Sounds like a diesel at startup.....

Tech took off the valve cover and said he had never seen so much sludge caked inside one. I know the previous owner probably didn't change the oil much or have any routine maintenance done so this isn't a big surprise. Using a stethoscope my shop manager determinded that the rear 2 lifters are the ones that are collasped and making noise. Parts are here and they should get to it today along with the engine mounts. Big shout out to Tim for his latest blog post; it is really nice to have a visual (especially of a nice, clean motor!) to look at and see how everything is suppose to go together.

I'll update this thread with pictures when they get down into it.

UPDATE The tech removed the 2 lifters in the back of the block without much trouble using the tool I purchased on JC Whitney mentioned earlier in the thread by kcg795. However, the lifter in the very back of the block was just far enough back in the compartment that the removal tool was too long to use. To get the rear lifter out, he had to make a modified version of the tool with a shorter shaft. That lifter was completely locked in place and he said he had to pull pretty hard to get it out.

Then he put the rods and rocker arm assembly back on and fired it up. Much better, but still not perfect. Some excessive tapping still remains. Due to the ease he had pulling the lifters, I went ahead and ordered 6 more so the whole set will be new. The rods are gummed up pretty bad and because they are cheap, I am going to have those replaced too. Probably not necessary but what the heck, we are already in there. The tech also noticed that the rear rocker arm that was sitting on that bad lifter is stickier than the rest of the arms and doesn't move as well. He is going to soak it and try to get it freed up and moving better. All of the parts showed up yesterday- Using NAPA lifters (set of 8 for $60) and OEM rods ($11 each). I imagine he will have it done tomorrow at some point so hopefully this clears up the remaining noise.

The tech doing the work said the tool makes the lifter removal easy. He is not putting a wrench in through the spark plug socket either like kcg795 did. He doesn't even have the passenger side 'hood' open or even the seat out! After watching him do it, I would encourage anyone to undertake this repair yourself. You'll likely break a hose or two (I think he has replaced 3) but other than that I think this is something that a novice can handle.

I will update again when it is done and back together.

It sounds like you got the 2 worst ones dealt with, so doing the rest should be easy :thmbup:. Might also be a good idea to do a timing kit.........there's always something :)>:. Tim

That would be next. Before summer, I hope to get the radiator re-cored at that shop in California I've read about on here. Probably do the timing then as well. I need to space out my repairs so the wife doesn't notice the damage to the account. I can't keep my receipts like you Tim. If my wife found $30k in Toyota Van-related invoices I'd be toast :pissed: <HER

Lol, I'm in trouble right now with painting supplies/etc, etc. I spent almost $7k in 2012 rebuilding everything drive-train related. I got less than 100 miles on it then "BAM" a tweaker wasted the body. So it's been taking up garage space for the last 1 1/2 years..........until last month. Now I'm dumping a bunch more time/money into the body. All the structural and body work are now done (as of today). Primer and paint are next. Quality paint and related materials are expensive..........but that's not all. Since I can't do anything half-way I completely stripped the van down to a pile of parts. All rubber, glass, (anything other than metal) has been removed and gutted (even took apart the dash to get the windshield washer nozzles and wiper stuff out). So, while I'm in there..............................you get the idea. I'm spending a small fortune & needless to say I'm in the doghouse again :slap:. Tim

Here's a link to my project photo album: http://s8.photobucket.com/user/timsr...?sort=3&page=1

JOB COMPLETE!

Whew! Glad that is over with! Van is finally out of the shop after having all 8 lifters and rods replaced with OEM parts. Tried to use NAPA lifters to begin with but they DID NOT work at all. Engine misfired and would hardly idle. Forked out the $$$ for Toyota lifters and just like that, it runs beautiful. The extreme diesel like tapping is gone--replaced with a nominal tick tick tick of a normal sounding engine. The difference in performance is outstanding. It is almost like I have a new transmission. It runs smoother and accelerates more evenly. It also tops out at a higher RPM (5000+) when getting up to highway speeds and is a lot quieter doing so.

The attached pictures show how sludged up this engine is. The tech ran everything he took off through numerous parts washings and lots of goo was removed. Still. This engine was not cared for by its previous owner. I have a feeling that instead of regular oil changes she simply 'added as needed'. I need to do plugs, cap, rotor, and wires so i am fresh there and I would really like to do the timing chain. Hopefully I can squeeze some more life out of this engine before it inevitably siezes up. You can't really tell by looking, but the tech said that none of the lifters were functioning as they should. He said some were worse than others and they were harder to pull. The engine mounts were done at the same time and that is making a noticable difference in ride quality too--lots quieter.

Awesome! We'll have to put lifters on the list of Napa parts that don't seem to work in the van (1st item being thermostats). I'm getting close to finishing my project. In another week or 2 my van will be like brand new (barring a few tweaks and adjustments)! I'm looking forward to driving it again. Tim

***Last Update on this thread I swear***

Been driving it for a week now and I am in love all over again. The increase in power and acceleration is just amazing. I always felt that my van was a little underpowered but I did not think changing out the lifters would make such a dramatic difference.

I've been lurking on this wonderful website a LOT. Thanks to Tim and everyone for providing the information to keep my van running and give me the confidence to tackle my noisy valve lifters.

I used the JC Whitney tool referred to above. On most of the lifters, it was easier to just fish them out with a magnet. The tool was too long for the rear two (as JFratzke mentioned) and of course it was the 7th one back that was stuck. So I bought a bolt that matched the thread on the handle (5/16 x 24 I think) and cut off a smaller bolt as a spacer. My 3" bolt was too short, so I welded on a 3" rebar T-handle and now have a perfect lifter-remover for the van.

The tool doesn't really grab the "lip" inside the lifter because you can't compress the lifter when it's full of oil. You just expand the tool the best you can and hope it doesn't slip out. Maybe you could remove the clip and piston on a lifter that was really stuck, so you had the lip to grab onto?

The van runs SO much quieter now, I don't think I realized how much of the racket was caused by them. So far the Enginetech lifters I got on Rockauto for $20 for the SET are working fine, time will tell if it was $380 well saved vs. OEM.

P.S. I'm still running the OEM stereo too, it's totally worth it to have the remote volume control between the seats! I just use a Bluetooth player to play music on my phone since the cassette died long ago.

Andreas

Enginetech lifters...check. God those Toyota ones are expensive.

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...wondering if mine has the same dieseling sound?

..here's a short video that catches the sound.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu2z...ature=youtu.be

You can hear it best at 0:07 to :15 ,, and 29 to 34 seconds ....whatchathink? :cnfsd:


It goes away after ~5 minutes of driving.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by micah202

.

...wondering if mine has the same dieseling sound?

..here's a short video that catches the sound.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu2z...ature=youtu.be

You can hear it best at 0:07 to :15 ,, and 29 to 34 seconds ....whatchathink?


It goes away after ~5 minutes of driving.

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..... anyone? :cnfsd:

Does the sound happen only when cold and then go away after 3-5 minutes? If so I am sticking by piston slap. noise goes away because as the metal expands (piston) there is less clearance for the piston to move and thus slap the cylinder walls. Aside from annoying it did not impact the 87 Van I owned for 13 years Got it new on 11/10/86 with 6 miles

At 20000 miles the piston slap developed and went another 12 years until it got stolen with over 300K miles on it. It was recovered and the insurance totaled it

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JPERL

Does the sound happen only when cold and then go away after 3-5 minutes? If so I am sticking by piston slap. noise goes away because as the metal expands (piston) there is less clearance for the piston to move and thus slap the cylinder walls. Aside from annoying it did not impact the 87 Van I owned for 13 years Got it new on 11/10/86 with 6 miles

At 20000 miles the piston slap developed and went another 12 years until it got stolen with over 300K miles on it. It was recovered and the insurance totaled it

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...yeh,, I'd say 5 to 8 minutes. I do consider it a reasonably normal sound for toyo's,, just wanted to worry about something else when I saw this thread.:yikes:


...the baby's at the mechanic's now for a full checkover,, it'll help me get over my paranoia's.
.... no head gasket issues,, no startup issues,, all he found was a balljoint to replace :thmbup:


......you still driving that one owner '86?