Engine Chatter Help 1FZFE

[BakerFJ]

I have a 1993 FJ80,
Last night after about an hour of driving, i noticed my engine sounded strange, so i pulled over to check it. It was making an obvious chattering sound from the front of the motor, checked the oil level and it was fine, no engine light, it didnt sound like a knock and wasnt coming from under the valve cover. Sounded like it couldve been coming from the timing chain or oil pump.
This morning i started it up and it sounded normal.
Has anyone had something like this happen to them before or have an idea of what it could be? Im going to be replacing my crank pulley seal during spring break and also my oil pump gasket, and will be pulling the timing cover off while im in there. Just curious to see if anyone was familiar with this problem

 

[Maleficio]

I wonder if your oil is losing viscosity.

 

[ajax1]

Bad bearing in idleler or Ac or your valves are chattering , next time pull the belts or spray the bearing areas with wd40 or whatever see if the noise quits or changes sound or if your using non Toyota belts with teeth those can make noises too

 

[BakerFJ]

I use Rotella 15W-40, and change it about every month and a half because i work at a lube shop and get it for free haha. As of right now the AC doesnt have a belt (thats a repair for another day). The idler pulley was replaced a few months ago, and i just got belts not even a week ago, originally when i put the belts on, one was looser than the other. They were Gates and had the same size and all, so i put one of my previous belts on in place of the loose one because it didnt wobble as much. Havent gotten around to seeing why one belt was bigger, but i always have to get bigger belts than what is factory for some reason, pretty soon ill order Toyota belts and hopefully they'll work. But now i have this chatter to deal with.

 

[BakerFJ]

If its the big end bearing, is that possible to replace eith the timing cover off? Or do i need to pull the crank .-.

 

[ShawninVA]

Checked the belt idler? I got rid of an intermittent noise after replacing mine last Thanksgiving.

 

[BakerFJ]

Shawn, what did it sound like?
ive been trying to upload a video but the formats givin me a bit of trouble...new age technology is confusing

 

[ShawninVA]

Shawn, what did it sound like?
ive been trying to upload a video but the formats givin me a bit of trouble...new age technology is confusing

It was a deadened clackity clackity (no pinging like valve chatter-- dead like a large ball bearing bounced on concrete). I thought the belt was slapping around at first. I remember it would change tone when the A/C kicked on.

If you de-tension the belt you should be able to feel the play.

 

[BakerFJ]

Man, I'm a bloody moron, been installing my belts wrong. Never realized you're supposed to go under the idler pulley until it dawned upon me while looking at other 1FZs...hope that solves the issue. Currently have everything apart to replace the crankshaft pulley seal and oil pump gasket.
I have a gut feeling the sound came from the timing chain, although if it were, wouldn't it have made the sound upon startup the day after? I hate my gut feelings. they have a tendency to be right, I hope this one isn't.

 

[ShawninVA]

Man, I'm a bloody moron, been installing my belts wrong. Never realized you're supposed to go under the idler pulley until it dawned upon me while looking at other 1FZs...hope that solves the issue. Currently have everything apart to replace the crankshaft pulley seal and oil pump gasket.
I have a gut feeling the sound came from the timing chain, although if it were, wouldn't it have made the sound upon startup the day after? I hate my gut feelings. they have a tendency to be right, I hope this one isn't.

I've seen a thread about someone finding broken teeth in there. If you did break one and it dropped, you might only hear it once. I know-- doesn't help you get past those gut feelings...

Have you ever done the oil pump before? Lots of folks end up boogering up the phillips heads. I had zero problem because I followed some good advice-- get a bit that fits perfectly, then tap the back of it firmly 20x while it's in the slot. Protect the radiator if you have not pulled it. Mine all came out easily with a ratchet handle holding the bit in a socket.

 

[BakerFJ]

watched a dude do it on youtube a while back, pulled the rad, fan, crank pulley, and oil pump cover this week. hardest part was fighting the fan shroud till i just decided to stop being lazy and pull the fan. not seeing anything weird, does the oil pump gear just pull out?

 

[BakerFJ]

I've seen a thread about someone finding broken teeth in there. If you did break one and it dropped, you might only hear it once. I know-- doesn't help you get past those gut feelings...

Have you ever done the oil pump before? Lots of folks end up boogering up the phillips heads. I had zero problem because I followed some good advice-- get a bit that fits perfectly, then tap the back of it firmly 20x while it's in the slot. Protect the radiator if you have not pulled it. Mine all came out easily with a ratchet handle holding the bit in a socket.

as a matter of fact, i did exactly as you did, plus using a pick to get the gunk out beforehand

 

[ShawninVA]

Can't help there. I did not pull mine. I may soon... Doing HG in a few weeks and not sure what I'm going to find when I go over the engine.

Good luck! Would love to see pics once you get in there.

 

[BakerFJ]

Here's the pics i took while i had the pump cover off. To answer my own question, yes, the pump rotors do in fact 'just pull out'. Forgot to take pics with the rotors out, but did get a look and everything looks super clean. nothing out of the ordinary. got the new crankshaft pulley seal on yesterday as well. im really reluctant about pulling the timing cover, as that would mean redoing the oil pan gasket of which i just did the other week which took me wayy too long. i did however turn the crank as i intensly stared into the little crevice of my oil cap hole at the timing chain to see if any of the gearing looked broken, and didnt see anything.
also cleaned up all the crap that was on the front of the motor.

 

[BakerFJ]

some other pics i took yesterday

 

[BakerFJ]

actually, i stand corrected. i did take photos of the innards of the pump, also checked my clearances and all were within spec

 

[ShawninVA]

Pretty much the same repairs I did last year... complete with cleaning the engine front just like you. I didn't peek at the teeth when I had the seal pulled. Was anxious to get everything back together. Wish I had now.

My distributor was leaking, too. I replaced the o-ring while I was at it.

Anxious to get my HG repair going but finding a cheap pickup to drive isn't going as fast as I'd like.

 

[BakerFJ]

toothbrush, degreaser, and elbow grease.
My PO had the HG done, so im good there. Although a head rebuild may be in my future. Whats funny is that my LC was originally bought as a daily so I could work on my other project (1992 Toyota Celica, 5SGTE swap with an MR2 LSD E153 transmission mounted fwd). Currently havent gotten anywhere with it because of the cruiser haha

 

[BakerFJ]

update: replaced the crank pulley seal, oil pump gasket, belts, thermostat, radiator hoses, and water pump. seems to be running normally and havent heard any chatter since. my brake booster does have a vacuum leak of which i will be replacing with a used unit soon. soon will adjust my valves, replace valve cover gasket, new spark plug wires, dizzy rotor, and dizzy cover, and adjust ignition timing if needed. i have not heard that chattering since i first heard it.

To torque the crank pulley bolt, i had my dad make this tool while i was stuck at work. Doughnut-design so that the 30mm socket can be inserted through the center

also flushed out the old coolant, and filled it with Toyota pink long-life coolant

I also installed my new OME steering damper, took it down a 8 ft incline while testing my lockers, didnt see the rock at the bottom and dented it. Still works great! those things are strong!

 

[BakerFJ]

was looking at 1fzfe photos, and i realized i had been routing my belts wrong since i bought the vehicle (and the PO before me!). no wonder stock belts wouldnt go on haha. Also explains why they kept breaking.