yea its fine

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[97_kouki]

I recently picked up a 95 base model 240sx with that same noise coming from the motor (right under the valve cover)! Took it the my friends shop to work on it & once I took of valve cover noticed that the very top chain guide was broken just laying ontop of the timing chain. Went to Nissan dealer to buy new part & part is discontinued, no longer available because motor doesn't really need it. Tech told me as long if the chain is working properly, don't need to worry about it. So I put everything back in place with new valve cover gasket, noise went away, motor sounds nice & strong!!!

[JasianBlazin]

lol same here, i popped the valve cover and the very top chain guide was gone.

[97_kouki]

It looks like its a commen problems on KA's...

[xh3nry]

My friend from Wyotech printed instructions from all data/ mitchell on demand for doing a timing chain on ka24de. It said to remove the upper timing chain guide and to throw it away.. literally. lol

[S14_Adam]

hello everyone. just trying to chime in here because i recently started to hear a rattle that has me stuck between either my valves needing to be adjusted or this timing chain guide problem. i have yet to pop my valve cover. but whenever i start the car it has a mean under rattle like towards the end of the ignition and as the car warms up and i actually drive it goes away. ive had two or three mechanics look at it. one thinks its my valves. one said it might be the tensioner because when u drive it puts more pressure on it and thats when the rattle goes away. just wondering when i pop off my valve cover what to look for ? and how to check if my tensioner is fine or not? thanks for any help!

[Surge777]

If your 240sx has a 12 valve head, you don't have a top timing chain guide. If it's a 16 valve, then you do. Don't worry about adjusting the valves, they adjust by them selfs.
When you remove the valve cover, you will see the timing chain and a plastic type
Guide on the top. Remove it. Under the guide, you will see how the chain was scraping
The life out of it. You don't need it at all because it's tight enough for it to jump a tooth.
If the sound does not go away, then its something else. maybe the oil is to thin that when
You shut the car off, most of the oil drops to the bottom and when you turn on your car
When it's cold, it has to pump up oil to the lifters. Try removing the guide first lol

[NismoDriverS13]

bought a ka24de and dropped it into my hatch, the guy I bought it from told me chain rattles. Everyone I know with ka24de told me to remove it, I ran the car with out chain guides for a year+ with no problems then sold the car... :( i miss it

[waxball88]

I believe nissan released something saying the upper chain guide is not necessary

[S14_Adam]

do i need to have the car in TDC in order to just take off the upper chain guide? or can i just pop the cover off and take it off?

[S14_Adam]

thanks for the help by the way

[1ZlowZ]

just take it off. just 2 bolts holding it in i believe. I did it 4 years ago when I was 15. Never had a problem with it.
Good luck.

[S14_Adam]

alright im about to take this mess off. hopefully this gets rid of that nasty rattle. gut feeling is saying its gonna be the tensioner

[JasianBlazin]

there should be 2 guides unless the top one already came off.

[hulkster_s13]

I'm almost positive that there was a Nissan bulletin stating to remove the chain guide for both KA and SRs

[ch1873857]

yep both timing chain guides are a recall.

source: 16 year Nissan master tech.

you'll be fine.

[Bentleyness]

replace the tensioner and remove the second guard while you at it, im running without both guards and im still getting a slight tick even with a completely rebuild engine and head

[S14_Adam]

so i took off the valve cover to find that my top one was already taken off. or gone at least lol. im gonna take my car tomorrow to tear it apart with my mechanic and see if the tensioner is bad or the second guide needs to be taken off. Have heard mix reviews on taking off both. some people say its fine and some say dont do it?

[ManoNegra]

If your 240sx has a 12 valve head, you don't have a top timing chain guide. If it's a 16 valve, then you do.

Wait, what!???
12 valve head?? KAE?? Those also have guides.

remove guides, don't need them
they vibrates, make noise, wear on the chain and sometimes break off
every heard a 97 or 98 KA rattle?
No would be the answer, they don't have the guides from the factory.

[cdlong]

Holy shit. If neon and splatter paint can be popular again, we can debate this again.

It was a TSB a long time ago. My top guide was broken and missing, and I removed the lower guide about 7 years ago. I've beat the hell out of the car and it's been fine ever since.

[S14_Adam]

soo little update... both my guides were taken off and my tensioner is fine. chain is tight. me and my mechanic have checked the lifter, the injectors, compression, etc. we think since its happening on a cold start that my starter isnt getting enough juice from my battery(which is from 06) causing the solonoid to fire out but not pull back so what im hearing is a flywheel rattle. we did adjust my timing slightly and advanced it and burped the cooling system so the over heating is gone. but the rattle is still there at start up. im goin to vegas this weekend but i will be purchasing a new optima battery when i get back. got a sick deal on a red top (80 bucks) with warranty. thanks for everyones 2cents though!

[Nvincibleleester]

I have the same issue like you guys have. The noise doesnt bother me that much so i never check on it. So i finally did some review and took off my valve cover...lord behold...the timing guide was broken in half...basically the guide was rattling on top of the chain...looking at the picture you can see the damage done on my head...i believe most of the metal and shaving are in the oil pan...i still kept the timing guide that on side in the car...now my engine sound way better...i hope this help...i shoulda have take it out sooner. dont let this happen to you