04 rolla timing chain replacement problems HELP HELP HELP

[Trdkamuri510]

so we have had a 14 hour ordeal that is just ridiculous...
to give the basic story 120k we did a timing chain, valve cover gasket, water pump, water pump gasket and coolant flush/refill, spark plugs

pulled everything apart just fine... replaced chain and said parts.. however when we pulled it together, and started it i noticed an increase in noise coming from the timing chain and what i can also describe as the cruise control unit..

i figure its the timing.. so we have to pull it all apart (another 2 hours worth of work) adjust the exhaust cam to the notch on the front, with the dot (hard to do at eye level but it was done and noticed it was off by a tooth possibly.. put it all back together again and the same problem exists again

sounds like valve or timing chain clatter upon acceleration (car under load not just revving)
the rev's seem to bounce a bit which i attribute to a vaccum leak we cant locate etc. etc.

all together this has been a nightmare.. does anyone ahve any suggestions to speed up the process.. unfortuantely u have to pull EVERYTHING apart to do the timing chain adjustments from what i see..

[iCorollaS03]

Did you do timing chain guides, crank seal, tensioner, and oil pump? The timing system is actually really easy to align on this car, I don't see how you could have missed it. There are 3 marks for the crank pulley, the notches read 0 ' 10. Set it on 0 for crank then check to see if you have top dead center for camshafts.

Timing chains are suppose to never break, they may "stretch" over time... but only by a little bit. When I did mine I replaced the timing chain guides, crank seal, tensioner, oil pump, water pump, drive belt, and drive belt tensioner.

Over time, the chain can cut into the guides and cause them to snap. Tensioner is usually shot by 100k miles. Oil pump is very important since the car has a timing chain system... and the whole system bathes in your motor oil. You don't absolutely HAVE TO replace the oil pump, but I didn't wanna open up my motor for like another 150k miles so I did it while I was in there.

[iCorollaS03]

Unlike a Honda motor, TDC on the camshafts is NOT with the "lines" on the cam gear "parallel" with where the valve cover sits.

I have a few pictures of when I did it, but I didn't take that many pictures... PM me if you want some pictures.

[Adama]

How about a copy of the 2004 Corolla FSM. May have something in there to help you see what went wrong.