Diesel Clatter Only When Warm

[Maarten]

Hi,

I drive a 2007 Avensis 2.0 diesel with 60k miles on it. I bought it recently and like it in general. The only disappointment is engine noise: there's quite a bit of typical diesel clatter. The strange thing is that it doesn't do it when cold: the first mile or so are always nice and quiet, and the real noise only starts when the engine has reached its normal operating temperature. I always thought that diesels clattered when cold, and should get better when the engine warms up. Is this an indication of a problem? I've tried premium diesel, but that doesn't make any difference. MPG seems normal, at just under 50, and the car drives well enough. It had a full Toyota service 2000 miles ago, when I bought it.

There's also more road noise than I would like, but that's another issue..

Maarten

[cmia]

Does your car have the chain installed instead of the timing belt?

[Maarten]

Does your car have the chain installed instead of the timing belt?

I wouldn't know, to be honest. How can I find out?

[cmia]

Does your car have the chain installed instead of the timing belt?

I wouldn't know, to be honest. How can I find out?

Sorry mate, should have read your entire post correctly.

If you car is a 2007 d4d, it will have the new 1ad-ftv engine, this

engine does "clatter" alittle becuase of its timing chain.

I assume you have check around the engine bay with the covers off to see if the noise

is comming from another component?

How many miles has it done?

[Maarten]

Does your car have the chain installed instead of the timing belt?

I wouldn't know, to be honest. How can I find out?

Sorry mate, should have read your entire post correctly.

If you car is a 2007 d4d, it will have the new 1ad-ftv engine, this

engine does "clatter" alittle becuase of its timing chain.

I assume you have check around the engine bay with the covers off to see if the noise

is comming from another component?

How many miles has it done?

It has done 60k miles now, and seems to be in excellent condition,

in general. It was bought as a Toyota approved car. It runs fine and

does about 48 mpg on average. All OK, I think, except for that noise.

I'll have to check the engine bay, to be honest. Good suggestion.

Thanks.

[cmia]

Does your car have the chain installed instead of the timing belt?

I wouldn't know, to be honest. How can I find out?

Sorry mate, should have read your entire post correctly.

If you car is a 2007 d4d, it will have the new 1ad-ftv engine, this

engine does "clatter" alittle becuase of its timing chain.

I assume you have check around the engine bay with the covers off to see if the noise

is comming from another component?

How many miles has it done?

It has done 60k miles now, and seems to be in excellent condition,

in general. It was bought as a Toyota approved car. It runs fine and

does about 48 mpg on average. All OK, I think, except for that noise.

I'll have to check the engine bay, to be honest. Good suggestion.

Thanks.

Best thing to do is,

remove the engine bay covers (all of them) and then see if something is loose

Could you you tube it?

[bestseany]

If it's a really bad clatter thats worse under load then that can sometimes be a sign of injector failure.

[Waseem1]

Do the injectors get worse or just become clattery

[cmia]

Do the injectors get worse or just become clattery

the injectors dont clatter,

they making ticking noise.

they eventually stop working.

[bestseany]

The injectors don't become clattery, but the engine does as they get worse. The clatter is caused by the engine not firing correctly as the wrong amount of fuel comes out of the worn injector, which makes it run rougher.

As the injectors get worse you'll start to notice more black smoke under load and white smoke when its started from cold. You might also notice a pinking noise under load too.

[Maarten]

Thanks for all the replies.

There has been no black or white smoke, yet.

The only thing that I noticed yesterday is that there's now a quite clear rattling noise when the car is cold and idling. It's really doing 'cleng cleng cleng' when it's just sitting there, at about 2 or 3 beats per second, and the noise comes from the driver's side (right) of the front of the car. It gets better when it warms up, but I have to say I find this a bit worrying.

Could this be the timing chain?

It's still under warranty, so perhaps I should take it in.

[Tech01]

A simple thing to try... D4Ds often produce a good bit of busy diesely chatter when warm, often around 2000rpm. If you haven't tried this already, just refill the engine sump with 20W-50, instead of the usual 10-40 or whatever. My own RAV4.2 is perfectly quiet on 20W-50, even with 135k km on the clock.

[Parts-King]

just refill the engine sump with 20W-50, instead of the usual 10-40 or whatever.

How will filling an engine with 20-50 help diesel clatter? There are more disadvantages to filling an engine with 20-50 so don't even think about it. A D4D is a modern high pressure diesel and putting 1970's oil in it is a great big no no

Kingo

[t-spiritpete]

just refill the engine sump with 20W-50, instead of the usual 10-40 or whatever.

How will filling an engine with 20-50 help diesel clatter? There are more disadvantages to filling an engine with 20-50 so don't even think about it. A D4D is a modern high pressure diesel and putting 1970's oil in it is a great big no no

Kingo

I agree Kingo, I run mine on 5w-30 as recomended by Toyota, also a described engine noise is very hard to faulty find on here anyway, it could be anything.

It is common for most diesels to produce "diesel knock" if put under load instead of dropping a gear even then the knock doesn't last long, it's quite normal.

Pete.

[Tech01]

Yes, the D4D is indeed a modern high pressure diesel . . . but the "high pressure" refers to the fuel system, and not the engine lubrication, which is quite traditional. It's also firmly a diesel, working almost exclusively well below 4000rpm. Much of the busy chatter emanates from the engine top-end (cam and tappet area), and a slight move up the viscosity scale (10-40 to 20-50) actually makes a lot of difference to the quiteness of the engine.

What disadvantages did you have in mind?

[Maarten]

OK, but this really doesn't sound like diesel knock. It does do that too, of course, but this sounds more like a loose chain or something like that. It is most clear when it's idling. And it didn't do it before.

[dervdave]

OK, but this really doesn't sound like diesel knock. It does do that too, of course, but this sounds more like a loose chain or something like that. It is most clear when it's idling. And it didn't do it before.

Just a thought, does the noise alter / change when you depress the clutch ?

[cmia]

OK, but this really doesn't sound like diesel knock. It does do that too, of course, but this sounds more like a loose chain or something like that. It is most clear when it's idling. And it didn't do it before.

its the timing chain

very common

how to fix it

new chain and cam sproket

but to do that engine needs to be removed

[Maarten]

OK, Thanks. Hopefully Toyota will agree to fix this under warranty. I think they should.

Is this an urgent problem?

[Parts-King]

Yes, the D4D is indeed a modern high pressure diesel . . . but the "high pressure" refers to the fuel system, and not the engine lubrication, which is quite traditional. It's also firmly a diesel, working almost exclusively well below 4000rpm. Much of the busy chatter emanates from the engine top-end (cam and tappet area), and a slight move up the viscosity scale (10-40 to 20-50) actually makes a lot of difference to the quiteness of the engine.

What disadvantages did you have in mind?

I am well aware of that, thanks

Engine longevity, fuel consumption, cold starting to name but a few

Kingo