Cold Start Worries

I may be over analyzing this, let me know if i'm worrying too much. My 05 has 112K miles now, owned since 39K. ever since i've owned it, i've used Mobil 1 5w30 synthetic. Once i crossed 100K, i switched to high mileage 5w30 synthetic. this does not happen often around here, but every winter when we hit cold temps (like 20 and lower) my truck will tick and tap on initial startup until the oil gets circulating. after that, its fine. runs great, and never hear the noise again. It doesn't happen enough that i would consider looking into a block heater or anything like that, i just am worried i'm causing damage to my motor for this first 5 seconds or so that it sounds like its running with no oil because its so cold it hasnt circulated yet. am i worrying too much?

 

i may look into an electric dip stick heater, i think a block heater would be overkill. this only happens a handful of times a year it seems like.

 

yupp same here, -7 when i started her up

 

The ticking is perfectly normal. Until the oil warms up and can effectively coat everything it will do that. Think about your oil as what bacon grease looks like in a pan if you've left the pan out overnight. It congeals. Your oil until its warmed up will do the same.

 

good analogy, i knew about the oil "congealing", i was worried about the engine getting damage by the oil being so thick and not circulating as it normally does in these cold temps.

 

They all tick. Mine does it under 30F. Live with it or slap on a Wolverine oil pan heater. No tick and faster warm up and heat in the cab.

 

Id start by using the correct oil for the 2.7 first off.. You shouldnt be using anything thicker than 5-20w the new tacomas all say to run 0-20w in the manual. I run mobil 1 full synthetic 0-20w all year round so far so good! No strange noises for me. Started it at -5 this morning YIKES!

 

The 2.7L doesn't call for 0w-20 exclusively until the 2011 model year. The OP is probably running what is called for in his owners manual as the oil recommendations have changed several times since the intro of the 2TR.


BTW I started mine in the mid teens this morning with 0w-20 and got some ticking for about 30-45 sec. So I think this engine just doesn't like it when it gets really cold. A lot of Toyota Engines make noises. Toyota has never been known for the smoothest engines. Just some of the longest lasting engines. My 22RE idled so rough the column shifter shook at traffic lights. But she just kept on going. As long as the engine performs well I wouldn't worry about cold start ticking.

 

speaking mechanically... i've seen toyota engines run (not 100% well) but run with only about 1 quart of oil in them... these engines really can take some abuse and not take much lasting damage... now with that said I in NO WAY advocate running our trucks with less than the needed amount of oil. BUT, knowing what kinda SERIOUS abuse they can take, I wouldn't worry a bit about a few seconds of tick on a cold morning..

 

I've done this half a dozen times and my truck still runs great!

That's -12*f motor temp at startup...

 

Mine ticks when I start it up in the winter, I dont think mine does it if I put premium in it though, but I dont know why.

 

My '06 ticks a little on very cold starts. I've assumed it's hydraulic lash adjuster noise as I believe the 2nd gen trucks have them with the 2.7L. This was a very common occurrence with engine in my old Miata. A little HLA noise on cold starts was generally accepted as normal and non-harmful to the engine in the Miata community. The dirtier the oil got, the more prevalent the ticking sound.

How HLAs work:

 

thanks for all the responses, i'm glad i'm not the only one that this happens to. i feel a lot better now.

 

I doubt running a high mileage oil at 100K is necessary.

 

High mileage on the oil label is 175000 + I think.

 

^^ This. The largest Wolverine heater that will work is the 120 watt rectangular shaped one that will just barely work in the very back side of the oil pan.

 

That's where mine is I believe I have the 16 which is 250W https://www.wolverineheater.com/category-s/1477.htm

 

Holy shit! The coldest my gauge told me I have started engine temp is 50*F

 

Mine started ticking around 70k. I have 105 k on it now and it only does it for a few seconds in cold weather. I got it to stop ticking to a bare minimum by using Lucas synthetic oil stabilizer . 1 quart of the stabilizer and the rest 5w 30 synthetic oil.