toyota4x4907

Its cold here! Go figure, huh? -10F during the days for the past 2 weeks! Who would have thought that the cold would cause some problems when starting your vehicles? Not I. Lawlz. I digress....
My problem: Sometimes I forget to plug in my truck at night. By "plugging in" I mean plug in the oil pan, block and tranny heaters so my truck will start in the morning after sitting in -20..-30...-40 degree weather all night. Well, the dozen or so times I've forgotten to plug it in, once I start it it does a very odd thing! It starts fine, albeit a little sluggishly, but after about 10 seconds of running, it makes a really strange sound like something rubbing, then sort of shutters, almost like its about to seize. It only does this for about a second. Then the exhaust starts to be brown.....and when it did the shutter thing, I felt the steering wheel jerk. the exhaust clears out in 30 to 60 seconds, depending on how long it sat and how cold it was. Obviously I just need to remember to always plug it in..but it still bothers me. and It has done this like twice during the day after it sat for maybe 4 hours. Any ideas? Thanks
On a lighter note, I put my old K&N air filter back in it because it seemed to be gasping for air at higher speeds....worked perfectly

toyota4x4907

NEARMMM!!tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu-tu....POW!!!....

Of course its probably not fully lubed after sitting in the cold for a few hours, but no other vehicle I have started in the cold has done anything like this...and it only started about a month ago when it got cold.

jason191918

What oil weight?

toyota4x4907

I've always used 10w-30 with no problem before and I've owned this truck for 5 years..

toyota4x4907

Heres a video/sound clip:http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/l...trucknoise.flv

toyota4x4907

62 views and one reply ...sheesh. Newbs asking questions about tire size and lockers get more attention!

ScottyC

iTrader: (1)

Power steering pump making the noise? Steering wheel jerking is kind of a giveaway.

Might be time for some thinner oil too. Synthetic maybe.

abecedarian

could be the ps pump dragging the engine down putting it into detonation (causing the shudder and smoke)
when was the last time the pump fluid was changed?

toyota4x4907

haha...uh...not since I've owned it 87K miles to 147Kmiles. and who knows when before that. I never really thought to change it. I'm sure the cold is just making it thicker than the pump can handle...
Phew..I never thought about the PS pump, etc. doing this. This makes me feel better. I was thinking maybe like one of the piston rings were shrinking and letting oil past it..or like the block was contracting more than the pistons and...blah..I dont know much about vehicles if you can't tell thanks guys..
I'm not going synthetic. I like dino oil. I may get thinner oil though...like 5W-30. Not likely..but I may consider it.

ScottyC

iTrader: (1)

Make sure you run Dexron in the power steering pump. NOT power steering fluid.

georgiayota

If it's the ps pump why would it be blowing brown smoke?

toyota4x4907

Haha. I've been on this site long enough to know that! Thanks for the reminder though.

Thats what I was wondering as well. But what Abe said, it may be lagging the engine back a little so the timing isnt right so it burns differently. The exhaust starts to clear in about a minute as I said in the first post.

abecedarian

one thing you could try is pull the ps pump belt and see if it does it in the morning. if it does... well you know. if it doesn't... got some more to think about.

now one thing bout the video has me thinking... (I went back and have been listening again)... that noise seems to be to be a fairly mechnical, almost a gear or something grinding. Could be PS idler.
I wonder if the starter drive gear is hanging out at the flywheel and the noise starts the gear is vibrating back into the starter, or maybe ice in a coolant line getting chewed by the water pump.
can you isolate an area of the engine where the noise seems to be coming from, like maybe start it then get in front of the truck real fast (or have someone else start it) and listen?

toyota4x4907

I'll deff try taking the belt off tomorrow when I start it. By the "PS idler" do you mean the idler pulley on the belt route? If so, the bearing in the stock one shattered last year around this time so I went about 2 weeks with no PS before I got a new pulley. I dont think you mean that, but Im just throwing it out there. It does sound mechanical. Along with the shrinking block theory of mine, I, too, was thinking maybe ice in the coolant system being broken by the pump, or something in the oil and the pump. Also, I was thinking the starter as well, but only briefly. I dont see how it being cold would make the gear vibrate out as opposed to when I have it plugged it at night and start it. I replaced the starter with a new one summer before last, so its fairly new. What makes me stray from the ice in the coolant theory is earlier today, around 4, after I took this vid, I started it and the whining/grindig noise continued until it was warm, maybe 5 minutes. It was -25F then so I didn't stay outside long enough to know EXACTLY how long, but I guestimated. and I lightly tapped the accelerator, and the noise increased slightly with the increase of RPMs. I also stood in front of the truck while it was doing this, not really long enough to determine which side, but it was louder towards the front. I will take the belt off and try that. And, after reinstalling the belt, try to determine which side its coming from.
I really appreciate you taking the time to review the video a few times, Abe.

abecedarian

I was bored.

Yes, I was referring to the idler pulley on the power steering belt.
As for ice in the coolant, there is a pipe from the heater core to the rear of the water pump so... is your antifreeze in good shape? Is the temperature slider on the heater controls to the hot or cold side when you start it?
The starter theory was just a stab in the dark thinking the cold gear may be hanging up when you start it, then vibrating back in.

toyota4x4907

If you're bored..maybe you should me tending to your wife? Still, thanks.
The coolant is in great shape. Always kept full even with my leak. I believe I have the water/anti-freeze ratio at or about -45F. I've been leaving the heater control on hot since I replaced the radiator and haven't had any problems with the T-stat sticking. If it has to do with ice in the coolant system, then why do you think the exhaust would be brown? and its not just brown, like it will shoot brown sooty junk on the ground! Also, the tail pipe was dripping more than often, but whatever it was dripping was black. It's probably just condensation turned black from soot in the exhaust pipe, but still, something to take note of.
The starter theory is viable. As is the PS pump/pulley lagging the engine. But if it has to do with the starter, any idea why the exhaust would be brown?

just a 22re

it sounded like my moms chopper the high powered one when you have it on hi and throw ice cubes in it i think it might be ice chunks getting eating by the water pump but the smoke just looks like its running rich should be normal for -40 and so on and if your at -40 coolant around here is good for around -30 so i think you should get her warmed up let her cool enough to pop the rad cap off and test it to see if it will be ok at -40 and you should be passing -55 to almost -65 to be sure


dont sound right man really dont


as for the auto trany fluid in the ps pump i never did that with my trail rig i sucked her dry and put ps fluid in her never had a problem in 4 years now

abecedarian

again, maybe conjecture, and regardless of the source of the noise...
maybe the knock sensor is hearing the noise and retarding the timing....
What does your idle do when it's making noise? Is it remaining constant?

toyota4x4907

Haha. Ice crushers are fun!
It wasn't -40 when the I took the video. It hasn't been -40...yet... It was about -15 and the coolant ratio is at about -45 I believe.
I'm not worried about the PS fluid (ATF thats in it) really. I know its full. I've checked it like 3 times since the summer. I didn't think about the truck running rich when its cold....derrr me. It doesn't turn brown until after that noise, though...and like I said, clears up in about a minute.

I think I'm just paranoid, ya?

toyota4x4907

Hm, I thought the knock sensor was placed higher on the block and closer to the cylinders on the passenger side so as to lessen the chance of outside vibrations tripping it. Doesn't it go off vibrations? or is it noise? Yes, the idle stays constant.