2019 SR5 Engine Knock / Burning Oil

73 names out of how many 3rd gens total?

 

My truck is on its original engine at 100k miles, wut?

 

I’m a little late to the party but where are you located? Im guessing NJ based on your user name?

 

Answer: No.

2 million trucks sold from 2016 to 2023, and less than a hundred here. Many of whom, like OP, only signed up to report an issue. I’m sure others exist outside of this list, but held up to a statistical light, your list ironically only supports a case of how reliable the 3.5 actually is.

OP’s situation illustrates that crap can happen to some unfortunate souls, even on otherwise reliable trucks. I hope it works out.

Beyond that, it’s 2025, so if you still don’t like Gen3, maybe just consider letting it go. Or, hate on Gen4, whatever.

 

@Road_Warrior , yes I’m located in NJ

Here’s an update of what’s going on.

Toyota dealership #1: engine has a knock in the lower block. Needs new engine. $12,000 parts and labor + tax for salvage engine with 8000 miles.

Toyota dealership #2: same diagnosis as above, in addition to a timing cover that’s leaking oil “like crazy”.. for the exact same salvage engine listed above, they quoted me $16,500.

Close-friend Mechanic: the engine knock is coming from the driver side cylinder head. Needs new engine. Power steering fluid from the pump is what was leaking “like crazy”. Engine is burning oil likely near timing cover.


At this time I am considering running the engine until something catastrophic happens. Shitty part is that I took a loan out for this vehicle, and a new engine is pretty tough for me at this time. Not saying I’m not going to do it in the near future, (sooner than I want to, lol), but I wonder how many more miles I can get out of this one? This engine knock has been around for over a month or 2 now and it’s been running just fine. Only reason I brought it in to be looked recently is because it suddenly got louder one day and it was because I was burning/leaking oil (smoke at start-up). I also had to replace the coil on cylinder 4 as it died on me one evening a month ago. I know running it with a knock isn’t the best idea, I’m well aware of what that is. But what’s the worst that can happen? I need a new engine? We know that already lol.

 

I’d throw in some 15w-40 oil and see how long it lasts. That will likely help it last longer if it’s currently eating itself. And it’ll at least burn less oil.

If the noise is something easy like a tapping/stuck lifter, thicker viscosity oil might help that too by pumping the lifter back up. Worth a shot. They did say it’s in the block so it’s probably not a lifter anyways, but thicker oil could prolong how long it takes to grenade.

 

It might be more of a concern as to "when" that catastrophic failure might happen. For example, in a very unfortunate location or possibly even a situation that could prove to be dangerous.

 

Something to consider....
Obviously funds are an issue...
If you continue to drive it & its burning oil, you are contaminating your cat converters...
So by the time you get around to throwing an engine at it, you will also potentially need cat converters too & theyre VERY costly...
Not worth the gamble....

Not trying to throw salt in the wound, just trying to educate & help with the wound not getting worse...

 

& if a truly catastrophic failure does occur like piston coming apart & contaminating the entire motor with shrapponal that will require additional parts like an intake manifold assy......
Just turns into a more costly shit sandwich....
Or if engine seizes, more labor involved to unseize engine prior to removing so you can access all the torque converter nuts, or more extensive teardown to remove engine with torque converter...
if its an auto...
If it's a stick, dont throw an engine at it without replacing the clutch. Thats suicide even though yes, another added expense...

 

This was my next concern. Does driving with this knock lead to any stress or damage to the transmission? My truck is automatic.

 

Stress to the trans? Ide say not really...
Unless its on the verge of seizing due to wasted crank bearings.
But if she truly is smoking as stated, cat converters are super costly...

 

at this point running your truck until it blows up is not a good idea unless you plan to scrap it afterwards and buy a new one and i wouldn't drive it too far from home, it is going to strand you one way or another.

 

OP , a few questions how much oil are you burning ? Also I know you say you have a knock , can you tell me about it . If your in park and rev the motor does it speed up and get louder as the revs come down ? When the engine under load does it get quieter.? Also , all these people that checked this truck how did they determine what failed ?

 

OP, if you do decide to drive it until it grenades keep a watch on the engine temp cause if it runs hot you could cook the auto transmission and I agree with others with it smoking you will trash those expensive cats.

 

Assuming worst case scenario.
Truck is 6-7 years old close to 100k miles.

As much as we'd all like 200k minimum and a decade of excellent service there are times when you gotta let go.

$12,000 ( plus incidentals ) into another engine or $12,000 down on a lightly used 2022 or 2023 is where I'd be snooping.

 

my previous mechanic told me I burned about 2 quarts in half an oil change, so about 2500 miles. The knock is a light tick coming from the driver side cylinder head. It can be heard at idle and when revving. The noise is pretty quiet when the oil levels are normal, but as oil levels drop overtime, it gets louder. no concrete answer on what it is, just recommendations of the new engine. All my mechanics I have visited that said they won’t be able to determine what is knocking until the engine is stripped apart. I’m driving it now and I don’t even hear the knock unless I’m at a complete stop where there’s no background noise.

 

While I agree with you, I still owe money to the loan for this truck. A decent amount too

 

Yikes.!
Well I hope it all turns out for you.