gene j Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 My 91 v6 makes a tapping sound that increases with rpm. It sounds like a single lifter to me. It isn't always very loud and it doesn't affect the engine performance, at least as far as I can tell. I'm wondering what I should be aware of regarding this noise. I've put about 2,000 miles on the Dolphin since I bought it and it runs great, just concerned about this tapping. Has anyone else had experience with this problem, and if so what did you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 How many miles on the engine and do you have any idea if the valve clearances have ever been adjusted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom W Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 If it is a valve noise there simple enough to check, of course taking all the stuff off the top of the eng is time comsuming just to get to the valve covers, they use shims for adjustment. If yours is getting normal gas mileage 12 to 14mpg I would think its not a serious problem. If you plan on doing this you could order a tool to compress the lifter so the shim can be removed & replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gene j Posted October 21, 2010 Author Share Posted October 21, 2010 How many miles on the engine and do you have any idea if the valve clearances have ever been adjusted? The engine 98k, had the head gasket recall done at 96k, about 4-5 months ago. They had it all apart and I saw the heads sitting on the mechanic's bench. Not sure if valve adj is included in that recall...I know certain things were extra. It has always sounded the same, even after the engine was apart. I would seem a shame I missed an opportunity like that to have the valves adjusted or they might have mentioned it if it was extra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gene j Posted October 21, 2010 Author Share Posted October 21, 2010 If it is a valve noise there simple enough to check, of course taking all the stuff off the top of the eng is time comsuming just to get to the valve covers, they use shims for adjustment. If yours is getting normal gas mileage 12 to 14mpg I would think its not a serious problem. If you plan on doing this you could order a tool to compress the lifter so the shim can be removed & replaced. If you read my post to Derek you'll see the situation. I could have probably put some reconditioned heads or something on when the motor was apart but not sure if that would have had to go through Toyota, probably so since they were doing the recall. That put's it out of the ballpark as far as $$$$. I'm getting good gas mileage and have made several trips to local camping spots in the mountains so there was a lot of climbing though not any great distances....ran like a champ other than the valve noise becoming more obvious when it would downshift up the hills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 You might want to deal with your noise before it gets worse and damages the valve, cam or the head. The shims are selective (all different sizes) and have to be measured to match the necessary clearance the best time to have done that was while the heads were on the bench too bad Toyota did not say some thing to you about it. With 90 plus K a general valve adjustment may perk up your ride quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.