YotaWoRx

I got an '88 22RE....same exact thing happens......yes it is piston slap. If you got a mechanics steth, put the end of the probe on the timing chain cover.....if its a timing chain the noise through the scope would seem to be enough to make you deaf. Most likely its piston slap though......no big deal, its a toyota, it'll still run forever.

Boaz

I am going to pull the valve cover off tomorrow. How much is "a lot of slop"?

Should the chain be completley tight or have a bit of play in it like a drive belt?

kyle_22r

you should be able to wiggle it, but it shouldn't have a ton of freeplay on the driver's side. think of it sort of like what a bike chain should feel like, maybe slightly looser.

Boaz

Well.... I guess I was over reacting! THe chain is in GREAT Shape and has good tension and all. I think that the noise I am hearing is the timing chain clacking on the upgraded metal guide on the driver side. Its the only thing I can figure. I check all of the valve clearances and they were dead to nuts on... so its not that. I did reset the timing. It was at 8* (with the circuit jumped). I backed it off to 5*. Maybe that is why I am getting crap MPG???? I also installed a new fuel filter. SO basically this was not a big deal and I hope that the new fuel filter and the timing reset will help gain a few miles per gallon. I did notice that the cap and rotor were a bit worn. I will have to replace them this week.

THanks for everyones input on this thread!

Jake

Flash319

I have this problem right now with the rattle at just off idle and intermittent at idle. What is the status of your truck Boaz????

Boaz

the truck is running like a top, 19 MPG all day long. It had a great used oil analysis recently. I think I was just over reacting. Even my 04 4-runner is a bit noisy I guess it is just the nature of the beast?

Flash319

Well good to here. I am not so worried now but it is still anoying. Mine runs great as well, 21mpg all highway though. I got 370km on it.

Saint_Berzerker

Are you sure it's not your CAT? I had that noise when I idled, and I noticed it was very embarrassing when I would pull up to a drive thru window and the window down, I could hear it really bad. If I hit the gas, then it went away.

Tap your CAT and see if you hear a rattle...if it rattles, it's dead...the material inside is broken down.

Just a suggestion.

Flash319

I will give it a look. Thanks.

ironroad9c1

make sure you convert your miles since the speedo is off with the bigger tires your not showing the acual miles you have on the tank of gas ,when you do your gas mileage check ,lotta people forget about the conversion.

Saint_Berzerker

Yeah, here's an awsome calculator for calculating the speedo thing!


http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp

jode

If I may jump in here...

My '94 22RE of unknown history (just bought it in a truck that has 230K miles on it with NO service records) has the classic "sewing machine" tap/clatter/rattle at all speeds that I suspect is poor valve clearance. It also has a "deisel-like" clatter that only occurs at high RPMS (2,750+) or right when I hit the clutch to shift it (so the power shifts from pushing to coasting). It also has these symptoms:

- OEM gauges read low oil pressure cold and NO oil pressure warm (though it doesn't act like it has no oil presure....)
- Won't pass emmissions (it passes the emissions at the high rpms, but fails at idle)
- Idles a bit rough at as low as 450 RPM

I had assumed the bottom end was toast, and was planning on a complet engine replacement, but I have been driving it like this for several months now, and the PO claims to have done the same (all with the same symptoms) so every day that goes by that it doesn't seize seems like another day of proof that it is not a bottom-end problem?

I will try to pull the valve cover to check the valve clearance and the timing chain tension to get additional data, but my real question is, am I barking up the wrong tree with my plans to replace the engine?

I only have until the end of this month to pass emissions or my registration fees are revoked and I am transportation-less. Should I be getting serious about the rebuild or should I be buying "tune-up parts" to fix the rough idle? The emissions guy thought that "the engine was working too hard" at idle to pass emissions due to the bad main bearings that are causing the knock. Any thoughts? If it was yours, what would you check before pulling the engine and replacing it with a rebuilt?

Also, would you think the low oil pressure related or a separate problem to the apparent knock?
TIA

excableguy

I had a 94 22re w/ 84k with the same exact "diesel" sound. It only happened each time started it until it got warm, and any time i let off of it a little while I was driving it. as long as i kept the gas to it, it would go away, but if I let off the rattle would reappear--it drove me nuts. We figured it was the TC, so me and my mechanic buddy basically installed two different timing chain sets in a matter of 2 months on it, and that didn't cure it. I took it to another mechanic, and he recommended I run 20w50 in it, but really felt that it was my rod and main bearings doing all the rattling. Being somewhat of a perfectionist I tore it down and low and behold my bearings WERE blued. The only thing we could come up with is that the broken plastic guides from the original TC set clogged the pickup tube and starved the engine of oil and possibly causing the bearings to get hot.. bought a short block, rebuilt it, and it's still running somewhere in N.KY right now! Hope i didn't terrify you, but I just wanted to tell you MY experience with the old diesel sound in the 22re

excableguy

jode, I thought I read somewhere that 22re's only needed 4lbs of oil pressure to sustain proper lubing at idle-- just an idea-- because i remember worrying about it with my 94

Saint_Berzerker

Yeah, at idle, the oil pressure gauge drops down almost all the way. It goes up with the rpms...the higher the rpms, the higher the oil pressure goes up.

But it sounds like yours is always all the way down? I had that happen for a week or so and my engine blew up...lol....

Low oil pressure all the time is a bad sign...usually oil pump. Catch it before the engine blows.

rubysRunner

i had this same problem happening with the noise...went to see the mechanic today, he did a valve adjustment. now it's as quiet as i imagine it will ever be.

jode

Ironically enough......



I think I just saved my self from having to buy a new engine for the Toy.
Since I bought it, it has been strange because the engine hardly leaks oil, and looks fairly new. Not what you would expect from an engine with 230K miles (what the odo reads) and that has an "engine knock." Anyway, I had pretty much just assumed that the knock was a bad main bearing and that the engine had to be rebuilt so I was kinda planning on that. It also recently failed emissions, so the urgency of the rebuild turned from a "someday if the engine blows" to a "by the end of August" type of thing.
Well, last night I decided to pull the valve cover to check the timing chain as a result of some of the comments in this thread (it looked pretty good) and while I was in there, I decided to check the valve clearances...good thing I did...they were WAY off!
The valves are supposed to have .008 clearance on the intake side and .012 clearance on the exhaust side. There was only one valve (out of 8 ) that had enough clearance to even get the .008 feeler into. So, it looks like somebody had just cranked all the valves down without clearancing them at all??? :shock:

Also, the number 4 plug was practically bridged with carbon deposits (possibly from the valves not being able to properly seat?) and several of the others were fairly fouled as well.

Anyway, after cleaning up the spark plugs a bit (will buy replacements for them tomorrow), cleaning off the rotor, and buttoning it all back up, I took it for a very short test drive, and the "knock" appears to be gone, power seems to be up, and I have a grin from ear to ear. I bet now (with the new plugs) I will even be able to pass emissions.

To get an idea of the power increase, I used my "driveway test." Before, the truck wouldn't even idle up my short driveway into my garage. Now, it idles right on in there way faster and with no sputtering. Good times at my place 8)

Looks like I won't need that rebuild after all.

The engine is still a little noisy at idle - more than I had expected, but it may have been damaged from having been poorly adjusted for so long?

rubysRunner

Congrats! I was really worried about mine too...especially since the reman. thats in it only has about 40,000KM on it. I had one valve that was tightened all the way down, and the rest of them had too much clearance. runs great now though

Flash319

Check out this that I found. Boaz did you use your original guide bolts???

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116/engbldr-steel-rail-warning-94453/

CamTom12

Yeah, having them cranked down like that may have burned up your valves a bit.

Awesome that you found the problem and it wasn't a rebuild!