timing chain issue

[jimbo92]

so i scooped up an 80 on a late night craigslist impulse buy last night and it had a pretty good knock/slapping sound coming from the very front of the valve cover. I removed the valve cover and and noticed that the driverside of the timing chain is very loose and floppy and the passenger side is still tight.

This was definetly where the noise was coming from. The top of the head was very clean with absolutely no oil sludge which was good to see.

Now the question is what would cause this looseness? a stretched timing chain or a guide issue?

 

[landtank]

it would be a little helpful if you let us know what year truck you have. The earlier 1FZ-FEs had a trend to brake one of the guides but that was on the passenger side I believe.

 

[jimbo92]

ah sorry about that its a 1996 model with 214k on the clock

 

[landtank]

well, the slop should be on the passenger side since that is where the chain tensioner is. How is the oil pressure?

 

[jlg32281]

You really need to pull the timing cover. No matter what the issue is, you're going to have to pull it anyway so go ahead and pull it and then get back with us.

 

[jimbo92]

How do I remove the timing cover? Does the whole head have to come off?

 

[jimbo92]

Seemed to have good pressure according to the gauge

 

[landtank]

to pull the timing cover you need to pull the head and both oil pans. At that point you're into a full rebuild.

 

[jimbo92]

Why would I need to go for a full rebuild over a timing chain and head gasket? That's nowhere near a full rebuild

 

[landtank]

Why would I need to go for a full rebuild over a timing chain and head gasket? That's nowhere near a full rebuild

you're pretty much taking the entire engine apart. You bought a truck with a bad motor and have no history of it's care. Why wouldn't you go through it?

 

[jimbo92]

because the rest of the motor runs fine other than the timing chain noise, why fix something thats not broken? Its a 3k truck no point in dumping a bunch of money in it when i can just fix what i have to.

 

[94SRUNNER]

You should take the time to fix it because it could lead to more catastrophic damage down the line, resulting in a completely new motor.

Take Ricks advice and tear into. The nice thing is while apart you will have an opportunity to do a lot of PM and really extend its life.

 

[jimbo92]

yeah i plan on fixing the timing chain i just dont see the point of a full rebuild.

so im guessing i need to order a timing chain kit and a headgasket kit?

whos a good place to order from?

 

[landtank]

not sure where to find a timing chain kit, but the gasket set can be gotten from any dealer. Most here will contact Dan at American Toyota. You can get his info in the vendor section.

 

[bwr9300]

You don't hear a lot on Mud about timing chains. why is that?

 

[landtank]

You don't hear a lot on Mud about timing chains. why is that?

because they don't go bad unless it's a catastrophic failure.

 

[jimbo92]

thats whats so weird about this one it runs absolutely flawlessly except for that chain being loose, no skips or roughness or anything like that

 

[elhombre]

Did my head gasket last year and the plastic timing chain guide snapped when the tensioner was being put back in. All the previous stuff mentioned earlier had to come off. I did not pull the crank and go that far because the cylinder walls were still in good shape. I could still see the honing cross-marks and based my decision not to tear it all down on that. So far (12k miles) no problems. I would definately get the head rebuilt so that you at least have new valve seals put in. For me, this stopped all of my oil consumption and light throttle pinging due to carbon build-up.

I did replace oil pump seals, and timing chain along with guides plus all other seals that were touched.

 

[akarilo]

because the rest of the motor runs fine other than the timing chain noise, why fix something thats not broken? Its a 3k truck no point in dumping a bunch of money in it when i can just fix what i have to.

Thinking outside the box (at least here on Mud)

My thoughts exactly on this one.

 

[jimbo92]

i pulled the chain tensioner and it doesnt seem to have much "tension" to it. I figure its worth it to try one of these first since its only 10 bucks