Shogunblood420

if this is in the wrong section please move it lol. i could not for the life of me find out how to post until about 15min after looking lol.

ok i don't know how but this car is still running fine lol. well i thought it was, up until about a week or two ago. here's a basic run down... i got it in 2009. standard transmission. i've always done my own brakes, fluid change etc. basically nothing major except the clutch i put in a few years ago. then the clutch went out after a year then i had a garage put a new one in about a year ago and it's been fine ever since. everything is stock on the car except some LED's and a cheapo air intake from ebay. its beat up and i have run this thing with low oil for a very long time in the past but as of now it's up to date on all fluids and such.

a couple weeks ago i noticed a ticking sound coming from under the hood. i did a little research online about it but nothing sounded exactly like my problem because my car has very high miles and the cars i read about had like less than 50k. the ticking started off reasonably quiet and it would be quieter in the mornings when i first start it and get to its loudest later in the day. it's most noticable when i accelerate (in any gear, mainly 2-5) and when i let off the gas while its in gear. at first it wasn't loud enough for other people to hear it if i was just driving by them around 15-30 mph but now i can tell that people will be able to hear it especially when i'm driving in my neighborhood.

it sounds more like a tick than a knock. id say more top-end than bottom-end but not too sure. i haven't noticed any performance issues, and when i've given it more gas than i normally would it doesnt seem to get a lot louder or make the ticking worse but it could be very subtle. the only thing that i've noticed is different is when i got the air intake kit, the whistling of the air going into my intake was alot louder and i liked it alot. thought i was hot ____ but deep down i knew i wasn't. but ever since the ticking started i noticed that when i give it just the right amount of gas, the whistling doesn't happen anymore. it's probably not relevant but im no professional. there's no fluids leaking from anywhere and no other weird sounds. had an oil change about a month ago. im hoping its not an internal problem because i dont have the cash to fix it but i could be wrong.

i'm not sure if there's any necessary info that i left out, if so please tell me. i can try to get a video or at least an audio clip of the sound but it may be a lil hard to do since i can't really stick the phone out the window and it's probably too quiet when i'm idling.

i just wanna add this too for the heck of it. when i did my brakes about 2 months ago i noticed that my rear driver side caliper piston is on a 45 degree angle resulting in the pad being worn down in a hilariously bad way. not sure if it's just the seal around the caliper or if i can just C-clamp it into submission lol. not hard to replace so not too worried about it but the car brakes just fine. no squeaking or grinding at all but i can feel it in the pedal. i really need rotors pads and calipers all around.

LMK what you guys think. Thanks ALOT!!!!!!!

-Tyler

samatman

Do a compression test on each cylinder. I would think if a valve seat is failing it would show there.

Lexus LS430 engine failure - ticking, misfire, valve seat failure, and head replacement

samatman

As far as the calipers go: crap. I have replaced them more than any other car. Used a hammer to get the last one off.

Y2KG20

Has it ever been run low on oil? Could be a rod bearing that's worn. Put super thick oil in her and see if the sound goes away. If it does I wouldn't drive it until the bearings and crank are checked. A light tap only heard with the hood open might be saved with new bearings. A tap heard from the car next to you is probably too late.

Shogunblood420

yes it has been run low on oil. VERY LOW at times. i would go anywhere from 2k to 13k miles over what the sticker said, but at the same time i would always buy a quart of oil about once a month or so and put it in. of course there were times when i would check the dip stick and it would be bone dry or have just a drop of black oil on the end and i would still drive it for a while without putting oil in but for the most part i always bought some oil to put in it every month when i knew it needed to be changed. i suppose a bad bearing could explain all the noise. it doesn't sound horrible but its definitely not good lol. how hard and expensive is it to change those bearings?

and also, if it is the bearing, i thought it woulda gone out during one of my "no/low oil" sprees lol but instead it started happening a few weeks after i got an oil change. i checked the oil levels a few days after i got changed and i think they put too much in. the oil didnt make a definitive line on the dip stick, it was kinda spread all over, going way above the full line. but then again i dont know if i checked it after it had been sitting a while, i think it was very shortly after driving, idk. im not a mechanic but i love engines and fixing/working on them.

when i did my brakes recently it was pretty tough to get the calipers off. oh yea, how do i do a compression test on the cylinders? and are there any auto parts stores that can do that? or is it more of a garage type of test? any info on how much things could cost to fix would be awesome, also which places have the best cheapest parts. i dont have a lot of money so i hope its something i can do myself in my garage. Thanks Guys!!!!!!!

Shogunblood420

i put up a couple pics. u can tell its been thru alot lol.

The ticking sound isnt able to be heard when im idling.

i just noticed it was low on oil again so i put a quart in today. didnt help the sound tho. it was 10w 30. i usually use 5w 30

Y2KG20

Does it make any tapping/ticking in neutral when you rev it? Just trying to eliminate the drivetrain.

I'm going to guess that most 2AZ-FE engine probably die from low oil with the piston ring/relief hole issues on all of them. When I saw you have like 200k on the motor I figured it had to be going through lots of oil if it hasn't been to Toyota for recall. You would be surprised how much damage happens from just seconds of no oil pressure to the bearings.

Changing rod bearings is a pretty big job. If it has been driven for 2+ weeks and it is the rod bearings you'll probably want to just replace the motor. I have found that it is much cheaper to get a good clean junkyard longblock and freshen it up compared to having a machine shop clean up a crank and rods for a rebuild.

Shogunblood420

in the long run it would make much more sense to just buy a new car. But i love this car so much i would probably do almost anything to get it running good again. and because of the high miles, theres a very good chance that when something does go wrong, itll be a big and expensive fix. ill test your "ticking in neutral" theory here shortly.

if anyone here has gone to a junkyard and bought a scion engine (2.4L DOHC VVT-I) im curious what the price is. and when i get a definitive answer as to what exactly is wrong with my car ill try my best to repair it without having to get a different car. but even if i did buy a new car (not actually NEW, but not the car i have now lol) then i would still get one of the 1st Gen tC's. i love them and my car has to be stick shift. i feel like a fairy driving an automatic. I just hope that the problem will end up being something completely different from what i thought.

ill post updates!!! and the noise in neutral test in about an hour or 2.

is there any other ways i can test it to see whats wrong? i dont have a computer to plug into my car to read the check engine light so the simpler tests would be better

Shogunblood420

was the 06 tC recalled? or a specific part on it? or did u mean a different recall. im confused lol

Y2KG20

The 2AZ-FE oil consumption test at Toyota. They do the consumption test and if the motor eats more than 1 qts of oil in 1200 miles you got a rebuild under warranty. (something like that) The rebuild consisted of new pistons,rings, and head gasket. Not sure if they covered cars under 07' or not but I'm guessing they did because the $200 04' Camry engine that I pulled at the local U pull was factory rebuilt with 2013 Toyota/Mahle revised pistons. Your car wouldn't be covered anyway since it's already too old and too many miles

Staying tuned to hear about any noise in neutral....

Shogunblood420

Just tested it. NO noise in neutral. not even a slight tick like what happens when i drive it

Shogunblood420

might be a dumb idea but i could facetime to try and show people what it sounds like. not sure if the mic will pick it up tho. idc about people having my number.

Y2KG20

Usually if it's a bearing going you'll hear it at different rpm's even in neutral. So that's a good sign!

Maybe you can put it on jack stands and rotate the wheels while someone listens for the noise.

Shogunblood420

yea. and if i hear it while i turn a wheel then its prob a wheel bearing or something related to the wheel. but i doubt it because it sounds like its coming from under the hood, not the tires. but i could be wrong. more info coming soon

Shogunblood420

come to think of it, i doubt its something in the wheels because when im giving it gas and during shifting gears its somewhat quieter, and it gets louder when i let off the gas while its in gear. That makes me think its more internal. i think if it was a bearing in the wheel or something related to the wheel then the loudness of the sound would be constant and not dictated by me giving it gas or shifting. think of it as a ticking that matches your RPM's. Imagine a car speeding up but on top of the engine getting louder and hearing it change gears, you can also hear the ticking going right along with the engine.

samatman

You will never mistake wheel bearing failure for something going on in the engine. Wheel bearings that fail are constant while moving, sound horrible, and will make you want to drive very, very slowly to the nearest mechanic.

Get on a rural road, drive up to 45 and put it in neutral. Turn the key off (or just let the revs drop while on) If it's wheel bearings there will be no difference in the sound.

Shogunblood420

in that case then i know its not a wheel bearing because ever since the noise started i try to be in neutral and coasting as much as i possibly can and i cant hear it when im coasting.

Shogunblood420

and i cant hear it when im coasting at 45mph in neutral and reving it so it must be where the clutch connects with the trans or the drivechain or something else serious. either way its just getting worse and worse by the day lol

Shogunblood420

any other opinions?

samatman

Sorry I don't have anything else. Good luck, this board has become fairly slow.