was running mint, engine sounded healthy and has a brand new wof and regd until november brand new tyres heaps of clutch very smooth gearbox, has had the superstruts replaced in the last 6 months, seemed to be a mint car, friend of mine was going to come check it out with me but i couldn't get hold of him but it looked good and had a good feeling about the car so went ahead and bought it. got it for 3500 with 220kms on the clock. (and a full tank of gas
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well thats the story behind it, didn't post it in the new members section because i figured most people wont give a shit.
anyway, car was running mint for a few hours, until I decided to make sure the motor went well. Did a first, second and third gear pull from the lights by paramata to make sure it was goin good. everything went well. (I am a very sensible driver and would generally only do that under controlled conditions but I had to test it out - its a performance car after all, got to make sure it performs right?)
about 20 minutes later I heard some ticking.
I had heard a similar noise before in my mates hilux, and i had a ae101 that I had bought for spare parts with a blown engine and it sounded quite similar. immediately assumed it was the bottom end bearings and that the guy had sold me a $&#$% car. the stick read the oil was full. I drove straight back home, parked it up. mechanic friend of mine came over and checked it out about an hour after this. when we started it, the noise was significantly quieter. He said it might not be the bottom end because otherwise it would be a constant and loud noise. (but then he jacked it up and listened from underneath and said it was knocking from underneath so it might be) It seemed to be knocking quietly at idle, like knocking on a wooden door, then if you actuate the throttle a bit to around 2200-3000 a loud tapping noise comes on, which sounds more like drumming with a couple spoons on a metal block.
I read that the VVT activates when you turn the motor over. When you start the motor, and you get that little surge of rev that comes and settles down just after you start the motor, it ticks really really loudly for like one second, then settles down and you cant hear anything. That, and the fact that once you rev the motor a wee bit higher, maybe around 4000rpm the ticking stops completely. (after coming on at around ~2300rpm)
So I read sometimes the VVT gear can crap out and make a ticking noise. I am REALLY hoping it might be this because it sounds cheaper to fix
Anyway so what are things I could look at to try confirm weather its just the VVT pulley or not? Or would this most likely be a rooted motor? I should have another mechanic around to check it out soon but I don't have much patience, ive spent ages on the net trying to find out vvt pulley wear systems but theres not much info, other then it can happen...
If its in need of a rebuild I wont be too disappointed. Sure it will cost a fair bit but I was thinking I could get some ACL bearings and silvertop con-rods installed while im at it, meaning in the future if I ever wanted more power I am set to chuck some cams and springs in the head with a ECU
