Cold start rattle

I have a four-cylinder third GEN Tacoma that has a rattle only on cold starts. I can’t seem to locate the source. Any ideas?

 

Im facing same issue on my 2000 prerunner. Gonna remove starter and have solenoid rebuilt. All I can think of.

 

Welcome aboard. Have you checked the oil level? How long have you had the truck, and when did the rattle start?

 

To add to this, when is the last time you changed the oil?

 

I’ve had the truck just over four years. Recently had to replace the valve cover due to it being cracked, they also replaced all of the gaskets and seals under the valve cover Toyota did the work. I just noticed this noise about 2 to 3 days ago.

 

How many miles? Could be the timing chain. If the 2.7 is like the old 22R-E, the chain stretches and eventually starts hitting the inside of the cover. I had to replace mine at around 125k miles.

Anyone with better info on the 2.7?

 

Mine has rattled when cold since I drove it off the lot in April 2010 with 5 miles on it. Off topic.. have you changed the rear diff oil? If not, do it.

 

122k. It just sucks because it started doing this after having the valve cover replaced. Probably going to take it back to the dealer that did the work and have them look at it.

 

Managed to get it on video
https://youtube.com/shorts/RsUPxz7Gjng?si=49ajI55hbSQvM6xP

 

Rear differential, transmission have been serviced. I’ve also changed the spark plugs and coil packs and serpentine belt.

 

Yeah might be a stuck pin in the VVTi cam gear or damaged chain guide, which could only be confirmed through visual inspection.

First check the VVTi spool valves and any screens there for blockage/contamination.

Are you using 0Wxx oil or something with higher cold viscosity?

Are you using a Toyota oil filter? Aftermarket oil filter may have a heavier bypass pressure or more restrictive media that reduces oil flow when cold. Incidentally the premium filters from Amsoil, Wix, etc. that have greater filtration effectiveness tend to be more restrictive.

 

Oil level is fine. It’s recently been changed within the last week

 

mobile one full synthetic 0W 20 and a OEM filter

 

Stethoscope is your friend, could be simple as a noisy very inexpensive pcv valve, common....

 

Cold start only? So does the sound go away after the truck warms up?

I watched some videos on the 2.7 engine. It’s a bit more complicated than the old 22R-E.

Don’t understand how a valve cover cracked, but maybe take it back to the dealer. Maybe something fell down into the front chain gallery and is blocking oil or blocking movement of the tensioner.

The sound from the video reminds me of my loose timing chain, but that was a long time ago.

I’ll defer to the experts on the 2.7

 

Valve cover was cracked during a gasket repair. The sound last about a minute then goes away. Can only duplicate it after letting it sit overnight and do a true cold start

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/_-DNvqodXzc?si=j_FGodL3BSOUlGbP This is the full video I took, you can hear the forced air pump shut off at about 40 seconds in, then the noise becomes very noticeable

 

VVT-i gear related probably.

Stuck lifter until oil pressure builds up. Or a worn timing chain guide letting the chain slap around a little.
Both are relatively common with the 2tr-fe and neither is life threatening to the engine.

That said, take it to the dealer because if it didn't make the sound before the valve cover job, I'd say they muffed something up.
The passages where oil flows to activate the VVT-i cams are really tiny so any little speck of anything could clog one enough to make it stick.

 

It’s going back to the dealer on Thursday, definitely seems like the best course of action

 

The "good" news is that it's not a super involved job to pull the timing cover to access the chain and cam gear assemblies