On the Landcruiser and Lexus LX470 and GX470 forums that I frequent there has never been any mention of anyone complaining of piston slap in their 4.7 V8 and that covers LC/LX's from 1998 to the present. There also is no mention of this condition by any 4runner V8 owners on this site. On the Tundra Solutions site there are a couple of threads of Tundra/Sequoia owners that complain they have piston slap in their 4.7 V8's. The only difference between these vehicles that I can determine is that the Tundra/Sequoia V8's are built in the USA and all of the other 4.7 V8's for the LC/LX/GX and 4runner are built in Japan. Anyone have any ideas on what could be causing this in some Tundra's and Sequoia 4.7 V8's???
Piston slap in 4.7 V8
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toyo
Member
Pittbull.... I think alot of it is the fact the L/C and LX470, 4runner have more insulation. My Tundra did not have a hood insulator or anything on the firewall. Yet my 4runner has both, as does my neighbors LX470. Just my thoughts.
Toyota uses the same exact engine parts for these models, except for the induction system and cylinder head componets. On my Tundra my injectors were very loud, I was always thinking I had a bad spark plug or something.
Toyota uses the same exact engine parts for these models, except for the induction system and cylinder head componets. On my Tundra my injectors were very loud, I was always thinking I had a bad spark plug or something.
toyo said:
I think your right. I bet some have the slap and the owner never knows it. Plus most people that have a LX/LC or even the 4runner keep it in a heated garage so it never is exposed to the cold and once it is driven even if it sits outside at work it might not get cold enough/long enough to cause the slap. I know that even in the coldest part of the winter my garage temp never gets below 50 degrees. But I think it is strange that I have not gotten any posts on this 4runner site or on my LC or my LX sites of anyone ever having the piston slap.
HuntRunner
New member
I am not sure what piston slap is suppose to sound like, but I have noticed kind of a pinging sound on a cold start up. I have only noticed this since the cooler temps. have arrived and the motor is at a higher RPM at start up. It only last a few seconds.
piston slap
do a search on recent 2000-2003 Chevy's piston slap. There have been a lot of complaints about them. In fact I found a site that has a recording of piston slap from a Chevy engine to listen to and compare. Don't have the site off the top of my head. It does sound like a diesel from the piston clattering in the cylinder as it cycles the strokes.
do a search on recent 2000-2003 Chevy's piston slap. There have been a lot of complaints about them. In fact I found a site that has a recording of piston slap from a Chevy engine to listen to and compare. Don't have the site off the top of my head. It does sound like a diesel from the piston clattering in the cylinder as it cycles the strokes.
pat161
New member
The piston slap is normal on extreme cold start ups, and only for a few seconds. The noise can be quite loud and it is like something wrapping under the hood. There was a write up on a Canadian auto page about this and how it is normal for new vehicles. I drive a 2k 2.7 4runner and it pretty much makes the noise every winter morning here in central MA, 80k and never a problem. In fact it is 14 right now so I'm sure mine will be noisy this morning.
Ford has these same issues with the 4.6 and 5.4 litre V8 engines, and have for quite a few years, along with Chevy as pointed out above.
Basically it was explained to me like this. The manufacturers began specifiing short-skirted pistons in many of these newer engines, to reduce reciprocating mass and friction, and therefore increase engine efficiency. As a result, during a cold start, the piston will tend to rock back and forth in the bore causing a slapping or dieseling noise, until the piston warms and expands to close up the tolerances.
Nobody has admitted that this is causing any harm to engine life, and there isn't much evidence to support a claim that it shortens the engine life in any way. There are plenty of 100,000 and even 200,000 mile plus Fords out there with piston slap. That being said, I've heard a Ford engine with the slap problem, and it would bother the hell out of me if it was my vehicle.
Also, I'm happy to say that I haven't heard it in my 4Runner, and hope I never do.
Basically it was explained to me like this. The manufacturers began specifiing short-skirted pistons in many of these newer engines, to reduce reciprocating mass and friction, and therefore increase engine efficiency. As a result, during a cold start, the piston will tend to rock back and forth in the bore causing a slapping or dieseling noise, until the piston warms and expands to close up the tolerances.
Nobody has admitted that this is causing any harm to engine life, and there isn't much evidence to support a claim that it shortens the engine life in any way. There are plenty of 100,000 and even 200,000 mile plus Fords out there with piston slap. That being said, I've heard a Ford engine with the slap problem, and it would bother the hell out of me if it was my vehicle.
Also, I'm happy to say that I haven't heard it in my 4Runner, and hope I never do.
More information on piston slap http://www.pistonslap.com/
Based on the responses on this site to this question and also on a couple of Lexus and Landcruiser sites with 4.7 V8 owners it does not seem to be a problem at all with the 4runner/GX470 and the LC/LX engines. It is interesting that there are several Tundra owners that have complained about piston slap, since we all use the same engine I just don't understand why these few Tundra owners are having this problem? I understand it can be a production error but since all of the engines come out of the same factory you would think that a few of these problem engines would get into vehicles other than the Tundra 4.7 V8. Anyone have an answer??
Based on the responses on this site to this question and also on a couple of Lexus and Landcruiser sites with 4.7 V8 owners it does not seem to be a problem at all with the 4runner/GX470 and the LC/LX engines. It is interesting that there are several Tundra owners that have complained about piston slap, since we all use the same engine I just don't understand why these few Tundra owners are having this problem? I understand it can be a production error but since all of the engines come out of the same factory you would think that a few of these problem engines would get into vehicles other than the Tundra 4.7 V8. Anyone have an answer??
toyo
Member
Yes, I do use M1. I was messing around outside about an hour before I started my car up with the garage door open. I would say about 20 degrees in my garage by that time. Usually it stays around 50 or so with the door closed. I didnt hear the noise until I put it into reverse to back out. I am not putting anything into it. I know how I have maintained this engine and what it's capable of doing. I have gotten good oil reports on top of everything as well.
