Help diagnose this engine noise please (1 Viewer)

[SteelHunterFJ80]

I just started hearing this strange noise up front near the pulleys. Belts seem ok and all the pulleys are spinning well....no lock up or slipping on the ac compressor. Did some searching but couldn't find anything specific. I've used belt dressing on it too. Just don't want to drive my truck until I know what's wrong. Thanks

 

[ppc]

Is the starter stuck? Try taking another recording where you move around side to side.

What happens when you shift into gear?

 

[Pin_Head]

Doesn’t sound unusual to me.

 

[BILT4ME]

I just started hearing this strange noise up front near the pulleys. Belts seem ok and all the pulleys are spinning well....no lock up or slipping on the ac compressor. Did some searching but couldn't find anything specific. I've used belt dressing on it too. Just don't want to drive my truck until I know what's wrong. Thanks

Tighten your belts again. They loosened and are glazing due to the slippage.

 

[graham5david]

Hard to say. Is it different with AC on or off?

 

[SteelHunterFJ80]

Is the starter stuck? Try taking another recording where you move around side to side.

What happens when you shift into gear?

Doesn't seem that the starter is stuck. Sound stays at the same pitch and frequency as the revs, ie if the engine is revved the noise increases along with it. Also stays the same if I put it in gear.

 

[SteelHunterFJ80]

No difference with AC on or off. But a good suggestion nonetheless to see if it might have something to do with the ac compressor. Thanks for the ideas

 

[SteelHunterFJ80]

Ok I'll try that..... I'll check the FSM on how to tighten the belts. And @Kernal sent me an idea to try and make sure that the belts are still good. I'll do both

 

[Kernal]

Are all belts OEM Toyota? They tend to make less noise than some aftermarket belts.

You could take your garden hose and spray the belts with water while the engine is running. If the noise goes away for a couple of seconds then comes back, then the noise is likely coming from the belts.

Tip: stand in front (not on the side by the fenders) of the vehicle but keep your head back or you'll get a shower. Also, don't spray water directly on the distributor and be sure your dipsticks are pushed all the way in.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Get a section of hose about 4 feet long and touch the end of it to each component in turn. You'll be able to hear which component is losing its bearings. I'd recommend a wooden dowel but with spinning things too much chance you'll have it shoved into your brain if you make a wrong move.

 

[SteelHunterFJ80]

Are all belts OEM Toyota? They tend to make less noise than some aftermarket belts.

You could take your garden hose and spray the belts with water while the engine is running. If the noise goes away for a couple of seconds then comes back, then the noise is likely coming from the belts.

Tip: stand in front (not on the side by the fenders) of the vehicle but keep your head back or you'll get a shower. Also, don't spray water directly on the distributor and be sure your dipsticks are pushed all the way in.

Ok did the water test on Thursday and the noise went away. After a couple minutes the noise came back. Tried the water test again tonight after looking at all the pulleys and trying to isolate the noise. Funny thing is that the noise I heard in the video above has gone away. It's still a bit noisier than a couple weeks ago but I'm going to change the belts now because I didn't do them went I did the head gasket.

@Kernal and @IdahoDoug thanks for the very specific ideas. This led me to wanting to know why the water trick worked and how to listen for bad bearings/idlers. Never would have known what to look up with out your advice

This video helped me understand the way and why to do the water test. Btw it seems like Toyota did a good job putting grooves in their pulleys to make misaligned belts less of an issue.

 

[jemsec]

Have you ever tried one of these? You can find more noises than you can imagine. Exhaust leaks, bearings and on and on.

Mechanic's Stethoscope

 

[skhochay]

the noise seems from the rattling bearing - which one, no idea, did you modified anything like new alternator pulley etc?

 

[SteelHunterFJ80]

the noise seems from the rattling bearing - which one, no idea, did you modified anything like new alternator pulley etc?

No new pulleys. I did put in a new water pump about 20k ago

 

[SteelHunterFJ80]

Have you ever tried one of these? You can find more noises than you can imagine. Exhaust leaks, bearings and on and on.

View attachment 2176762
Mechanic's Stethoscope

I'm going to have to order one of these. Seems a bit safer than a dowel rod.

 

[SteelHunterFJ80]

So status update...the noise has gone away. This is of course after I order new belts, idler pully and ac pulley. Here's a video of how it sounds now.

 

[Kernal]

Same belts, new belts, did you spray belt dressing on the old belts??

 

[SteelHunterFJ80]

Same belts, no dressing just did water test. Maybe some grit was in betweenthe belts and pulleys. Do you think its worth just replacing everything now?

 

[LINUS]

Same belts, no dressing just did water test. Maybe some grit was in betweenthe belts and pulleys. Do you think its worth just replacing everything now?

I’d think a very directed look at eack pulley, then deciding if you want to do all the belts as a 1-shot PM & spin each pulley (looking for flaws from grit) -then would be a super-fix to the situation.

LMK if you want me to come down, I am just up in Mount Vernon, never hurts meeting other locals.

My 80 is open ATM, I am doing another FAS but I can ease your way in the Ghetto-Tundra - any PM after Mon.

I have a spare set of OE belts IIRC under the Tundra seat I was planning for mine, but they’re cheap. You need ‘em more than me.
I have a extra-extra set in back my 80.

Belt dressing is a “shoot yourself in the foot” to longterm owners, glad others steered you away on that.

 

[pnwcruiser]

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