Hey peeps, I'm back again.

I was in the drive-thru this morning and noticed a metal rattling sound when I was in drive, the sound goes away when I accelerate or I am in park. I cannot seem to pinpoint the issue, I figured it was related with something in the exhaust as my last issue was the same thing but a grinding sound.

I also did notice that my car is leaking oil, I did an oil change about 1,500 miles ago and I checked the bottom of my car, oil all over the rack and pinion on the right side if you're looking to the front of the car. I checked the valve cover and there is a bit of oil on one end, there is also a good amount of oil on the back of the engine where the valve cover is at. I looked down at the dipstick and notice a good pool of caked oil around the base of the seal.

Anyone know where to start or what to replace? The smell of burning oil was normal as it was not as significant but now its just constant no matter what. Anything I can do to mitigate the damage before I can save up for repairs?

Yeah super common issue on the 5vz is leaking VC gaskets. Bolts are probably so loose you can turn them by hand now. But it' still too late, need new gaskets. Read post #2 here for how to on the VCs and many other goodies: 3rd Gen FAQ, Tutorials, & Documentation Reference v2 - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum

The rattle could be loose exhaust heat plates. Got 4wd? Could also be a loose TC dampner. Luck and enjoy the Runner.

Hey! Thank you for the info. I will take it to the mechanic tomorrow to see what the diagnosis is. I have a 2WD so if you are mentioning exhaust heat plates then I am pretty sure that is what it is. My catalytic converter was busted and would act the same when I would be in park/drive.

For now I will tighten the bolts to spec and clean up all the oil. I will also change the dipstick o-ring.

Go smack your exhaust near the cats and see if that will replicate the rattle. Mine was doing that, and grabbing the exhaust and shaking it wouldn't move it enough to recreate it. Someone here suggested a smack, and two #10 stainless screws and nuts later I am rattle free.

I'll try that. I noticed the heat shield is a bit loose so I am going to go down there and tighten till its not loose.

Other than that I noticed oil on the back of the engine near the valve cover. I am planning for a gasket replacement soon. In the meantime I am just going to clean the areas and replace the o-ring on the dipstick.

I had the same issue a while back, after I replaced my catalytic converter. Turns out, I did not completely tighten the bracket that holds the cat mount to the frame. The bracket would rattle slightly against the frame when in gear at stop lights, drive-thu, etc. Made a god-awful racket when in reverse. Tightened those 2 bolts up and that was it.

After reading through a lot of posts regarding the rattles on 4th gens, I finally found my culprit.

The source of the rattle was loose A/C Compressor bolts. I poked around with a stethoscope and was able to pinpoint the issue.

The rattle was only present while in gear (drive or reverse) in the 500 to 1000 rpm range. Sometimes turning on the A/C made it go away, other times it didn't change it all.

Hope this helps some of you!