Hi Scotty,
I have a 1999 Tacoma Pre-runner v6 with 55k miles. It has a slight tick on the driver side that I can hear when standing next to it on idle. Otherwise drives just great. But in my neuroses I decided to bring it to a mechanic, who said not to worry about it and to if anything put some Liqui Moly 20004 Hydraulic Lifter Additive into the oil to quiet it down. So I did that today and later read that my engine doesn’t even have hydraulic lifters! Questions are;
a) should I drain and replace the oil because the additive could cause harm? {black}:scared:
b) should I worry at all about “loose-ish” lifters when they’re just going to tighten up eventually anyway.?
{black}:idontknow:
thanks
Nic
Oil is cheap. Why not drain and replace it?
Your lifters aren't going to "tighten up". They're "bucket lifters". Mechanical, not hydraulic.
You adjust the Valve Clearance (when needed) in that engine by replacing the adjusting shim with a shim of the appropriate thickness.
(Shims are available in 17 sizes in increments of 0.050 mm (0.0020 inch), from 2.500 mm (0.0984 inch) to 3.300 mm (0.1299 inch).
I understand what type of lifters they are. But I hear that the clearance reduces over time until things get tight (no noise). When the opposite is true (too much clearance) then they make the ticking sound. I also heard that having too much clearance can cause damage!
And it seems like one or more of yours has too much clearance so they're ticking
.
With metal parts Time=Wear. Wear=Increased Clearances
.
Time & Wear ≠ Decreased Clearances
.
It would be worth your while to have somebody check your valve clearances. It isn't hard. They just have to remove the valve covers to check them
.
You don't want the nose of a cam lobe to be damaged from excessive clearance or a valve component to get damaged
.
That runs into a lot of money or possibly catastrophic engine damage
.
Nip it in the bud! There's a couple of special tools needed to remove the bucket lifters (if it's necessary to replace an adjusting shim and it can be done from the top with the valve cover removed) but a shop that does this kind of work will have them. Don't bring it back to the shop that told you to use an additive
.
((If I had a 1999 Tacoma Pre-runner v6 with 55k miles I would treat it like my baby too and I'd pay to have the valve clearances checked))