Help a girl out? What's this noise?? 2001 Tacoma 3.4L V6

So your truck is good now? or still needs work

 

Still needs a bit of work. But what truck with 182,000 miles, doesn't?
Now that the ps noise has gone down, you're able to hear the other mystery noise better. I just need to save up some $ to be able to have mechanic take apart and inspect the timing belt system. Oh! You're gonna trip on this... so you know that I had a mechanic come out and do an diagnostic inspection on my truck last week or so... well, apparently after looking at it, he forgot to tighten my radiator hose back on! So was leaking coolant there for a day or two. Good thing I really didn't drive it very much and have been in the habit of checking out my engine regularly to make sure nothing is getting worse and can safely drive it. Pretty sure that just sums up my luck with mechanics lately.

 

Omg the noises are still there, wow.......thats sucks, ik how it feels its all you think about and research about when trying to fix a truck, I got a good mechanic if you need one out here in Irwindale, Ca

 

So UPDATE!! I contacted my local toyota dealership (parts dept.) And confirmed the location of the "extra" mystery parts...

 

So mechanic coming out next week to do that. AND THIS TIME, all the work being done is warranted!!!

 

I'd hardly call that confirmation. The service tech saw timing belt pieces and was like "oh yeah, that's the tensioner and idler parts" and is trying to sell service. We learned nothing new.

The smallest bolt is for the inner timing cover, timing cover plastic, or used to hold wiring harness / sensor, or dipstick. The larger bolts are probably originals that were replaced with newer ones (you said they broke some bolts). I have the exact bearing/spacer looking thing in my junk drawer when I did my timing belt - not the issue. The plate is not an intricate part of the timing system that would create noise.

As others have suggested, it could be an accessory or idle pulley which you can test by removing a belt 1 at a time. It could be the aftermarket steering pump.

If you can take out a dash cluster and replace the bulbs, I'm sure you also have the ability to put remove the upper timing cover and use a screwdriver on a pulley to find out where a sound is coming from.

If your truck takes "quite a beating" and you drive it rough off-road, I'm not sure a pulley noise could be a concern for you at this point -- especially to drop money on 1 or 2 more mechanics to diagnose & repair something that could be done yourself.

I'd recommend you spend 1-2 hours on YouTube and familiarize yourself with the timing-belt replacement process, you could have identified all those pieces yourself, fairly easily.

You are investing a lot of time making videos and posts online, when you could have been diagnosing or fixing the problem yourself.

There are many moving parts on an engine that make sounds, as you have discovered, nobody online can tell you exactly what the problem is and be correct the first time. But it appears you have ignored some simple recommendations from people here, as well.

At the end of the day, it is your truck and you do what you want to with it. It could be one of the bearings in the new tensioner / idler pulley is bad, or the initial replacement is screwed up, and you'll have to have those components replaced again for a huge pocket of cash. But if the engine is running fine & timing is correct, that leaves it pretty unlikely . There is the flat washer between the tensioner pulley & block that is sometimes forgotten.

If you have play in your steering, it could be the rack bushings, the tie rods, or the steering column joint.

People on this forum like helping people and solutions but it's pretty irritating when a help thread becomes someone's twitter for their truck and recommendations are ignored.

 

wow dude don’t be a dick lol, you can make your point w/o being an ass

 

Thanks, champ'.

 

Seriously, I do appreciate the help and even the occasional constructive criticism... however, that said, i do not appreciate the crude response. There's really no need to be a dick about it. I'm freaking learning here!! And you haven't a clue who I am, nor what else I've been going through. So please show me some respect and consideration. Thank you.

 

My bad.

Looks like the service tech is trying to sell you service.

None of the bonus parts you have are a concern.

I still suggest, like others, checking the accessory belts / pulleys!

Taking off the timing cover isn't that difficult to inspect for sounds / wobbling, I'm sure you can do it!

I off-road my truck and it gets muddy and beat up. I don't care about strange sounds unless it breaks, haha.

There are some great youtube videos you can watch to learn about the timing system, and see the parts and where they come from!

Don't forget that some members have posted some free suggestions for easy self-diagnosis, that could end up being an order of magnitude cheaper to fix!

I would be pretty surprised to find that the timing install was messed up if the timing was done correctly! It requires some competence that surpasses mistakes like forgetting washers!

If you have play in your steering, it could be the rack bushings, the tie rods, or the steering column joint.

People on this forum love helping people! Hehe, it's pretty irritating when we can't find the solution xdxdxd.

 

I can proudly say, I'm driving around w/o that washer. I don't feel good about missing it but when the times come I'll be redoing it while at the same time doing a coolant flush. I get better clearance with the crank pulley bolt with the radiator out of the way

 

Aftermarket power steering pumps are notoriously bad. Do you still have your original power steering pump? If you end up needing a new pump rebuild the original instead. It's pretty easy to rebuild.

Get this rebuild kit: https://www.toyotapartsdeal.com/oem...ion=vane-pump-reservoir-power-steering,,04446

This thread, https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/power-steering-pump-rebuild-how-to-with-photos.377002/ will show you how to do it. That thread is for a 4-cylinder pump, but it will show you enough to get it done. The 6-cylinder pump is actually easier because it doesn't have a bearing.