95 J30 strange engine sound

[J30-sw]

I gave up trying to fix the transmission on my 93 and found a 95 J30 for sale. I went to test drive it and the battery was dead. We jumped it and I took it around the block and when I gave it some gas, it made the strangest sound, kind of like a diesel engine. I have read a little about the knock sensors causing this. I was also wondering if this could have something to do with the battery being dead. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[yodawill2000]

Ive heard several peeps say the Valve timing solenoid can cause a diesel type sound.Bad knock sensor will retard timing big time.Also low octane gas can cause alot of pinging.Non of the above will drain a battery.

[J30-sw]

Thanks Yoda, They only want $1000 for it. I may go ahead and buy it, I already have a spare for parts. He says it needs a water pump, but not for certain. Could be a loose hose for all I know.Just that noise kind of worried me. Oh well for $1000 I will have something to work with. The interior is very clean and the transmission works.

thanks SW

[jspout]

Hi, my J has that sound sometimes at idle only. It sounds like it is coming from the left front of the engine and some J enthusiasts have suggested it may need new VCT springs located under the timing belt cover. I am planning to change these in the next day or so and I will give you the results. The springs were only $2 a piece and it is a pretty easy fix. The only thing is you have to drain the radiator and remove the coolant hose mounts from the front of the engine to get to a couple of the cover bolts. I have been told if the sound is coming from the rear of the engine it is more than likely the valve solenoid a much more involved and expensive issue. If I were you I would use that sound as leverage to knock down the price some. Worth a shot. I have a parts J I bought and love having it to figure stuff out and replacement parts.

[jspout]

In case someone is curious, I thought I would tell my results of changing the VCT springs. First of all, the driver side timing belt cover comes off easy, that spring took me 10 minutes. The spring is located in the center of the cam sprockets under a metal cover with 4 7mm bolts. Funny, I thought I was changing out warn springs, turns out there was no springs in there at all. Someone decided to skip that part when they changed the timing belt last I guess. The spring itself sits over the center bolt to the cam and pushes up against the metal cover on one side and the washer for the center bolt on the inside. Not sure of the purpose, my guess is to keep the washer from rattling and moving around. The metal cover has an O ring on the inside that seals in engine oil. Be carfull when you put it back together that the O ring is on right and that the spring is not binding against it. I did it by myself, but might be easier to have a helper hold the plate in while you put the bolts back in. The passenger side was far more difficult because you can't get the timing belt cover off without removing the coolant pipes from the engine block hense draining the radiator first. One man suggested to just break the cover off, which is why it only took him 30 minutes to do. I will say this: I DISPISE ALLEN BOLTS!!!! The upper pipe or return pipe has 3 allen type bolts holding it in plus it fits into two 4 inch long hoses coming off the engine as well. This was a b-i-t-c-h to get back together right! the 2 hoses have squeeze type hose clamps that are difficult to get to with plyers to squeeze. You need to insert the metal pipe into both hoses at the same time in order to get the allen bolts to line up correctly. I wrestled with this for a while to get them to line up and turn an allen wrench at the same time. Very little room to work. If you drop the allen bolt it falls into the back of the waterpump pully more than once. I had to get a stiff wire and fish out the bolt while sqeezing my left middle finger to the other side to grab it. Plus this pipe has an odd shaped o-ring, probably a factory one. Mine was missing so I used a silicone high temp gasket maker to do the job. I was nervious about that but when all was done I had no leaks, yet any way. The lower pipe or intake pipe was a little easier. You deffinately want to do them in this order as you need as much room possible for the upper. The lower pipe has one allen bolt on the top and 2 bolts from the engine block that require a 12mm washer and nut. I'm sure this will be helpful information for anyone putting on a new timing belt. My result.... The occasional rough idle still there so I may need to adjust the engine timing and dial it in.

[colincliff2]

This is the biggest problem with mine. It sounds awful when it's cold, just like an old mercedes diesel. Bottom line: the intake cam sprockets need to be replaced or rebuilt. In my case, I'm just letting them go. It doesn't hurt the engine, just my ears.