Hello,
I have a 93 Hardbody with the 2.4L 4 Cylinder (KA24E). At the time this problem began, it had around 160k miles. It is now up to 201k.
This truck has been in the family for years, and for as long as I can remember, the engine would make a loud obnoxious rattle for about 2 or 3 seconds every time it was started cold. A little over a year ago, it got to the point where the rattle was heard faintly while driving. It became a little more of a problem as time went on.
One day as I was driving, the truck began to overheat. I pulled over and noticed that most if not all of my coolant was gone. I filled it with water and drove it home. This happened two more times before I checked my oil and noticed that that is where my coolant had gone... the oil level was twice as high as it should be, and was a light brown milkshake-ish texture. Perfect indication of a blown head gasket or cracked block, right?
Wrong...well, at least in this case. Once I started tearing down my engine to replace the head gasket, I noticed the cause of the rattle over the years. The timing chain tensionor had failed, and the timing chain was grinding into the back of the water pump housing/front cover, making a small hole and causing the water to mix with the oil... After some research, I found that this is a very common problem in this engines .
I replaced the timing chain, tensionor, sprockets, as well as the front cover. I also refilled the coolant and changed my oil, of course.
Now, over a year and around 30k miles later, this problem is coming back.
Has anyone found a solution to this? Clearly the tensioners in these engines aren't any count, but I'm also concerned that maybe it's not getting enough oil pressure to function properly? Any input is appreciated! Thanks!
I have a 93 Hardbody with the 2.4L 4 Cylinder (KA24E). At the time this problem began, it had around 160k miles. It is now up to 201k.
This truck has been in the family for years, and for as long as I can remember, the engine would make a loud obnoxious rattle for about 2 or 3 seconds every time it was started cold. A little over a year ago, it got to the point where the rattle was heard faintly while driving. It became a little more of a problem as time went on.
One day as I was driving, the truck began to overheat. I pulled over and noticed that most if not all of my coolant was gone. I filled it with water and drove it home. This happened two more times before I checked my oil and noticed that that is where my coolant had gone... the oil level was twice as high as it should be, and was a light brown milkshake-ish texture. Perfect indication of a blown head gasket or cracked block, right?
Wrong...well, at least in this case. Once I started tearing down my engine to replace the head gasket, I noticed the cause of the rattle over the years. The timing chain tensionor had failed, and the timing chain was grinding into the back of the water pump housing/front cover, making a small hole and causing the water to mix with the oil... After some research, I found that this is a very common problem in this engines .
I replaced the timing chain, tensionor, sprockets, as well as the front cover. I also refilled the coolant and changed my oil, of course.
Now, over a year and around 30k miles later, this problem is coming back.
Has anyone found a solution to this? Clearly the tensioners in these engines aren't any count, but I'm also concerned that maybe it's not getting enough oil pressure to function properly? Any input is appreciated! Thanks!
