Distributor/Cam Gear Noise???

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Joined
Mar 9, 2006
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I recently acquired an 82 FJ60 with 128,000 miles per PO and odometer. There is a noticeable and somewhat loud tapping noise that seems to originate from where the distributor enters the engine. The noise increases with engine speed but does not get louder. The noise does not run the entire length of the engine, only at the area of the distributor. I am wondering if it could be a bad tooth on the cam gear that drives the distributor or if it could be the distributor itself. Any thoughts on this before I pull the distributor and try and look at the teeth on the camshaft. Thanks in advance.
 
Is the distributor all the way seated into the block?
 
It appears to be seated all the way down, but I might take a mirrow and look from a different angle.
 
Has the valve clearance been checked yet?
 
I have not checked valve clearance, although that did occur to me. Do you think it could be lifter noise due to excessive valve settings?
 
Oil pump mount

If the sound is a steady tick or knock, directly related to engine RPM, but not related to engine load, then it could be the oil pump and dissy are not in alignment.

There is a mounting block inside the crankcase that carries the oil pump. It is bolted in place before the engine block is finish machined, then the bolts are staked so they can't be removed. The mount block is then line-bored with the distributor hole above it. That way the distributor is perfectly centered above the oil pump, so their axes are perfectly aligned.

When an ignoramus disassembles the engine:eek: ,
they will unbolt the oil pump mount from the block, and mix up the bolts. when the engine is bolted back together, the oil pump is no longer aligned beneath the distributor. As the blade of the distributor is spinning the OP, it will make a noise as it moves around in the slot.

I don't have a real good fix for this yet, as I've only had to deal with it a few times (so far). Best i've come up with is to loosen the 2 bolts slightly w/ the engine idling and try tapping the boltsaround to move the OP. If the noise goes away, tighten down the bolts and keep your fingers crossed.
 
Oil Pump

Thanks Jim, that would make sense. To access the mounting block bolts I am assuming the oil pan must be removed and you are working from the bottom of the block. Seems like it would be kind of touchy to try and work in there with the engine idling and all of the rotating parts, not to mention no oil! Am I missing something here?
 
Thanks. I'll take a look at it next weekend when I get back off the road.
 

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