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Getting really close to 30,000 miles since this timing job. We just finished a long 1,700 mile scenic drive from Dallas to Utah. This engine starts quiet each time and continues to run great with no oil leaks.
P-Bod, you are our hero for documenting this journey. Our family just picked up a second LR3, a 2007 with 160K on it and it has this condition at startup. I am going to attempt a resolution by valve cover removal and loosening the phaser housing and twisting CC and retightening to see if quiets things down. I am intrigued by that through hole that passes the cover plate and the sprocket plate and wanted to ask you if the holes are the exact same diameter for a machinists dowel pin to locate them together? It would be very interesting for scientific sake to declare that the locating holes are not perfectly in line on my phaser before I slacken the bolts. Then to use a slip fitting pin to line things up, tighten down, then report to everyone the results on a cold startup. Or maybe this track I'm thinking about isn't even important and a more simple approach of slackening the 3 torx bolts and twisting the housing CC and retightening the bolts is all that I need to try? Just want to be realistic and prepared for a successful outcome before diving in! Again thanks for doing this for the rover community!
I appreciate your kind words. I have gotten a lot from many contributing here and glad to know my experience is helpful to others.
I’m definitely intrigued by you trying this out. I’ve been on the road and not able to dig deeper, but I still have my old parts. I’ll dig them out and see if I can provide some specifics. I’ll try to post by the end of the weekend.
hey, I heard a rattle and 100 miles later the car stalled in the street, feels like the starter was laboring on restart, killed the battery. The rattle was on the drivers side. How can I diagnose whether or not the motor is kaput? I read your entire thread and feel capable that I could get into the timing stuff…
Originally Posted by P-Bod
Here’s my VVT gear knock noise that you can hear really well in this clip. You can also verify the offending gear by touching both VVT solenoids while someone else starts it cold. This noise is for sure not chain slap.
If you have chain slap, it will definitely need to be fixed because it could jump time or grenade and for sure kill the motor.
I think it’s worth fixing if you like it and want to keep it.
Without removing a valve cover, the only easy thing I can think of is looking down the oil filler hole with a good flashlight while somebody cranks the engine. You can see a small part of the camshaft though the filler. If it doesn’t rotate while cranking, you definitely have a timing problem.
Here’s a picture. It’s hard to make out the cam, but you can see part of a lobe and part of the shaft.
Thanks for such a detailed thread on your timing replacement due to the cold start rattle. My biggest challenge after completing the same process is getting my valve covers to stop leaking after new gaskets were installed. Maybe my old valve cover bolts are not keeping it tight enough even though I am torqueing to spec. Any thoughts?
I have not had leak trouble on my valve covers. I opted not to use the new bolt seals from my parts kit, they just felt hard compared to the original ones. Are they both leaking? From the same spot on each side? Tracking leaks can be a real pain, but you will probably need to pinpoint the leak(s) before you can do much.
