The intermittent squealing sound from my 1995 Presea, which I thought was a belt problem, turns out to be something much more serious. A mechanic told me it was coming from the camshaft. I was very sceptical, but he was right. One cam has very worn lobes from lack of lubrication. He tells me that this was a design flaw in this engine (which was used in several other Nissan models). The oil supply to the cam lobes is not by pressure through the shaft, but instead from a tube that sits above the shaft, with tiny holes where the oil squirts out. Apparently these get blocked, then its bye bye to your camshaft. Has anyone else heard about this? It seems to me to be a very fundamental design fault. He also says synthetic oil is less prone to this failure. Is this true?
- posted
16 years ago