2TR-FE Valve Lash/Clearance Specs

Good morning folks,

Trying to track down a ticking issue i've been having and need some help. First off, I understand that the 2TR-FE has hydraulic lash adjusters and that no adjustment is required, but I need to do some troubleshooting and can't find the specs for the intake and exhaust valve lash. In other words, what would be the acceptable specs before the hydraulic lash adjusters would need to be replaced? Everything I’ve been reading is that there’s zero lash but I was not able to track anything down in the FSM. Any help would be appreciated.

 

@Jimmyh perhaps this would be in your wheelhouse?

 

Well actually there is no specification for the replacement of a lash adjuster or hydraulic lifter as far as clearances go due to the way the lash adjusters work, pumped up with oil pressure when the engine is running. It either is working or it isn't and you are correct the lash adjuster should remove all clearance from the valve train. The problem would be when a sticking lash adjuster is not removing the clearance from the valve train and this causes a rapid tapping noise that varies with engine RPM.

https://www.carsdirect.com/car-repair/how-to-tell-if-you-have-a-faulty-hydraulic-lifter

Things to note:

To me a ticking noise is quite different from what you would hear from a lifter or excessive lash in a valve which would be more a tapping noise. A mechanics stethoscope would be a good tool to locate the source of the noise.

https://www.google.com/search?q=mec...AGBCZIBAzMuN5gBAKABAcgBCsABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz

 

How old and how many miles on your engine?
I highly doubt you have a valve lash sticking adjuster issue unless you have neglected the oil change intervals etc.

If you have oil sludge you probably would have lash adjuster issues and many other problems...

 

It’s a 2009 2TR with a little over 272k miles on the rotating assembly but the cylinder head, timing chain guides, and cams have only 135k. I did a short block swap a couple of weekends ago and after that this began. Last weekend I pulled it back apart and swapped the lifters to the ones with 272k miles and it still makes the same noise, so im starting to think it’s not lifters as well.

Since I got this motor at 150k, I’ve always changed the oil with full synthetic at 5k mile intervals so i dont think there’s a sludge problem.


Here’s a pic of the 272k cylinder head. This is not the one on the truck, but the one that is, is way cleaner than this

 

I think your ticking is another source and not a valve problem.

Get the mechanics stethoscope and locate the real source... I wish you the best of luck.

 

Got one ordered, thanks for your help

 

Did this end up being lifters making the noise? Just curious if I should be flushing out the lifters before reassembling my engine.

 

Yeah the lifters collapsed in this case. If yours weren’t making noise previously then yeah just soak them in an oil bath and you can also use something like a needle to activate the plunger while they’re submerged to prime them up before install. Ive done it both ways

 

If this helps your endeavor (from the FSM for 2013).

 

Ok I primed them today and 7/16 failed the compressing-by-hand test after being primed a couple times with no air coming out. Each of them compressed somewhere between 1/16-1/8".

Carson Toyota where I live is having a 20% off their online pricing until Monday and it'll be $180 for 7. Have you tried aftermarket lifters at any point? Less than half the price for even the most expensive aftermarket lifters.



https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/toyota,2008,tacoma,2.7l+l4,1441506,engine,valve+lifter,5548

 

Torque values if/when you need it.

 

Is this one of those times where maybe it's worth draining a quart of oil and replacing it with a quart of transmission fluid and letting it idle for about 30 minutes before draining everything for a full oil and filter change?

 

I think I might do that once I put the engine in! j/k haha

Thank you though for bringing that up! I had nothing but time to wait until Rock Auto or the online guys at the dealership would process any order tomorrow so I got to thinking I'd try to look into how to fix them. I watched at least one video on getting a lifter to get unstuck in a pushrod truck using ATF in the oil and it reminded me of an old neighbor that poured everything imaginable into his Vortec engine in his GMC to try to get a lifter to unstick and it never happened. I planned on flushing them with some ATF but for some reason, when I got them out of the bag I put them in last night, several of them would not compress, even though they did the night before!

I don't know why they did that, but I flushed them with ATF and then flushed them in the oil I had left from last night to get rid of most of the ATF in them. Thanks again for the suggesiton, it switched my brain on thinking about how to solve the problem without buying new ones!

I appreciate that man. I'll give them a look!

 

Although you don't need all of it since you're not actually removing the head, it still has valuable info below - removal, inspection, installation.