DarthNater

Hey there! I just finished replacing the water pump and timing belt on my 97 SC300 and for the most part, it went pretty smooth. At first, it would not start but determined that was because of the distributor not being in the right position. After fixing that I now have a pretty loud ticking coming from the engine when it is running. Any pointers on what it could be or what I should check would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

Video of car running:

RXRodger

iTrader: (2)

So my first question is, why was the distributor loose and not in the correct position? Typically there is no reason to mess with the distributor during a water pump/timing belt job. So that leads to another question, do you know for sure you had the crank at 0 degrees and had the cam gear marks lined up at 12 oclock on the timing belt backing cover? Also, how did you compress the timing belt tensioner? Did you have the right side of the timing belt tight when the gears/crank were all aligned and the tensioner installed? Just a few things that come to mind. With that video there is no way to determine the source or location of the knocking/tapping.

Good luck, hope you find it and come back to let us know what you find.