jbl-1985

Sharing this with the group: For the longest time, my '00 ES has had a very loud ticking noise coming from the rear bank. After countless engine oil additives (mechanics in a bottle) and fuel injector cleaners, I finally decided to take it in and get it taken care of once and for all.

Just got back from the dealership and saw the car all torn up - had some questions for the tech. The problem is one of the buckets on one of the exhaust valves was worn down quite a bit, causing the increased clearance (spec is 1/14000th of an inch, currently at 1/40000th) that caused the tick. 1) was it oil starvation? No. He turned the engine over and oil was flowing as expected. I've cared for this car religiously since I bought it at 50k miles 5 years ago, but you never know. Basically it's an issue that everyone agrees is very rare. It has 105k on it now.

While he had the engine apart, I am having him replace all spark plugs and replace the timing belt as well. When I asked about also replacing the tensioners, water pump along with the belt, he said they're all good, and there is no need to spend the extra money.

Bottom line is that the 6 cylinder 1MZFE is one of those engines that will last 300k if cared for properly, and so I decided to invest in the repair. The car is still in great shape and has many years left in her.

Below is a link that shows how the engine sounds before the repair.