Ticking Under Load- SOLVED (1 Viewer)

[Indiana80]

I’ll try to keep this short. 05 LX470. Original 212K mile engine with good history of oil changes. I’ve owned it for the past 3000 miles. Did an oil change after purchase. Oil stays right on full mark- does not burn / leak oil- aside from minor VC weep. Had 3 obvious issues when I purchased: VGRS/VSC lights on, bad lower ball joint, exhaust manifold tick. TX / CO truck most of its life. I fixed VGRS/VSC malfunction. Had a dealer about 45 minutes away (closest one to me) swap in new upper / lower control arms and replace exhaust manifolds and gaskets with OEM parts. Tick used to be constant under any load, but not when revving in park. After manifold work, light tick only under fairly aggressive acceleration on the road. Not really a metallic sound. More like a timex on steroids. I had a local muffler shop ride with me to listen. That mechanic heard the tick and thought it sounded like manifold leak. I did check for loose plugs after getting the truck back and they were loose. One coil stem was cracked. I tightened all plugs to 16.9 ft lbs and replaced the cracked coil with OEM. Maybe it’s placebo, but that maybe helped reduce the tick and make it only appear at even higher loads. So, for this group, has anyone had manifolds and gaskets replaced and still had a slight leak? It appears the dealer replaced all studs and nuts and all studs appear to have an equal amount of threads showing above the nut. The studs and nuts on the headers to downpipes also replaced and I paid for new donut gaskets on those joints so I assume those joints are good. If it’s an exhaust leak I hear, it’s only under load- so a real bitch to pinpoint source when vehicle is parked. Any recommendations on how to proceed to the various rabbit holes? Any harm in retorquing manifold gaskets? Or, maybe the 4.7 just naturally has a light tick / valve train noise under harder loads? I’ve never had a Toyota with this motor. Add’l info: I’ve been running 93 octane. I’ve stethoscoped all injectors and they seem to be all clicking at the same volume and in the same rhythm. I guess I should probably go through and replace the rest of my coil packs at 212K miles just for good maintenance sake. I do have a torn outer firewall / steering column boot and am missing the inner boot that protects the VGRS actuator which could possibly be allowing injector tick / valve train noise into cabin. From all my records, the engine has never been opened for head / valve work. Sorry, I was not able to keep this post short.

 

[excessive]

maybe try swapping coils from Left to right side? you may also be able to perform a smoke test to see if you still have exhaust manifolds leaking.
Finally, the fuel injectors can sometimes sound like a ticking, maybe look into those as well.

 

[2001LC]

4.7L are a but noisy. Some more than others.

Fuel injector (FI) tick. But I can't hear them, unload (while driving). In the shop, with Tech Stream, adjust fuel trims to max. Sound changes, then FI.

It not FI, exhaust or spark plugs.

• lifter tick (valve stem bucket to cam gap).
• Piston or piston rod knock.

 

[Camotubebender]

Has the timing belt been replaced?

 

[Indiana80]

Has the timing belt been replaced?

Yes. It was replaced ~ 30K miles ago by a Lexus dealer.

 

[Camotubebender]

misaligned timing belt could cause a tick that would be worse under load

 

[cruisin4bruisins]

I would replace all spark plugs ASAP, if they are loose they can back out and cause a lot of issues. There is a lot of content on here regarding ticking/popping coming from loose spark plugs that can be catastrophic. You can do all of them in under an hour with a ratchet, extensions and swivels. Replace with NGK plugs do not use anti-seize on the threads.

 

[Indiana80]

misaligned timing belt could cause a tick that would be worse under load

Thanks. Is there a quick way to check for that by opening up the plastic cone-shaped covers?

 

[Indiana80]

I would replace all spark plugs ASAP, if they are loose they can back out and cause a lot of issues. There is a lot of content on here regarding ticking/popping coming from loose spark plugs that can be catastrophic. You can do all of them in under an hour with a ratchet, extensions and swivels. Replace with NGK plugs do not use anti-seize on the threads.

Yeah, I retorqued all the Denso Iridium plugs that have been in there for ~ 30K miles. They’re all torqued to 17 ft lbs now. I replaced one coil that was split and its associated plug. Plug looked OK to me.

 

[2001LC]

Thanks. Is there a quick way to check for that by opening up the plastic cone-shaped covers?

I've not had issue of belt a tooth off. So IDK if we'd get a tick. But worth checking, if nothing else pans out as tick!

The BK2 cam/belt cover (RH No.3) is easy to remove. The BK1 (LH No.3) is a little more difficult. But neither needs completely removed, just open enough to see Cam Sprocket Timing Mark. Remove the 10mm bolts and crown nut from each cover. Pull cover away from head about 1" at top. Set crank shaft pulley (harmonic balancer) mark on zero lower cover line. Each cam mark should be on straight line of backing plate on head. You can also place crank pulley line mark, on plastic nipple of lower cover, and cams marks on T's of backing plate. In either set of marks, the crank turns 2 to 1 turn of cams (720 degrees on crank to 360 degrees on cams). So if crank on mark and cams marks nowhere to be seen. Turn crank 360 degrees more. Cam should now be on the marks.

To the straight lines.

To the T's & nipple on crank (lower) cover past the zero.

The belt lines will not be likely be there, and have no bearing on engine timing. They just on new belts, to help set belt before turning crank.

 

[2001LC]

Yeah, I retorqued all the Denso Iridium plugs that have been in there for ~ 30K miles. They’re all torqued to 17 ft lbs now. I replaced one coil that was split and its associated plug. Plug looked OK to me. View attachment 3588618

The black char on plugs threads. Are indication of blow-by (escaping combustion gasses) due to loose plugs. It seem too black of a charring. Which could indicate a dry fouling.

Cracks in coil, indicate excessive heat. Excessive heat, may reduce effectives and life of coils. But the cracks themselves, do not mean a coil is bad.

The two main reason coils are subjected to, excessive heat.

• Excessive gap. Result in coil working hard to produce spark.
• Loose spark plug. Which the hot gasses cooking coils. In time, can increase resistance due to weak (threads loose and covered with carbon) grounding. Result in coil working hard to produce spark

 

[Indiana80]

The black char on plugs threads. Are indication of blow-by (escaping combustion gasses) due to loose plugs. It seem too black of a charring. Which could indicate a dry fouling.

Cracks in coil, indicate excessive heat. Excessive heat, may reduce effectives and life of coils. But the cracks themselves, do not mean a coil is bad.

The two main reason coils are subjected to, excessive heat.

• Excessive gap. Result in coil working hard to produce spark.
• Loose spark plug. Which the hot gasses cooking coils. In time, can increase resistance due to weak (threads loose and covered with carbon) grounding. Result in coil working hard to produce spark

Got it. Thanks. I think my next step is to replace the rest of the plugs and coils. I’ve already got the Denso OEM plugs, I’ll get the Denso OE coils coming from RA. At 212K miles it’s probably not a bad to replace coils, anyway. Especially knowing most of the plugs were ran a little loose.

 

[Indiana80]

The black char on plugs threads. Are indication of blow-by (escaping combustion gasses) due to loose plugs. It seem too black of a charring. Which could indicate a dry fouling.

Cracks in coil, indicate excessive heat. Excessive heat, may reduce effectives and life of coils. But the cracks themselves, do not mean a coil is bad.

The two main reason coils are subjected to, excessive heat.

• Excessive gap. Result in coil working hard to produce spark.
• Loose spark plug. Which the hot gasses cooking coils. In time, can increase resistance due to weak (threads loose and covered with carbon) grounding. Result in coil working hard to produce spark

Here’s a better view of electrode and insulator from the one I replaced with new coil. As far as tick- no tick or pop at start up, idle, smooth and quiet in gentle city driving. Hit the gas fairly hard and above ~2000 RPM, tick tick tick. Not metallic sounding. Sounds more like exhaust tick. Maybe tech at dealer didn’t get exhaust manifold torqued to spec. Or, maybe over-tightened? Looks like all manifold studs and nuts are new. I haven’t touched them so dealer can mess with it when it eventually goes back. Communication not the best with dealer service manager. I’ll do rest of plugs and coils so I can rule that out completely.

 

[2001LC]

That does not look like same plug, seen in first picture.

Exhaust and combustion gasses leaks/ticks. Tend to be present at all RPMs. The most notable difference, is when head/exhaust is cold or hot. Heat results in expansion, sealing minor leaks and reducing larger ones.

But hearing leak, is another issue. I put my ear in fender well at cold start, then again during warm up and then when engine hot.

Another way I hear the leak. Is standing at the curb, as someone else drivers off stepping on gas hard as they pull from curb. I'll the hear the POP POP POP.

Yet another is driving next to a wall. Sound bounces off the wall. Like retainer wall on HWY.

Personally once new plugs in, if still hearing the underload tick. I put a torque wrench on a few of new exhaust nuts, while engine cold. Or you can take to shop and see if they hear. They can check torque and or use a smoke leak tester.

 

[Indiana80]

That does not look like same plug, seen in first picture.

Exhaust and combustion gasses leaks/ticks. Tend to be present at all RPMs. The most notable difference, is when head/exhaust is cold or hot. Heat results in expansion, sealing minor leaks and reducing larger ones.

But hearing leak, is another issue. I put my ear in fender well at cold start, then again during warm up and then when engine hot.

Another way I hear the leak. Is standing at the curb, as someone else drivers off stepping on gas hard as they pull from curb. I'll the hear the POP POP POP.

Yet another is driving next to a wall. Sound bounces off the wall. Like retainer wall on HWY.

Personally once new plugs in, if still hearing the underload tick. I put a torque wrench on a few of new exhaust nuts, while cold engine. Or you can take to shop and see if they hear. They can check torque and or use a smoke leak tester.

Yeah, same plug. That’s why I sent a second pic in better light. I thought electrode and insulator looked good at 30K miles. In regard to Denso coils, who is your go to for supply? I’ve bought parts from Rock Auto over the years but have always been a little suspect. I see all / most of the big chains are authorized Denso retailers. I get a good price from my dealer, but these coils are salty.

 

[DiegoCrzr]

https://www.densoproducts.com/denso-673-1303-ignition-coil?_ref=ca-wtb&_refv=2437611391

Ignition Coil #90919-02230 | Autoparts.toyota.com

Boost your Toyota's performance with our genuine Ignition Coil. Essential for efficient ignition, it ensures smooth, safe driving.

autoparts.worldtoyota.com

 

[2001LC]

^^^^

 

[Indiana80]

That does not look like same plug, seen in first picture.

Exhaust and combustion gasses leaks/ticks. Tend to be present at all RPMs. The most notable difference, is when head/exhaust is cold or hot. Heat results in expansion, sealing minor leaks and reducing larger ones.

But hearing leak, is another issue. I put my ear in fender well at cold start, then again during warm up and then when engine hot.

Another way I hear the leak. Is standing at the curb, as someone else drivers off stepping on gas hard as they pull from curb. I'll the hear the POP POP POP.

Yet another is driving next to a wall. Sound bounces off the wall. Like retainer wall on HWY.

Personally once new plugs in, if still hearing the underload tick. I put a torque wrench on a few of new exhaust nuts, while cold engine. Or you can take to shop and see if they hear. They can check torque and or use a smoke leak tester.

^^^^

Thanks, I'll check out densoproducts.com...never used that source before.

 

[Indiana80]

I was able to take a video (for sound) while revving my truck next to bank building. it's hard to hear the tick, but it's there, so I guess it's just more audible when under load, accelerating on the highway. Here's the YouTube link:

 

[TheBussman]

retourqe your manifold nuts. clog the tail pipe and see if you can hear the tick then.