98 5sfe auto, knocking?

[xfeejayx]

Hey guys
I got my timing belt changed about a month or two ago, at about 144k. The belt was in really bad shape, and I think it might have jumped a tooth and gotten about 300 miles of driving on it before it was replaced.

The problem is that in that time in which I thought it had jumped, it started knocking, at least that's what I think it is. Thats when I decided it needed to get changed ASAP. It only knocked when the car was completely cold, and in gear.

Now the belt has been changed, which I thought would solve the problem. But it is still knocking. Just a few days ago, it started doing it while idling and not in gear (only happened when in gear before).
It stops as soon as it starts to warm up (few minutes or so).

I know that it has an exhaust leak somewhere close to the engine, but the "knocking" doesn't really sound like a rattle at all, it sounds like a dead blow thud. If the engine is warmed up, even high loads don't make it knock. The knocking rate increases as rpm increase.
Also, i pulled my sparkplugs to grease them when changing wires. Two of the plugs had oil around the top, not the bottom. Electrodes were dry and white. The oil was above the treads, by the seal to the motor, and it was clean clear oil. This might have been from when the valve cover gasket was changed (free with the timing belt change ). I'll pull them again soon to see if any oil is there again, but thought i'd mention it in case you think its related.

Think that it is knocking?
Any idea what might be causing it?

Thanks for your help

[RIP]

My guess is an oil channel is getting clogged and it takes a while for the oil to get to where the knock is to lube and quiet it. I would take it to an experienced set of ears to confirm. Short of that, Gunk or Rislone makes an oil additive that is designed to flush crud out of the oil system. You pour it in , let the engine run 5 minutes, then change the oil.

Your engine is a noninterference engine so when your belt slipped the valve train should not have been damaged. If it was, you either wouldn't be able to start or you would have little power.

I believe 98 Camry's are in that group that have the well documented "sludge problem" ie, oil coagulating in the valve train area forming a thick gooey sludge. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...06/ai_n9093540

[Brian R.]

The oil on the spark plug threads is probably from leaking seals in the valve cover tubes surrounding the plugs. Remove and reseal the tubes.

The noise you hear in your engine can be partially diagnosed by pulling the plug wires one at a time and seeing if any one of then cause the noise to stop. If any one of the wires cause the noise to stop, you have located the bad wrist pin, rod bearing, or piston.

If none of the wires have any effect, then it is possible it's your water pump. They can make alot of noise when the engine is cold when the shaft has alot of radial play.

[xfeejayx]

Originally Posted by Brian R.

The oil on the spark plug threads is probably from leaking seals in the valve cover tubes surrounding the plugs. Remove and reseal the tubes.

The noise you hear in your engine can be partially diagnosed by pulling the plug wires one at a time and seeing if any one of then cause the noise to stop. If any one of the wires cause the noise to stop, you have located the bad wrist pin, rod bearing, or piston.

If none of the wires have any effect, then it is possible it's your water pump. They can make alot of noise when the engine is cold when the shaft has alot of radial play.

Tried the wire pulling, didn't really make a difference which wire i removed. Replaced tube seals. Since then (the past few days) the problem has largely cured itself. The sound is barely audible now, and doesn't happen nearly as much as it did before.
If it is the water pump (which it seems is likely because its not inside the engine), is that serious, or can it be ignored?

[Brian R.]

It may or may not be a serious problem. I would replace it as soon at it is convenient, maybe sooner. Then you can replace the timing belt (or not in your case), cam and crank seals, and anything else that may be a problem in that area without much additional work.

Don't forget, it may still be that exhaust leak you mentioned in your first post.

[xfeejayx]

I got the exhaust fixed (a couple weeks ago) and the sound is barely audible now. I think it is still there, hidden under a bunch of other sounds. But it is so low that I'm thinking its not worth bothering with yet.
But since it did die down when the exhaust was fixed, It's gotta be inside the motor. I'm thinking maybe the valves need to be adjusted. Does that ever happen after 145k?

[Brian R.]

Never say never, but not normally.

[Soilent Green]

I've been having the exact same problem so I always warm the car up to the middle before taking off, it's annoying as hell, but the car doesn't seem to have a loss of power whatsoever and I'm low on cash right now so since I don't know what to expect I'll just wait for a bit.

Please post back here if you got it fixed