hey guys to any of you have the obnoxious chirping and noise coming from your motor (assuming its belts and or pulleys) when you crank up on a cold or wet day?? i have 100k miles on mine, the belts still look good, no cracks that i saw on a quick look and its not squealing like from a slippery belt. it chirps and chirps loud but after it warms up it basically stops or atleast to the point where i dont hear it in the cab.. what do you guys think? normal? btw its an 2002, 3.4 tacoma 4x4 auto

 

I'd guess its the belts, a good test is to go to the auto parts store and buy some stuff called "belt dressing" (ranch preferably...;-0). This is not suppose to be used as a long term fix but spray it on the belt and see if the noise goes away. If so, then you know you have a belt problem otherwise it might be in the pulley making the noise, etc.

Try that and let us know, otherwise its kind of hard to diagnose sounds on here...If you've been mudding lately or have a lot of build up on the belts from previous trips, let the engine run and drag a piece of soap (careful of the fan blades) along the belts and that should help clean them up. Then wash them off and let it dry and see....

 

The belts can do this just from being old. My 2002 4R (93,000 miles) was doing it for the last 6 months or so up until last weekend when I did my timing belt and water pump (I also changed all the drive belts). I had tried tightening the belts slightly before this, which temporarily fixed the problem, but the chirping always came back within a few days. You don't want to tighten your belts too much, because that can be hard on the bearings and/or bushings. Belts get less "sticky" as they glaze over with age.

 

Mine has done the same thing on occasion. I've tightened the belts as well as used belt dressing in the past, which worked for a while.
Changing the belts solved the problem.

 

cool thanks guys.. yeah i am due for a tbelt, water pump, belts, thermostat etc etc... i wont have the money for awhile. atleast until my tax returns come back next year.. i should be around 115k miles by then

 

Mine makes the chirping noise just as you described. It seems to only do it when it's very humid and cold. It's rare. I'm going to try belt dressing and see what happens next time it chirps.

MadCityRich

 

Are you sure it's a belt noise. I have a tapping noise that could be described as a "chirping" type noise only when cold. It's actually the purge vsv for the evap system. It's mounted on the firewall next to the brake booster. I can actually feel it when it's making the noise. There's a TSB out for this concern but it involves replacing the valve with a softer insulator bushing. To me getting rid of the noise isn't worth $60.
Check it out. This might be your problem.

 

There's a TSB for this for the 3.4? This is the first I've heard about it...

 

Yup, not sure how many years it applies for but it is applicable to my 98 4runner w/ 5vz.
I can get you a copy of it tomorrow if you'd like.