Rattling noise/unexplained oil loss/ white haze on plugs

rattling sound. I believe it's coming from the top of the engine . The Engine is the 2012 2.7l 2tr-fe The sound is consistent when warm/cold and it starts around 2k rpms and is more noticeable in lower gears and not at all in 4th and 5th.(my tires might be drowning out the sound) however it makes the noise in between shifts or when the truck is in neutral. The sound is worse when keeping the rpms constant between 2k and I wanna say 4.5k or when the rpms are dropping. I had replaced the coil end boots awhile back and changed the plugs and that seemed to fix it. After a few thousand miles the noise is back and now I have unexplained oil loss and the new plugs have white haze on them. I never had problems with losing oil until now and when I added oil after almost running it completely out the sound had gotten quieter (the sound got worse so had checked the oil).I have no leaks or smoke the engine runs fine other than the noise.I checked to see if the oil control valve actuated I cleaned the oil screen on the side of the block(it was already clean) cleaned mass airflow and 02s air filter and changed my oil 0w-20 and changed the pcv valve.i currently have the valve cover off and noticed there is a tiny bit of slop in the chain I'm not sure if that is normal for the type of tensioner or not. The tensioner is hydraulically controlled right? I inspected the chain guides as far as I can see with a inspection scope they seem fine but I have yet to pull the timing cover to really see them. I am debating whether or not anything to do with the timing chain could be the cause of the sound. The truck has been ran with this sound going on for awhile now and it had gotten pretty bad and that's when I realized my oil was low all of a sudden I haven't ran it enough since to see if I'm losing more oil but the white haze on the plugs made me decide to park the truck. Time to get to the bottom of this. I haven't really done forums before so I'm sorry if I'm doing something thank you in advance!

 

There are some sharp dudes here, be patient, the experts will be along shortly.

 

Welcome to the forums.

How many miles?

Have you crawled under the truck to make sure it's not leaking oil anywhere?

Does it have a sharp rattle/knock on startup especially after sitting for awhile?

Over how long are you losing how much oil?

Any codes?

 

The truck has 138k original miles
Yes, and I just double checked now it's totally clean
Theres No noise at start up only after the trucks idle comes back down I recently noticed a ticking at idle I had just noticed the plugs were hazed white at the time and I had a new plug to replace the one that was the worst the truck idled for about 30 min before it came back. It's been sitting ever since. I had the code for the oil control valve I didn't totally rule it out however I just hooked it up to the battery to see if it actuated and checked/cleaned the oil screen The code never came back. It's hard to tell how much oil I was using but it was a lot I did an oil change and put 160miles on it and it's all the way low right now (the bottom dot on the dipstick) I will be putting the valve cover on hopefully within a few hours to make a video of the noise

 

And thanks for welcoming me! Glad to be here

 

If your not getting any noise at startup or timing codes I wouldn't suspect a timing chain problem.

It's kinda strange that changing the plugs makes it quieter for awhile.

I'm not all that familiar with the 2.7l but it sounds like very exessive oil consumption, did it just start using oil all of a sudden or has it progressively gotten worse?
The only simple thing I'd know to check for exessive oil consumption is the PCV valve.

@Jimmyh any other ideas?

 

Welcome to the forum!!

Could be an intermittent problem with the valve actuators caused by dirt and sludge accassionaly causing issues with the actuators proper movement. The oil channels are pretty small.

Are you the original owner? Previous owners may not be the greatest at timely oil changes.

The rattle makes me think of it possibly also being an oil supply problem. Again possible caused by oil sludge.

Just ideas bouncing around in my head !

 

The truck has made this noise for a good awhile probably 7-10k miles and had no other symptoms until recently my mom was in the hospital for a few months so I neglected to check the oil til the noise had gotten worse and it never used oil before that time it had been making the noise for a long time before this. I changed the pcv valve but it's still using oil. when I took the valve cover off everything looked very clean under. I got the truck at 52k miles and use synthetic valvoline 0w-20 I kinda slacked on my oil change a few times pushing 1-2k miles passed the maintenance light what do you guys recommend to remedy the possible oil/sludge buildup? Could this cause something with the valves that would make my plugs run hot? I'll pry change the actuator and the oil today. Is there anything else to look at besides the oil screen that can cause the code for the actuator?I read somewhere how you can check the oil pressure does anyone know how to do that?

 

What's the recommended oil viscosity for the 2012 2.7??

Sorry. I just looked it up. !!! It just seemed light for a 2012. Thought the recommendation was 5w30.


Again, just bouncing around ideas to see what might help.

 

I mean if it is clean under the valve cover I wouldn't suspect a sludge problem, the 2.7l is normally a pretty bulletproof engine when properly maintained.
I'm not sure what to say about it, you could try to go to a 5W-20 oil and see if that helps. If it was ran severely low on oil there could be damage done but you said the noise was there prior.

You can always post a video of it and maybe someone can ID what it is.

I believe it was 5W-20 for the early models and they changed it to 0W-20 for the later models.

The 4.0l V6 used 5W-30 for all model year Tacomas and 0W-20 for the dual VVT version in the FJ Cruiser and 4Runners.

 

Could the rattle and low oil level somehow be completely unrelated. Just a coincidence?

Anything loose in the engine compartment or exhaust?

 

The recommended oil is 0w-20 I bought some mobile 1 just now and a different oil filter I heard the wix filters can drop oil pressure a tad I'm gonna run a magnet by the drain plug. Im not sure on it being a coincidence but it very well can be multiple problems. Usually when I work on things that's how it goes lol I checked the shrouds and anything that could be moving I'm currently still trying to find where it's coming from I got the valve cover on so I'm driving it now when I punch it it doesn't make the noise until very very slightly at 5k rpm it's loudest in 1st and 2nd gear when I try to cruise with very light pedal pressure I'm gonna check all my accessories with the belt off too. How do I go about making a video on here it says it's the wrong file type or something I guess I can make a YouTube account.

 

The rattling could be preignit ion or detonation due to a timing problem.

This is hard considering he has already replaced the pcv. Doesn't. Rattled when cold at idle. Using excessive amounts of oil. No sign of a leak and no smoke. I'd say do a compression test and see what you have.

https://dannysengineportal.com/spark-plug-color-evidence-of-what-is-happening-inside-the-engine/

• So, a clean, white insulator firing tip and or excessive electrode erosion; indicates this spark plug condition. Caused by, over advanced ignition timing; poor engine cooling system, lean air fuel mixture, or a leaking intake manifold. When these conditions prevail, even a plug of the correct heat range, will overheat.

 

Alright ill do a compression test! I took off the accessory belt and still making the noise. The Engine is tapping at idle again it seems like it does it as it warms up until about 1.5k rpm then at 2k is when the rattling begins.

 

When was the last time you cleaned the mass air flow sensor? Dirty sensor Could be leaning out the mixture and causing pinging.

 

You have to post it on a video sharing site and post the link here.

 

Compression in the cylinders are 119,119,125,123 psi

 

I just cleaned it no difference

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mxj66cqxfnk5rgv/20220904_091854.mp4?dl=0 just checking to see if this link works for you guys and I'll be getting my accessory belt on plugs wires n intake for a video of the noise

 

Timing issue?