Oil drainage may cause ticking noise in older Toyota
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/03/2018 (2820 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Question: I have a 2009 Toyota Rav4 V-6 with 227,000 kilometres. The vehicle works great except for when it initially starts up.
The engine sounds great even when I rev it up, but when I put it in gear and pull away there is a ticking sound on the passenger side of the engine.
After driving for several minutes, the sound disappears. It only happens from a cold start. Any suggestions on the source of the noise?
Answer: A knocking or ticking noise on a cold startup is a recognized problem with older high-mileage V-6 Toyota engines. Toyota has a service bulletin out on it.
Oil pressure is used to control the position of the variable camshaft timing mechanism, which is part of the camshaft sprocket.
The problem is caused by oil draining out of the variable camshaft timing mechanism when the engine sits for some time.
It doesn’t always happen, but if the engine stops turning in a position where there is valve spring pressure on the camshaft that causes it to turn, it can help push the oil out of the variable camshaft mechanism.
When the engine is started, the variable camshaft mechanism snaps back and forth without oil to cushion it and position the valve timing correctly.
This is the knocking sound you hear and it is often louder when the engine is idling in gear.
After a while, oil pressure will force the air out of the system and fill with oil again, causing the knock to disappear.
Unfortunately, the repair is fairly expensive and requires several parts.
Toyota has a repair kit for this, which includes new camshaft sprockets with the variable camshaft timing mechanism, new timing chain and new camshafts.
The last time I priced one of these out, the parts were more than $3,000 and then there is the labour to install them.
If left as is, the snapping action of the mechanism is hard on the timing chain and can wear it out.
To minimize wear, let the engine warm up before driving, so oil can completely fill the variable camshaft mechanism.
If the noise gets louder, then your only options are to install the updated parts or look for a low-mileage used engine, but make sure it already has the updated variable camshaft mechanism and camshafts.
james.kerr@sasktel.net