Supercharged Tacoma Performance Issues

In case anyone is watching this unfold...

Toyota sent someone from corporate, they looked at the truck and agreed there was an issue. So that's a small win. They then gave the OK to continue working on it. They are now "tearing the engine apart." I called to check on it yesterday and was told, "they're still working on your truck, and it's in a million pieces right now." It's been in the shop for 22 days now...

Stay tuned for more tales from the crypt...

 

On the bright side, I'm glad Toyota acknowledges something is wrong and is delving deep into these issues.

22 days though is a long damn time.

 

UPDATE: After 39 extreme long days...

Toyota approved replacing the short block. They replaced the short block, new oil pan, some camshaft bearings, and problem solved! There are no more noises from the truck. Toyota engineers and the dealership could not provide me the cause of the issue, and could not attribute the issue to the supercharger or the care of the vehicle.

Some notes from the techs:

"Get tick going and perform cylinder drop test (cut fuel to one cylinder at a time to look for change in noise). When cancelling #3 cylinder, the noise almost completely goes away. Cancelling all other cylinders has no effect on noise. This is a very important finding as it associated the noise with the #3 cylinder. Tech who previously looked at car stated the noise went away when the supercharger belt was removed. Noise also only happens hot. With all this info, it is very likely that the number 3 cylinder piston or wrist pin has an issue and is causing the noise. Making the tick noise go away when cancelling number 3 is very strong evidence that this is the issue. FTS arrived for inspection. We looked at truck. This time #1 cylinder also caused the tick to change. Disconnecting supercharger did not stop noise. Turning AC on and off caused noise to change significantly, but it is not a compressor noise. The noise can be duplicated with the compressor off, but not as easily. Removing drive belt makes it more difficult to create noise but it can still be done. Check lower pulley and no problems were found. Microphones still pick up noise and loudest and are lower bell housing area. Further back on the transmission noise gets softer. FTS recommended engine tear down and inspect/measure all parts. This noise is faint and challenging. Cause of the noise is not going to be easily seen. Checked camshaft oil clearance. RH intake number 1 journal - .0017 rest of intake journal between .001 and .0015 RH head exhaust; #1 is .00175, rest are .001 -.0015. LH head: Intake - all between .001 - .0015 Exhaust all between .001 to .0015 Cams and journals are all good. Valve springs are good. Disassemble and inspect oil pump - OK. Rods and mains already measured by another tech. All between .001 and .0015. #3 piston wrist pin is too loose. Moves too easily. I believe this is the cause of the noise. 1- When #3 cylinder is cancelled, the noise changes. 2 - The noise does not occur cold - as piston expands, the hole for the wrist pin becomes larger 3- There has to be a light load on engine for this to occur. Typically, that rules out cams and chains as they are not effected by load.. Also, upon block inspection #1 and #2 cylinder have vertical scoring that can easily be felt with finger. This block is no good. See Ze7 block inspection criteria. Vertical scores that can be felt are not repairable and fail inspection. Needs short block. "

I hope this helps someone out in the future...

But for the record, Toyota of Nashua in New Hampshire is an amazing dealership to work with. They helped me throughout the entire process. Toyota honored their extended warranty, and stood behind replacing the short block completely.

-Brandon