Hey guys

I changed the oil (15-40 castrol stuff), oil filter, coolant and plugs on my 98 TF solara today, and when I bolted it back together, the engine vibrates and ticks rediculously loudly. To the point that I thought it was the spark plugs fouling on the pistons and killing the internals :sick: It also drops so low on idle some times it seems like it'll stall. Still revs freely in Park though.

To get at the rear spark plugs, I had to take the plenum off (as you'd know) but I didn't go near anything that could be making that noise. It had a slight tappet noise on idle which would go away after it was warmed up, but the noise and vibrations here is so severe that I don't want to let the car warm up. The timing belt isn't snapped, but I haven't looked any further than that on the timing. Thing is, it happened just as I've turned the car on after the service...

I'm tearing my hear out.

Hey mate,

I had a ticking sound that stayed there while i reved it when the engine was cold a while back, I put a timing belt kit through it and it fixed it.
May be the same noise but doesnt seem to add up as your noise started after you serviced it ?

Stupid question but i assume the part numbers on your plugs where the same

Stupid question, did you put the plugs back in the right order and are you 100% you did not drop something down the inlet manifold

What plugs did you use however they would have to be pretty long electrodes to tough pistons

Maate,
maybe you need to check the plug leads are fitted in the right order. If they check out OK then I'd be removing the intake plenum & plugs then having a looksee inside the cylinders with a torch.

Yeah, the plug leads are fitted in the right order, and am 100% I didn't drop anything down the intake (already thought of that when I was doing it, and was exxxxxtra careful). The plugs are the same length as stock and I pulled them all to check for fowling on the pistons (no contact thank christ).

Bit of an update. pulled the tappet covers off and cranked the engine over manually via the pulley with the half inch socket fitting and there was a tight spot. The engine would get 270 degrees around or so and the ratchet would be firm but still easily movable until a point, then stop dead. Father in law and I were thinking we'd pull the timing belt, loosen the rockers so the valves were all up and see if it could rotate round without any tight spots. What do you guys reckon? is it likely to be a case of the timing belt jumping, causing valves to hit pistons. It seems really coincidental that all of this happened straight after I serviced it.

Thanks for the replies so far, every little bit of advice helps.

It may be a coincidence but take the starter motor out and check that nothing is fouling the flywheel. If no problems found there then you could try unbolting the rockers (watch out for hydraulic lifters falling out of the rocker arms and disappearing into the oil drain holes) then set the crankshaft pulley to No 1 cyl on TDC & see if the cam sprocket markers line up. If you remove the timing belt you need the Mitsubishi tool or equivalent ??? to hold 5nm on the tensioner pulley (in an anti clockwise direction) whilst you tighten it up. Timing belts have been known to slip especially when a foreign object runs between the belt teeth & the pulley teeth. When I bought my sons TJ2 wagon last year (freshwater damaged repairable write off) it had mud & grass clippings etc in & around the drive pulleys. This resulted in both cams being out by about 6 teeth - fortunately there was no valve damage.

Cheers

The ticking may well be spark plug boots not seated correctly and teh spark is jumping to teh head rather than plug.

Regards, Andrew.

More good ideas guys.

I'll throw the old plugs in tomorrow to see if it fixes the problem.

Gday mate, are the plugs in tight? Undertightening can do this. Alternatively, you may have disturbed an injector or two when removing the plenum, check that all the injector connections are secure and that all of your injectors are firing.

All the best.