engine chatter at certain rpm range

Hi all. I have a 95 truck with a 22RE engine. There is chatter between 1700-2250 rpm. It goes away at higher and lower rpm. I replaced plugs and distributor cap/rotor for good measure, but didn't think that would fix it. Sure enough, still there? Can anyone give me ideas on what might be the cause? I'd really appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

It could be a broken motor mount, a broken tranny mount, or a bad u-joint.

colo_truck,

Comon problem for Toyota pick-up's, Like ajjptempo said, check for broken or worn motor, tranny, and t-case mounts.

If those are in good shape, you may have cluch slippage. It can be caused buy a number of things; oil in the disk leaking form the rear main, or from the tranny.

Toyota's all use hydraulic clutch linkage, it works well, in the later model units like yours, the hydraulic linkage is self adjusting, they have had problems in the past with these self adjusters. if it is not working properly, you will develope permature cluch slipage.

Possibly a worn timing chain. If you have 80-120k miles since it was changed, this is very likely. To check, pull the valve cover off and look down inside the timing cover (very front of the block) with a flashlight . If the chain has worn and broken the guides, you will see some grooves in the aluminum where the chain has been slapping. If this is the case, fix it asap to avoid costly repairs when the chain wears through the water passages, or breaks and causes bent valves. This is a very common problem with the 22re.

I have the exact problem going on. At around 30 mph in 3rd gear I hear a chatter. I brought the truck into a dealer and after anhour he told me it was the timing chain. At 1400.00 for the repair, I have decided to do it on my own with limited "mechancic" know how. There are some good instructions for this particualr job online. I was told the problem may never cause a probelm beyond the noise, but others have told me it could lead to much bigger problems. The truck is a 94 with 122,000 miles. Am i getting into something over my head?

If you don't fix this problem, you WILL eventually have 1) a ruined timing cover, which will allow oil and antifreeze to mix...if you drive it like this, you will blow your motor, or 2) bent valves, requiring you to have the head pulled and new valvetrain installed. So, you definitely need to replace a worn timing chain before it becomes a bigger problem. If you follow the online instructions (I read several before doing my first one), and be very meticulous in keeping track of what goes where by labeling and such, it can easily be done with basic mechanical skills. Good luck!

It seems I too have the rattlesnake under my hood. I am going to pull
the valve cover this weekend to confirm. I have 83,000
on my 95 22RE. I have also checked a couple procedures
online and it seems like something that I could handle but
it would be by far the biggest job I've ever done. I'm still
trying to decide whether to go for it or not. I figured I
would need at least a few days off and a couple cases of beer.
It's a really depressing situation. I spent a couple grand on
body, paint & wheels before I heard this noise and researched
the whole damn chain/guide thing. I hope I'm being paranoid and
just need a valve job. The best way I can describe the noise is
exactly like a rattlesnake at random RPM and always few secs. at
startup. I've actually gotten good at driving in a way that will
suppress it a little but lately it's almost all the time chatter.

Don't get too depressed, it's not a multi-day project. It could take a couple hours to get everything unbolted, an hour to clean all the gasket surfaces, and a couple hours to reassemble. I chose to clean all the parts I removed while I was in there (ps pump, alt, timing cover, oil pan, valve cover, yada yada), and I think it took me about 6 hours for my first one. A buddy and I did one in camp at Moab in about an hour. If your guides are broken (which they probably are), it's best to pull the oil pan to remove the broken shards. This adds considerably to the cleaning-old-gaskets phase, but it's nice to know it's clean in there. A couple things I would suggest that may not be covered in other write-ups: Take the radiator and grille off. It makes the job much easier to work on. Also, make a cardboard template in the shape of the timing cover and stick each bolt in it as you remove it. Put other fasteners in paper cups (ps pump bolts in one, a/c bolts in another, etc.). You may also want to snap a photo of a few things before you start, so you can hook up vacuum lines and stuff the right way later. Oh, and buy a good timing kit! You should pay around $150-200. Those $50 kits don't last worth a crud, and you'll be doing it all over again in a year or two.

Thanks for the great response

Thanks SUV for all the knowledgable feedback.
I did buy a 50 dollar timing kit from Napa,and now wonder if I should return it if possible. I have had the truck for sale and wasnt able to sell it due to the problem, so I dont know if I should spend the extra money on a better chain just to get rid of it. I have also found that I did have a broken guide and am now trying to decide if I should lift the motor a ways, or try and seperate the differential/axle from the frame to get the pan out. I have a 4wd. The truck knocks when first started, and Im thinking that its posibbly due to the clogged oil screen from the bits of plastic. Suggestions anyone?

You can get the pan out witout pulling engine out. We just did this. Start by pulling skid plate. Then pull sterring stabilizer, unbolt bolts that bolt motormounts to the frame, Then jack up engine until it just touches firewall, no pressure on it though. Now unbolt pan, reach up and unbolt pickup tube and screen. Now it will all slide out with a littlt twisting and turning.