ilikemyxa

ok so I saw a thread a little bit ago asking about why some of our engines are ticking a good deal, and I just found out. So lets start it off this morning when I went to my local garage, I told my mechanic alfredo that my engine has been ticking...almost as if either the valves need to be readjusted or the lifters replaced. So he says sure, he'll take a look at it and he comes back and says to me "I think I can save you an assload of money...especially if you need your lifters replaced" lifters by the way...are $30 bucks each, multiply that by 16 (valves) and you get a not so hot $500 WITH
labor...yeah...anyway so he tells me there 50/50 chance that he can make this repair cost as much as an oil change and I ask him how, so he tells me that chances are that the engine is ticking because of the oil filter, which before was a bosh. he said that alot of the aftermarket ones hold alot of pressure and alot of it comes back to the engine or something (it was 730 in the morning, i was tired) so he said that he'd change my oil and use an OEM one from toyota instead. So he did his magic and when it was done and I got in my car...NO MORE TICKING!!! well I'll be damned....

so those who have loud ticking engines that are using aftermarket filters, try swapping it out on your next oil change with the OEM one.

ASC

I've been using nothing but genuine Toyota oil filters, p/n: 90915-YZZE1 or 90915-YZZE2. The E2 filter is the same diameter as the E1, but is about 1/2" taller.

Anyway, I've always had the loud ticking engine since day one, even though I used only Toyota filters. Good suggestion, but for me it's probably not the solution.

Is it possible he used a thicker oil? 5W-30, especially the synthetics, pour like water in summer heat. I'm actually considering a 10W-40 synthetic for the summertime.

ilikemyxa

ive always used 10w/30 synthetic oil and before I told him that I did he asked what kind of oil i used and if it was 10w/30 so that could be a possibilty

xA_Factor

Toyota engine tolerences are quite small. I wouldn't use anything heavier than a 30 weight.

ASC

Good point. Perhaps the 10W-30 will help raise the overall viscosity to reduce the valvetrain noise.

xA_Factor

It shouldn't really change the overall viscosity much. 5W-30 and 10W-30 both behave the same at operating temp....acting as 30 weight oil. The winter rating, the "W", means that the 5W-30 will act as a 5 weight oil in cold temps and flow easier than the 10W-30 at start up. So there's really no advantage to using 10W-30....though using it in areas where the temp is fairly warm year round certaintly won't hurt anything.

Toyota recommends 5W-30 for two reasons. One, like most modern engines, Toyota engines have very tight tolerences which require a "thin" oil for proper lubrication. And two, a lighter weight oil reduces drag on the engine's internals which increases effiecency and economy.

The 2AZ 2.4 I-4 found in many Toyota vehicles actually calls for 0W-20. And most newer Honda engines call for 5W-20. So our recommended 5W-30 doesn't sound so thin, does it?

But keeping on-topic, Toyota engines tend to sound a bit "sewing machine like" at idle anyway, due to injector-tick and slight (normal) valvetrain noise. I've noticed no abnormal ticking in my xA using 5W-30 Castrol GTX and a Purlolator Pure-One filter.

bB2NER

^^ Exactly right!!! The ticking everyone is hearing is the injectors and valve train. There are clearances in the valve train that you MUST have. We don't have hydraulic lifters that are self adjusting. Ours are like those in an in-line 4 cyl. motorcycle engine. They use shims to adjust the clearances so a certain amount on noise is to be expected. If you didn't hear any noise, that would be a problem. It would mean that the valve clearance had gone away and a possibility that the valves were not fully closing.
The maint. schedule calls for the valves to be adjusted at 60K. That means the cams have to come out for the valves that don't meet spec. You'll have to buy the needed shims and swap them out to bring everything back into spec.

Grateful11

I wonder who in the world I would trust to do that? I don't know if I could trust my dealer or not, nor myself for that matter. I used to adjust the valves in my '66 Beetle every 6-12 months, it was easy but I don't know about these new ones. I'm a long way from 60K but does anyone know how much it cost to have this done?

bB2NER

The detemining factor in cost will be how many shims needed to bring all the valves back into spec. You might get lucky and not need to have any of them adjusted. This is one of the main reasons I'm religiously using Mobil 1. I'm hoping that no wear occurs during the first 60K.

Grateful11

I'm thinking of going with Synthetic oil myself. At what mileage did you switch over? I have to decide whether to go with 5W-20 or 30 in my '06.

bB2NER

^^ Switch over at 1K miles and use the 5W30 Mobil 1 with the factory Toyota filters.

Astrofuse

My xA has only a very minor valvetrain hum, which is natural for the engineering of the valvetrain as pointed out by jethro_b. I work at a lube shop and have been using the 5/30 Mobil Synthetic since 3.5k (had 1st change done at Toyota at @1.5k)
I also use the Mobil filter (M1-103bp... i think...too lazy to pop the hood) My oil change interval is 3k (I let it go to 5k once and was not happy with the level of breakdown, so I stick to a pricey but love-inspired, 3k oil change with full synthetic. And, at 28k, I have had no incidents, and still have beautifully clean, virtually unworn, internals.

dugzilla

I change mine every 5k and use the Toyota oil and filter. No problems and the oil comes out looking great.

dugzilla

Oh, I'm going on 50k.

bB2NER

you read my mind. I sometimes change it early if i have a long trip planned. it's nice to know you have protection to 5 k if you ned it. i'm at 30k and all is well too.

Macster

I've been using the Mobile 1 synthetic oil and OEM filter and now coming up to 40k. No problems at all and runs like a champ!

SaintJ

Ticking in the engine depends on what ticking youre hearing.
in my case i was hearing ticking when at the stop light and in gear.
what was it and how i solved it. it was all the tubing, it had so much slack that it was hitting various parts of the engine. anyway, i readjusted some of the places the tubing was being held, and secured others now no more ticking.

hope this helps some of you out

11thhour

which tubes? pics perhaps?

ohcanada_00

very excellent information!

I've been told by more than one mechanic the exact same thing about teh engine noise sounding like a ticking. Its the VVT-i or in m case when I leanred this the MIVEC. its just the valvetrain noise that is normal when you have a variable valve timing engine. id ti sounds like a sweing machine or a bicyle pedaling at idle, it normal.

SaintJ

i believe the cable that goes to the accelerator,
theres a tube near the windshield fluid cap,

pretty much anyplace where tubing or cables can bang on any various parts of the engin compartment due to vibration