How to diagnose a vvt rattle?

[s2k2s15]

This is my first thread as I am new to zilvia and new to nissans in general. In a few days I will be meeting with someone about trading their 95 s14 w/ a 98 notch top swap w/ 65k miles on it.. He says the car has a lifter tick but I am leaning more towards a vvt rattle because that is more common in these motors right? But the weird thing is that he is saying that the ticking doesn't increase or disappear. He says the ticking is a constant sound, but after around 4k rpms he can't hear it anymore? And it's a pretty loud tick. But supposedly it isn't harming the motor because he has had it dyno'd and daily drove it while its been like this. Anyone have any clues on what it may be? And any ideas on how to diagnose it without taking anything apart as I am meeting him this Wednesday. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys. And I would post a video but can't because I am posting from my phone..

[s2k2s15]

I will try to post a video tonight

[Tom N]

I had the VCT gear go bad in my S15 engine. It was a very load rattle at idle. It would go away if you gave the car gas and got the rpms up over like 1500. It would only rattle real loud at idle. It's a common issue and easy to replace. Took me a hour to do

[s2k2s15]

Well I'm not sure if the is the rattle though. Because it doesn't go away until around 4k rpms.. But the weird thing is the speed of the ticking doesn't increase as the rpms raise... So is there anyone on here who knows what it may be??

[AussieS14]

If the VCT is well and truly rooted than it will rattle all the time.
When I put my cams in and heavy valve springs it completely stuffed my VCT. It was already rattling before the cams went in, but they just finished it off. It would rattle all the time.
Lifter noise and VCT rattle sound very different so it won't be hard to diagnose.

[jr_ss]

If its a ticking noise it could very well be the injectors. The injectors are extremely loud on those motors. VTC rattle is very noticeable and to confirm it, you can take a stethoscope and listen to various parts to try and isolate where the noise is coming from. If you don't have one, a long screw driver on suspect areas and a ear to the handle will tell you a lot.

Some things that will cause rattle/excessive noise;

Timing chain guides
VTC gear
Unbled lifters
Solid cams w/ hydraulic lifters
Hydraulic cams w/ solid lifters
Out of spec rocker shims
Injectors

[s2k2s15]

Alright thanks guys. After I get the car it shouldn't be hard for me to fix the ticking noise. Just trying to get an idea on what it is before I trade.