I've been having rattling coming from my timing chain in my automatic 4 cylinder 2002 toyota camry. 149000 miles. The question I have is, is it more likely to be the guides or the tensioner? Is there a way to figure it out without dismantling the engine? I don't know where to start.
If you're lucky it's just the tensioner. I've seen some pretty nasty noises caused by a bad tensioner that went away when it was replaced.
I found the following video of replacing the tensioner on a 2005 4-cylinder Camry and it says 2001-2005 is the same. It appears that the tensioner can be replaced from outside the engine but a lot of stuff is in the way. Another video shows getting at the guides and chain which needless to say requires a lot more disassembly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHOr5cmI5lU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNklf2urSP0
Thank you for the reply! I actually replaced my valve cover gasket today and checked. The timing chain is tight as a drum!!! So I don't know where to go from here lol
You can run the engine BRIEFLY with the fan belt removed to see if the noise is coming from a pulley or one of the belt-driven accessories.
There is no way to really tell. At this mileage, it is necessary to replace all the components of the timing chain system.
Tight as a drum doesn't mean anything. The only correct way to tell if the timing chain is stretched is to measure it with a very large set of dial calipers that measure in the 1/1000s of an inch and compare it to factory specifications.
Could be a serpentine idler pulley with a bad bearing. I also would recommend briefly running the car without the serpentine belt to see if the noise goes away. If so, then you have eliminated the timing chain
