Greetings Scotty! I have an 2003 Pathfinder, 3.5L made in Japan! purchased in 2019 with 75,000 miles, it now has 110,000. I recently changed the engine oil/filter (change it every 10K with 10W-30), transmission fluid, spark plugs, alternator, front lower control arms, & sway bar bushings. I take great pride in working and learning on my cars.
1) There is a ticking on start up that fades approaching operating temperature (this has occurred before my recent overhaul of maintenance). Research suggests it could be cams making noise until oil gets them lubricated or timing chain guide has slipped causing the chain to knock the guide itself. Thoughts?
2) It is throwing P1456 "Evap very small leak" and P0442 "Evap small leak". I have a new gas cap and PCV valve on the way. Anything else I could be overlooking as a potential cause?
Relatively new to your channel, thanks for all the advice! PS, my girlfriend enjoys that you are animated speaking with your hands like her hahaha.
change it every 10K with 10W-30
Change it sooner (5k miles).
1) There is a ticking on start up that fades approaching operating temperature (this has occurred before my recent overhaul of maintenance). Research suggests it could be cams making noise until oil gets them lubricated or timing chain guide has slipped causing the chain to knock the guide itself. Thoughts?
Those are common sources of the ticking noises. You need to find where the noise comes from.
2) It is throwing P1456 "Evap very small leak" and P0442 "Evap small leak". I have a new gas cap and PCV valve on the way. Anything else I could be overlooking as a potential cause?
Pray it is as simple as the gas cap. Otherwise, you need to smoke test the EVAP system to find the leak.
Vq35 uses 5w30 . Most likely you might need valve lash adjustment. Lets hope it's something like gas cap or EVAP leak like said
My 2003 sentra ser specv had the qr25de. I did the vq35de swap. Same family as your engine. I had a ticking noise also. It turned out it didn't like 10w30 and ran 5w30 and went away. 5w 30 is the proper oil...In your case as said Earlier It can be that it could also be a valve adjustment ECT. Timing guide is another thing. It's really hard to say. Try changing oil and see what happens. I've never did valve adjustment on a Nissan so I cannot give any info on that.
Always go under on oil change increments. oil is cheap, engines arent. Also double check what oil to use, not sure what's right for it, refer to the owners manual for that one
