tapping sound in engine

I had the intake manifold gasket replaced on my 97 4x4 last week,the mechanic said after he got it all put back together he noticed the engine had a loud tapping or clicking sound.He pulled the intake back off to look for something foriegn that may have fallen into it.He still has the truck and says he can't find anything so far.What could this be?It was running great before,it just had a coolant leak.

tapping sounds are usually associated with the valve train, either high clearances, or worn parts, or something along that line.hope that helped.

You might have a loose rocker, i've had that problem before, on the 2.5L 4cyl just lock it down it has stop plates so u cant over tighten, otherwise the injectors are pretty loud on those type of engines

I had the intake manifold gasket replaced on my 97 4x4 last week,the mechanic said after he got it all put back together he noticed the engine had a loud tapping or clicking sound.He pulled the intake back off to look for something foriegn that may have fallen into it.He still has the truck and says he can't find anything so far.What could this be?It was running great before,it just had a coolant leak.


If the mechanic just removed the intake manifold, then I would check each cylinder for something small enough to fall through the intake valve. A washer or small nut could go through. The tapping could be the washer or nut hitting the piston, or being caught between the piston and the head/valve. If it is not a loose valve mechanism, you need to assume the worst - that something got into a cylinder, or is stuck in the valve and the piston is hitting the valve.