A couple of days ago I posted the problem of a intermitent metalic chirp on my 2007 V6 when idling/running. Just wanted to share with you my experience in fixing it since it might help someone down the road. Well, becoming very concerned about maybe something major going wrong made me go to the dealer. The service writer actually heard the noise at check in when he turned on the A/C when the car was idling. Seems that using the AC made the noise happen- most like since now there was an additional load on the belt. He suspected a serpentine belt issue. So it was turned over to the tech. I managed to introduce myself to the tech and filled him in on the situation. Lucky for me he turned out to be very experienced and competent. Initially he tried to apply silicone and other liquids to the belt, thinking that the belt was slipping or that the pulleys were dirty/coated. This did not make the chirp go away. A new belt was going in. Since there is no room to work he had to go in from the side after removing the right wheel and fender cover in order to have access to the pulley and belt. A new one was installed in 30 minutes. He also checked all the pulleys and found smooth spinning/operating and declared that all should be fine now. This was a $140 repair job but worth every penny if all will stay quiet. We are keeping our fingers crossed.BTW milage is 95K and I was told that serpentine belts on this model last from 80-100K. Also inquired what else will need to be replaced at 100K. Radiator hoses from Toyota for some reason last a long time but spark plugs are due next at 120K. Well how this all ended was actually a relief- we hope all will stay quiet. There you have it. Take care.
Chirping metalic sound diagnosed and cured- we hope permanently!!
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Good news, and great write up. I had a customer like you also this week. They came in with their 08 HL V6 with 75K on it.
Only at idle would you hear the noise. Unfortunately for this customer it was worse than the belt. The water pump was growling and upon inspection the same way as your tech, it was also leaking.
We charged this person 5.3 labor hours for a new pump and belt incl diagnosis and believe me when i tell you this, it was worth every penny.
The 3.5L water pump in the Cam, HL, Rav, Avy, and Sienna....is a bitch!!
So consider yourself lucky you got off cheap.
Only at idle would you hear the noise. Unfortunately for this customer it was worse than the belt. The water pump was growling and upon inspection the same way as your tech, it was also leaking.
We charged this person 5.3 labor hours for a new pump and belt incl diagnosis and believe me when i tell you this, it was worth every penny.
The 3.5L water pump in the Cam, HL, Rav, Avy, and Sienna....is a bitch!!
So consider yourself lucky you got off cheap.
V6 LVR: Thanks for the post. I am having the same issue you mentioned. I wanted to have it checked out by a mechanic, but didn't really know how to explain it until you mentioned "chirping".
So you only had to replace the serpentine belt so far for $140? Has the chirping gone away completely?
So you only had to replace the serpentine belt so far for $140? Has the chirping gone away completely?
Unfortunately the chirping came back after about 4 days after the installation of a new serpentine belt. Hoping it was a case of still breaking in we kept our fingets crossed. Upon further, careful listening a few days later, the sound became rather loud when more of a load was put on the belt- like putting the running engine in drive and/or turning on the AC. Right after the compressor kicks in, the the chirp got loud. So-it was back to the dealer. There the tech found that the idler pulley was wobbly when spinning, he found that this was the culprit. Part has to be shipped in, cost will be $550 since its 3 hrs labor. What a mess. Meanwhile we have a loaner and hope to pick it up today. Hoping this will be it!!! Its crucial that the techs check out everything since they missed the wobble the first time.
You might want to tell them another master tech found this:
I found on one like yours to be the alt pulley. This pulley has a clutch. There is a plastic cap over it. Under it I found a lot of rust from trapped moisture.
With customer being on a budget, I told them I'd try a simple fix. I blew it all out with compressed air, then sprayed some BG In Force lubricant with graphite and let it penetrate.
It took a bit, but it slowly diminished. Completely went away and haven't seen them since.
Like yours, before I started, the more load put on the Alt, the more chirp I heard.
I saw the wobbly idler pulley also and suspected that first, but seems designed that way.
This is a tough one to diagnose, no doubt.
I found on one like yours to be the alt pulley. This pulley has a clutch. There is a plastic cap over it. Under it I found a lot of rust from trapped moisture.
With customer being on a budget, I told them I'd try a simple fix. I blew it all out with compressed air, then sprayed some BG In Force lubricant with graphite and let it penetrate.
It took a bit, but it slowly diminished. Completely went away and haven't seen them since.
Like yours, before I started, the more load put on the Alt, the more chirp I heard.
I saw the wobbly idler pulley also and suspected that first, but seems designed that way.
This is a tough one to diagnose, no doubt.
Replacing belt tensioner assembly cures loud chirp???????
Just picked up my car from the dealer. Another tech found that the chirp was not caused by a worn out serpentine belt but by the wobbly belt tensioner assembly unit. When I questioned the tech when he was done, he informed me that the spring inside the assembly unit was not keeping enough tension on the belt. Worn out. He did not see any other irregularities that required corrections and did not know what the life expectancy is of these tensioner assemblies.
I then proceeded to inform the service manager that one week earlier the chirp diagnosis was solely because of the belt. So I was charged for a new belt plus labor and it seems that actually a defective tensioner was the culprit all along. My repair bill was $140 the first time and $515 the second time. I pleaded that maybe they could give me a break because of having to come back a week later to fix the same problem. The manager somewhat reluctantly agreed to take off the labor charge of the first job. This was sure was appreciated but total cost was still $570 .Ouch!!! I sure hope that all will be good from now on. My 2007 V6 with 95K still is in great shape and I plan to hang on to it. But these large repair bills on older cars sure make one consider to maybe get new wheels. Hope that sharing this will help others down the road since all this seems to be mysterious, a rare occurance and expensive to fix. Take care.
Just picked up my car from the dealer. Another tech found that the chirp was not caused by a worn out serpentine belt but by the wobbly belt tensioner assembly unit. When I questioned the tech when he was done, he informed me that the spring inside the assembly unit was not keeping enough tension on the belt. Worn out. He did not see any other irregularities that required corrections and did not know what the life expectancy is of these tensioner assemblies.
I then proceeded to inform the service manager that one week earlier the chirp diagnosis was solely because of the belt. So I was charged for a new belt plus labor and it seems that actually a defective tensioner was the culprit all along. My repair bill was $140 the first time and $515 the second time. I pleaded that maybe they could give me a break because of having to come back a week later to fix the same problem. The manager somewhat reluctantly agreed to take off the labor charge of the first job. This was sure was appreciated but total cost was still $570 .Ouch!!! I sure hope that all will be good from now on. My 2007 V6 with 95K still is in great shape and I plan to hang on to it. But these large repair bills on older cars sure make one consider to maybe get new wheels. Hope that sharing this will help others down the road since all this seems to be mysterious, a rare occurance and expensive to fix. Take care.
Turn on;
AC
Blower on high
Rear window defogger
Headlights on high beam
Foot on brake
and let her idle in gear, that should be the full load.
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