Groaning noise after TB change

[roguetoaster]

97% sure the "helpful" post above by VintX is just a spammer.

[Dagamus(NM)]

Regardless, isolating the sound to an accessory or something under the timing cover should help make the decision to pull it all back apart or not.

[Aleman]

what brand belt, brand idler/tensioner did you use?
how did you tension it?

Hey Digger, I followed the Bentley book procedure, like I have the previous 2 times I did the TB:

With the belt correctly positioned on the sprockets, slowly loosen the camshaft belt tensioner pulley upper retaining bolt so that the belt is tensioned .

Using a socket wrench on the center crankshaft bolt, slowly rotate the engine clockwise through two complete revolutions (720°) until the timing marks are aligned again.

CAUTION -

If either the crankshaft or the camshaft are not perfectly aligned, it is necessary to release tension on the camshaft drive belt, carefully peel the belt from the camshaft drive gear, and repeat the above steps. It is permissible to rotate the camshaft drive gear by hand by one or two teeth in either direction to ensure proper alignment.

Once the alignment of crankshaft and camshaft timing marks are correct, torque first the upper and then the lower tensioner mounting bolts to 22 ± 2 Nm (16 ± 1 ft. lb.).

[Aleman]

If it started immediately after the TB job, it’s almost certainly something in the timing drive.

Most common causes on an M20

• Belt too tight
• Faulty new tensioner bearing
• New water pump starting to fail
• Timing cover lightly rubbing the belt

Quick check: pull the accessory belts and briefly run it. If the noise is still there, it’s behind the timing covers.
Unfortunately, there’s no real way to confirm the tensioner 100% without at least pulling the upper cover. I wouldn’t ignore a groan from that area on an M20.

Thanks for this checklist! I'll go thru it once I can be outside for more than a few minutes. I went out to the garage yesterday to find the engine had puked a big puddle of coolant on the ground long after I ran it thru a warm-up cycle. She's not happy, but a problem that big should be easy to find. Seems like a faulty water pump...

[digger]

Hey Digger, I followed the Bentley book procedure, like I have the previous 2 times I did the TB:

With the belt correctly positioned on the sprockets, slowly loosen the camshaft belt tensioner pulley upper retaining bolt so that the belt is tensioned .

Using a socket wrench on the center crankshaft bolt, slowly rotate the engine clockwise through two complete revolutions (720°) until the timing marks are aligned again.

CAUTION -

If either the crankshaft or the camshaft are not perfectly aligned, it is necessary to release tension on the camshaft drive belt, carefully peel the belt from the camshaft drive gear, and repeat the above steps. It is permissible to rotate the camshaft drive gear by hand by one or two teeth in either direction to ensure proper alignment.

Once the alignment of crankshaft and camshaft timing marks are correct, torque first the upper and then the lower tensioner mounting bolts to 22 ± 2 Nm (16 ± 1 ft. lb.).

it is unlikely to be over tensioned then, which would sound like a whine not a groan

[McGyver]

97% sure the "helpful" post above by VintX is just a spammer.

Looks like some AI generated post to me. This answer is somewhat useful, so I wonder that the end game is. Just to have a sleeper agent in an obscure forum?

[roguetoaster]

Looks like some AI generated post to me. This answer is somewhat useful, so I wonder that the end game is. Just to have a sleeper agent in an obscure forum?

It's a long-term strategy to generate revenue from zombie edits and random clicks over time.

It's either software driven, or done out of a place where labor is so cheap you can actually have someone read whatever garbage we're writing and then use tech to generate a garbage response.

Could also be Facebookitis where someone just generates response for something they know nothing about.

But as always, it's up to us to distinguish it from real human slop.