jbl-1985

For about 20k miles I have heard this noise. Opinions from the experts range from Valves to Lifters to Injectors. One reputable 3rd party shop said it was the injectors and said to ignore the noise. The fact of the matter is this: I have a stethoscope I use to determine where noise is coming from, and when I place it everywhere on both valve covers, there is minimal noise - normal sounding valvetrain stuff. Place it on any ONE of the injectors, and BOOM, the tick nearly blows my eardrums out.

Wish I had a dime for every fuel injector cleaner I put in the tank, and have used the engine flush along with Rislone treatment to no avail. I bought the car at 50k miles 4 1/2 years ago and did not have the service history (not even on Lexus Drivers) so who knows, but the engine was silent back then.

Anyone have this condition as well? Curious as to you're all's take on this. I feel like the motor is just gonna tank out on me at any time. Video link below says it all...

JetsonES

I have a ticking issue as well, it seems to have diminished a little when I added some marvel mystery oil to the crankcase. I also put some I the gas tank so it could be injectors like you said I haven't given it the stethoscope treatment but I was considering maybe trying a higher viscosity oil, hopefully someone else has successfully resolved this issue and can chime in. Mine is pretty much only at idle, does yours disappear when the revs are upped?

jbl-1985

Mine is there all the time - as the engine revs the ticks keep time with the engine. I've not used Marvel, but I did a flush with Motor Medic Motor Flush a while back.

JetsonES

The issue of mine being idle only is what leads me to believe it's an oiling issue. If I slghtly raise the revs it's gone. Too bad the e throttle does not allow for idle adjustments, if it did I would just raise the idle 100 to 200 rpm. I wonder if techstream allows idle adjustment?

gabzor

does the tick rev with your engine? if so than I believe its a lifter, my mitsubishi sounds like that when lifters need servicing, but toyota lifters are a bit different so I'm not too sure..

my mom's 95 es300 made that noise when one of the vsv solenoids went bad (egr to be exact)

take the cover off, and get a longish screwdriver, and put your ear on the handle, i've used that trick on a few cars, cause the stethoscope makes everything sound loud

JetsonES

I figure it's something to do with my lifters I just don't want to go digging in because the rear bank is going to be a pain. I thought since it is only at idle maybe my oil pressure is low at such low rpms which led me to think maybe a higher viscosity oil would allow the oil to stay where it needs to be a little longer under the low pressure condition. All speculation on my part however.


After a quick search I found that techstream will not allow you to adjust idle speed, darn. I suppose I will try cleaning my throttle body next as I have already cleaned my maf sensor fairly recently.

jbl-1985

In my case I find it hard to believe it's anything underneath the valve covers because the sound just isn't coming from there. No repair shop has ever wanted to really dig in and find out what it is. I honestly suspect an injector based on what I hear and where. Either way, I'm gonna run this one to as many miles as I can.

JetsonES

It could very well be. I know you can get them rebuilt, matched and flow tested for $22 bucks each here but that would also mean some down time.http://www.witchhunter.com/


A quick search on rockauto shows remanufactured units as low as $38 with other units going up to $150 each. Denso is at $75 which is probably the brand I'd go for. O rings are trivial in cost but a necessity to replace.

As long as it's not throwing lean codes, running poorly, or using excessive gas you can probably use it as is if the noise doesn't make you crazy, almost makes it sound like a diesel.

You might want to search for a place near you that can clean them up/rebuild them for you to minimize downtime or just opt for the rebuilt units at rockauto, they are a pretty simple device and are probably just crusted up. The bottles of cleaner can only do so much.

jbl-1985

Thanks for the info I knew there were some options out there for the injectors. The one issue is that when I touch the stethoscope to each injector, they are equally loud, but since there is only one ticking sound I know it's only one injector but impossible to tell which one at this point. At this point there are no codes pointing to fuel injection problems and the car still runs perfectly often exceeds the rated 26mpg rating on the highway. The only codes I'm dealing with now are evap codes, where it appears I may have to replace the charcoal canister

JetsonES

I would just roll with it then, because I would do all 6 at the same time and that adds up fast. You'll know it's time when you start throwing lean codes.

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

My car did this for 120k miles and I never fixed it. From everything I read up on from here and Toyota forums, it seemed to be the injectors.

fortitude

What code appeared that is associated with the canister?
I read on different vehicle board that his injectors where very loud and he found a kink in the fuel return line. Once corrected the noise went away.

JetsonES

Interesting info, thanks for the suggestion.

jbl-1985

The tick has been with the car for two years. However the CEL has only recently started coming on. The three codes I'm getting are:

Evaporative Emission (EVAP) System (P0440)
Evaporative Emission Control System Incorrect Purge Flow (P0441)
EVAP Vent Solenoid Valve Control System (P0446)

jbl-1985

Just realized I didn't respond to this...yes the ticks rev with the engine, but I just am not totally convinced it's a lifter. Everywhere I place the stethoscope on the valve covers there is just no loud noise there. Standard valvetrain noise. Place it on any one of the injectors and the noise basically blasts my ears out. But who knows...I've decided to leave it be for what it's worth. The car is throwing evap codes (see earlier post) just recently so maybe something will come of that with relation to the tick, maybe not. From what I've read, everything points to the charcoal canister. The next few weeks should tell the tale.