2002 Toyota Tacoma 4 cyl engine knocking

[96Taco]

Why I am asking about oil filters is when I bought my 96 taco used ..36k on it It had a penzoil oil filter on it and My Toyota Mechanic told me to get that off there asap . He said only use Toyota oil filters , Because they have a built in shut off valve in them that keeps oil in the top of the engine , So you dont have dry start-ups .... He had a stock one he took apart for me and showed me .. So I know thats true .. So if you are getting knocking at start-ups that could be your problem .. My Taco also has a 2.7 in it and I dont have a knock in it . But I do have a crack in my exhaust Manifold .. and need one ..Hint Hint The only problem I have had with my taco or 2.7 engine is Keeping water out of the engine area .. I have replaced one horn already from water ( because it is in a bad spot ) Now I have to replace the exhaust manifold because of water ..

[Jeff Vought]

Just an update, never had it checked and it still sounds and runs the same. Gonna keep on driving it.

[tacoma man]

i would take it to the dealer if its under warranty.

[99tacoma4x4]

Purchased 99 used reg. cab tacoma 4x4 w/38k miles. Started making diesel gurggling sound about 60k miles, around 2k rpm, under light load. Add me to the list. Will approach dealer, any suggestions?

[02tac]

I have just brought my 2002 tacoma 4x4 with 4 cylinder engine in to the dealer for the second time for an inceasingly louder knocking sound, especially when the truck is started cold, but it is also audible at cruising speeds. The first time I brought it in, they just told me that it is a loud engine which is characteristic to these toyotas. The second time I brought it in, I left it overnight, and they called me in the morning and told me they had ordered a new engine which is covered by the original warranty. They told me that it was caused by the WRIST PINS. I now have 43,000 miles on the truck, this problem started around 20,000. So by next week I will have a new engine in the truck. I also experienced the problem with the leaking passenger side when it rained, which they brought to a body shop and replaced the carpet.
Even though this has been a pain, at least toyota has always supplied me with free, brand new rental cars whenever I had to leave the car overnight for them to work on it. It has suprised me that they have actually honored their warranty without me even having to ask.

[wrigley123]

Glad to hear about the new engine. I have a 2003 that also leaks when it rains. BOTH side of the truck leak into the cab.

Mike

[erichz]

I posted a message about a week ago concerning a knock from my engine compartment entitled "Harmonic Balancer Heads up". This knock was fairly loud and consistent and increased when revved. It seemed to get worse when the fan was on or the AC. It turned out to be the crankshaft pulley was loose and wobbling around on the end of the crankshaft. Everyone who is having a knocking problem, check your crankshaft pulley (the main pulley behind the cooling fan, usually has 1 or 2 accesory pulleys with it). The crankshaft pulley is also known as the harmonic balancer because it is drilled out to be balanced in sync with the timing of the engine. If this is loose, the center bolt has worked its way out a little and this can cause a very distinct, loud knocking sound that will eventually damage the inner workings of the engine because the timing is being thrown off. I have a 2000 4cyl with 68000 miles on it. The knocking started at ~65000 and then I fixed it with a new pulley and new center bolt. Good luck everybody.

[speedaddict520]

yeah, i had the same problem when i first got me taco even my friends who brought his taco earlier this year. at first, i was freakin out too but later the knockin went away. i've asked alot of people about this problem some say it's the crank shaft..some say that's wat happen when you break in the car...

[meithkiller]

I have a 1996 Tacoma 4X4 with the 2.7. My engine knocked like that for about 160,000 miles but never caused any problem. I now have 257,000 miles, the knock is gone, the engine runs GREAT and doesn't use oil between oil changes at 3,000 mile intervals. I am rough on my Taco because I off-road it on hills, cliffs and rocks, but I have not had any problems with the drivetrain. Replaced the original clutch at 238,000 miles.

My exhaust manifold did crack but I replaced it with an LC Engineering header for about the same price as the manifold. I use the Toyota oil filters because of the anti-drainback valve they suposedly have to keep more oil up in the engine when it starts up initially.

[sethmckiness]

I have had two 1998 Taco two wheel drives. Both with a 2RZ/2.4 L
Both trucks ended up developing a rough idle at times with a noticable tapping noise. when the engine is running good it is virtually silent. ?I? tend to drive it very hard...

but today the check engine light came on for a while. I parked it and 5 hours later drove it 100 miles and it did not come on again.. very wierd.

[Tred]

Could someone explain to me what this "knocking" would sound like? How loud? How fast? From where? I've searched different websites, and yet to come across one that I could understand!

Thanks. :P

[erichz]

check the crankshaft pulley (harmonic balancer). I had the same problem on my 2000 4 cyl and it turned out to be a loose pulley that was throwing the crankshaft off balance. Good luck.

[Flash75]

Is everyone with knocking engines using 5W-30 motor oil? What oil filters are you using? I'm just curioous as my 2004 Tacoma has only 7600 miles and sounds fine at present.

Regarding oil filters, it seem all dealers will tell you that their filter has an anti drain-back valve and others do not. That is not true, I have never seen a replacement filter without an anti-drainback valve. Some filters are poor quality, Fram is one, and I have experienced some problems with them on other vehicles. I noticed the original Toyota filter for my truck was made in Japan, the genuine Toyota replacements I bought were made in the USA and have a different part number. There are only about four manufacturers of filters in the USA and I assume one of them makes the Toyota filters to Toyota Specifications. On the Tacoma 2.4 engine the filter hangs down so it doesn't matter if the filter has no anti-drainback valve the filter will not leak dry, oil does not drain up hill.
Clifton

[speciald]

Well I have a 2001 Tacoma, 2.7L, 4 Cyl, xtra cab, 5 speed and guess what..... The engine is knocking!! I currently have 63K on it (with 100K)warranty). I believe that the knocking started around 40K in the early Spring and at the time it sounded like a light rattling (as if there was a loose bolt). It would happen during a cold morning start and then go away within 30-60 seconds. The noise went away during the summer months and then returned late fall. It no longer sounds like a loose bolt, it definately sounds like metal knocking against metal. I have heard the knocking, idle as well as 1800-2200 RPM. It does not however, consistently make the noise. Some cold mornings it won't make the noise and other mornings it will.

Hopefully Toyota will be able to duplicate the problem and tell me what they think it is.

I'll keep ya posted.

[Cam.P]

Tred

It is very clear that the posters in this forum are hearing a variety of sounds that they refer to as a "knock". For example : It appears that speciald's knock is likely coming from the top end and by his description of it occurring when cold disappearing when hot, it is likely piston slap and his anomaly is likely oil dependant. Toyota went to short skirt pistons around 1995 and are prone to slap more so than the long skirt pistons previously used. Fitting tolorance must be more closely observed on assembly. Others have traced their noise to harmonic balancer, etc. Mine was a thudding knock coming from about the middle of the engine, rather low. The thudding aspect is the most mysterioius part as it makes it very difficult to trace being that it telegraphs all over the place. Metal on metal usually has a teletale pitch. Valves click or tap, wrist pins tap, pistons make hollow tap/slap, rod bearings knock, main bearings rumble (a rotatational low knock as it were). These are generic descriptions, trouble is until you can identify with them, almost everything is knock of a sort.

My sound doesn't fit any of those listed above. I began to think there maybe was fuel igniting in the exhaust manifold with harmonics sending it around all over the place. Toyota folks wouldn't or couldn't speculate. I finally got tired of trying to figure it out and sold the thing. What ticked me was Toyota's dealer's lack of willingness to look into it further than going on a test drive and acknowleding that there was a "noise"