2L TE ticking (3 Viewers)

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Hi folks,

I am having a similar ticking sound and rattle from the engine after a timing belt change and some other maintenance items. The noise started off very low in volume (i thought it was plastic bag in the wheel well at first) and got louder.

Looking forward to Cascadia and GTSSportCoupe's findings!!



Your video is 'private' so we can't view it. You have to go into the youtube video settings and make it 'public'.

One of the hardest things in doing the timing belt change is torquing the crank pulley bolt properly. Otherwise it can come loose and destroy the crankshaft keyway as it bangs back and forth. Hopefully that is not what your problem is. The way I've dealt with torquing the crank pulley is I made a tool out of a long piece of flat bar steel that bolts to the crank pulley (using threaded holes around inner radius). It has a hole in the middle to put a rachet socket through. This allows me to hold the pulley/crank in one position with the bar, and use the rachet to torque the bolt. This is how the repair manual says to do it - except they say to use a genuine Toyota special service tool (SST).
 
Thanks GTSSportCoupe!

Interesting bit is that all the timing marks still line up. Therefore, play in the crank pulley bolt definitely seems like a plausible cause. Waiting on word back from the shop once the oil pan is removed.

Another try with the video:

 
Thanks GTSSportCoupe!

Interesting bit is that all the timing marks still line up. Therefore, play in the crank pulley bolt definitely seems like a plausible cause. Waiting on word back from the shop once the oil pan is removed.

Another try with the video:



I don't think that's the crank pulley bolt. Looks pretty rough, but always hard to tell from video. Seems like it's running uneven? Was the exhaust smoking during that video? Almost like a loose glow plug or injector is causing loss of compression and gasses are escaping. In any case, you need to nail down where the sound is coming from. I could give you some more accurate ideas then.
 
No smoke is seen during the episode. Sound is coming from Cylinder 2. Fingers/toes crossed for the observations once the oil pan is removed!! Atleast the shorty is in good hands!!
 
No smoke is seen during the episode. Sound is coming from Cylinder 2. Fingers/toes crossed for the observations once the oil pan is removed!! Atleast the shorty is in good hands!!

An easy check is to pull the dip stick and look at it carefully in direct sunlight. Look for tiny sparkly bits. Another easy test that can sometimes tell a story is unscrew the oil filler cap and set it in the filler hole while the motor is running. If it blows right off and lots of smoke is coming out you have blow-by issues. If it just sits there and rattles itself a little bit, then things are probably ok.
 
An easy check is to pull the dip stick and look at it carefully in direct sunlight. Look for tiny sparkly bits. Another easy test that can sometimes tell a story is unscrew the oil filler cap and set it in the filler hole while the motor is running. If it blows right off and lots of smoke is coming out you have blow-by issues. If it just sits there and rattles itself a little bit, then things are probably ok.

Thanks GTSSportCoupe!

71 is back at the shop in good hands for the looksies. Will report the findings.
 
Update to a long dead thread. Apologies for such delay, and thanks for all the troubleshooting help.

I ended up busy with life and put dealing with the Prado on the back burner for a bit. I recently took it to a local shop, they think it’s the water pump failing.

Going to have them do the work, using a timing belt/pump parts kit I picked up prior from eBay. Will post about outcome of course.
 
Your video is 'private' so we can't view it. You have to go into the youtube video settings and make it 'public'.

One of the hardest things in doing the timing belt change is torquing the crank pulley bolt properly. Otherwise it can come loose and destroy the crankshaft keyway as it bangs back and forth. Hopefully that is not what your problem is. The way I've dealt with torquing the crank pulley is I made a tool out of a long piece of flat bar steel that bolts to the crank pulley (using threaded holes around inner radius). It has a hole in the middle to put a rachet socket through. This allows me to hold the pulley/crank in one position with the bar, and use the rachet to torque the bolt. This is how the repair manual says to do it - except they say to use a genuine Toyota special service tool (SST).

It sounds like I might be dealing with just that. I just talked to the shop that’s doing my timing belt/water pump. He says the crank pulley is rocking back and forth. Doesn’t know why yet because he hasn’t gotten things completely apart.

How screwed am I?
 
It sounds like I might be dealing with just that. I just talked to the shop that’s doing my timing belt/water pump. He says the crank pulley is rocking back and forth. Doesn’t know why yet because he hasn’t gotten things completely apart.

How screwed am I?

It could be the crank pulley is coming apart (at the rubber seam), or it was not torqued right and the pulley key way is damaged. If it's gone on too long it'll have damaged the crank shaft as well. If that has happened things will get very expensive (like engine rebuild expensive). If it's just the crank pulley a new one is about $300 or so. Plus labour of course.
 
It could be the crank pulley is coming apart (at the rubber seam), or it was not torqued right and the pulley key way is damaged. If it's gone on too long it'll have damaged the crank shaft as well. If that has happened things will get very expensive (like engine rebuild expensive). If it's just the crank pulley a new one is about $300 or so. Plus labour of course.
Thanks for the info. Hopefully it ends in a best case scenario. I’m optimistic it will. The waiting is the hardest part.
 
Update:

Things are not looking good. I apparently chose the laziest mechanic around. After repeated promises of ‘end of the week’ followed by excuses I took the Prado out of there and brought it somewhere else. They did do 2 hours of work so I had to tow it out of there partially disassembled and got to pay for the privilege.

Round two, different mechanic with better reputation for JDM. They carried on where the others left off (crank pulley bolt). The pulley has a lot of play and it was that causing the noise, although the bolt didn’t appear to have backed off. After getting the pulley off they discovered damage to the crank. They blamed poor workmanship of whoever did the last belt change in Japan. Apparently there’s a piece of the bolt in the crank also. I have not seen any of this in person yet. Only photos.

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Update:

Things are not looking good. I apparently chose the laziest mechanic around. After repeated promises of ‘end of the week’ followed by excuses I took the Prado out of there and brought it somewhere else. They did do 2 hours of work so I had to tow it out of there partially disassembled and got to pay for the privilege.

Round two, different mechanic with better reputation for JDM. They carried on where the others left off (crank pulley bolt). The pulley has a lot of play and it was that causing the noise, although the bolt didn’t appear to have backed off. After getting the pulley off they discovered damage to the crank. They blamed poor workmanship of whoever did the last belt change in Japan. Apparently there’s a piece of the bolt in the crank also. I have not seen any of this in person yet. Only photos.

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I hope there is a good proper way to fix your problem without replacing the crankshaft. If there is no good and proper way to do it, but you want to give one last try, I have seen the following work.

An old friends 327 chevy was pulled apart and we had a heck of a time removing the crankshaft pulley. Broke a harbor freight puller and had to buy another. As it turns out the crank had been previously damaged and the crank pulley would not be tight on the crank. So some shade tree mechanic went around the in inside of the crank pulley putting divits in it with a center punch, and then did the same thing with the crank shaft snout. You had to use a 5lb hammer to beat the pulley on before tightening the bolt down. It was not perfectly flush, and yes there was a minor vibration, but it ran that way for years..........You might try something like that before you buy a new crank. There is however no saving that pulley of yours.

Another option but it will require a skilled craftsman and alot of hand fitting work would be to try to repair the crank snout by spot tacking a little weld on the low spots and tack in the key with a mig or tig and then grinding it back smooth with a dremel.

Using some version/mix of the techniques above you can likely get a new pulley bolted on secure enough to run all your belts without issue...............You will probably have a hard time finding a shop to do something like this. It is not proper, but i've seen it work.
 
I hope there is a good proper way to fix your problem without replacing the crankshaft. If there is no good and proper way to do it, but you want to give one last try, I have seen the following work.

An old friends 327 chevy was pulled apart and we had a heck of a time removing the crankshaft pulley. Broke a harbor freight puller and had to buy another. As it turns out the crank had been previously damaged and the crank pulley would not be tight on the crank. So some shade tree mechanic went around the in inside of the crank pulley putting divits in it with a center punch, and then did the same thing with the crank shaft snout. You had to use a 5lb hammer to beat the pulley on before tightening the bolt down. It was not perfectly flush, and yes there was a minor vibration, but it ran that way for years..........You might try something like that before you buy a new crank. There is however no saving that pulley of yours.

Another option but it will require a skilled craftsman and alot of hand fitting work would be to try to repair the crank snout by spot tacking a little weld on the low spots and tack in the key with a mig or tig and then grinding it back smooth with a dremel.

Using some version/mix of the techniques above you can likely get a new pulley bolted on secure enough to run all your belts without issue...............You will probably have a hard time finding a shop to do something like this. It is not proper, but i've seen it work.
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Remember your crank bolt is what is holding the pulley on you only need enough interference between pulley and crank to keep it tight. Even broken all to crap it was spinning your belts. If you cannot get the key welded back to the crank. To braze or silver solder with a gas torch may be a good option as the filler material should wick it's way into the cracks around the key. It should also be easy to make some buildup and it would definately be easier to file back to shape/dimension, or let the new crank pulley "deform the solder/braze" to shape by beating it on with a hammer.
 
@Cascadia Having taken one of these motors apart myself (minor rebuild), I think it'll need to be pulled apart to fix that problem. If you can do it yourself, it'll probably cost around $500 in seals/bearings etc., and a bit of machine shop work. If you have to pay someone, you're looking at $1000s. Here is an album from when I had mine apart: 2LTE semi-rebuild

I do have a spare crank and set of rods from my old shortblock if you're interested. Crank could use a polish, but is good otherwise.

Or if you decide to cut your losses, I'd be interested in buying your rig. Body on mine is tired, and I've been keeping my eye out for a clean one. I'd just transfer all the goodies from mine to that one. Maybe fix that 2LTE, or swap something else in.
 
@Cascadia Having taken one of these motors apart myself (minor rebuild), I think it'll need to be pulled apart to fix that problem. If you can do it yourself, it'll probably cost around $500 in seals/bearings etc., and a bit of machine shop work. If you have to pay someone, you're looking at $1000s. Here is an album from when I had mine apart: 2LTE semi-rebuild

I do have a spare crank and set of rods from my old shortblock if you're interested. Crank could use a polish, but is good otherwise.

Or if you decide to cut your losses, I'd be interested in buying your rig. Body on mine is tired, and I've been keeping my eye out for a clean one. I'd just transfer all the goodies from mine to that one. Maybe fix that 2LTE, or swap something else in.
My initial plan was to try and make it work via more unconventional methods, like @robmobile73 suggested. After seeing it in person I’m off that idea. It’s a little worse than the pictures suggest. Plus the pulley bolt was cross threaded. Nice.

Thanks for the offer to buy me out. At this point though I’m too far in and have to commit.

I’m planning on doing the rebuild myself. Your rebuild album should prove useful. As for a replacement crank. There’s one out of Australia on eBay I may buy. It’s OEM Toyota, never used. Thing is it’s been in inventory so long there’s no manufacturer warranty or sellers warranty. They’re selling it as is. This is the listing


I’m still on the fence. The price is definitely right. Thanks for offering to sell me yours, will keep in mind.
 
My initial plan was to try and make it work via more unconventional methods, like @robmobile73 suggested. After seeing it in person I’m off that idea. It’s a little worse than the pictures suggest. Plus the pulley bolt was cross threaded. Nice.

Thanks for the offer to buy me out. At this point though I’m too far in and have to commit.

I’m planning on doing the rebuild myself. Your rebuild album should prove useful. As for a replacement crank. There’s one out of Australia on eBay I may buy. It’s OEM Toyota, never used. Thing is it’s been in inventory so long there’s no manufacturer warranty or sellers warranty. They’re selling it as is. This is the listing


I’m still on the fence. The price is definitely right. Thanks for offering to sell me yours, will keep in mind.

Make sure whatever crank you buy is compatible with the 2LTE. The difference is it has a magnet on it for the crank sensor readout. The 2LT-II does not have this! You'll be SOL otherwise!

And here is another album on rebuilding a 2LTE. Note, if your engine has good compression DON'T pull the pistons out and put on new rings etc. Just do bearings, seals etc. I've seen new rings and a hone job go wrong sooooo many times for people. Rebuilding A 2L-TE Engine - Toyota Surf LN130 - Hilux/4Runner/Surf Topics

Feel free to ask me questions; I'm happy to help. Also, make sure you download the manuals for the motor/truck. Here: Help!
 
Make sure whatever crank you buy is compatible with the 2LTE. The difference is it has a magnet on it for the crank sensor readout. The 2LT-II does not have this! You'll be SOL otherwise!
Holy smokes, thanks, I did not know that. I had the seller check it against my frame number, they say it’s compatible. Part of me doubts them now.
 
Holy smokes, thanks, I did not know that. I had the seller check it against my frame number, they say it’s compatible. Part of me doubts them now.

I just looked at the picture, and it looks like that crank does have the magnet on it. That is a killer deal BTW!

I also looked up the part number on toyodiy's cross-reference search, and that crank DOES match the LJ78: ToyoDIY.com
 
Make sure whatever crank you buy is compatible with the 2LTE. The difference is it has a magnet on it for the crank sensor readout. The 2LT-II does not have this! You'll be SOL otherwise!

And here is another album on rebuilding a 2LTE. Note, if your engine has good compression DON'T pull the pistons out and put on new rings etc. Just do bearings, seals etc. I've seen new rings and a hone job go wrong sooooo many times for people. Rebuilding A 2L-TE Engine - Toyota Surf LN130 - Hilux/4Runner/Surf Topics

Feel free to ask me questions; I'm happy to help. Also, make sure you download the manuals for the motor/truck. Here: Help!
I was actually wondering if I could do this without removing the pistons. It’s really tempting to go all out and do the rings since everything’s apart. But given there’s only 160km on it and it’s running fine I’ll just leave it alone. With that in mind, what about the head? Must it come off if I’m not removing pistons? Or should I be doing the gasket as a preventative maintenance type thing?

Just bought that crank, before someone else snags it up.

Thanks for the links, very helpful stuff. I’m sure I’ll end up hitting you up with questions before this is done.

My biggest obstacle now is getting the engine out and on a stand.
 
I was actually wondering if I could do this without removing the pistons. It’s really tempting to go all out and do the rings since everything’s apart. But given there’s only 160km on it and it’s running fine I’ll just leave it alone. With that in mind, what about the head? Must it come off if I’m not removing pistons? Or should I be doing the gasket as a preventative maintenance type thing?

Just bought that crank, before someone else snags it up.

Thanks for the links, very helpful stuff. I’m sure I’ll end up hitting you up with questions before this is done.

My biggest obstacle now is getting the engine out and on a stand.

I think you could replace the crank without removing the cylinder head. The head gasket on these motors is the MLS (multilayer steel) type, and is not an item that needs to be replaced; they basically never fail. The only unknown, is whether your cylinder head has ever been upgraded to the newer part number. The originals ALL fail, and the newer part number seems to be much improved, as they last at lest 2-3 times as many kms. With the kms you have, chances are high yours has already been replaced. It's a tough call. I think I'd be tempted to remove it and check on everything if it was me. It's not that much more work. However a new headgasket and new set of headbolts will set you back a bit more....

It's not that hard to remove these motors. The main problem you'll find is the wiring harness gets brittle with age. You have to be very careful with it when you remove it from the engine.

Take lots of pictures so you know how to put things back. Also, a trick I always use is I store the bolts back in the holes they belong in. Easy way to keep track of them.

I have an engine stand you can borrow if you want.
 

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