Noises

[V65rider]

A while back I had posted that I had gotten a 99 Toyota Camry that had a bad noise in the front of the engine.
Several people suggested that it could be a timing belt tensioner or possible the timing belt may be smacking the cover.
Well I replaced the water pump, timing belt, tensioners, seals and gaskets. I finally got it all finished this evening and started the car. It started right up but the noise is still there
So now I am not sure what to do.
I am thinking I may pull the oil pan and check the crank to see if I can see anything there.
The weird thing is I was able to put a wrench on the crank and turn the motor over with no problems and I could hear no weird problem.
If any one has any ideas please let me know!

[71Corolla]

How many miles? Which engine?

[V65rider]

170k on the engine and it is the 4 cylinder.

[V65rider]

Is there any thing in particular that I should look for when I pull the oil pan?

[Zembonez]

What kind of noise are we talking about here? You don't give us much to go on.

[Mister_Perkins]

you could do a quick oil pressure check to confirm if your bearings are wearing out. Kind of crappy if your rod / mains are already wearing out that bad at 170k though....

Hook a T Diverter into the Oil pressure sensor and one side hook your OEM sensor and the other side hook a manual oil pressure gauge into it. Check what the pressure is at idle and also at 3,000 rpm when at normal operating temp.

At idle
29 kPa (4.3 psi) or more

At 3,000 rpm
245 – 490 kPa (36 – 71 psi)

If not within spec, remove the caps and run plastigage on the bottom end. Write down each plastigage reading and contact your machine shop. Also, while the pan is off, grab your connecting rods and move them around checking for slop (movement).


Most of the time the oil pump itself is not culprit with low oil pressure, but it COULD be a possibility too.

I'm just taking a guess here when you are talking about a noise in the motor.

[V65rider]

When standing in front of the car the sound seems to be coming from directly behind the exhaust manifold. It seems to metallic knocking sound.
There is no back firing or and everything seems smooth. It is kind of weird.

[Mister_Perkins]

Originally Posted by V65rider

When standing in front of the car the sound seems to be coming from directly behind the exhaust manifold. It seems to metallic knocking sound.
There is no back firing or and everything seems smooth. It is kind of weird.

Ouch .. not good. I would definitely pull the pan off and inspect it for metal particles and check the connecting rods for play. Sounds like your rod bearings may be going bad

Check out this video to confirm the sound:

You Tube

You Tube

Heres a video of a really bad one.

You Tube

You Tube

and this one the motor is pulled apart and he is moving a connecting rod:

You Tube

You Tube

[Zembonez]

A rhythmic knocking sound that speeds up and slows down with engine RPM could well be a connecting rod or possibly a main bearing.

[V65rider]

Well Damn if that doesn'tsound like my car.
Looks like it is going to the junk yard. I don't have the money to replace the engine.
It is a shame cause the body and interior are in great shape.
Hard to believe that the 98 Sebring lasted longer than the toyota!

[Mister_Perkins]

main / rod bearings are totally repairable dude, its not a total loss yet!

[V65rider]

Is it possible to replace them without removing the engine?

[Chris Crash]

YES! Easyyyy. ...kinda

[Mister_Perkins]

Originally Posted by V65rider

Is it possible to replace them without removing the engine?

Yes, well .. it depends really. I would contact a local machine shop and get a strip of plastigage first (Runs about $5.00 USD). Remove the oil pan and remove one cap at a time. Lay the plastigage across the cap you remove, and torque it down to spec and then remove it again. Place the strip the plastigage is housed in (Chart) next to the plastigage smashed down from you torquing it and measure how much gap there is. It will take a while, but do it.. This is where you will figure if your going to have to remove the motor or not. Write down every single reading and either post them back on here, or contact your machine shop and give them your readings. Typically with normal wear and tear you can get OEM Bearings and they will take up the extra space that was creating the knocking noise.

This is where the stipulation comes in...

If you end up having too much gap, you will have to get the crankshaft re-surfaced at a machine shop to accept Oversize bearings.. OR just order a new crank. And if this is the case, you will have to remove the motor to get the crankshaft out.

Dont give up just yet, theres lots of people on this forum that will help you out!


heres a picture of what im talking about. You can see a faint Whitish colored smudge on the thing below the Green / white strip. That green/white paper is what holds the plastigage, and is your reference chart. The metal thing underneath is a Main Bearing cap and the whitish smudge is the plastigage strip that was torqued down and smashed:

[V65rider]

I have a couple of days off next week so I will do it then. Plus it will give me a few days to find the plastigage.
Thanks for all of your help!!
Thanks for the pic that really helps!
I have taken bikes engines apart a few times so I am familier with how things go. I just had not used the plastigage before.