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[seapotato]

I've had some weird noises on my little diesel over the years. More than a few had a tinny rattle sound to them. Just a few ideas to throw out there: Make sure to check your crank pulley, as they can start coming apart at the rubber (mine did). Another is, sometimes people don't torque the crank pulley bolt enough, which can allow the crank pulley to damage the key way over time leading to weird noises (I haven't had this issue, but have seen it plague more than a few). Of course there are tensioner and accessory bearings which can make misleading sounds sometimes. I've even had the v-belts themselves make some very strange noises at a certain age even with proper tension. You've probably checked all that...but just some suggestions.

Your compression numbers sound pretty good. As you know, a big indication of diesel compression is how well cold starts go. Easy starts indicate things are probably pretty good. And of course oil usage and blow by. Have you tried that oil cap 'tea pot' test?

Does the 12HT feed the crank case ventilation into the intake (pre-turbo)? That can sometimes cause lower compression numbers on the middle cylinders that take the bulk of that oil mist coming out of the cross-over pipe to intake manifold. Not so much from damage, but I think crud builds up on the back of the valves/seats and they don't seal as well over time.

On the topic of crank case ventilation, is it still hooked up pre turbo (assuming 12ht came with this)? That could be the source of the oil in your turbo (if its on the compressor side). It really does make a big mess. And gets worse if you have above average blow-by.

Pulling your motor apart is probably a good idea in any case. Especially as you've been able to collect the parts already. My bet is your pistons will be a little worn, but not too bad yet. I bet the cylinder bores will be fine to take your new pistons.

Main trick will be getting the new rings to seat right. All in a proper hone and break-in procedure I guess. I've seen so many DIY rebuilds where this seems to fail for people. Maybe they try their own hone job? I think I'd use a machine shop if I were to do it....

Anyhow, will be interesting to see how this goes. Once you get those new slugs in there you can confidently tune up for a bit more power too. Especially if you pop a new more efficient turbo on.

I think Jonathon was toying with doing some of this same work on his 12ht at some point also.

Yeah it's been pretty annoying. I've chased down dozens of rattles thinking I'd found it, then on the way to work it's there again.
It's hard to get the noise to happen anywhere except the highway. So a quick burn down the back road doesn't even do it. Needs to be third gear or higher to get the right amount of load.

Even wondered if it was the waste gate, but it's really not tied to boost levels, near as I can tell. Happens anywhere from 2-14 psi, once I'm up to close to 2k rpm.

Only hearing it after the LHD swap had me thinking rattle, but could be just because there's so much less soundproofing on the older firewall.


From what I've read, all 12ht's got the same pistons, and even good ones have ring lands that are considerably wider than they started out...but I'll have to see when I get there. Mines in the 88-89 range somewhere, but they only made them for a few years.

I thought about doing a leak down to see if it was valves but if I'm taking it off anyway, meh. I'm sure they'll be gummy and nasty. Breather is vented to the intake, so yeah that's probably where most of the oily mess comes from.

I bought a catch can a year or two ago, just haven't gotten around to installing it.

My oil pan needs to come off for a good clean up and paint , so there's a few reasons I'll be in there.

I watched the old mechanic at the boat yard hone about a thousand little sailboat diesels, so I planned to give it a go myself, but again, have to see how it looks.

If it's really glazed or something I could see taking it to an expert, although I'm not really aiming for a full rebuild. That level of expense isn't really worth it to me.

More minimum amount of work to put new pistons in (if needed) and make sure something bad isn't about to happen.

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Yeah it's been pretty annoying. I've chased down dozens of rattles thinking I'd found it, then on the way to work it's there again.
It's hard to get the noise to happen anywhere except the highway. So a quick burn down the back road doesn't even do it. Needs to be third gear or higher to get the right amount of load.

Even wondered if it was the waste gate, but it's really not tied to boost levels, near as I can tell. Happens anywhere from 2-14 psi, once I'm up to close to 2k rpm.

Only hearing it after the LHD swap had me thinking rattle, but could be just because there's so much less soundproofing on the older firewall.


From what I've read, all 12ht's got the same pistons, and even good ones have ring lands that are considerably wider than they started out...but I'll have to see when I get there. Mines in the 88-89 range somewhere, but they only made them for a few years.

I thought about doing a leak down to see if it was valves but if I'm taking it off anyway, meh. I'm sure they'll be gummy and nasty. Breather is vented to the intake, so yeah that's probably where most of the oily mess comes from.

I bought a catch can a year or two ago, just haven't gotten around to installing it.

My oil pan needs to come off for a good clean up and paint , so there's a few reasons I'll be in there.

I watched the old mechanic at the boat yard hone about a thousand little sailboat diesels, so I planned to give it a go myself, but again, have to see how it looks.

If it's really glazed or something I could see taking it to an expert, although I'm not really aiming for a full rebuild. That level of expense isn't really worth it to me.

More minimum amount of work to put new pistons in (if needed) and make sure something bad isn't about to happen.

How are your engine mounts? Maybe when the engine torques under high load something starts to interfere?

I ended up running a hose from my crank ventilation into the frame. My new short block has so little blow-by this seems to work well without much mess.

Having experience with honing should give you some good confidence in doing it yourself. Post some details/pics when you get to that. I'm curious.

The 2LTE that came with my truck had compression blow-by issues from the get-go. When head had cracked back in Japan, the owner had let straight water sit in the cylinders for some period of time long enough to rust them up and cause pitting. Three years ago I bought a good condition short block from Keith (Koopz), put new bearings etc. in. Basically rebuilt it minus the pistons/rings/bores as they were in such good shape. Had already rebuild the head a couple years earlier, so it was good to go. Anyhow, felt good to do, and gives me a *little* more confidence in the motor. It's been running great since. So I can appreciate what you're working towards. For your amusement, here are some pictures I took of the job (never could figure out why they are in reverse order): 2LTE semi-rebuild - https://forum.ih8mud.com/media/albums/2lte-semi-rebuild.7386/

 

[seapotato]

Engine mounts are pretty new. Believe me I was convinced for a long time it was something I took apart during the LHD swap making the noise.
I took off all the heat shields thinking it was that...

Hell, still might be something completely unrelated to the engine.

But I do want to see if I can get It running a little bit cleaner.

Long term, I do think about putting this lump into the green truck and downsize to one cruiser, (getting rid of all that 60 series crap in my shed in the process)
On the other hand, I'm hoping things get back to normal ish and we can do some road trips in the wagon. That's really what they're for and it's been ages since we've really been able to.


I'm getting jab #2 in an hour or so, depending how awesome I feel after that I'll get into it.

Staying clean till the shot

 

[seapotato]

Well shot #2 is in. Now I sit in a chair for 15 minutes in case I explode.

(Any excuse to use that gif haha)

 

[bikersmurf]

I hope it's fun. Haha...none of this is exactly my area of expertise.
Debatable i even have one.

I wish I could just KNOW what the rattle is so I knew what I need to fix.

But, as the man said, " wish in one hand, s*** in the other, see which one fills up first"

They’ll be sitting on the shelf for a few years. They’d be easy(ish) on a truck… but on a van it’s usually recommended to remove the body… mine would be a nightmare to pull the cab and box. Instead it’ll mean pulling the front seats, dog house, valve covers, 50 lbs of stuff off the top, remove/move an engine mount, etc.

I’d rather go have stitches in my eyelid again… without any freezing that is (again). After the third stitch I asked them to just put the final one in without. Stabbing needles into the eye lid was just as bad as the stitches.

 

[bcsteel]

Does your engine use oil in between changes? What oil and change intervals are you using/doing? And have you looked at you turbo at all?

I just checked my oil and it’s down a quart. Is unusual cause I just did 300km trip and checked it. Not down. 2 weeks later. Down. Am still on the 5w40 from winter so maybe it’s too thin. Engine no smoke, no noises etc.

Anyway, carry on. Always enjoy your threads

 

[bikersmurf]

Does your engine use oil in between changes? What oil and change intervals are you using/doing? And have you looked at you turbo at all?

I just checked my oil and it’s down a quart. Is unusual cause I just did 300km trip and checked it. Not down. 2 weeks later. Down. Am still on the 5w40 from winter so maybe it’s too thin. Engine no smoke, no noises etc.

Anyway, carry on. Always enjoy your threads

You’re likely asking Ryan, but I’ll answer anyway.
Uses no oil.
5000 miles / 8000 km
I’ve peeked in the turbo… looks clean, spins free.

15w40 Shell Rotella
385,000 km / 17,800 hours.

Will start at -5* without glow plugs… but smoky and unhappy about it. Leads me to believe the compression is still decent.

 

[seapotato]

Does your engine use oil in between changes? What oil and change intervals are you using/doing? And have you looked at you turbo at all?

I just checked my oil and it’s down a quart. Is unusual cause I just did 300km trip and checked it. Not down. 2 weeks later. Down. Am still on the 5w40 from winter so maybe it’s too thin. Engine no smoke, no noises etc.

Anyway, carry on. Always enjoy your threads

Hardly uses any, I try to keep to the 5k thing but I know I've gapped and been late a few times and been too long in between. I drive like a grandmother anyways, my commute is 45 minutes at 85kmh so not exactly hotrodding.

I use the Rotella 15w40 year round, doesn't get that cold here. Oil stays clean for about 3-4k then starts darkening.

My turbo is oily as hell, but I don't feel much free play, so that could be the breather pipe adding it's balmy tropical fresh air stank to the mix.

If all this is successful, I'm thinking about a new turbo. This one is tempting. Supposedly the guy used to run another turbo brand kingara or something? MAMBA 12-11 GTX Turbocharger For TOYOTA LandCruiser 12HT 3" TD05H-20G w/ 7cm Hsg | eBay - https://www.ebay.ca/i/173382170684?ul_ref=https%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F0%252Fe11011.m43.l3160%252F7%253Feuid%253Db7d9cd8871a146e89e844e62f08f7e66%2526bu%253D44736950086%2526segname%253D11011%2526crd%253D20210527052818%2526osub%253D-1%257E1%2526ch%253Dosgood%2526loc%253Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.ebay.ca%25252Fulk%25252Fi%25252F173382170684%2526sojTags%253Dbu%253Dbu%252Cch%253Dch%252Csegname%253Dsegname%252Ccrd%253Dcrd%252Curl%253Dloc%252Cosub%253Dosub%2526srcrot%253De11011.m43.l3160%2526rvr_id%253D0%2526rvr_ts%253De9da4dd71790aaecaef2e1cfffdd3721&ul_noapp=true

I'll look into it some more once I'm back on the road (touch wood, bang skull etc)
But it sounds like they're decent. Price is certainly right.

 

[seapotato]

You’re likely asking Ryan, but I’ll answer anyway.
Uses no oil.
5000 miles / 8000 km
I’ve peeked in the turbo… looks clean, spins free.

15w40 Shell Rotella
385,000 km / 17,800 hours.

Will start at -5* without glow plugs… but smoky and unhappy about it. Leads me to believe the compression is still decent.

Ha, ever heard a 12ht start? It's actually scary. Half a Rev of the starter and bang. It's running. Pretty much regardless of temps

In cold weather I'd prefer a few cranks to get oil moving before it's running...

If all goes well I think I'm going to get one of those diesel preheaters.

As much as I loathe espar and webasto, a block heater would be pretty damn nice.





As for engine work today...Nada. Shot #2 resulted in some serious napping. Sat on couch and woke up several hours later.

 

[bikersmurf]

Hardly uses any, I try to keep to the 5k thing but I know I've gapped and been late a few times and been too long in between. I drive like a grandmother anyways, my commute is 45 minutes at 85kmh so not exactly hotrodding.

I use the Rotella 15w40 year round, doesn't get that cold here. Oil stays clean for about 3-4k then starts darkening.

My turbo is oily as hell, but I don't feel much free play, so that could be the breather pipe adding it's balmy tropical fresh air stank to the mix.

If all this is successful, I'm thinking about a new turbo. This one is tempting. Supposedly the guy used to run another turbo brand kingara or something? MAMBA 12-11 GTX Turbocharger For TOYOTA LandCruiser 12HT 3" TD05H-20G w/ 7cm Hsg | eBay - https://www.ebay.ca/i/173382170684?ul_ref=https%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F0%252Fe11011.m43.l3160%252F7%253Feuid%253Db7d9cd8871a146e89e844e62f08f7e66%2526bu%253D44736950086%2526segname%253D11011%2526crd%253D20210527052818%2526osub%253D-1%257E1%2526ch%253Dosgood%2526loc%253Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.ebay.ca%25252Fulk%25252Fi%25252F173382170684%2526sojTags%253Dbu%253Dbu%252Cch%253Dch%252Csegname%253Dsegname%252Ccrd%253Dcrd%252Curl%253Dloc%252Cosub%253Dosub%2526srcrot%253De11011.m43.l3160%2526rvr_id%253D0%2526rvr_ts%253De9da4dd71790aaecaef2e1cfffdd3721&ul_noapp=true

I'll look into it some more once I'm back on the road (touch wood, bang skull etc)
But it sounds like they're decent. Price is certainly right.

Cool… but makes me feel cheap/broke. My rigs each cost me only slightly more than that.

 

[bcsteel]

Thanks guys, I’m going to switch oil. Meant to…June kinda snuck up on me. I’ll try 15/40 or 10/30 and see what happens. Just checked blow by. Nothing. Will look at turbo one night this week as well.

Have you looked at those Wink turbos? About 1500 shipped..

 

[bcsteel]

And same for me. Will go with an espar/webasto coolant heater. Once I get this sorted out. Even if it needs a rebuild it’s still worth it in my opinion.

 

[seapotato]

Thanks guys, I’m going to switch oil. Meant to…June kinda snuck up on me. I’ll try 15/40 or 10/30 and see what happens. Just checked blow by. Nothing. Will look at turbo one night this week as well.

Have you looked at those Wink turbos? About 1500 shipped..

Haven't really...are those the European ones?

Carts and horses tho...I got some stuff to do first

 

[bikersmurf]

My block heater works great. Starts easily below freezing with no smoke… and warms up in almost no time. Works great till you find out the plug you’d plugged into shut off at midnight… 9 hours later -5* block.

 

[bcsteel]

Turbochargers – Wink4x4

www.wink4x4.com

ya these guys. I emailed him. Sounds like it’s a direct bolt on. A bit more cash

 

[seapotato]

My block heater works great. Starts easily below freezing with no smoke… and warms up in almost no time. Works great till you find out the plug you’d plugged into shut off at midnight… 9 hours later -5* block.

Yeah I have a few plugins, trouble is, at work I can't plug in. Going out to a warm truck at 7am would be nice.

 

[stevebradford]

Yeah it's been pretty annoying. I've chased down dozens of rattles thinking I'd found it, then on the way to work it's there again.
It's hard to get the noise to happen anywhere except the highway. So a quick burn down the back road doesn't even do it. Needs to be third gear or higher up to close to 2k rpm to get the right amount of load.

 

[seapotato]

Reminds me of a nuns taking a shortcut on bikes joke...

"I've never come this way before"
"It's the cobblestones"

 

[seapotato]

So I'm taking this as a good sign my engine is closer to 235k than 500k.

I gather this is where they wear to the point of making adjustment difficult on higher mileage engines.

I don't know if this is normal or not, but when pulling out the pushrods, the first two were kinda tight in the lifters. Needed a good tug, whereas the rest came out easy.


Kinda taking my time on this and cleaning stuff as it comes off. Partly because I feel like I lost a game of punchbug with Mr Tyson on the left side.

But also because, I'm not sure what a 12ht head weighs, but I'm guessing I'm going to want some mechanical assistance for that

 

[stevebradford]

Looks nice and fresh to me. Probably just a bit of oil suction on those two push rods.