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RAV4General discussion forum for the Toyota RAV4.
This is a discussion thread titled "How noisy is your 4 cylinder RAV?", within the RAV4 forum, part of the SUV Forums category.
Mine is getting noisier and noisier with every OC. I upgraded to 5W-30 synthetic just this weekend, but I still have a (very) noisy tappet during warm up, and a grinding/whirring timing chain noise. Does my chain need tightening? Only 46K miles on an 'o5 2AZ-FE? motor
The chain tensioner takes care of chain slack automatically, assuming it's working correctly and it's not adjustable. Your powertrain warranty is still in effect so you ought to get the noise diagnosed by the dealer so there will be a written record of the noise in case a part or mechanism related to the noise fails after 60,000 miles.
There's a slight possibility you could have a valve lifter with an excessively loose clearance that is causing the cold engine "tappet" noise. It's not too costly to have the valve clearances checked on the 4 cylinder, but rather costly to have a lifter replaced with a thicker one to tighten the clearance back to specs, because a camshaft will have to be removed to gain access to the lifter.
Yes, I use Toyota filters and request toyota genuine motor oil - who knows what they put in! I suspected they put 5W-20 in last OCI. Very noisy afterwards/ level checked OK. I was afraid it would cause trouble. I am a M.E. and past race engine mechanic/builder and know you cant cross spec these two oils: 6Cst/100degC and 11Cst/100degC no matter what HTHS is. FILTER; I think most aftermarket filters are absolute junk and NO deal at only a couple bucks savings over a OEM TOYOTA TAIWAN DENSO) part. Maybe on American I;'d use NAPA gold or Purolator premuim (had can-to-base weepy seam leaks with them and wix!)
DAMN 2AZ-FE:Are these 2.4L heads marginally jacketed with hot spots and coking/varnishing the oil? Damn Yamaha! Here, I suspect varnished chain tensioner - hope will clear up with last OC of 5W-30syn. An yes One noisy tappet - the new SM oil will work like crap on direct acting shim under bucket valvetrain due to reduced dry wear additives for the friggin catalyst and lambda. Can I put in a cup of old spec 2 stroke oil to add back some of that missing ZPDDP and molyS02? naw, I wont do that under warranty ...
Rick I am planning to get the dealer to listen and diagnose and get it documented. Good advice all. Thanks!
Last edited by grumpy in NH; 03-19-2008 at 04:49 PM.
I haven't got to the dealer yet, but I put in Irving 5W-30 and it seem a bit thicker than the Supertech SYN. The SUPERTECH SYN must be at the light end of the 30 weight and the Irving at the thick end, eg: 9 vs. 12 cSt? Car is a bit quieter AFA piston slap goes, but the T-chain noise is still too much. Maybe I got a varnished TC adjuster? I might trade this pig - too bad I thought it would go 200K with minor maint! I blame the API OILS SH, SJ, SL SM.
Use john deere 5w-30 synth with .10% ZDDP, spec out pretty good meets API SG/SL spec I think. BTW: Porsche/VW/AUDI wont allow API spec oils, they suck the weed stem so bad ..
Use an Automotive Stethoscope and trace that noise as best yu can.
This tool is a prerequisite ...and I use it to a great advantage on issues such as yours.
Then you should be capable of removing the valve cover to check your valve clearances and check for the presence of varnish. A loose clearance on even one of the 16 valves = noisy engine. It is possible one or more of the valve clearances was set too loose at the factory (the 2AZ-FE is made in America). As a rule, varnish is non-existant in a Toyota engine if the oil, even dino oil, has been changed every 3-6 months or 3000-5000 miles so there is an excellent chance your engine is sparkling clean inside after only 46,000 miles.
It is also possible the noise is not coming from the valvetrain mechanism or timing chain. The 2AZ-FE has been around for 8 yeats now and hundreds of owners are already past the 200,000 mile mark.
Then you should be capable of removing the valve cover to check your valve clearances and check for the presence of varnish. A loose clearance on even one of the 16 valves = noisy engine.
Wife brought it in to Toyota Service Center for 45K maintenance and they said all they hear is some belt noise (of course!) .
I will not tear into this over grown bike motor - if it has an over-clearanced valve tappet then the motor has to be torn down to re-shim it, Oui? Non adjustable, no rocker arms, no hydralics. I will try to find engine shop manual - but I assume the cams have to be liftyed up or out to get the bucket-over-shim out. Since it's under the 5Y 60K warranty -No Touchy by me except OC and lube. BTW, AFA longevity goes, statistically even the deemed POOR engine designs have hundreds of owners over the 200K mark. Recall we have NEW oil specs with low SAPS and our engine need EP add pack in there to prevent catastrophic wear, and we'll only know how good or bad the new oil is 5 years from now. Well, this WAS the best 4 cyl ive driven prior to 40K mark ...
Last edited by grumpy in NH; 05-13-2008 at 11:19 AM.
Reason: sp content
Wife brought it in to Toyota Service Center for 45K maintenance and they said all they hear is some belt noise (of course!) .
I will not tear into this over grown bike motor - if it has an over-clearanced valve tappet then the motor has to be torn down to re-shim it, Oui? this WAS the best 4 cyl ive driven prior to 40K mark ...
Well it all turned out to be a bad filter, which was a denso toyota service part. At my large expense (10BUCKS) I put in a Denso Japan filter tLIKE That WHICH WAS SUPPLIED on the ENGINE when NEW- which is (COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DESIGN than the Dealer service part) - and the engine runs a quiet and as powerfull as new. Who would think that a Denso product would be bad? My Yaris is noisy after its first OC also, so I bet this filter isto blame tere too - nothing else makes sense 9not that an OEM filter being bad makes sense but denso is having other oem around the world ( these are made in Thailand) make filters for them, so maybe the Quality Assurance is not to snuff.(which is hard to believe - but many asian manufacturers are 2nd rate - I get component parts from Samsung and they have a big QC problem very high defect rate not even good enough for American manufacturing
How noisy is your 4 cylinder RAV?
Re: How noisy is your 4 cylinder RAV?
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