Light ticking noise: Lifters? Injector? help

J-money$$$

J-money$$$

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So my old truck has developed this small ticking noise. The first time i noticed it was about a year ago letting my truck idle in a friends driveway and he said it sounded like a bad plug wire arcing off something. It was time for plug wires anyways so i changed them and it didn't help a thing. I recently noticed this noise again. Its only once warmed up and at idle and will increase with rpms up to about 1000 rpms then either disappears or the motor noise is masking it. I was thinking its lifter noise, but it seems too inconsistent. My next guess would be an injector making some noise.

I took a little video of the noise. the beginning is a little shaky but in the middle you real can hear the odd on and off tick.

Here is the video: IMG_0401.mp4 video by wakerider4life - Photobucket

please watch it if you have a minute and let me know what you think. Maybe its just the nosy valve train. Ohh yeah BTW I'm running 10-30w oil (it gets really hot here in summer) and this motor has 245K on it. I had valve issue on this side of the motor about 35K ago and had the valve re-shimmed. I also had an injector fail on this side of the motor. the noise is obviously on the drivers side.

Any Ideas?
 
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To rule out the injectors, I'd pull the electrical connection to each one one at a time and see if that stops the ticking.
 
checking for excessive valve clearance isn't a terrible job either. just need some feeler gauges and the ability to spin the engine around by hand.
 
Good call on the canister Izzard King.

I have a $4 Harbor Freight stethoscope listening tool. I thought it would not be worth the $$$ I paid, but it has helped me in the past.
 
the sounds is for sure not the charcoal canister. I searched on that. If you put your ear on it its not the issue. Its not a buzz at all.

looks like i will be looking into pulling the valve cover off and checking the clearance. I got the specs.
 
J-money$$$ said:
the sounds is for sure not the charcoal canister. I searched on that. If you put your ear on it its not the issue. Its not a buzz at all.

looks like i will be looking into pulling the valve cover off and checking the clearance. I got the specs.
Click to expand...

Just an FYI .... I can't speak for this motor in particular but I have had other Toyota engines that are noisy even at the edge of specs.
 
There are a million threads on this when you do a google search, all of which state that someone has lifter chatter... but never a solution. Anyone have a write up or at least attempted to solve the issue. Mine has been ticking for over a year and a half and I am about to get my TB & WP changed in the near future( just pasted 170K), so I am thinking this would be a good time to address the issue.
I went and got a quote for it from a reputable auto shop, but they wanted $500 for the valve adjustment. I was telling him it was probably just lifter lash, but of course he tried to explain that the motor most likely had mechanical lifter (vs. hydrological), which I am really unsure of, and that I NEED A VALVE ADJUSTMENT. Once he slapped me with the quote I was out, no way Jose.
No noticeable loss in power and I have been feeding about a pint of Trans fluid for the past 3 oil changes and driving roughly about 100-150 on it before I totally change my oil to see if that would loosen anything up... but nothing so far. My next oil change I plan on a pint of diesel into the oil before changing.
All in all, I am planning on trying to change my TB & WP myself, and if I could tackle this issue while in there it would be fantastic.
 
Also, my tap is on the passenger side unlike yours J$$. I noticed that I also have a small oil leak from the valve cover towards the rear of the engine(firewall side). I don't know if that could be the culprit, but I know that it has had that small leak for many years.
 
I have that tick too. Are you talking about the one that is sort of ticking not rhythmically ?

I also have a injector click which is much more repetative and is not what I hear in your video
 
It is a tick that is in rhythm with my RPMs. If I turn the engine over from a cold start it is the loudest, as the engine warms it seems to dissipate slightly, but not fully. As I give it gas and the RPMs rise, it is almost impossible to hear around 2,500-3K rpms. Mostly because it is tapping so rapidly, and the engine drone takes over. My tick seem quite a bit louder than the in the OP's vid, and it sounds like it is right under the valve cover(passenger side).
PS_I have done a compression test, so I don't think it is a cracked head. You would think that you would notice lose of power with a cracked head.
 
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I have a similar issue. Whenever I'm in drive, not park, but drive and I come to a complete stop there's a slight vibration through it. I can feel it in the brake pedal and the dash. Everything drives fine, transmission shifts like it always has. It's just kind of annoying.
 
DeTwizzle said:
Definitely can't feel the tapping in the brake or the dash... you might want to look deeper into that!
Click to expand...

I honestly would have no idea where to start. I'm not very mechanically inclined. Like I said its not an issue as of now, but you can hear it and feel it when I stop at red lights and stuff. Everything still runs and drives great.
 
It seems pretty random from what I can tell in the video. I know it's not a diesel but this noise is very common on all newer diesel engines after an oil change. And it's nothing to worry about. It has something to do with the engine harmonics.

I have a duramax and it makes the same random "typewriter click" noise after an oil change.

If you google search "diesel typewriter click" you'll see what I'm talking about.

I know it probably doesn't help, but it seems too random to be a lifter or injector, unless the injector is slowing dieing.
 
My old '95 pickup's 3VZ engine had this sound. Sold it with 180k miles and zero operating issues.

My 2002 5VZ 4Runner has made this sound since I bought it. At 170k miles and 90k miles since I bought it, no issues.

I used a mechanic's stethoscope and the sound seemed to come from the power steering pump. Flushed the fluid this spring and it made no difference.

Sound disappears if I open the throttle. My guess is either something in the power steering pulley or maybe valve tick that just transmits to that area. Opening the throttle and getting some rpms might tighten something up a bit. Who knows.

My buddy's 4Runner (2001) has similar miles and doesn't make the sound at all.

No answers here, but I wouldn't sweat it unless it gets worse. [shrug]

MadCityRich
 
i have a 2002 and i just did an oil change and now i have the same kinda tick. can't hear it in park but in drive or reverse i can hear it. it gets louder with the rpms and gets drowned out after 2000 rpms due to the motor. no power loss that i can tell not eating any kind of fluid from what I've been checking, just kinda annoying
 
found out my ticking issue

So, had the same ticking sound as above, i also thought it was a valve train issue. As it turns out, today I blew a spark plug out, the same one I had to previously helicoil. The blown plug helicoil threads were still perfect, so my theory is that the combination of me not torqueing enough and a slight oil leak, the oil got in the threads and the plug worked itself out. That being said, the ticking noise must have been the sound of the plug firing further away from the cylinder as it kept back itself out. In the end, new helicoil, plug and ignition coil=engine running normal and no ticking noise.
 
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