98 GU knocking noise in front end of engine

Hi Guys,

Looking for some advice here.

My 98 GU has 430,000KMS on it, a 4.5 petrol, manual and runs duel fuel.

I drove the car to the shops this morning and noticed that it was leaking what appears to be coolant from the engine.

I had a quick look under the car / bonnet and couldn't really determine where it was coming from.

Decided to catch the bus to work and left it there for 9 hours.

I came back tonight and started the car and there was a fairly loud clacking / knocking noise coming from the front of the engine.

The engine has plenty of oil and the oil light hasn't come on.

I checked the coolant the previous weekend before any of this occurred and there was heaps in the radiator / reservoir.

The noise went up with the revs.

I let it warm up for about 5 minutes and the noise when away.

I was about to drive home (about 2 kms) without the oil light coming on / temp gauge rising above half (it's normal operating level). The car appeared to have full power.

Any ideas?

check the coolant level again , dont rely on the dash temp gauge as they only move when its hot do not go by that

Ok so I just went out and had a look at the coolant. The radiator / reservoir are chockers.

The dipstick shows about half between L and H (would expect this old girl to use a bit of oil).

I area around the oil fill cap looks to have a bit of fresh oil around it. Checked the cap and it seemed tight.

Started the car and the noise wasn't there on idle but did start once I revved the engine but stooped when the car went back to idle.

I then turned it off and back on and the noise was there at idle. And once I turned the car off it made the noise for about 3 seconds and then stoped?

Check all the pulleys where the belts run. Probably best to remove the belts and have a feel of every pulley wheel.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by npw112

I area around the oil fill cap looks to have a bit of fresh oil around it. Checked the cap and it seemed tight.

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so who was the last person under the bonnet, putting oil in..........???

have a look in between the fan and the shroud - make sure there is no spanner / screwdriver sitting in the shroud, clanging on the fan

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mudski

Check all the pulleys where the belts run. Probably best to remove the belts and have a feel of every pulley wheel.

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Thanks for that mate. Will do. That's what I'm hoping just a buggered pulley on the water pump or something.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bigcol

so who was the last person under the bonnet, putting oil in..........???

have a look in between the fan and the shroud - make sure there is no spanner / screwdriver sitting in the shroud, clanging on the fan

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I have no idea. Just got the truck 2 weeks ago. I don't think there is anything clanging on the fan as the car has a massive aftermarket alloy radiator which leaves the fan exposed with no shroud around it.

no problemo

Thanks again for all the info guys.

I just went out and had another look and am pretty confident that it is the bearing that is part of the radiator fan.

When you turn the car off the belts stop spinning but the fan keeps spinning until the noise stops.

I will get a service manual and have ring around to some parts shops on Saturday.

I will let everyone know how I go.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by npw112

Thanks again for all the info guys.

I just went out and had another look and am pretty confident that it is the bearing that is part of the radiator fan.

When you turn the car off the belts stop spinning but the fan keeps spinning until the noise stops.

I will get a service manual and have ring around to some parts shops on Saturday.

I will let everyone know how I go.

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is that the Hub............. that the fan is attached to.........?

Attachment 67222

depending on how hot the engine is - the fan should stop pretty much straight after the motor is turned off

if it keeps spinning, that hub is roo ted

Yeah I just did some research and it appears to be called a "Viscous Fan Clutch Coupling".

Further reading shows that they are filled with oil which might explain the leaking fluid I noticed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bigcol

depending on how hot the engine is - the fan should stop pretty much straight after the motor is turned off

if it keeps spinning, that hub is roo ted

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It does it just comes some "slow down spins" once the engine is off and it is during these spins that the noise is still there.

I just manually spun the fan and the noise is there :Yahoo!:

any more than 1 full rotation of the Fan as soon as you turn the motor off, means the Hub is cactii

and if thats where the noise is coming from - bonus - needs to be replaced anyway

Quote:

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Originally Posted by npw112

Hi Guys, Looking for some advice here. My 98 GU has 430,000KMS on it, a 4.5 petrol, manual and runs duel fuel. I drove the car to the shops this morning and noticed that it was leaking what appears to be coolant from the engine. I had a quick look under the car / bonnet and couldn't really determine where it was coming from. Decided to catch the bus to work and left it there for 9 hours. I came back tonight and started the car and there was a fairly loud clacking / knocking noise coming from the front of the engine. The engine has plenty of oil and the oil light hasn't come on. I checked the coolant the previous weekend before any of this occurred and there was heaps in the radiator / reservoir. The noise went up with the revs. I let it warm up for about 5 minutes and the noise when away. I was about to drive home (about 2 kms) without the oil light coming on / temp gauge rising above half (it's normal operating level). The car appeared to have full power. Any ideas?

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........::-(

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Originally Posted by MB

........::-(

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i need to learn Brail.........this shit is just to hard

My apologies npw112, wasn't very helpful of me at all mate. Was only meaning it didn't sound too good at all :-( Reading your issue thread again (with both eyes open this time) is great to here you've found the mystery clacking noise! Probably should have suggested using a piece of garden hose like an 'ear trumpet' to pinpoint exactly where under the hood your knocking was coming from. Does work quite well, one end in your ear and move the other end around the engine bay touching on suspected areas until bingo found it :-) Cheers and good luck with it, keep us all posted !

If you can pull these viscous hubs apart on the petrol motor , you can buy oil from Toyota to rebuild it.
Id also be looking at fitting or getting a shroud made cant be too efficient without one

Quote:

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Originally Posted by threedogs

If you can pull these viscous hubs apart on the petrol motor , you can buy oil from Toyota to rebuild it.
Id also be looking at fitting or getting a shroud made cant be too efficient without one

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the problem with re-building his one is - the bearing is shot - he would be wasting his time & money re-filling it and re-fitting it

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bigcol

the problem with re-building his one is - the bearing is shot - he would be wasting his time & money re-filling it and re-fitting it

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Yeah for the amount of time you'd spend pulling it apart. They're cheap enough to just remove and replace.

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