I have a quick couple of questions. I have an 89 240SX with a KA24E and the lifters are ticking. First off is anyone or has anyone else had a similar problem. If so what was the solution. Some mechanics are telling me it's an oil pump, some are telling me I need new lifters (gasp - they are roughly $40 bucks apiece). The lifters tend to tick when I run the car for a while and 4000 + rpms. I hate it because it really is a quick little car, but it sounds like a tractor.

Any suggestions?

The same thing is happening my to 89 240 with a KA24E. My boyfriend's dad is a certified ASE Mechanic and he said that my lifters need to be tightened. He is going to research how to do it and then fix mine. As soon as I find out how to do it, I will let you know. Til then, enjoy your tractor sound effects... I know I do.. or not

~Angela

Originally posted by hellishkitty

~Angela
we have another girl on the 240 boards?

:biggrin:

welcome

Originally posted by hellishkitty
The same thing is happening my to 89 240 with a KA24E. My boyfriend's dad is a certified ASE Mechanic and he said that my lifters need to be tightened. He is going to research how to do it and then fix mine. As soon as I find out how to do it, I will let you know. Til then, enjoy your tractor sound effects... I know I do.. or not

~Angela

Ditto,
they just need tightened...
I hate to admit it, but when I tighten mine I just kinda torque down on them with my trusty Kobalt, rather than using a torque wrench to meter in the exact correct spec.

I wish all engines were as easy to build and maintain as a rotary,

i was just going to suggest checking your lifters.

on my old z31, it ticked like a machine gun, turns out it was poorly maintained by the last 5 owners, i cleaned out the oil pan and changed the filters and it stopped. Dont wait to long to do anything, i've had a subaru turbo wagon that ticked and the block was cracked, and another that ticked cause of the lifters. try the oilpan first because a mechanic told me i need new lifters on my z but it was just built up shit in the oil.

use some oil detergent crap too.

Originally posted by mynismo

we have another girl on the 240 boards?

:biggrin:

welcome

Yup.. another female car geek :)

Funny, I was under the impression that the KA had hydraulic (self adjusting) lifters. Thats what Mitchell On Demand told me anyway. If they are the non-adjustable, that means that one or more of them are stuck and prolly all gunked up. I would recommend draining the oil and filling it will 2 quarts normal motor oil and 2 quarts ATF. Then let it run for an hour or so, then drain out the mixture and fill it with motor oil again. All your internals will be squeaky clean

DO NOT DRIVE IT WHEN THE ATF IS IN IT!! ATF is oil but not the same as motor oil, it will not withstand the temp of an engine under load

Sorry getting back so late, the power has been out here. Anyways I have tried the ATF thing, just 3/1 though that's 3 qt oil and 1qt atf. Also I though the KA motors were self adjusting aswell, what year was the change? I have an 89 and as far as I know the lifters are hydraulic, can someone shed some light on this matter. Or can I just tighten them? The wierd thing is that the sound comes and goes, has a mind of it's own. Anyways it's time for me to change my oil anyways, so I think I will try the good ole 2/2 for an hour before actually running pure synthetic again and blowing about 18-20 buck on dang oil. CastrolSyntec. I will change the oil tomorrow and post the results after the 2/2 cleansing, how long should I run the 2/2 blend before changing to pure oil? Should I wait to change my oil filter until after the oil change or when I put the 2/2 blend in the crank case?

Thanks,
Richie

:bloated: I need to get a turbo kit for a KA24e, that engine rules 4 driftin all it needs is BOOST!

GOT BOOST!
:cool: :bloated: :wink:

SR20s have hydraulic lifters... KA's have mechanical flat tappet lifters.

CAs are mech.
RB26s are mech.
RB25s are hydraulic
RB20s have... uhhh... I *think* mech.

i had the same problems on my old Z31 tapping came and went away, try cleaning out the oilpan, thats what helped me.

Originally posted by ShinRekka
i had the same problems on my old Z31 tapping came and went away, try cleaning out the oilpan, thats what helped me.

The problem always happens on VG series motors... basically it's deposit's gumming up the valve train as everyone said.

I have tried the 2/2 mixture and so far the lifters seem to be quiet. I noticed after I started the engine while the cleaning process, after 5 minutes the engine was silent, what does this mean? were the lifters just clogged? Is there anything else I should do since this worked?

Do the 300Z's have the same problem? I am going to look at one tomorrow. Is there anything I should look out for? It's a 1990 and it has 173000 on it, supposedly rebuilt though.

I have a '97 Hardbody with the same KA24E SOHC, and I'm having the clattering problem as well. Cannot see any way to adjust the rocker arms though, as they seem to be direct contact mechanical arms. Does anyone know for sure if these are adjustable or not? Seems like there is always a lot of guessing going on on these forums, but no definative answers. I guess I will check with Nissan tomorrow to make sure, and will post reply when I find out.

I found out that the rockers for the KA24E are not adjustable, but the ones for the KA24DE (DOHC) are indeed. However for us first gen 240SX's have to be replace if ATF and changing the oil pan do not help enough (which it did for a little while with me, except it came back). The BAD news is that the lifters for the KA24E from Nissan are roughly 30 bucks apiece, times 12 equales too much money. I really don't see me ever really getting them replaced, I think I will just keep running ATF for an hour before the oil change.

My ka24e started clicking to all high hell last night, I noticed it got faster when RPM's started to raise. Is this the lifters ticking you are talking about? I changed the oil 2 weeks ago and put in 4 quarts. The dipstick was dry as of last night. Either a hose came off somewhere, I got a MAJOR leak somewhere, or it's time to park it and wait a month or two for my CA. I gotta drive it home today so I guess I will take a good look at it then.

if the dipstick is dry you better go dump a couple quarts of oil in it just to get it somewhere to work on. you should see a leak somewhere... check around the pulley belts and the oil seal, that's where my leak was.

note: your clicking is coming right from the engine because it's bone dry! put oil in!