I just bought a '95 4runner 3.0 V6 and it had a few odd engine noises that my mechanic thought were abnormal. As it turned out, the timing belt tensioner pulley was bad so that was the source of a lot of the engine noise upon revving. However, my main concern is that there is a rattle coming from the engine when I decelerate or hold a steady RPM at around 4000 RPM or so. It's a course sound and, I hate to say it, sounds a little bit like one of the piston rod bearings is out. It may be coming from the exhaust, but I can't seem to localize it. The engine has 152K on it, but was rebuilt about 50k miles ago...
Is there anything that you guys have had experience with that might help me pinpoint the source of the noise? I mean, is there any particular problem that these engines are notorious for like this?
Thanks in advance for any advice or tips - I'm a Newbie when it comes to 4runners and engine noises.
Hey Joe, I'm certainly no expert on toyota's in general. but I am becoming familiar with the 3vz-fe V-6 as I've had some issues with my 93 Camry Wagon. I also just bought a 1990 4-Runner with the same V-6....3.0ltr.
My son was driving my Camry and not paying attention to the gauges, overheated it and blew the head gaskets. My dad and I replaced the head gaskets, put er back together and it ran like a champ....for 500 miles. It developed a knock out of nowhere that turned out to be a spun bearing. We were able to tell which cylinder the knock was coming from quite easily and when I pulled the oil pan, it was easily diagnosed.
I hope that's not your prob, but if it gets worse and you seem to be losing power....pull the pan and pull and push on the rod caps to find the culprit.
Best of luck and your in the right place help and troubleshooting....cheers,
I would start by banging on the exhaust pipe and muffler and cat converter to see if anything is loose or coming apart inside of said parts. You also might try a stethascope and put in various areas of the engine to see if you can isolate the noise.
I have noticed over the past few days that the noise doesn't occur until my truck has warmed up a little bit. I start it in the morning and the engine is quiet as can be through the entire RPM range (and I would REALLY like for it to STAY quiet). As soon as I drive it 1-2 blocks, the rattle begins to occur. I really think it's from the exhaust and the warming up and expansion of the metal is what is causing the trouble. Thoughts?
Taking it to the mechanic on Wednesday so he can put it up on a hoist and get a good listen with his stethoscope. I think you're right - something will come to his attention. Until then...
Just got back from the mechanics - he says it is indeed the valve train on the passengers side that is clattering. He pulled off the front engine cover (again) and checked it as thoroughly as he could. So, I now have a date with the Toyota folks to have the valves adjusted.
Hopefully, an adjustment will take care of the noise, the occasional rough idle, and the minor roughness to the engine.
Toyota mechanics got done adjusting the valves today and noticed a "really bad engine knock" (aka the sound I've been hearing). They have surmised that it is a rod bearing or wrist pin gone bad and the engine needs to be replaced.
Where is the best place to get a new engine? I've looked at JDM - any place else? I'm looking for as inexpensive as I can get with the best warranty. I NEED this thing to last.
Or, should I just sell the 4runner while it still runs fine and get a different vehicle? What's my best move here?
the Joe,
You don't need a new engine, you can replace those rod bearings yourself. All you have to do is drop the oil pan and the Rod bearings are right there at your nose. Just find the bad one and put a stock pair back in or you can do them all. Its not that hard of a job, just a little time consuming.
So nobody around here wants to replace the rod bearings - can only get someone to swap out the engine but that's gonna' be too spendy (we're talking $5k all told with clutch/pressure plate, etc. plus labor).
So, looks like I'm gonna' have to sell this one and obtain a replacement.
Any thoughts on where to sell a GREAT running 4runner with a little bit of a rod knock???
I don't think that there is much choice if you want to keep it simple. I would say the easiest would be the 3.0.
With that said there would be a couple things that you should do to it. Do the Toyota fix for the head gaskets which is to mill the heads and block flat and install the new gaskets from Toyota, and put a set of headers on it and get rid of the crossover pipe which causes the gasket blow problem on the number 6 cylinder. If you did these things that engine should out last the car. A new engine might have the Toyota fix done to it anyway and if so cool, but the headers would be a plus for the heat that is generated by the crossover pipe. This would eliminate the crossover pipe.
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