2005 Solara 3.3 engine knocks

Hi,
Have a 2005 solara with the 3.3 V6. What happens is the engine will knock
around 2000 rpm at a slight load going up a slight incline. If you give it
more throttle, it will stop. It doesn't do it all the time, so the dealer
has not been able to reproduce it. I am using premium in it now and it still
does it. I've tried different brands of gas and it doesn't seem to make a
difference. It seems to be more prevalent when you let it sit at idle for 5
minutes after it's been driven and then start back up. It's an awful
sounding noise, not your normal pinging...it's a definite knock. Has anyone
run across this behaviour on the 3.3 liter? I am going to take it to the
dealer again, but wanted to check to see what others thought.
Thanks

"Brian" <bbooth@nospam.nc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:vOIRf.39046$915.25399@southeast.rr.com...[color=blue]
> Hi,
> Have a 2005 solara with the 3.3 V6. What happens is the engine will
> knock around 2000 rpm at a slight load going up a slight incline. If you
> give it more throttle, it will stop. It doesn't do it all the time, so the
> dealer has not been able to reproduce it. I am using premium in it now and
> it still does it. I've tried different brands of gas and it doesn't seem
> to make a difference. It seems to be more prevalent when you let it sit at
> idle for 5 minutes after it's been driven and then start back up. It's an
> awful sounding noise, not your normal pinging...it's a definite knock. Has
> anyone run across this behaviour on the 3.3 liter? I am going to take it
> to the dealer again, but wanted to check to see what others thought.
> Thanks[/color]

A few seconds of pinging under load is OK if it goes away. That is the
electronic ignition timing doing its job. It should not ping or knock when
starting up, especially if the engine is hot.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

There have been a lot of 'knocking' or 'pinging' complaints on the new
models with the 3MZ that are related to fuel injectors. There have been a
couple of TSBs issued for different models involving replacing the fuel
pressure tube and adding a secons pulsation dampener to quiet the
injectors. It's not a performance issue, just a comfort issue. I've had
more than a few vehicles (models with no fixes) inspected by the field
engineers on site and been told that the operation is normal.

"qslim" <Suckers@suckersdotcom> wrote in message
news:4840748c5e62cfc364c6efb7bbe278cc@localhost.talkaboutautos.com...[color=blue]
> There have been a lot of 'knocking' or 'pinging' complaints on the new
> models with the 3MZ that are related to fuel injectors. There have been a
> couple of TSBs issued for different models involving replacing the fuel
> pressure tube and adding a secons pulsation dampener to quiet the
> injectors. It's not a performance issue, just a comfort issue. I've had
> more than a few vehicles (models with no fixes) inspected by the field
> engineers on site and been told that the operation is normal.
>[/color]

Sounds like the complaints I used to hear about 22R E engines in the early
1980's. There was a fuel return line that used to pulse and sound like a
rod knock. You couldn't hear it under the hood, just sitting in the
driver's seat.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)