I went to look at a 1988 v6 4runner with 185,000 miles on it. The engine looked immaculate, new spark plug wires and no oil lealks visible. It idled at around 400-500 rpms and was very smooth. However there was a fast clicking sound comming from what seemed to be the inside of the engine. You cant hear it when the hoods closed but after you open the hood its defeinlty noticable. I thought it may have needed a new timing belt but it was replaced at 77,000 as shown in the records. After the test drive it didnt seem like any loss of power and everything felt excellent (the engine wasnt running rough at all). My question was that does the car most likely need a new timing belt and is that possible to replace in the garage. If so how hard is it. It also made a wierd sound when i hit the throttle, almost like rushing water/wind and he told me it has done this since hes got it and thats its the fuel injecter. is this true?
thanks for your help

 

The 3.0 V6 is known for noisy injectors, mine used to click loudly all the time. If it's the injectors I don't think there's much you can do. Also could be valves slightly out of adjustment. They can be adjusted, but it's a bit of work and if the engine is running strong probably not worth it.

Timing belts don't make any noise, they just work quietly, or they break, then it's even quieter as the engine stops
Luckily it's a non-interference engine so no damage. And yes changing the belt can be done by most people with some mechanical knowledge. If the belt was done at 77k it's probably time for another. With 185k you'd want to do the water pump too. It's behind the timing belt and only adds about 1/2 hour to the job. Much quicker than having to do it all again if the pump starts leaking later. You can most likely find a write up on here, just search.

Don't know about the noise, can't remember anything sounding like that when I had my 93 4Runner.