2008 Camry SE knock/tick in cylinder head

[mikedavis05]

I have a 2008 camry se with 64k miles. A week ago i notice a sharp tick/ light knock in what sounded like the cylinder head. Checked the oil level. Dip stick was dry, little over a quart low. Few days passed still same noise. Took it to toyota since i have a 7 year, 100k mile warranty on it. They looked at it and said they think it was the cam gear. They changed the cam gear and it did not fix the problem. They told me i would need to authorize a $1200 tear down of the motor so they can inspect it and find out what is wrong. Then an adjuster from the warranty company would have to comfirm that it was a part failure and is coverened under warranty. Long story short, if it was covered i pay $50 deductable, if not i pay tear down, parts and rebuild, $3k-$5k. I put a metal poll to the motor and my ear and can only really head the tick/knock on the upper front part of the cylinder head on the drive belt side. This leads me to believe it is something in the cylinder head and not the bottom end which toyota now thinks it is. Any ideas?

[mikedavis05]

In addition, the noise increases in frequence as RPM's increase. I tend to notice the noise most as i am accelerating. Once the RPM's level out, the noise is faint. It when I hit the gas again the noise is louder. It does the the same in neutral when there is no load on the motor. Also, it can be heard on decel.

[Dave-o]

if it is a cam problem, it IS a problem on top of the engine cause it's dual "overhead" cam

$50 is weellllll worth the trouble the techs will go through to diagnose it, more than likely it'll be warranteed

fixing the cam gear won't do crap cause it might be a ticking noise from your camshaft,

also, did you ever fill the oil back up to the appropriate level? is your car an i4 or v6?

[mikedavis05]

Yea, I understand that it is DOHC. While $50 is well worth what the tech would have to go through, the problem is that as soon as they start tearing the motor apart, I am gamling that the warranty company will say they will pay for it. If not, that $50 deductable just turned into a few thousand dollar repair.

Yes I did fill it up with oil and thats how i found out it was only a quart and a half or so low. My car is an i4.

Thanks for the reply.

[mikedavis05]

Well, on the way to work today. Noise got louder and louder and then engine quit. Would not restart. Had to have it towed.

[mikedavis05]

After towing it to a different toyota dealership today, they found that the original tech had not tightened the cam bolt down and it came loose and jumped the timing chain and all the intake valves hit the pistons. The first toyota dealership is now paying for a new motor and a rental car.

[Warminwisco]

Win Win Thats a good story

rebuild/whole new motor?