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View Full Version : s14 sr mystery noise loses power


warek9
09-01-2012, 04:45 PM
fairly new to this, sorry mods if i get any of this wrong, just lmk and i will fix asap.



ok so i have a 95 zenki with an s14 sr swap done. keep in mind i am a mechanic professionally and have been for 6 years now but our downhome shop is mainly everything on a vehicle OUTSIDE of engine trouble.

swap is about 2 months old now. that was a fun experience being my first motor swap period. ive replaced engines with same engine but never swapped a diff one in. anyway normal stuff with swap 255 pump, z32 fuel filter, fmic, exhaust was already on the car, altima fans w/ thermostat switch, bov recirculated like its SUPPOSED to be, WS engine and tranny harness, oem 69f00 maf, aem wideband, blah blah blah. on to the problem.

first month had the notorious vtc rattle but only on first startup first blip of throttle till oil pressure got oil to the solenoid(so i thought). bought another solenoid. fixed. now i have an engine rattle intermittently when driving or just sitting revving the engine. im going to try to describe the best i can all the times i have heard it and what it did to me today..

i have heard this noise just sitting revving the engine to show friend the cars' swap was done. revv it up sounds good up to like 5grand and right before i let off it starts and make the noise all the way back down to like 2gs shuts up. used to only do it free revving like that or if u were driving it at higher rpms (4k and above) and holding light load like letting it sit a 4gs getting ready to make a pull. its like a loud loud vibration noise. almost like an exhaust rattle but without the pingy sound, like how ur chassis sounds with solid motor mounts, except the chassis is not vibrating, just the engine.

now it is making this sound when in boost, and when it doesnt make the sound she pulls hard and when it makes the sound she falls on her face. like running n/a all the way to ready line. f-ing weird. sometimes she does it some times she dont. granted the whole time whether the noise is there or not boost still reads 12-13 psi and wideband stays between 11.0 and 10.4 when in boost, going from lean to rich in that spectrum the higher the rpm. but when the vibration noise happens she has no balls.

she also make this noise SOMETIMES AND FEW TIMES but just driving easy when i go to shift 1-2 or 2-3 or 3-4 any of them right before i shift at or before 3krpms with no load really(less that 0psi on gauge) still reads like 5-10"hg. light load.

im stumped:duh:. when i mentioned the sound a good buddy recommended removing the timing chain guide from under the valve cover. thats done. also the vibration noise does get louder with rpms.

now as far as what i think, i think it might be the vtc sprocket sticking or jumping around or something, vibrating and making my timing go apesh*t and making her fall off like that. i can literally make a 3rd gear pull and feel her pull hard then fall off then pull hard again before shifting at 6500. any isight is helpful.
ill try to get a vid up soon of the noise i will get someone to ride along and catch it or do it in the driveway(if i cover the exhaust to quiet it down)

the only thing right now that i dont like about my setup is the t28 is running the factory turbo elbow, then through my ka downpipe (cat gutted) then to a 3" catback. i know that ka dp has to be choking that turbo!!!! can that cause my prob idk but im ordering a 3"dp second week of sept.

Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUn0nCZqUoA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

under hood video http://youtu.be/p1SdfYVzw6M

Hope that helps.


******update..... ok so now that i was under the hood making a video, this is what i noticed and brings up another question. when the noise occurs, it looks like the alternator belt between the alt and crank pulley vibrates as well and the sound seems to be in that area......coult a loose harmonic balancer(crank pulley) be my problem.....when i got home i tried to move it but with alternator holding belt tension to the left and p/s belt holding tension to the right, it dont wanna move. i lightly took screwdriver between pulley and timing cover and it seems to move a little......tomorrow when im at work im gonna remove both belts and check for play in pulley and see if the crank bolt is tight or not. just thinking though, hypothetically, if the crank pulley IS loose with free play like that would that cause the noise(of course!!!!) but can that cause the loss of power as well???

fliprayzin240sx
09-01-2012, 05:41 PM
See if you can get ahold of an S13 cam and gear. Slap that in the engine and see if the problem goes away. If it goes away, definitely your VTC.

warek9
09-01-2012, 11:16 PM
Yeah thought about doing that, but finding that in my area is like a needle in a haystack.......might have to though. Putting vid up now.

silviaNC
09-02-2012, 12:34 AM
Yeah thought about doing that, but finding that in my area is like a needle in a haystack.......might have to though. Putting vid up now.

I have 2 sets of stock s13 cams and gears for the low low. Pm me

fliprayzin240sx
09-02-2012, 08:55 AM
Can you do another vid from under the hood? It sounds like a bleeathing cow from inside the car.

warek9
09-02-2012, 10:14 PM
Can you do another vid from under the hood? It sounds like a bleeathing cow from inside the car.

Ill try to snap another vid soon, ill be back home Tuesday night, and thanks for any help in advance!!!

warek9
09-05-2012, 05:23 PM
new vid up!!!!