Hey guys, just picked up this 4runner the other day. It has a 3.0 in it, when the guy sold it to me he said it cranks over but does not fire. He turned it over for me and it wouldnt fire. I took it home and charged the battery fully cuz it was dead. To my amazement it fired right up but is making a horrible grinding noise kinda like when you are drilling something with no oil on a drill press. Heres a sound clip hope you guys can chime in as to what you think it is. I was thinking bad oil pump so thats the sound of the pistons or spun a rod bearing. Thanks for you help.

 

What does the oil look like?
I'd make sure you have decent oil pressure so you don't do more damage.
It kind a sounds like the starter is not disengaging.

 

If you are lucky, it will be the timing belt pulley.
I haven't heard what a bad one sounds like but it's been described as "screeching" before

 

Go get a cheap stethoscope (with a long rod) or even a screwdriver and start listening to various points on the head and block near your bearings. Could be nearly anything. Water pump? How many miles?

 

Sounds like a dry idler pulley, maybe the fan clutch. Fan has some parts missing too, those are chips missing and not just black mucking bits ya?

Not recalling the belt layout, take em off one at a time and leave the one for the fan for last, don't run for very long w/o a fan !! Start with the PS belt, that has a sealer bearing idler puller IIRC on the bottom.

There is a gravely clicking sound along with the grinding squeel, seemd to be coming from the Alternator, that's bearing and brush noise maybe.

hillbilly stethoscope, 2-3ft long 1x2 or random stick. Place one end on the part, put your thumb over the other end and listen thru your thumb and the cartilage thing at the front of your ear opening I prefer the stick, means I don't have to stick my head or hand near anything thats going to bite.

 

PS if it was something inside the engine making that noise like the rods you'd be overheating really fast.

 

After a while of running the sound goes away. I havent Been able to pin point the noise but it sounds like it is coming from the intake manifold. I pulled the spark plugs and all three plugs on the passenger side were covered in oil. #6 cylinder on the driver side was caked in oil as well. My question now is when i check each cylinder for compression how do i determine whether the low compression i believe i will see is due to bad rings or bad valve guides?

 

The oil is dark and a little low. When i run the truck the oil gauge is at L so im guessing i have low oil pressure. What can cause low oil pressure? Also when i start the truck sometimes it wont ignite, im guessing this is due to the oil soaked plugs. But you can hear the starter keep spinning and winding down til it stops. If i try to start the truck again before the winding noise goes away i get a gear grinding noise

 

I am at work so I can't watch the video so this is kind if a shot in the dark. A freind of mine had a 3.0 with a squeeling that was horrible like you describe and we could not nail it down but he ordered some other parts while he was trying to fix it. His cat was original and when he put the new one on and started the truck the squeel was gone. Not much help I know but maybe seperate the front of the cat from the exhaust and check?

 

Getting a lot of vibrations from the upper idler pulley. When i put my finger on it i can feel instense vibrations.