I have a flutter noise on acceleration. Belt and Tensioner was replaced in June, but sound has returned after a few months. Service Invoice in August recommends $450 tear down to diagnose “sounds like T/CHAIN area”. Does this sound right? Other ideas? Hate to spend $450 just for a diagnosis.
The timing chain does not care about acceleration…It would “flutter” all the time…
A wold guess would be motor mounts, CV joints…Have a SKILLED mechanic check it out. Don’t get suckered into paying for work that cures nothing…
Well, your engine does have a timing chain, so this is possible–depending on the odometer mileage. However, I would describe the noise of a bad timing chain more as the sound of a chain rattling against a metal cover, rather than “a flutter”. How many miles do you have on your odometer?
While that labor fee is for “diagnosis”, if it turns out that the timing chain does need to be replaced, there should not be much more labor cost beyond that $450. Just add the cost of the timing chain and a bit more labor cost for the total job.
That being said, I assume that the estimate that you got was from the Toyota dealership. Any decent independent mechanic can do this job for a whole lot less money.
My 2000 Toyota has 151,000 miles on it. I have taken very good care of it. The sound is not metallic - more like shuffling cards against a hard surface. And it seems to stop when I am cruising along - but maybe that’s just because I can’t hear it at higher speeds. Thanks for the help.
Based on your description, I doubt that you have timing chain problems.
Why not have a good indy mechanic try to diagnose the problem?