On my way home from work I noticed my truck sounding a little funny. Opened the hood and found on idle a grinding noise coming from under the timing cover. The timing belt and water pump was done 2 years ago. Anyone else came across this problem? I need all the help I can! Thanks!

 

it could be the bearings in either idler pulley. we have 2. one on the tensioner ( yours is hydraulic ) and the other is top center where water hose goes into engine.

you can price those online as a package deal usually.

 

I'm with delfino! That's all it could be in the area of the timing cover! Or it could be your fan mount, you know it's a whole bracket you have to buy with the studs for the fan, I just replaced mine when I done the timing belt and water pump because the bearing had some play in it but it wasn't making any type of noise! I was just playing it on the safe side! Try spinning your fan after you kill the engine of course and see if you can hear the racket your hearing, if that's not it then you'll have to tear her all the way back down to the timing belt!!!!

 

I know you said under the cover, but..

Since the fan was mentioned I'll add make sure all the nuts are still on it and they are tight. It makes a hell of a racket if they're not.

 

Ok figured it out! Its the cooling fan pulley bracket that went bad! Bearing seized up. Going to change it out this weekend. Thank God wasn't the timing belt idler pulley!

 

Just got done changing the cooling fan pulley bracket. Got a aftermarket one for $100.00. Also changed all 3 drive belts. She runs just like new! Glad it broke down in my garage

 

my fan bracket seized up on my 94 4runner on sunday; no auto parts stores in my area stocked the part, so i decided to order one online. i found an aisin at amazon for $98, i paid an extra $25 for one day shipping; when the part arrived i noticed it was a little different, i didn't want to send it back, so i trimmed the timing belt cover and did some grinding on the bracket, i think it will work now. i don't know what the extra hole was for, maybe you guys will know. here's some pics of the two.

 

I got mine from Napa. I also had to trim one of the brackets also because the casting was a little off. As for the extra hole mine did not have that. Hope u get it fixed!

 

Its not a super-old thread, so I'll bite.

That extra hole is for the hydraulic tensioner that the 3VZE's had starting in mid-1994. I assume yours is the older spring-tensioned kind. You are correct in that you got the wrong part. I hope you sealed that hole up somehow, as Toyota went through a lot of trouble to make the timing belt area water-tight.