Valve train needing adjustment?

Hey guys I just recently bought a 2003 Tacoma xtra cab v6 5speed 4x4 from the original owner with 102k miles. The truck is awesome! My only problem is a noise that I noticed while driving it a week after I bought it. It sounds like it's an exhaust leak and the harder I push the gas while in gear the more prominent the sound becomes. It runs awesome! I think it's my valve train and not so much exhaust leak. Does anyone know what this might be? It's bugging the crap out of me. I'm about to do the water pump and timing belt tomorrow. I would like to know if I should go ahead and adjust my valves. I've laid under the truck before while it was running and I couldn't hear an exhaust leak which leads me to believe it's the valves. Any help would be awesome!

 

Bump, anyone?

 

Those valves are not adjustable in the traditional sense. There are adjustment shims on the tappet buckets that are replaced instead. Get a repair manual and follow the procedure for the measuring of the cam clearance. This will show you which, if any, need to be replaced. (This is assuming your noise is in the valve train, and due to clearance issues)

 

Try getting a screw driver and put the end on the valve cover and your ear on the handle to tell if it's your valve train that's making the noise you hear.