2.4 2RZ-FE - how much vibration is 'normal'?

dfowl946,

No dice. Replacing the HB DID NOT fix the issue. My HB needed replacing as it was separating but it did nothing for the vibration. We'll have to learn to deal with it.

Is your 2000 an automatic or manual?

My question out there is to folks with the same year and engine with a manual tranny. If there are not manual tranny vibrations like this then it must be the torque converter or at least something related to having an automatic.

Any manuals out there that can chime in?

 

I don't have the same year as yours (mine's a 2004), but my 2.4l doesn't shake much at all, certainly not enough to worry about. Will admit I've seen smoother, quieter running I4's however.

I have a manual transmission, but don't know that this proves anything.

 

I have 2000 with a manual. 2.4 engine. Just shakes a bit sometimes when it's colder out especially. Ill look down when it idles down and the entire steering wheel is shaking... Guess it's just a normal thing.

 

I have a similar issue with vibration, but putting it neutral does not help. things I've tried/cleaned/changed: change PCV valve, throttle body clean, engine mounts, tranny mount, checked the throttle position sensor, did full tune up (plugs and wires). I also get no codes. I may check valves if I can build the courage....

 

96 2RZ-FE with 5 speed here and it vibrates most around 1100 RPMs. It seems to shake more on the exhaust manifold side. I've reshimed the valves, so I don't think there is too much power difference between cylinders. I wonder if new motor mounts would make a difference. They say 2.4L is about the limit for 4 cylinders to not have balance shafts, so maybe this accounts for the vibrations.

 

Hi DrZ, did the re-shimming help at all? That was going to be my next step. Changing engine mounts and tranny mount didn't do anything for me...

 

I had a 98 Tacoma base model lowered with the 2.4 2RZ and a 5 speed, I never had vibration over the barely noticeable ride rumble from my intake, headers and exhaust caused.

I had well over 200k miles and still was smooth to drive shift and idle.

O2 sensors, plugs, mass air flow sensor and throttle position sensor all playa big part in extra vibrations, I replaced all that on my current truck and all of my extra driveline vibes are gone.

 

I put a new head (casting) on (but the original valves), so in the process I re-shimmed to make all valves within spec. The head was rebuilt by a shop with the original valves, but some clearances were out of specs. I didn't re-shim to try to reduce vibrations. I don't really remember how much it vibrated or at what RPMs before all the work I did. I just figured it was somewhat normal.

What brand of mounts did you put in? I figured new mounts might make a difference since it looks like I have the original ones.

 

I have a first gen Tacoma (1996) with the 2RZ-fe engine and it has had what I considered a little more engine shake than I am used to. The shaking got to be a lot worse about 4-5 years ago and I performed as many checks as I could. Engine mounts, position sensors. The shaking seemed to vary and at a few times it was almost normal. I did find that if I turned the motor off while driving the vibration stopped. That still left a lot. The only thing left unchecked was the harmonic balancer.

I removed the radiator since it needed cleaning and pulled all of the belts. I was unable to remove the front crank bolt with my SST and ran out of time before I could make a better stationary arm to bolt to the balancer.
I refitted the water pump/alternator belt and cranked the engine for a few moments without the radiator or any other belts. Why? I had noticed that the vibration lessened when the clutch fan engaged.
What I saw was that the fan clutch assembly shook badly until it engaged.
I removed the fan clutch, started the engine again and the vibration was gone.

Apparently the rear bearing was gone. There were no balls just the seal and I am not sure what had happened. The viscous disc would slip off center and this caused the wobble and shake. I can see if the retainer failed and the balls came out, but there should still be an inner race and there is none. For some reason I had not been able to see that the fan blades were off center until I had removed the radiator and other belts.

I have installed a 16 inch electric fan instead of the clutch fan. I wonder if this the the cause of a lot of other complaints about the 2rz-fe engine vibrations. Could the some of the fan clutches have been bad from the beginning?
In my opinion my Taco runs more smoothly now than when it was new.

Update: I have re-examined the fan clutch. I can see the inner and outer races. I does appear that there were a number of premature failures of this bearing.