Timing belt related noise? (two years after TB job)

[[email protected]]

Hey guys,
The new water pump and both idler pulleys are in.
I should have ran it before putting everything back on but I got excited and put everything back together.
Sadly, the noise is still there.
We are going on a 600 mile trip in a few weeks and I cant use the company truck for this one. I wanted to have the 4runner put together and ready to go.

I will likely just be driving with this noise. Not sure where to go from here.
I went ahead and added another video to my google drive.

4Runner Noise Folder

Sounds like a rattle maybe? I cant figure the thing out.
Im going to ask a few friends to check it out and see if anyone has ideas.
Thanks!

 

[2TH4IST]

Oh snap! Damn was hoping it would have solved the noise. Sorry the noise is still there.

I don't know if you have done this or not yet, but have you ran the 4runner without the accessory belts, ps pump, ac, and alternator?

Silly question, was there any rub marks on the t/b cover?

If you have a looooong screw driver you can use that as a stethoscope. Listen to the alternator, ps pump and ac clutch and it's tensioner.

 

[[email protected]]

I don't know if you have done this or not yet, but have you ran the 4runner without the accessory belts, ps pump, ac, and alternator?

I did run the engine without the accessory belts and timing cover off before replacing the WP and tensioners. (There is likely a video or two of this on the Google drive link I shared if anyone is interested in hearing it)
I bought a cheapy mechanic stethoscope and then used a big steal rod as a stethoscope to try and track down the noise.
It seemed like the sound was from either the WP or one of the tensioners.

Silly question, was there any rub marks on the t/b cover?

If you have a looooong screw driver you can use that as a stethoscope. Listen to the alternator, ps pump and ac clutch and it's tensioner.

There were not any rub marks on the timing covers.

I should have ran it again without the accessory belts and the timing cover off after I installed the new parts but I got excited and just wanted it back together.

I replaced leaky valve cover gaskets and checked valve lash back a few years ago after purchasing it with leaky valve cover gaskets.
Its likely I didn't get things installed correctly but the 4runner runs and drives great with 20 mpg highway.
(I remember the plastic clip broke on one of the fuel injectors electrical connections but I rigged it up with 2 zip ties making an X around the rail holding it in place)
Maybe I didn't get something torqued down properly and its causing the noise?

I changed the oil in March (just been using the Castrol GTX ultraclean 5w30)
I'll probably change it again this week even though it's got less than 1k miles since then.

I guess ill pull some things apart after our upcoming trip and see if I can find anything working my way down from the top end.

Thanks again for chiming in on this.

 

[[email protected]]

Hey guys,
Im still just putting up with this terrible noise.
There is another new WP, Tensioner roller, idler roller, AC pulley and the recent videos are without all the aux belts.

I would appreciate any help in tracking down the source of this noise.
No codes, performance and gas mileage are great.

I think my next step is to remove the timing covers, put back on the harmonic balancer, hook back up the radiator and see If I can pinpoint the noise.

Could it be the oil pump?
Thanks for all the help thus far.

Google Drive 4Runner files

Latest Video August 2025

 

[[email protected]]

I just watched the videos in your Google Drive; is it me or does the passenger side camshaft pulley looks like it's wobbling a bit compared to the driver side?

Thanks DK,
I think you were on to something and I'm going to look into this further.
Read your comment months ago, watched the video and couldn't tell, but now that i'm trying to be super critical I think there does seem to be some more movement than the driver side.
Ill remove this cam pulley and re-install to spec to be safe.

Thanks man

 

[[email protected]]

Thank you guys for the help on this one.
Praise God, the noise is gone after a new TB kit and Oil pump.
Replaced the WP, Tensioner roller, and Idler roller several months back with no change.
The noise still seemed to originate from the front of the engines timing components so I grabbed another TB kit from aircabinman on ebay and just replaced everything again.
Replaced the oil pump with a new Aisin unit since the original had 207k miles on it.

Not exactly sure which component was creating the noise but i'm thankful that the engine sounds normal again.

Just in time for 4k miles of road trips in September.