Dealer says it's normal because the timing belt that has "stretched" over time. But the ticking noise on my 09' Camry with 3.5L V6 engine is driving me nuts. Any ideas what this might be?

 

The engine is known for making noises.

Is the check engine light on?

 

Hi,

Thanks for replying toyomoho!

no check engine lights.
Nothing off-spec was noted in diagnostocs test performed at Toyota dealer a couple of weeks ago.
But the sound is so irritating!

 

There have been issues with what is called the VVTi system which vary's the cam timing. The result is noise. If this system has problems the check light should come on.

There are also other things that can cause noise.

If you are comfortable doing so. Use a section of hose as a stethoscope in an attempt to localize the noise and determine if it is inside or outside the engine.

 

hi toyomojo,

did as you suggested. the ticking definitely comes from the upper top left (or front of the engine).

if the problem is caused by the camshaft, i read about a TSB for this engine somewhere, so that nails it.

but if its a timing chain issue as suggested by the toyota dealer, then which part do you think is affected and why the ticking noise? ...a broken or weakened belt tensioner maybe?

 

The VVTi sprockets (2 each) are located on the intake camshafts where are next to the intake manifold.

There is a spring loaded tensioner on the firewall side of the engine. Plus 2 fixed tensioner's on the radiator side.

These are basically strips of plastic. The spring loaded being long and the other two short and stacked.

Does the engine make more noise on cold start? The VVTi uses oil pressure and this may take some time to build to built up on cold start. Each system has a screen filter incorporated in the top oil line banjo which may have debris.

 

hey super mod,

initially the ticking can be heard only on cold start ups. but lately, I can still hear it after a long drive.

anyway, you have been very helpful. i'll now take this up with the dealer or bring my business elsewhere if the issue isn't resolved. thank you very much.

i'll post something here if the job gets done, for reference by other forum members.

 

Yes, please post back if you get to the bottom of this.

 

I finally got to fix this problem. It took a lot of effort but it's done and problem solved. Here's how:

1. I had the dealer take off the valve covers and inspect what they could inside. I timed the job to go with the recommended spark plug change to save on labor cost a bit.

2. They found the VVT-i actuators all lined up correctly. Chain tensioners all good. No sign of any problem at all except the dirty wire mesh coming from the VVT-i oil line. They cleaned that part and put everything back together again.

3. They ran the engine, and it sounded better than before the service. but the annoying ticking sound was still there.

4. So, after I got it out from the dealer. I took it to an independent shop where they suspected that the ticking sound might not be coming from inside the engine, rather it might be from one of the accessories. So they took out the serpentine belt and ran the engine (just a bit to avoid overheating).

5. viola! the engine purred like it was brand new. They finally narrowed it down to a bad alternator pulley that caused all this noise. I changed that out and i'm happy now!

tldr: ticking noise didn't come from the VVT-i or timing chains. It was from the busted alternator pulley.

 

Great job in preserving to find the problem!

Thanks for posting back with the detailed fix.