Ticking noise in 1990 T4R

[electriclady]

Hello!
Would appreciate any insight into my issue here:
Bought a 1990 T4R in excellent shape about a month ago. It was driving great, and I left it sitting in a fenced-in lot for 2.5 weeks while I was out of town. When I returned, upon turning on the vehicle, I noticed an odd, consistent, fast-paced ticking noise that I hadn't heard before. It primarily is noticeable when the truck is just turned on, though it's not every time. I've also noticed the truck tends to idle higher than normal.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what this could be? I was thinking of taking it in to the local Toyota dealer for a courtesy inspection, but if I could get any insight from this board, that would really be helpful.
Thanks!

 

[electriclady]

A few more things: The ticking seems to be coming from the passenger side front and I should mention, this is the 4 cylinder model engine - the timing belt and head gasket was replaced last year.

 

[turboSR5]

Does the sound go away or die down considerably once it has been running for a couple of minutes? Also, does your idle seem to be too high even once it has fully warmed up?

 

[204runner]

Just throwin it out there but possibly the lifters, On my old camry it did the same thing. how many miles on the ol girl

 

[electriclady]

Thanks for the responses.

Turbo - Ticking noise does seem to die down after it's been driven - seems mostly to tick when I leave it warming up in my driveway. And once it's been running for a while, the idle behaves normally.

204 - To be honest, I never would have noticed the ticking noise, but my roommate brought it up - suggested it might be the lifters. It has 120,000 original miles on it - which is the reason I bought it.

also, brought this up to a friend of mine, a mechanic (though not in my area), and this is what he says:
"The 22RE is known for making a noise like a sewing machine, I think it's mainly the injectors making the noise. But it could be something more. It shouldn't be too noticeable. If it is then it could be serious. The normal noise is just soft enough that you can tune it out and forget about it. The injectors operate very fast and are basically a little electronic valve that opens and closes so on 22REs they happen to do this loudly, or maybe the design of the engine components amplifies the sound."

Which, to me the noise was soft enough that I didn't even notice it, but once my roommate mentioned it, I got nervous that it might be a big deal.

Any thoughts? I'm going to take it into my local dealership in the next month where they will do a courtesy inspection for anyone who gets an oil change.

 

[the_dingman]

My truck does the same thing, but it sounds almost like a diesel engine when it's cold. I've done a full front end rebuild and adjusted the valves twice, so I don't think that's the issue.

Your problem could also be a timing chain issue, as the chain will slap against the cover when it's old. There's a possibility that the chain tensioner is not putting full pressure on until the oil warms up, which could cause the problem.

As for me, I'm ignoring the issue. I put my original 4Runner through worse.

 

[turboSR5]

It sounds like the usual noise you hear from the timing chain on start up. The chain tensioner relies on oil pressure to tension the chain, and once it does, the sound should almost/completely go away. This should only take 10-15 seconds maximum. If you can isolate the sound to the front of the engine (timing cover) then that is more than likely the case. If the sound persists then you may have a problem with your tensioner. It might not have been replaced with the timing chain, or the oil pump bolts could be making contact with the chain or tensioner. If you find the noise is louder at the top of the valve cover, it could be that your valves are out of spec and need adjusting.
It more than likely is not an issue that you need to be worried about right away, maybe have the valves adjusted just in case as it is easy and if the noise goes away you will have nothing to worry about for now.