Exhaust gurgling sound

Yes I am running the stock exhaust. There are zero modifications to this truck.

 

Here is an update for you all.

I just finished the following work: Disconnected the battery ground to reset the computer, changed the spark plugs, and sprayed the MAF with MAF cleaner. Below is a video of my findings.



The good news is that there was definitely an improvement in the performance. I don't have to press the gas down as much as before, the truck feels a lot more responsive, and the fuel economy seems to have improved. The truck doesn't feel like it's going into a headwind constantly.

The bad news is that the truck is still making that gurgling/backfire sound around the muffler area. There is also a vibration while coasting in gear at high speed as well.

Here is what my game plan is:

After I have the drive shaft/u-joints/seals inspected tomorrow, I will focus my attention on the exhaust system. All I am going to do is make sure that all the bolts for the exhaust are torqued to spec. The last step will be to top off the tank and check to see if there really was an improvement in my fuel mileage.

I will post a follow-up later. So far so good

EDIT: Not sure if this means anything, but here are the spark plug gaps that I measured in order from the radiator to the firewall:

1: 0.042"
2: 0.043"
3: 0.042"
4: 0.041"

 

Hey guys and gals,

So the u-joints are okay, and everything on the exhaust looks okay. The vibration is gone too, so I was pretty happy about that. I just topped off the tank, so we will see what happens. I will come back in a week and do another followup.

The truck still has the exhaust gurgle, but I am going to let it go for now. I have read on a few other sites that as long as the farting/backfire sound isn't happening while I am accelerating, then its fine. The fact that a few of you said that you have the same sound and no issues makes me more at ease.

Thank you to everyone who came forward to help. I really appreciate it

 

Mine backfires sometimes when I cranks it, and very rarely when I shut it off.

 

Well...I have been driving the truck for a while with the new spark plugs. I spoke too soon when I said that there was an improvement in performance. After a couple of days, the truck returned to how it ran before. There is a lack of power and I have to modulate the gas a lot more just to maintain speed. It wants to slow down even when I am going down grades lol

The spark plug cables and the coil packs look like they are in good shape.

At this point, I am starting to suspect the fuel system. For the three years that I have had this truck, I have usually filled up the tank when the gauge reads 1/8th. Since I do a ton of short stop-and-go city trips, I have added STP Fuel System Treatment to the tank every two months. I even added some

$25 BG 44K Fuel System Cleaner Power Enhancer 11oz.

BG 44K to one tank two months ago just to get rid of any carbon fouling.

Another avenue I am thinking about exploring is hooking up an OBD II scanner to see if it picks up anything. I don't have any CEL yet. However, I want to see if the throttle position sensor and O2 sensors are working like they should.

How difficult is it to pull out the fuel injectors and do a visual inspection?

Anything else that I should check?

 

I drive 15 miles each way to work every day so i don't do a lot of stop and go driving and the speed limit where I live is 75mph. I always thought it was just the old carb'd engines that needed to be taken out and run hard a few times a month to blow them out. My Taco runs damn good, don't get me wrong, but I have noticed that it runs even better after a 200 mile drive at 80mph or a day revving it climbing around in the mountains. It seems that even these newer computer controlled engines DO benefit from some good hard running once in a while not to mention some good quality fuel system cleaner every 5000 miles or so like the BG 44 you used.

I'd make an excuse to take a good long road trip in that thing with some cleaner in it and see how it is once you get back. You could even try just running it up close to redline a few times and revving it higher than you normally do when driving it around town for a week. You don't have enough miles on it to be having problems like you're having. OR, there is definitely something wrong with some part somewhere right from the factory.

 

Regarding the long road trip, it has already been done. I drove up to a dealership in Nanaimo, BC back in April to investigate an issue with my transmission (separate thread). It is about an 2 hour drive to get there from where I am. So I spent around 4 hours on the highway, and that accomplished nothing. The dealership who promised on the phone to take a thorough look at the drive-line didn't do jack s***.

Long story short...this truck has had a history of drive-line problems among other things. Below is what I think I will do next in the following order:

1) See if an OBD II scanner reveals anything.

2) Check exhaust again. When I first checked this, I simply shoved a rubber hose into the exhaust pipe and then stuffed a bunch of rags around the hose to seal the exhaust. I then lit up a cigar and began blowing smoke into the pipe to see if any smoke leaked out of anywhere along the exhaust system. Eventually, it got to the point where smoke was back-flowing out of the hose because there was pressure in the exhaust. I am not sure if this is a good sign or not.

3) Check manual transmission/transfer case fluid.

4) Check drive shaft, seals, differential fluid etc again.

I really don't want to go back to the Victoria dealership until I actually find something wrong. Otherwise, they are going to blow me off with the "everything is normal" routine and I won't have any way to argue back.