A Couple Issues with 5sfe ToyCam2.2

[Jaron]

I own a 95 Toyota Camry 4cyl, 5sfe. I have recently had a head gasket blow, so I replaced it and every gasket that you take off to get to it. Also replaced timing belt and water pump. Had the head worked on and a few other minor things. I got it all back together and had a few issues I worked on but now I'm down to what I hope is just a couple left.

1.) My radiator fans only run with the a/c on. I replaced all the temperature sensors except the one on the bottom of the radiator, but it has been thoroughly cleaned. The fans not running is causing my car to get hotter than normal when I'm not parked or at low speeds w/o the air on.

2.) My car is now sending a code 52, which is a bad Knock Sensor and/or wires to the knock sensor. I don't know much about knock sensors so forgive me if my next couple of questions are stupid ones. Will a bad knock sensor cause a car to knock worse? Will it cause bad ignition timing? If yes to these, are there any normal issues with these, or do they go out after so many miles? I am sure that it is the original, and it does have 227,xxx on it. Are there any ways to "save" one from having to buy new, because the only OEM one I found is expensive.

Thanks for all the help,
Jaron

[TRD95]

Originally Posted by Jaron

I own a 95 Toyota Camry 4cyl, 5sfe. I have recently had a head gasket blow, so I replaced it and every gasket that you take off to get to it. Also replaced timing belt and water pump. Had the head worked on and a few other minor things. I got it all back together and had a few issues I worked on but now I'm down to what I hope is just a couple left.

1.) My radiator fans only run with the a/c on. I replaced all the temperature sensors except the one on the bottom of the radiator, but it has been thoroughly cleaned. The fans not running is causing my car to get hotter than normal when I'm not parked or at low speeds w/o the air on.

2.) My car is now sending a code 52, which is a bad Knock Sensor and/or wires to the knock sensor. I don't know much about knock sensors so forgive me if my next couple of questions are stupid ones. Will a bad knock sensor cause a car to knock worse? Will it cause bad ignition timing? If yes to these, are there any normal issues with these, or do they go out after so many miles? I am sure that it is the original, and it does have 227,xxx on it. Are there any ways to "save" one from having to buy new, because the only OEM one I found is expensive.

Thanks for all the help,
Jaron

Hey Jaron, sorry to hear about your issues.

First off, check to make sure the thermostat isn't stuck open/closed. If the fan switch were bad, the fans would be on all the time, so no issue there. Also, make sure the coolant temp sensor is working ok. Those are your two best bets.

About the knock sensors, yes the knock sensors will retard timing. Code 52 is a knock sensor, retard timing code. The two solutions to this problem are to reseat the connector to the sensor, or replace the sensor and wires.

[Mister_Perkins]

the vibrations from the engine knocking will vibrate the piezoelectric element generating a voltage. This voltage is sent to the PCM to control timing.

[Jaron]

Thanks for the help.

I went to re-seat the KS and the wire just fell out. So I repaired the plug the ignition timing does seem to be better.

The thermostat is new, but I think I will double check the coolant temp sensor.

But now I have a new potential problem. While I had the car up on ramps I decided to fix my oil leak from the pan. Everything went smooth, put a new gasket on, got it all back together and put more oil in it. When I started it up tho, it made a loud chattering noise. I have never heard any car make this sound before. I new it wasn't metal scraping but was not sure what it was. All gauges are fine. The oil pressure light is not on. There is no check engine light on or codes in the system. After running the car for a few minutes the chatter went away. It only came back once. I let the car cool for about 2-3 hours and ran it again with no chatter.

Does anyone know what this chatter might be?

[TRD95]

Originally Posted by Jaron

Thanks for the help.

I went to re-seat the KS and the wire just fell out. So I repaired the plug the ignition timing does seem to be better.

The thermostat is new, but I think I will double check the coolant temp sensor.

But now I have a new potential problem. While I had the car up on ramps I decided to fix my oil leak from the pan. Everything went smooth, put a new gasket on, got it all back together and put more oil in it. When I started it up tho, it made a loud chattering noise. I have never heard any car make this sound before. I new it wasn't metal scraping but was not sure what it was. All gauges are fine. The oil pressure light is not on. There is no check engine light on or codes in the system. After running the car for a few minutes the chatter went away. It only came back once. I let the car cool for about 2-3 hours and ran it again with no chatter.

Does anyone know what this chatter might be?

That's very strange....

I'm at a loss for words....that's just very strange...

Unless you left something loose somewhere, or mistakenly left something inside the pan, then I wouldn't worry about it. My car has this chattering sound when I start it, but I've determined that at 330,000 miles it's bound to make noises. Fortunately the noise goes away after I warm it up.

Just hope it doesn't get any worse

[Jaron]

Went to advanced auto. They said when I had the pan off more oil dained then normal and let alot of air in. This created a dry spot on the a lifter or two. Simple fix, take the valve cover off and put some lucas on the lifters.

Does this sound right to anyone?

[TRD95]

Originally Posted by Jaron

Went to advanced auto. They said when I had the pan off more oil dained then normal and let alot of air in. This created a dry spot on the a lifter or two. Simple fix, take the valve cover off and put some lucas on the lifters.

Does this sound right to anyone?

I would agree with that statement. The 5SFE does have a very noisy valvetrain, especially after the system has been entirely drained of its oil. Like I said before, my engine chatters a lot when I start it cold, and progressively goes away after it's warm.