Engine advise!

Hello!
I've finally purchased my first Tacoma. I have been wanting one for nearly 10 years and I have finally been in the financial situation to purchase one.

When I purchased this truck I figured I would have to probably either drop a rebuilt motor in it or do some work on it. The engine itself has 200k miles on it.

It's a 2000 Tacoma. v6 2.7ltr.

When I test drove it I was really surprised how well it ran and how fast it started up. I put some money on the side before I made my purchase because I thought I'd have to do some extensive work on the motor.

But I've run into an issue I've never ran into before and I was hoping maybe some of you might be able to point me in the right direction.

It is a manual tranny, when the engine is cold, there is a knock around 1500RPM. However, when the engine warms up the knock simply goes away. My first thought was oil, I changed the oil and put some high millage valvaline in it. and it seems to have helped a bit. But now the knock has turned into a slight one when cold. From now on I just let the engine warm up before I go and everything is fine. No knock. nothing.

Is this possibly an oil pump issue? like I've said I've never ran into this issue before. Non of my more mechanically inclined friends can figure it out either . I hope maybe one of you can give me some insight before I myself can cause any possible damage to the engine, if there isn't already some.

Thank you.

 

Hey MatTaco and welcome! One thing you may want to correct so others can help you more is the "V6 2.7ltr". The 4 cyl is the 2.7 and the V6 is the 3.4ltr.

I'm sure someone can shed more light on the subject but I'd be surprised if it's an oil pump.

 

If you have the 2.7l then you have the 4cyl motor, the v6 was 3.4l.

Is there a CEL (check engine light) on?

 

I would check the timing belt tensioner. If it is worn, the tensioner maybe vibrating.

 

I would highly doubt a 2.7 oil pump issue causing a knock. If it was a problem, you would likely be seeing your oil light on... with that said, that knock could actually be something relating to the exhaust or valves. The exhaust manifolds on the 2.7l has a known issue for cracking. That would likely be a more pronounced noise when in the higher rpm band. Pull the plugs and take a look at them for oil fouling or anything like that. Also, check the radiator for oil (doubtful, but still worth checking).