brant914

First off I have to say... I hang out on a couple of web boards and you guys are among the best at answering techincal questions... A BUNCH of great mechanics hang out here!


I have a 1986 toyota truck. Its fuel injected (22re) and has an automatic.

The truck has about 165,00 on it now and I put a new head/gasket/timing chain/pump/vacuum hoses/all service items/fuel filter/o2sensor... everything I could think of about 10K miles ago.

When I first start the truck (cold engine but not cold outside) I hear a tap..tap..tap.. noise from the motor for the first 3-5 miles.

It sounds just like valve adjustment tapping.
and once things warm up it goes away.

When i rebuilt everything I followed the fsm adjustment instructions for doing the job warm.

Because of the noise, I pulled the cover and checked again just recently.. but there were no loose valve adjustments and everything was fine

Its a faint noise and not over loud or problematic... it just bugs me!

So could this be a cracked exhaust manifold? would that be a similar noise that goes away when things expand and warm up?

I put a stethoscope to the manifold and couldn't really clearly hear anything concerning. the heat shield is really covering things and its hard to get a visual

any ideas fellas?

thanks in advance for your help
brant

Joe86

sounds like maybe a lifter tick? stuck hydrolic lifter? Maybe try running some seafoam through it and see if it goes away, or running heavier oil?

just some ideas.

brant914

its a lot quieter than other cars I've had with stuck lifters...
this is very soft.
not a rattle, but a soft tick
and it last for 7-10 minutes, unlike a slow lifter which usually goes away in 10 seconds.

I could certainly be misunderstanding things
but when I put the new head on I transferred over my cam.
the rockers on the 22re ride directly on the cam.
so I don't think the 22re has lifters, unless I'm misunderstanding the name of something...

Are the stock Valve adjustment numbers correct and what everyone uses?
I've now checked 3 times and mine are all adjusted to stock
but is the stock number a little loose?

where do the manifolds crack, is it something I can remove and see?
what does a crack manifold sound like?

thanks again everyone!
brant

vital22re

iTrader: (2)

there aren't hydrolic lifters on a 22re. More than likely an exhaust leak. Check the egr tubes and any exhaust joints.

Mr.Utah

This might sound strange, but if you are using too heavy of an oil in the motor, lubrication wont take place until it gets warm. Try changing the oil and use high quality recommended weight, probably a 5w30. Good Luck

TNRabbit

Do you have a mechanics stethoscope? Try the Fuel Pressure Regulator; mine ticks like a b*t(h.

brant914

Wow... great ideas guys

1) I'll do some searching on the board right now for egr threads. does anyone have a link to a good thread about cleaning/checking?

2)I'm running 10/40. Is that too heavy. It gets freakin' hot here in the desert (I'm not in the mountains) I would have thought that after a minute or so even thick oil would get everywhere it needed to be. and I wouldn't think it would take 10 minutes. But I can try it! The previous owner blew the head gasket and kept driving the damn thing.... one cylinder got washed down with a lot of antifreeze. So I've got one cylinder that could really use rings and a tiny bit of oil consumption. Thus I thought the 40 weight was better over all.

3) I have a cheap mechanics stethescope. A harbor freight piece. Where is the regulator located? I will definitely go re-check.

thanks again everyone for the tips and idea's
brant

rokblok

iTrader: (1)

Keep in mind that a 22R(E) is not a quiet engine anyway. They are, by nature, loud and ticky. But it does sound like a manifold cack warming up and sealing. I second the exhaust inspection thought process...

combatcarl

10w40 is fine. I ran it summer and winter here in OR. No lifters on these little motors, but lots of guys close up the valves by. 001 or .002, both sides and it quiets them down a little. I run 007/011. I notice I have a similar sound, takes warming up to go away, maybe a little piston slap when cold?? Mine won't do it warm.

SCToy

If you get yourself a proper set of gauges you'll find it takes quite a while to really warm the oil up. In my BMW, the water hits operating temp in about 1-2 miles, but it's about 10 miles for the oil to even get close to operating temp. Never got any gauges for the truck, but I am betting its similar numbers.
As far as exhaust noises, mine made some funny ticking noises when the manifold 2-1 connection had some loose nuts and leaked. It never went away when warm though.

BoostedRNR

Mine has piston slap till it's warmed up. The last Toy I owned did it too. I just let it warm up longer or took it easy till things got warmed up

brant914

I looked through the threads and also pulled out the FSM

so I pulled the hose identified in the FSM that runs from the EGR to the manifold.

when I suck even a tiny bit it instantly kills the engine and as far as I can figure this test shows that the EGR isn't stuck and is working......

do I still need to pull it and check the rigid metal EGR tubes?
I know I cleaned things when I had the head off for the valve cover gasket job.... but can't say that I ran wire through the tubes or anything.

I like the idea of tightening up the valves another thousandth...
I'm willing to try that just to see if it fixes my weird little problem...


I'm not excited... but willing to pull the exhaust manifold if necessary. I fear though that I won't be able to see the cracks and will pull it only just to still be confused. Do they show when pulled?

piston slap makes sense too..
the little tick isn't really identifiable at idle
(part of the reason I can't locate it when I start it cold in the garage)
I failed to mention that its more of a load tick...
I go easy for 5 miles so half throttle load....
but its hard to produce it at idle when I'm using the stethoscope.

but half throttle down the county road and I have this... "tick, tick, tick"

so the piston slap could be it.


do a lot of people recommend tightening the valves?

brant

TNRabbit

If it's slight & only at load, my first guess would be a manifold leak.

combatcarl

Yeah mine only shows up under medium to heavy throttle when cold. I read something somewhere about how these motors can exhibit a little bit of piston slap cold. As long as ya don't hotdog it, it said that its often a symptom of age or type of piston used on rebuild, and shouldn't scuff anything as long as you have good oiling and use light throttle. (shameless pitch follows) I switched to Rotella T6 5w40 as an experiment to quiet valve rattle and "percieved" cold temp oiling issues. Love it, no more startup rattle, and no more warm idle tickticktick. Now how to shutup the injectors?

brant914

So does anyone know if I can see a developing manifold crack.... (either mounted or dismounted)

(also where is the fuel pressure regulator located?)

BoostedRNR

A manifold crack is usually pretty easy to locate. They usually are black from the exhaust leaking through. The FPR is on the fuel rail towards the firewall

brant914

I only got so far as to take the heat shield off. The actual manifold looks fine, no visible cracks and no black area's indicating a crack. I was able to get under the truck and look up to the inside of the manfold between it and the motor/head. Everything on the inboard side also looks very good, and no black cracks or cracks in general.

I decided to hold off on pulling it since it looked so good.

thanks guys I guess I'll keep at it and see if it gets worse.
thanks for the regulator location also.
brant