my trucks been making a loud metallic squealing sound intermittently for the first few miles of driving (or just letting it sit and idle) till it warms up.
The mechanic's had it for two days now and says he can't tell what it is without taking the timing belt cover off and checking it, because he thinks it could be a tensioner or pulley... he said it didn't sound quite like a water pump going bad either.

Here's the part that really sucks.. two years and around 8k ago the timing belt and water pump were replaced buy some really bad mechanics that left the tensioner loose and let me drive probably 40 miles that way. I brought it back in and they tightened it, but could this have messed it up? This work was done during the summer, and the noise started only on the coldest days of winter after they messed with it. (and of course now it's everyday even in the warm weather)

This mechanic is going to charge $320 (5 hours work) just to pull the cover off and check it, saying he still may not find what it is

what should I do?

 

just called a toyota dealership and they told me 340 to replace the timing belt, and it would be 4 hours of work. course if it's the tensioner and idler pulley gone bad that'll be more..

anyone heard of a problem with a timing belt causing this type of noise??

 

How come the mechanic needs 5 hours just to look at the belt and the dealer can replace it in 4. Seems kind of strange to me. I can do the replacement in less than 5 hours.

As for the noise it could be the timing belt idler, or it could be the alternator or power steering pump. Try removing the alternator belt and see if the noise is still there. If it is remove the power steering belt next. If the noise is still there then it's most likely the idler pulley.

One other thing if the idler needs replaced don't reuse the timing belt put a new one on. Even though yours only has 8000 miles it could be damaged if the pulley is seizing. Belts are cheap.

 

when I put my ear right down to the sound, it's most loud right at the timing belt cover.. so most likely the idler pulley right?
I went and got the truck, they asked me if the reason I was waiting was the time it'd take or the money and I told em it was the money lol. They said that was just what it could amount to in time, but that they would give me a fair price..

I called the stealership close to here and they said it'd be around 300 to replace just the idler pulley. The stealership about 50 min's from here wants 340 to replace the timing belt, price of idler pulley not included in that.

Anyone know how much the idler pulley costs? and isn't the timing belt around 60 to 90?

 

 

bah, it seems like there'd be at least a few more ppl on here that know something about this stuff.,

 

 

 

the idler pulleys are really expensive if bought from the dealer (150 for one, and about 105 for the other). your best bet is to buy them from someone like EB off of ebay for 90 bucks, which includes a new timing belt. if the mechanics will use those parts, then the price should be labor + 90.

check this out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33625

he's always putting up new sales, just look for something similar to this. this is definately the best deal out there for the parts you need

 

you can look up some parts here:
http://www.1sttoyotaparts.com/

or check here:
http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/postli...t=&Board=UBB11
http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showfl...ev=#Post710766
http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showfl...ev=#Post692772

 

thanks for the links, didn't realize there are two idler pulleys.. wish I could do it myself, but I probably don't have enough tools or know what I'm doing

 

For $350 you can get the tools, the FSM, and a buddy that knows his stuff to help you. How about that? And, you get to keep the tools and the FSM in the end.

 

it's the idler that goes to your upper rad hose.i could change it,the belt,and the water pump in two hours!

 

do you have to take the intake plenum off to get that top idler off? Thought I saw in another post that's what has to be done to get to the bolts for it..

 

you definately dont have to pull the intake plenum off. i just completed changing out those parts on my truck had no problems with it. i think the only issue you'll have with it is that you cant fit a socket in there, so the upper idler has to be hand wrenched off and on. easily doable, if a bit time consuming

 

I got the belt and idlers from EB and it ended up the tensioner idler was bad.. it's very hard to turn by hand. got the water pump replaced too.

took it home and noticed the idle is still not too smooth, so I held a piece of paper to the tail pipe and every couple seconds it snaps it towards the pipe..
I read in another post that means a warped exhaust valve :cry:

 

took it back because there was hesitation and he found that the ignition timing was advanced 15º so now it runs a lot better lol

 

alright well since he's adjusted the timing, it runs fine except for once it warms up if I lug it some or sometimes during accelerating it'll ping a little bit.. sounds like bad spark plug knock or something? I dunno the plugs have around 8 to 10k on em, think I should replace them? they're carquest plugs