valve clatter

[Brian R.]

It's possible that the missing bolt in the oil pump housing caused wear in the pump, which lowered your oil pressure - causing some bearing problem.

Sorry, just guessing

Since he changed spring color, I wonder if the spring color has to match a specific idler pulley. Since the two springs have different tensions, there may be two idler pulley assemblys that are not interchangable. You might check to see if there are two different part numbers for the idler pulley assembly.

[Bev55]

Originally Posted by Brian R.

It's possible that the missing bolt in the oil pump housing caused wear in the pump, which lowered your oil pressure - causing some bearing problem.

Sorry, just guessing

I wonder if the spring color has to match a specific idler pulley. Since the springs have different tensions, there may be two idler pulley assemblys that are not interchangable.

He says just for argument's sake, what if that was true--if it was too tight or too loose, how would that cause a knocking noise?

[Bev55]

Originally Posted by Brian R.

It's possible that the missing bolt in the oil pump housing caused wear in the pump, which lowered your oil pressure - causing some bearing problem.

Sorry, just guessing

Since he changed spring color, I wonder if the spring color has to match a specific idler pulley. Since the two springs have different tensions, there may be two idler pulley assemblys that are not interchangable. You might check to see if there are two different part numbers for the idler pulley assembly.

He says, just for argument's sake, what if that were true--if the spring was too tight or too loose, how would that cause the knocking? And why would Toyota sell him that, knowing that he had a green spring?

The garage is halfway cleaned out--at least some good may come of this...;-)

[Brian R.]

Probably wouldn't. But I have heard of stranger things causing problems. Just tying together the loose ends of the belt replacement. It is either the oil pump not functioning correctly and causing a bearing to fail, or something in the belt path. Nothing else was touched, that I know of. Just looking at everything in the belt path with fine-toothed comb.

Why would they sell him a green spring? Because the guy at the parts counter didn't know better.

I'm not saying this is a problem, just that this is what I would look at if this was my engine.

[Brian R.]

I called a guy at my local Toyota dealer and he said that there is only one spring available and one idler pulley assembly available. I guess this means they found a lower tension spring was better for belt life or something.

[Bev55]

Originally Posted by Brian R.

It's possible that the missing bolt in the oil pump housing caused wear in the pump, which lowered your oil pressure - causing some bearing problem.

Sorry, just guessing

Since he changed spring color, I wonder if the spring color has to match a specific idler pulley. Since the two springs have different tensions, there may be two idler pulley assemblys that are not interchangable. You might check to see if there are two different part numbers for the idler pulley assembly.

I tried posting this response twice, but it doesn't seem to be showing up on the forum, so I'll try again--forgive me if I repeat myself.

My husband says, just for argument's sake, what if that were true--if the spring was too tight or too loose, how would that cause the knocking noise? And why would Toyota sell him that spring, knowing that he had a green one?

The garage is halfway cleaned out now, so at least some good will come of this! ;-)

[Bev55]

Originally Posted by Bev55

I tried posting this response twice, but it doesn't seem to be showing up on the forum, so I'll try again--forgive me if I repeat myself.

My husband says, just for argument's sake, what if that were true--if the spring was too tight or too loose, how would that cause the knocking noise? And why would Toyota sell him that spring, knowing that he had a green one?

The garage is halfway cleaned out now, so at least some good will come of this! ;-)

Oh, now it showed up--sorry about the double-posting. Anyway, thanks for your help, Brian, and thanks for saving us a call to Toyota!

[Brian R.]

Good luck sorting it out.

[Bev55]

Originally Posted by Brian R.

Good luck sorting it out.

Thanks, Brian. My husband was going to replace the engine with a used one, but, after spending a few hours disconnecting parts, he decided to throw in the towel, and he put the car back together. We're just going to try to sell it as is, hoping we'll at least get a little bit of money for it. Too bad he wasted all that time, and had already replaced the timing belt before this problem showed up! I guess someone's going to end up with a good parts car (or a good rebuildable car).

Bev