Valve clatter

Took my 89 22re valve cover off to do a little valve adjusting and inspect the chain because you can hear it slapping around in the cover at start up and in between shifts... I was surprised to see the guides were NOT broken... But I could tell they had been changed, because I saw where the chain had made small tracks behind the drivers side guide at some point in the past.... I noted that the chain was tight on the tensioner side but very lose on the driver side, and I figure that would most likely explain the chain noise... The chain isn't super noisy, but loud enough that you can hear it inside or out of the car... How common is it to see guys just replace the guide and nothing else? Im thinking either they used crappy parts and the tensioner is already worn. or the chain is stretched...Etc.. I have also heard that some guys over tighten the tensioner and it bleeds off, or they put the longer oil pump bolt in the wrong spot and it can jam the tensioner enough to cause a lose chain. I have a new timing kit ad Im gonna tackle it this weekend... Has anyone heard or seen anything like this before???

Thanks
Craig

xxxtreme22r

I am sure there is alot of idiots out there that half arse jobs like the timing chain, they only replace whats broken and not what wears out and people like me and yourself have to go back in there and redo their jobs.

FYI, Not to scare you, but I thought I had an issue similar to yours and rapping at startup and between shifts and at higher rpm that I thought was the timing chain, replaced everything only for it to continue for another year and about 5,000-6,000 miles and I spun a #4 rod bearing.

Does yours seem to go away at idle or get a heck of alot quieter? if it's still somewhat noticeable at idle, you can try removing each spark plug wire and running it on 3 cyl, if that slight rapping goes away then you might have a bearing starting to go.

P.S. If it's not making any noise at idle you might be able to do the above and drive it on 3 cyl, but never tried doing it that way before. Nor do I know if people would actually recommend driving it that way, but in short distances I am sure it will not harm anything.

Valve clatter

Of course nothing is for certain without confirmed diagnosis, but I'm pretty certain the noise is coming from the chain. I'm gonna do a couple stethoscope tests and hopefully verify that its indeed the chain....I certainly hope its not a bearing... The noise is only for about 2-3 second at start up, and goes away completely at idle, which I understand is usually what happens due to the oil pressure building, causing the tensioner to take up some of the chain slack...I also have the typical noisy 200K valves, and they can sometimes mask other noises I'm trying to find...Im gonna cross my fingers and hope new chain and components will solve the problem...

Anyone else with similar experiences?

BajaRunner

Yeah my chain makes noise right from startup. I'll be swapping it out this weekend. Should be a fun time My timing mark jumps around as well, so I'm hoping the two are related. If not, at least I'll get it off my mind.

Valve clatter

But do you suspect a broken guide, or just a loosey goose chain? My guide is not broken and I still get some noise.... I'm hoping its a bad jamed/bad, tenstioner and or stretched chain...

andykrow

FWIW I've had to deal with two chains going bad and neither of them made a noise only at startup. First time it made the noise when letting off the gas abruptly. The other made a noise all the time at idle, and eventually made a plastic snapping sort of sound as the guide was being destroyed. The PO did the chain and clearly did something wrong, other than just leaving guide pieces in the pan. When I opened her up one of the passenger side guide bolts was about to fall out.

As soon as I changed it the engine was quiet except for the sweet sound of valves ticking.

It's worth dropping the pan to make sure there aren't any pieces in there from the previous timing chain swap. And while you're in there you can check your bearing clearances too.

Brazos

It sounds like I could possibly need a new timing chain (tensioner, etc). What does something like this cost? Is it hard to do it yourself? Please bear with me as I am trying to evaluate this truck. I am fairly mechanically inclined.

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