Ran engine dry. Now valve tick

C

clown baby

Banned
Hey guys,

I bought a 1997 4runner after selling my 2000 tacoma (tired of a singlecab)

I had the timing belt done, and the mechanic changed the oil while he was at it. Fastforward ~2000 miles, I get a low oil pressure light in the morning. I go ahead and check the dipstick and the oil isnt even registering. I go to train the oil and there's barely a god damn liter that comes out.

Anyways, I quickly dump about 6L in there and fire her up. All of the sudden i've got some kind of ticking noise.

Noise is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aVSHe2s1tk

For reference, it's a 3.4L with about 195k miles on it. It ticks at idle and increased with RPMs. If I add a half liter of oil to the crank case it'll quiet down for just a bit before coming back again. From just looking under the oil cap, I'm going to assume that the PO wasn't too vigilant with his oil changes...

So bummed. I JUST bought this thing. Anyways, before I start throwing money at it, I want to know what you guys think. Is this a lost cause? Should I drop the pan and replace the bearings? Is this something I can remedy under the valve covers?

Suggestions and opinions welcomed.

Thanks
 
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doesn't sound bad

sounds rather normal to me-mine is a little quieter but think of what urs has been thru. just be nice to it from now on. How does it drive?
 
Usually you would get rod knock running her that dry. Hopefully its okay. Little lifter tick at high mileage would be normal.
 
If it's just a lifter noise, I wouldn't sweat it too much. Does the truck still run okay? Still make good power? The lifter noise could certainly be attributed to the previous owners lack of maintenance.

Curious what happened with your oil though. Does it leak? Is it burning oil? That's a lot of oil to lose in a very short time. Are you sure the tech filled it after last oil change?
 
PitbullRescuer said:
If it's just a lifter noise, I wouldn't sweat it too much. Does the truck still run okay? Still make good power? The lifter noise could certainly be attributed to the previous owners lack of maintenance.

Curious what happened with your oil though. Does it leak? Is it burning oil? That's a lot of oil to lose in a very short time. Are you sure the tech filled it after last oil change?
Click to expand...

My spot in the driveway is clean. and i don't smell burning oil. The thing runs just fine. no power issues. The only issue I have is the tick. And yeah, I honestly think the tech just drained the oil, did the waterpump/timing belt, and forgot to add oil back. I guess I should have checked. But the crazy thing is that i didnt get an oil pressure light until less than liter of oil was left.
 
clown baby said:
My spot in the driveway is clean. and i don't smell burning oil. The thing runs just fine. no power issues. The only issue I have is the tick. And yeah, I honestly think the tech just drained the oil, did the waterpump/timing belt, and forgot to add oil back. I guess I should have checked. But the crazy thing is that i didnt get an oil pressure light until less than liter of oil was left.
Click to expand...

IMO if the tech drained the oil and didn't refill it you would have gotten an oil light at the shop the minute you started it and it would not have gone out.

And there is no way the motor would have gone 2k miles in that scenario.

This is odd.
 
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Blitzkrieg, pull the valve covers, get as much sludge out if them as you can and off the cams and too of the heads. Check your valve clearances with a feeler gauge.

Odds are you have a valve that needs a different sized shim on the lifter. But getting that sludge out should help quiet down the motor too.
 
clown baby said:
Drives Fine. But the noise is driving me nuts
Click to expand...

I watched your video and compared to the tick I have, which bugs me, yours sounds quite loud. I'm planning to run an engine flush (amsoil) and see if I get any relief from that with a valve cover removal and gasket replacement soon to follow. That will give me a chance to see the sludge condition. Will also be changing to Mobil 1 high mileage oil.

Unfortunately there's not many ways to get a good diagnosis unless you really know your stuff or take it to a shop. If a CEL pops up or it runs rough then you'll probably need to take it in.
 
Usually you would get rod knock running her that dry.
4ce5.jpg
 
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