soo here is what is going on...whenever i am in drive and completely stopped when my engine starts to idle a god awful rattling starts. the noise will get worse when i turn the wheel left and right, but the noise will stop completely when shifted into neutral. my truck still runs perfect the noise is just freakin annoying. any ideas as to what this could be please let me know!

1997 4runner SR5 4X4.

 

Your revs are significantly lower when in drive with the brakes on.
Low bogging idle makes things rattle, I had this issue when I installed new urethane motor mounts and the engine vibrations caused the whole vehicle to vibrate more.
Now to find the source you will have to get someone in the car to make the noise while you dig around outside. My first places to look would be a loose or hanging ubolt clamp or something on the exhaust pipe, or you may need to adjust the hood bump stops to secure the hood down tighter, or the prop rod could be rattling. Check near the engine mounts and anything that connects to the engine as well as the truck (like air intake stuff) Once you find the source of the rattle it is usually just a matter of tightening or adjusting something

 

sounds like it may be a heat shield on either the exhaust manifolds or the down pipe.

 

ha ha found what was wrong...i am missing two screws out the skid plate that attached just behind the bumper. when the engine idles lower it shakes the hell out of it.

now here is the tricky part.
i went to 2 auto parts stores looking for a screw that will fit based off of the 1 i took off.
NOTHING fits. any suggestions as to where to look for a bolt that will fit or at least a size?
thanks!

 

Try a hardware store like True Value or something. I'm sure if you look in the phone book you could find a local bolt store.

 

Since were talking yotas and since that means were also talking metric, hit up ace as said above, They have a much bigger selection of metric hardware then HD..Ever since I found that out I take the extra 3 mins to head to ace. Plus the people there are more helpful anyway...

 

alright i got them from the toyota dealership for like 1.89 lol (the screws have a specially tapered head so i wasnt going to find them anywhere). that fixed that rattling...

now it turns out that my exaust piping is rattling on one screw. this time i took some time and really checked out every single thing under the car. does anyone know how i can bend the tail pipe down like a half inch? there are 2 places i can do this at but i dont know what the hell to actually do? or am i screwed. lemme know!

 

problem solved i just threw some 3m tape between the bolt head and the muffler. no rattle! cant even tell its there. thanks for the help.

 

that tape will probibly melt...