It is never pleasurable to experience an injector noise on your Nissan Xterra. It is a noise that arises regularly, usually when you accelerate or your engine is idling. However, this indication may be connected to multiple kind of trouble with your vehicle injectors. It may not be anything severe, but when a recurrent noise arises, you have to be sure. Specifically since repairing your Nissan Xterra’s injectors can be expensive. That’s why our team chose to produce this article in order to support you see more clearly, learn about the different plausible failures and distinguish your trouble. To do this, we will first look at the normal functioning and usefulness of the injectors in your Nissan Xterra, then at the plausible reasons from which an injector noise may come.
Functions of the injectors
Injectors are a very fundamental part of the operation of your engine. They were brought in to the modern cars about 20 years ago. Before their appearance, more conventional carburettor-type intake systems were employed, which handled the intake of air and fuel into the engine cylinders. With the injectors, manufacturers now have the possibility, thanks to the injectors pump, to control electronically each stage of the intake process very accurately (quantity of fuel injected, air/fuel mixture) via the analysis of the data accumulated from the various sensors equipping the vehicle (engine temperature, acceleration level, engine speed, etc.). Their purpose is therefore to inject under high pressure a precise quantity of an air/fuel mixture at a perfect timing to get the best possible combustion in the cylinders.
The different causes of a clicking or knocking noise coming from the injectors of your Nissan Xterra
Hearing injector noises on your Nissan Xterra may come from different locations, we will now look into the potential causes of these. In most cases, the regular noise of a faulty injector is of the snap type. Here are the several sources of these noises and the solutions to be applied to stop them. If you experience another clicking noise but it is not from your injectors, we encourage you to browse this article about clicking noise on Nissan Xterra to locate the reason.
The explanations for injector clicking or knocking noise Nissan Xterra
A clicking or knocking noise from your injectors can be explained for different explanations. Indeed, the injectors of your Nissan Xterra have three main tasks, to manage the vaporisation of the fuel, i.e., to convert the liquid into “gas” during injection, to facilitate its combustion. Then, its mission is to manage the air/fuel dosage and finally the homogeneity of the mixture, always with the target of improving combustion. If one of these three tasks is altered, the main functionality of the injectors will be disrupted and this will lead to poor combustion. This bad combustion will be a violent explosion in the cylinders as a consequence of bad timing, or a bad quantity of mixture or finally an inhomogeneous mixture and will provoke thoses knocking or clicking noises on your Nissan Xterra. The main reason of these concerns usually comes from a particle that gets into the injectors. The accuracy of the injector being in the nanometer range, any possible obstruction will inevitably cause a malfunction of the injector. If after verifying, this noise comes from another component of the engine of your Nissan Xterra, have a look at this article for more informations.
The consequences of injector noise on Nissan Xterra
Now that we have analyzed the several causes for injector noise on your Nissan Xterra, we will end by stating the possible consequences of malfunctioning one or more of your injectors. Whether only one is obstructed, or damaged, or your entire fuel rail is involved, you cannot escape these side effects which can almost instantly become severe….
First, you risk destroying your exhaust system in the long run, because the unburned fuel residues that will end up in your exhaust system can corrode the metal in it.
One of the most basic consequences noticed by drivers is a serious loss of power. Indeed, if your engine is running on 3 out of 4 cylinders for example, you will surely have a loss of power
Finally, you risk deteriorating one of your pistons or your engine. Poor combustion will almost instantly damage your cylinders or pistons and your engine may tighten.
Here are three little tips to limit the risks connected with your injectors and protect you from engine failure:
- Do not drive at the bottom of the tank, as you may absorb impurities
- Use quality fuel
- Think of swapping your diesel fuel filter regularly>
