so a bunch of you guys have been kind enough to reply to the questions i've been asking lately about learning how to work on my 07 TL. i finally took the plunge today and it was pretty educational and felt rewarding, simple as the job was. but i got some tips from one noob to other noobs.

there were two things i was looking into:

1. tap/ticking noise on cold start, discussed here:

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/tap-tick-cold-start-video-896443/

noise only happens when cold, goes away above 3000 rpm, and stops after engine has warmed up. people suggested that it may be the tensioner pulley for the drive belt, so try to remove drive belt and see if the noise is still there.

so it should have only involved taking off the drive belt, which it only did, i thought it would be a good intro and it would probably take most of you guys 15 minutes (hopefully only 15 minutes next time), but i ended up spending like 4 hours this afternoon looking at these two issues, and reading some things and looking around in general

i made a rookie mistake, when i released the tension of the belt, it somehow slipped further under the engine and got caught on something. the belt is not very pliable, and i didn't want to pull too hard and damage it. there's very little space down there, so i struggled for hours to try and get the belt out..phewph. i ended up removing the tensioner pulley to get more room, and another 14mm bolt that i thought held the tensioner assembly in place, but apparently not.

Tips that i picked up:

1. move the power steering fluid reservoir out of the way, gives more space.
2. breaker bar (i got a 25") was very helpful. miracle of levers.
3. when you release the tension in the belt, DO NOT let the belt fall under the engine, pull up on the belt when you've released the tension and get the belt off of the two threaded pulleys at the bottom
4. when putting the belt back on, start with the pulleys at the bottom, tape the belt to the pulley temporarily to keep it in place

so i removed the belt, and unfortunately that tapping sound was still there, and still went away above 3000 rpm. anyway, the pulleys aren't actually powered, so without the belt, they should not move. i realize that i didnt' look at it after i turned the engine on, but i still heard the noise without the belt on.

questions:
let's say i did want to remove the tensioner assembly. i removed the 14mm bolt from the tensioner pulley, but i can't get at the bolt for the idler pulley. i have a 1/2" drive breaker bar, and normal 14mm socket, it won't fit in the space to undo the bolt. even with my stanley ratchet, not enough clearance. how do you get at the idler pulley bolt? also, what needs to be removed to take off the tensioner assembly? from what i've read, tensioner bolt, idler bolt, and another bolt. is that right?

any other suggestions for the tapping sound?

2. second issue is that i get a burst of hot air sometimes when AC is on, or super hot heat even when temp set to 20 degrees C. but when i put it on LO, it gets cold immediately. reverse is also true, HI will make it hot instantly, even if it's blowing cold up to 28C.

i was reading about the heater control valve, which i looked at. its a pretty simple switch, controlled (it seems) by a wire that pushes a screw, "up" position closes the hose for hot air from the engine so you get cold air, and "down" position opens the hose to give you cold air.

if it's working properly, i would think the screw should move freely and would adjust according to the temperature setting. i found that the screw was possibly corroded, and maybe it's not moving freely. it wasn't positioning according to the temperature setting. maybe i'll change this valve, i've read some other people with this issue. hopefully that's all it is, and not something wrong with the wire that controls the valve.

thread here: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/f-167-heater-water-coolant-control-valve-diy-747304/


so another question. where does everyone get those schematics for the car that get posted sometimes. it'd be helpful to know where all the components are ahead of time, it helps me visualize the process.

thanks!

 

use 1/4 and 3/8 ratchets. 1/2 is far too large for that spot. and if that doesnt work, wrench will do the job. for some tight spots, you will be glad you have a ratcheting wrench. I've taken off the tensioner before its not too hard.

 

where do you guys get those schematics for the car?