Can anyone help me understand why all the KA’s timing chain makes a loud noise? And is this a noise we should worry about? i was once told by a mechanic that this noise is normal and doesnt mean the chain needs changing it just gets worn out after a long time…anyone has any opinions on if you need to change the chain or is there anything at least to stop the noise? …
thanks.
Search?
It’s the guides.
i have my top chain guide taken out, and the chain GUIDE rattles due to its age and usage. My side guide is still in there and it only rattles when the oil gets thin (needs oil change). you can ask some of the ppl here to help you remove both chain guides so you dont get that annoying rattling noise. also, when i hear rattles, like really loud, that tells me its time for an oil change. so yeah…
When you say rattle do you mean rattling when you drive or just when you first start up your car?
its not the guides.
its actually the tensioners, they get gunked up and blocked.
most of the time its the lower one being as its based off of oil pressure.
the top one is mechanical in nature.
take the front cover off the motor and take the tensioners out, put them in varsol or something along those lines clean them out and put them back in. you will be fine.
careful when taking them apart the spring will shoot out and go pretty far 
thanks for all the help guys but its not rattling im hearing its the timing chain sound its just a loud noise not a rattling its sounds like for example a ball in a metal bucket bouncing around when your driving i think all ka’s sound this way after a couple of years. thanks for the help
i as well hear this noise and im paranoid as crap that my timing chain is on its way out, its a ticking noise or a rattle of some kind hard to decsribe but a distink noise at that,.
taking out the top chain guide the one on the side (opposite of the upper tensioner) is very easy. I’ve done it on 4 240’s now and it’s very easy to do.
While you are at it, check the timing chain tensioner, make sure it’s nice an loose (i.e. goes back and forth with ease). If not, just change it, it’s only 70-80 bucks at nissan. The guides themselves are pretty useless if the tensioner works properly.
this noise i am hearing is not a mechanical problem there is nothing wrong with the engine its a normal noise from the timing chain in all ka’s but it just pisses me off when u are stopped next to someone they look at ur car because of the loud ticking and they think its an old piece of junk your driving