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1992 Toyota Corolla metallic grinding noise

Tiny
JMEETOO
  • MEMBER
  • 1992 TOYOTA COROLLA
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 166,000 MILES
Hello, My toyota was doing some funny things the past three weeks. The first thing was the spark plug in cylinder 4 was unscrewing itself loose. It started making a metallic screeching/etching noise. I looked at the plug and noticed no type of damage to it, so I retighted it and also checked the other 3 and the noise was still there. The noise has grown worst over the past 2 weeks. You only hear the noise idling in any gear (P, N, R, 1, 2, D). When driving you do not hear any noises at all. Any ideas on what it might be?
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Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 AT 3:33 PM

9 Replies

Tiny
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  • MECHANIC
  • 31,937 POSTS
Hi there,

Thank you for the donation,

Trying to locate a noise with out hearing it is rather tricky, so I will start with a few questions which may help me isolate your problem.

I. Dose the noise increase with engine speed?

2. Is the noise constant with engine speed?
Have the drive belts removed and see if the noise is still there, you can run the engine for a short while with out any problems.

3. Dose the noise sound as if it is coming from the front of the engine, under the plastic covers.

4. Is you car carby or EFI?

5. Is it idling smoothly?

Check these for me and post back.

Mark (mhpautos)
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Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 AT 8:54 PM
Tiny
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Hey,

Thanks for the fast reply. :) I have not checked the belts, but as you increase the engine speed the noise goes away. When idling, the noise sounds as if its coming from the t-belt/engne mount area. I will try removing belts to see, as I am thinking it could be the water pump failing. Would that make that kind of noise if it was failing?

The car is an EFI, but it does idle rough at times. When I took it to toyota, they said in 10 mins of looking at it that it needs a new engine. I find that hard to believe that since it drives well and it does not burn fuel as if something might be wrong with it. Its very quiet when running, and can live with the noise, but would rather fix what is wrong with it, as it can develop into something worst down the road.
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Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 AT 9:03 PM
Tiny
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Hi there,
i would be checking around the timing belt, water pump and drive belts, first, start here and let me know what you find. You may have a can seal leaking oil onto the timing belt, this can make strange noises sometimes.

Mark (mhpautos)
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Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 AT 9:15 PM
Tiny
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Hey,

Thanks for the quick responses. I have checked all of the belts and the noise is not coming from the waterpump, A/C, or T-belt. It sounds like it was coming from where the fuel injectors are. Also I have noticed that the plugs seem to keep making themselves loose. But after tightening them, the nooise got worst earlier today.
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Sunday, May 24th, 2009 AT 7:47 AM
Tiny
MMPRINCE4000
  • MECHANIC
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When you remove plugs is ther any oil in spark plug tube? If so the tube seals would need to be replaced.

The screeching, could also be the AC idler pulley or the timing belt tensioner.
If timing belt has not been changed in the last 60K, change it and the tensioner.

Inspect the cam seal for leaks and the front main seal on oil pump.

ANY contamination on the assy. belts can cause an intermittent screech, coolant, oil etc. does your engine look like this one?


https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/108325_Picture_149_1.jpg

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Sunday, May 24th, 2009 AT 8:22 AM
Tiny
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Hey sorry for the delayed response. I had the timing belt and all the oil seals replaced 5000 miles ago. Yes the picture does look exactly like my engine. It sounds more like an engine knocking sound as I work more and more on itor like something has broken apart and knocking around around in the motor. It sounds like its coming from the back of the engine. I'm kind of scared it might be a rod knocking, but it does it intermittenly. There was no signs of oil on the plugs. Is there a way to know for sure if its the rods making the knocking noise?
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Monday, May 25th, 2009 AT 8:43 PM
Tiny
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It would be unusual for a rod to go in this engine, unless it was run low on oil, or the engine is sludged up, or the oil pump is bad.

Measure oil pressure with mechanical gauge.

Remove cam cover and look for dry spots, which would indicate poor oil circulation.

If rod, you will have to remove oil pan and check it.
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Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 AT 6:55 AM
Tiny
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I have removed the valve cover and noticed that oil is flowing through as it should. How would I measure oil pressure? Also, after removing the oil pan, what do I look for to indicate that a tod is thrown?
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Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 AT 4:36 PM
Tiny
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Hi there,

If you had a major failure like a rod the engine would knock all the time, remove the lower cover plate and check for a loose torque converter or cracked drive plate.

Mark (mhpautos)
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Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 AT 5:23 PM

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