98 Tacoma 3.4 engine tick

It could be a lifter that is not pumping up all the way to open the valve all the way. Another thing to think about anyway.

 

Our motors don't have hydraulic lifters. Their a bucket and shim.

 

You're correct. I had to rethink that after visualizing the bucket over the top of the valve with the shim in it. My friend was just thinking hydraulic lifters as most of the engines he works on, has them.

 

If it's a valve noise, then how come all my intake and exhaust valves are within OEM specs? I'd think I'd need to have a valve that is past the .009" intake or .014" exhaust upper limit in order for it to be a valve clearance issue causing the valve noise.

 

Are you referring to listening around the base of the coil pack to try and detect any noise that way?

Thanks for all the help.

I had a 99 Limited 4Runner 4x4 with a supercharged 3.4 and it has 232k on it and it never ever made any ticking sounds from that motor, so this is a new experience for me on this Tacoma.

 

yes all the spark plugs. With the stethoscope hose end open you'll here directional noise. It will be really easy to hear the area the noise is coming from. do exhaust manifolds to.

 

My Tacoma currently has

$8 NGK BKR5EKB-11 NGK Spark Plug Stock # 3967

NGK BKR5EKB-11 spark plugs in it right now. Should I buy another set of them or use the NGK G power spark plugs? Which plugs are better?

 

Here is what the washer looked like on #3

 

I've always run what it originally came with the BKR......'s

 

I figured the dual electrode (stock) plugs will be better. Denso better than the NGK plugs, or are they about equal in quality and performance?

 

I'd say same but theirs others that would argue with that.

 

It started snowing here last night and it's still snowing here now, so no going out and running a compression check on my motor. It does have a little more power now that it's running on all 6 cylinders with that #3 cylinder spark plug issue fixed. It still ticks but not as loud as it was, so that will most likely be a spring time project. I'll be checking for any exhaust leaks and listening with my stethoscope for any spark plug leaks this coming Saturday though.

Has anyone had any issues with the wrist pins on the pistons going bad? It does kind of sound like a sewing machine now compared to before. It's just an annoying sound when all the other Tacoma's I had never had the "tick" issue.

 

OP I found out what my issue was and I don't know if you had the same but here it goes. I finally had. P0303 code pop up. Cylinder 3 misfire. Upon inspection I pulled the coil pack and the plug. My plugs electrode was gone! This explains the tick as it fell out and most likely went through the exhaust valve. Hoping it's in my cat now. Previous owner bunged up the spark plug hole. I used a magnet stick and got some shavings out of the hole. After getting it buttoned up and cel light is off I take it for a test drive. I can motor up a steep hill like it used to now since I have all 6 cylinders. It's all good now and I'm hoping the issue is gone.


Anyone have this happen before? Seems unusual to say the least.

 

Hap

Happened to 7 out of 11 e3 plugs personally

 

I had my 6th left knee surgery on Feb 17th, so I'm just now getting around better on it, so now I can think about tackling this issue again.

I noticed when driving to work the other day on the highway at 60 mph, I can barely hear the tick at that speed because of the normal noises the pickup has driving at that speed, but I can actually just "barely" feel the tick harmonics in the 5 speed trans shifter when giving it some acceleration. But if I let off the throttle, the tick harmonics go away, but when give it more throttle it comes back again. It really is very loud and noticeable at idle.

What do you guys think about a crank thrust bearing issue? It happens at idle and on acceleration, but then it goes away on deceleration. Or could it actually be a manual trans flywheel issue? I'd think the flywheel is thick enough to not break, but I guess anything is possible.

 

In between rain showers I was able to finally get a compression check done on the motor. This 3.4 has been a dog since I got it in January, but I figured I'd get to it and fix it.

Since cylinder # 3 was the one that had the coil blow up, I suspected that there was something maybe wrong with that hole, and I was correct in my assumption.

It has been running on 5 cylinders, and here are the results of my compression test;

1. 178 psi
2. 180 psi
3. 70 psi
4. 170 psi
5. 178 psi
6. 180 psi

My question is about the ticking.

All the valves are within valve clearance specs on the passenger head, so is there any chance of something going bad on the bottom end of cylinder # 3, or if a valve isn't sealing up on that cylinder, and will it cause the tick to resonate through the intake plenum, and through the engine to where I can feel the harmonics of it in my 5 speed shifter? I can put a stethoscope on the intake and I can hear it through the lower intake plenum.

Here is a video of the tick from underneath the pickup;

 

I bought a 99 4Runner 3.4 and I'll be swapping it into my Tacoma tomorrow. I'm going to swap my intake and injectors, exhaust manifolds and crossover pipe, knock sensors, cam sensor, etc, and replace the oil pan gasket and timing belt while I have it out. I'll let you all know what I find wrong with the motor that is causing the tick when I tear it down.

 

It was a super long day and night with my nephew helping me because of my left knee surgery in February and it doesn't like getting down and back up off the floor/ground. We got the old junkyard 3.4 (has a heat tab on the intake, and one on the one freeze plug, and it has some yellow paint pen writing on the intake) out, swapped over my flywheel/clutch, motor mounts, crank sensor, cam sensor, oil pressure sensor, exhaust crossover pipe, both knock sensors, etc. I really hate those damn locking tabs on the y harness for the knock sensors though. It seems as no matter how gentle you are with them, the damn locking tabs break and then there's no way to lock the connector onto the sensors. So we stopped after getting the engine bolted up to the bellhousing and the motor mounts bolted to the mounting plates. It took like 2 1/2 hours of fighting the engine to get it to mate up to the bell housing, and that is one thing I do like about automatic transmissions, a lot faster to get back together.

So now I have to call Toyota and see if they have the knock sensor y harness and get that before we can finish up the motor swap. I haven't had a chance to look at the # 3 cylinder yet, as getting the motor in and running is the highest priority since my Tacoma is my daily driver during the cold weather.

 

I got the used motor in and fired up 45 minutes ago, and it sure it nice not having any ticking noises and it running on all 6 cylinders.