Strange resonant rattle

I've begun noticing this and thought it was a clutch issue as it seemed to go away when I stuck it in neutral and lifted off the clutch, but now I realise it's just a coincidence as the rattle goes after a few seconds anyway.

I don't think it's anything serious at this stage, it's not bearings as they sound all the time and are much more metallic. I don't think it's oil starvation in the cams either as it'd do it all the time. I think something is just a bit loose and is rattling through resonance at a very narrow rpm window.

Video has idling and a sustained higher rpm section just so you know it only happens under the one set of circumstances. Ignore the ticking noise from my buckets © Chris Wilson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnYLduvUI3o

Does it do it from cold ?

I'm not aware of it, no. I've been moving the car in and out of the garage a fair bit and not noticed anything. Took it for a drive today and it was doing it while moving back into the garage, so probably not from cold.

Take off the auxillary belt and run it for a few seconds without to see if the noise is still there. This would eliminate the PS pump amonst other things. I have had a power steering pump exhibit a similar noise to this although it had more of a grating noise. It would eliminate the water pump, alternator and tension pulley too all in one go.

Bit of a long shot but check its not coming from the reed valve in the sequential system, (the box like bit stuck to the top rear of the turbo pipework), had some very strange noises coming from mine at one time.

Although having said that it sound to me like the fan catching on something.

I'd definitely do as Shane suggests and pop the aux belt off to eliminate the wp, ps, vf and idler

pulleys.

I'd take the cam pulley/sparkplug cover off too to check its nothing

silly going on with belt or even a pulley bolt coming undone, or belt

tension

Check the viscous fan coupling

Bit of a long shot but check its not coming from the reed valve in the sequential system, (the box like bit stuck to the top rear of the turbo pipework), had some very strange noises coming from mine at one time.

Although having said that it sound to me like the fan catching on something.

The sequential system was removed in 2004, probably not apparent from the angle of the shot though

The noise sounds like it's coming from the engine block itself, although these things can be a nightmare to locate. I think I'll just have to do a stripdown and check, sigh. I'll start with the aux belts and then check the cam covers, bearing caps etc. for tightness

Thanks for your help so far

I'm thinking viscous fan clutch.

Very hard to dis=diagnose noises from videos, but my best guesses are:

1 Auxilllary belt tensioner bearing (remove belt)

2 Cam belt idler or tensioner bearing

3 Just MAYBE the viscous fan (grab it when it's idling (use a rag if you are a wuss....) and rev and see if it stops or changes with the fan blades held stationary.

All this sounds very promising, I shall check in a bit

Also take the top cover off and have a feel of the cam belt, and a look at it. Is it slack? Is it damaged or frayed? Any black dust or bits of "stuff" around? Turn the engine over and look at all of the belt.

I thought I'd pull the top cover off first as that's easiest and check the cambelt. No dust. Is it slack?

Er.

So there was this much deflection in the cambelt. I pretty much could have slipped it off the gears using my fingers.

A look underneath at the tensioner showed a suspicious glob of oily fluid on the bottom of it and no fluid on anything else surrounding it.

Upon removal, I think there is a technical term for this beginning with "F" and sounds like "clucked".

It's a bit hard to see due to my phone not having a macro mode so it's blurred, but the rubber cover is split and worn and whatever was inside the tensioner pretty much isn't any more Also, the cambelt deflection remained the same with the tensioner removed

I don't know if it'll fix the noise yet but I'm blummin glad I decided to investigate sooner rather than later. How I haven't jumped a tooth on the cambelt I do not know

Next question is, where do I get a new one from. Whifbitz have it for £100

Edit:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JDM-NTN-OEM-JAPANESE-TIMING-BELT-HYDRAULIC-TENSIONER-TOYOTA-2JZ-13540-46030-/261007862588

£33 delivered from California for exactly the same part

Good news :thumbs

Give Steve a try at Inchcape or your local dealer

Blimey you were lucky there!

Local dealer was £80. I'll try Inchcape as I'm now torn between a pattern part and an OEM one. I can't see why the pattern part would be 'bad' and I'd leap on it if it was the Mondeo but hmmm. Thoughts?

You know my thoughts Ian, o/e for me

Turns out the local dealer was £80 plus vat, the cheeky weasel. Steve Manley did it for £85 delivered. I had a word with myself for even considering a pattern part here and ordered it from Steve

Here's hoping it clears up that noise. I guess it was stuff in the cam train rattling around with no tension. Scary.

Good to see you came to your senses Ian, it always concerns me when the advert says the pattern

part is an upgrade on the o/e part.

Fingers crossed this is the cause of the strange noise, to the club diagnostics division

Err, I would have the damper off and the covers off, it may well be a broken tensioner arm, or a knackered tensioner bearing. Measure how far out the "pin" is on your tensioner from the front edge of the "barell". Then put it in a vice and VERY VERY SLOWLY compress the pin back in until the holes in the barell and the hole in the pin are aligned and level. Then release the vice (quickly if you wish. The pin should have taken some force to retract, and should extend back to where it is now. I have only known one fail altogether, and that was for a good reason. I have some to chack lengths against here.

Well the fact the rubber/plasticy bit at the end of the barrel where the pin sticks out of is split and has dumped the fluid out of it says to me it's knackered. Did you see the piccy I posted on the previous page Chris? Seems odd to me you think the tensioner would be okay with that level of wear and tear, very unlike you

I don't fancy having to tear down the whole front of the engine if I don't have to, I'll refit the new tensioner next week and see if it tightens the belt properly and removes the noise. The belt was slack and completely untensioned, the chances of two things going wrong independently at the same time are pretty slim, and if the belt gets tensioned properly then it can't have been the arm causing the problem.

If not, I'll take the front covers off anyway. It won't be going anywhere until fixed so it won't hurt

For sure renew the tensioner, but try it in a vice first so you know if anything else is likely to be the REAL cause...

Fair enough I just did. I can push the pin back in with one thumb I'm thinking that shouldn't be the case!

No, it's knackered alright. If you were really keen to save money it would be a dead easy job to make a manual tensioner from a bolt and a threaded plate. Very rare for them to fail totally though.

My metalworking skills aren't all that Besides, new tensioner is already ordered and should be with me Monday