Inlet Manifold Rattle

[Tay]

Hi everyone,

A few weeks ago I posted and asked about a weird rattle my 1.8 avensis was making at low idle only.

Well I eventually got round to taking it to my local dealer who after a pretty thorough investigation decided it was the inlet manifold and quoted me £662 to replace it.

My dad works in the parts business so I know I can get a cheap(er) part, but he also seems to think its a pretty easy DIY job.

He will be doing most of the work, as an ex mechanic of 45 years but I was wondering if someone with knowledge of these engines could give us a quick run down of what is necessary to swap this part over?

Any help would save us alot of time and hassle I am sure, and I would greatly appreciate it.

Cheers

[Black Knight]

Piece of the proverbial to change.

Disconnect the air hose at the throttle body (a jubilee clip)

You can either attempt to do it without disconnecting the heater hoses (can be done but a bit unwieldy and involves a bit of stretching but does mean you don't need to worry about fluids loss) or disconnect the two hoses and either clamp the hoses to avoid coolant loss or just accept you'll lose a bit.

Disconnect the throttle body (three or four bolts from memory)

Then loosen 5 bolts holding the manifold to the head and another lower down on the block and voila she should lift clear

[Tay]

Great, sounds simple enough! Thanks very much for your help.

To be honest I'm struggling to get the part now, any idea where I could find a (preferably) new one that doesnt cost the earth?

[acetip]

You could try eBay its surprising what you can find on there at a decent price.

Just be sure you get the correct one though.

[71jagman]

Hi Tay

I had the same problem with a RAV4 2004 which I have just fixed. After extensive searches on Youtube etc. I found that it is a common problem on several Toyota models. Apparently the manifold is made up of several mouldings glued/welded together. One of these forms an internal baffle which breaks loose with the passage of time and the fix is to insert strategically placed screws which stop the baffle from vibrating/rattling.

I removed the manifold with the intention of fixing it and having studied several other pictures of the fix decided on the best position for the screws was through the point where the mouldings come together. I chose an angle for the pilot drill that would put it through all the layers of plastic. Using a 2 mm drill I carefully drilled the hole feeling the drill pass through the layers of plastic into the plenum chamber. Then I counter bored to form a flat plane for the screw head. I then drilled the top layer of plastic with a 4 mm drill. The screw used was 3 mm Posidrive 20 mm long. This was inserted with a liberal coating of heat resistant silicon sealant. See the picture. I used four screws and aimed to get them in between the the air intakes. The manifold is now reinstalled and rattles no more.

I hope this helps anyone who has had a similar problem.