I've been hearing this clinging sound since September while driving my 3.0 up hills. It only happens at higher speeds. I've noticed in the past month or 2 that my 4runner leaks more oil than usual. At a rate of 1 quart every 2 weeks. The other day while letting it heat up I saw oil leaking from the exhaust pipe. Any ideas?. I'm new to 4runners and would love all the help Ivan get.
Thanks

 

Where the the noise seem to be coming from, engine, tranny, or drive train ?
2 wheel drive or 4x4, auto or stick ?

 

It's stick shift, 4x4. I've been hearing it in the engine

 

Sounds like the engine is pinging. Have you checked your timing? Some engines do it all the time though under load.

 

My timing is rough, I bought it in worse shape and spent some time trying to get the timing corrected. I got it corrected enough to pass smog.

 

Could be normal, both of my trucks do it

 

Have you done the simple things like a tune-up? Premium gas might help the pinging but won't solve the problem.

Run a bottle of Techron fuel system cleaner in every tank of gas for a number of tanks. Seafoaming the engine will help as well. Excessive carbon deposits can mess with the compression ratio and the quality of combustion...which can lead to pinging. Burning oil is going to lead to plenty of deposits.

If your timing is too high it can lead to pinging under load as well.

 

it sounds to me like timing if it was a driveline issue you would feal vibration at higher speed

 

So I took it in for timing and it's more than timing. Either head gasket is bad or head is cracked. I'm looking for a shop to get a second opinion. If it's either one, what's the best way to go, rebuild or replace?

 

Buy a compression tester. They are cheap and will tell you a lot about your engine and its problems. Might just be pinging and a bad shop. Try 92 octane see if it goes away.

 

I found one from a buddy, the compression on all cylinders were initially very low 120-130 psi, I added a little oil to each cylinder and redid test, rose to 140-155.I read that means bad piston rings, some sites mentioned it could be bad heads as well, others only stated bad piston rings, what's your take on it?