Engine ticking is normal

I noticed there are so many people spooked by the engine sounds. The thing is this is I believe one of toyota's first all aluminum blocks complete with tons of aluminum and plastic engine parts(ie intake plenum). What you all may not know is aluminum transfers sound alot more than cast iron not to mention so much less alloys involved in outer components having the same difference over say older cast aluminum parts so what you have is a much noisier engine. My earlier experiences with this phenominon were with the honda cars I used to drive. I was really disturbed by the sounds I heard from my first 1990 prelude. At times and especially when I first got it I could swear it had bad valves even having friends making smart comments about how it sounded like it was gonna blow up anytime. I went on to run nearly 600 000 kms with that car and it ran like a top when i got rid of it. I have my tacoma's engine somewhat apart to check out my oil pump. I definately am known for putting hard miles on my vehicles and this 4 liter looks pretty nice inside especially considering I feared some damage due to oil pressure being a little low.

 

Theres a write up on here some where on how to fix that by just using a couple washers. Chris4x4 did this and made a detailed How To DIY

 

Yes I read that months ago but decided it wasn't serious so I left mine alone.