engine tapping ...oh no

[Ldub]

OK, now ya gone went n done it...ya stumped the guesser !

I see by your gallery that you have photo technology, yer gonna have ta post a pic for me to have even a clue as to what you are talking about.

[IndianaVX]

Ok, got some pictures, with homemade arrows even...... please, excuse how dirty my engine compartment is, been working at a place with a long gravel driveway.....but its warming up, and i promise you, i will have it all nice and clean again
back to the matter at hand.......the noisy black box

this is the general location...drivers side, back, etc





here you can see the black box, right behind the oxidised silver clip. what is this thing??? government tracking device that uses morse code? what ever it is, i am getting alot of tapping noise from it, and has anyone else had this thing do this??
have at it buddys, i dont have a clue. also, it doesnt seem to tap when the engine is cool, or cold, but after the engine warms up, the tapping is constant, and kinda decreases with revs.
thanks guys, i really appreciate it!!!

david

[Ldub]

Near as I can tell...that would be your fuel pressure control valve.
Take a look in the shop manual that Scott recently made available for download & look under "fuel system".

[IndianaVX]

well,
not for sure, but maybe, the sound you hear in my earlier post may be the sound of a timing belt, or tensioner going out. my belt jumped, and now the truck is in the shop.
just an update. any body having some ticking in their engine should maybe investigate. i only have 64000 miles on the vx. belt is said to be replaced at 100000.
just letting you know whats up with an update.
thanks for your help.
still dont know what the black box is though

david

[Y33TREKker]

I was just looking through a '99 VX Electrical Troubleshooting Manual and saw a picture of that general location. Any chance that's the Intake Air Vacuum Switching Valve making all that noise?

[IndianaVX]

Hmmmm,
with a name like that, im sure it COULD make some noise!!! i dont have that manual so im not sure, but it sounds like it could be something like that. it DEFANTLY has a valve, or piston moving in that "black box"
thanks for the post, i will look into it when i get my truck back from the shop.

UPDATE ON TRUCK......
talked to the warranty people today, but not the jerk ive been talking to.
this guy was as cool as could be. told me to have the mechanic look into bent valves and what not. HE was pretty sure it was an interferance engine (i know, i know) and that i should have it checked out anyway, and the cost of the diagnostics would be absorbed in the R and R with the timing belt!!! (why cant all agents be like this guy??)
he also was saying that i should replace the water pump, cause it will go bad, or may have caused the timing belt jump in the first place. the other agent just wanted to replace the belt, and send me down the road. So anyway, I miss my truck.
hopefully, i will have it back on the road soon.
thanks for all the info, and posts!!

David

[CowboyErik]

Hey! I listened to your video; and your VX sounds just like mine started to sound a few weeks ago! My timing belt tensioner had totally failed! The tensioner cylinder is hydralicaly loaded and provided pressure to the belt; I put a new one in 11 months ago when I did a timing belt job; and the NEW tensioner failed completely! I'm amazed the timing belt didn't jump! Terrible sounds, I thought all the things listed in this post, EGR or intake manifold clogged, PCV valve clogged, valves going out of adjustment, but the clue in your post is that you were convinced the sound came from your drivers side camshaft; well, that is the one that would make the loudest noise because it's out of sync with the other came, and it sounded TERRIBLE! Replaced the waterpump again! NEVER BUY AUTOZONE WATERPUMPS FOR VEHICROSS!