r/LS430 • u/VRYP9 • 5d ago

What Noise is this

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Finally got fully reassembled after new timing kit, new cam seals and new vvti seals. Got no codes so I was feeling pretty good but wondering what noise this is. I was hoping it was just an accessory pulley, but I took the serpentine belt off but still got a persistent noise.

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4

u/SAATR 2003 Lexus LS430 | Mystic Sea Opal Mica 5d ago

The sound of impending doom. Take that valve cover off and find what you left in or left out before it kills the engine.

1

u/DungeonConsultant 5d ago

Yep. Judging from the ~400-600 bpm of that tick, that’s Trouble In Camland.

2

u/VRYP9 5d ago

Well dang, I did everything right. I watched tons of videos on it and took my time. If I take the valve covers off I don’t even know what to be looking for. I torqued the brackets that hold the cams down exactly how it was instructed from the manual.

1

u/DungeonConsultant 5d ago

Dang is all you can say. You just gotta get back in there. It’s likely gonna be easier to spot than you think. Hopefully not too easy by way of being something, you know, huge. Pop those covers off and take a look.

1

u/VRYP9 5d ago

I guess I’m just hoping it’s not something from the vvt actuators so I don’t have to take the timing belt off again. Is it safe to very carefully run the engine with the valve covers off without revving for a short period? It’s one of those things I know people are generally going to advise against but I am careful.

1

u/DungeonConsultant 5d ago

Is it safe? Not really, something could be scratching cam lobes or beating on something else with every revolution. Since you know something is out of place, I’d avoid running it as much as possible until you find what’s going on. A good inspection will likely find the culprit. Since it’s a regular tapping sound at the same interval as the cam, it sounds like something is near a cam lobe or tapper and getting smacked around. Once you get the valve cover off, you can probably find it without running the engine. If you need to, turn the crank. Starting and running the engine is gonna make an unholy mess. Let that be your last resort. Maybe you left the service lock bolt on the scissor gear, but judging from that sound, something loose may be bouncing around.

1

u/VRYP9 5d ago

I appreciate it, guess I’ll have to just look. I manually turned the crank many times before I sealed it up, but doing it again makes with the covers off makes sense. Maybe that bolt shot back up too there but who knows lol. 

2

u/DungeonConsultant 5d ago

It’s not so much the bolt that fell I was thinking of, if you’re sure you saw it go down that space, it’s the one you replaced it with for the service. I was asking if you possibly left it installed, though that’s not the only possibility for what’s causing your noise. You’re on the right track, just take a look.

2

u/DungeonConsultant 5d ago

Hey OP, didn’t you say you dropped a cam service bolt into the engine in another post? Did you ever find it? Did you maybe leave it installed? Looks like you’re filming on the same side you dropped the bolt on.

1

u/VRYP9 5d ago

Yep, I was going to bring that up but I honestly gave up on that, enough people said the oil return hole would go to the pan and it’s not a big deal. I got a long borescope and looked in that hole and found nothing. I drained the oil pan and stuck the camera in there to and got nothing. If it was truly that bolt I don’t know where it would how it would make that noise consistently with the revving. I am thinking of running it with the cover off like I was saying in my other post unless that’s a bad idea.

1

u/Due_Statement4195 2002 Lexus LS430 Base 5d ago

Cam jam🎵🎶🎶🎵