Super strange knock, ‘01 2.7L supposedly has 130k miles

Hey all, sorry for this to be my first post, used to be more active in 4Runner forums before I sold her years ago….

So, I just purchased this Tacoma 3,000 miles ago and this knocking began last week. It’s not routine sounding engine knock but it is consistent whether warm or cold, idle or revving. Almost sounds like something bouncing around vs routine valve or piston slapping.

I replaced drive belts thinking maybe it was related to a pulley or something like that.

Anyone have any suggestions for diagnosing before I take it to a mechanic?

 

If you take all the drive belts off and run the engine, is the noise still there?

 

That's not valve or piston slap. Too deep.

 

Thanks everyone!

I thought this as well and after this post I removed the PS belt since it was the easiest to remove, and sure enough knocking went away. Man it’s crazy how sound travels, sounded like it was coming right out of the block.

The pump has some wiggle on the pulley and even though I read it’s normal I checked a junkyard pump and it was much more solid. So I guess my pump needs replacing. Better than requiring a rod!