Piston Slap vs Cracked Exhaust Manifold

[Son of Odin]

I recently installed a set of headers on my truck. Up till now I convinced myself the diesel sound coming from my engine on cool mornings was a cracked exhaust manifold. I looked over the OEM exhaust manifold high and low for a crack. Unfortunately, I found nothing.

This morning was fairly cool and when I cranked my truck there it was, the diesel noise. The dealership claims it's a noisy overhead. Some here say its piston slap. And others claim it's a cracked exhaust manifold. In my opinion, Ive ruled out a cracked exhaust manifold as the culprit. Anyone else replaced their manifolds and still have the diesel noise?

[nymand1]

Originally Posted by Son of Odin

I recently installed a set of headers on my truck. Up till now I convinced myself the diesel sound coming from my engine on cool mornings was a cracked exhaust manifold. I looked over the OEM exhaust manifold high and low for a crack. Unfortunately, I found nothing.

This morning was fairly cool and when I cranked my truck there it was, the diesel noise. The dealership claims it's a noisy overhead. Some here say its piston slap. And others claim it's a cracked exhaust manifold. In my opinion, Ive ruled out a cracked exhaust manifold as the culprit. Anyone else replaced their manifolds and still have the diesel noise?

My dealer told me cracked manifold. Boy, would I be upset if it did not solve the problem. Maybe try a couple of independent shops. Costs nothing for their thoughts and estimate.

It really urks me how the Tundra can have such rediculous things go wrong. I owned one of the big three prior to mu Tundra and put 145K on it with NO REPAIRS except regular maintenance. D

[jday4]

Originally Posted by Son of Odin

I recently installed a set of headers on my truck. Up till now I convinced myself the diesel sound coming from my engine on cool mornings was a cracked exhaust manifold. I looked over the OEM exhaust manifold high and low for a crack. Unfortunately, I found nothing.

This morning was fairly cool and when I cranked my truck there it was, the diesel noise. The dealership claims it's a noisy overhead. Some here say its piston slap. And others claim it's a cracked exhaust manifold. In my opinion, Ive ruled out a cracked exhaust manifold as the culprit. Anyone else replaced their manifolds and still have the diesel noise?

I have both. Two sounds are distinct and very different in my opinion. Air going past a crack and a piston knocking against the cylinder wall do not make the same sound. There have been a lot of posts about this subject, just search for deisel knock and you will find a lot of posts. I had a cracked exhaust manifold and it was just an annoying tick sound that was present reguardless of how cold it was outside, but as the engine warmed it would tone down a good bit. The diesel sound you are hearing is exactly what mine does when the outside temperature gets around 50 degrees. When it gets below zero it is very loud, but once the engine is warm it goes away completely. I put headers on to get rid of the ticking, but the knock is something I decided to live with, like a bunch of us on this form have decided to do. My father's Chevy does the same thing on cold mornings just not as bad and the sound is nearly identical. That's about all I have to add. My truck has 50,000 miles on it now and doesn't use oil, so I've decided to look over and enjoy my truck. I just let it warm in the winter. That's my two cents.

[S-Man]

I had a freind who worked for BMW, and he said that the M5's (which for the non-enthusiast, is a 4 door BMW 5 series sedan which will spank a corvette) engine sounds like a diesel when you start it in the morning, especially if its been sitting for a week or so, but after it warms up, it purrs like a kitten. he said, and i find this hard to believe, that after it warms, you can set a glass of water on the hood, and rev it to 8000 rpm's and you wont see much vibration on the water, indicating how smoothe the engine is. Thats all i have to say about that.

[dupont24]

Originally Posted by Son of Odin

I recently installed a set of headers on my truck. Up till now I convinced myself the diesel sound coming from my engine on cool mornings was a cracked exhaust manifold. I looked over the OEM exhaust manifold high and low for a crack. Unfortunately, I found nothing.

This morning was fairly cool and when I cranked my truck there it was, the diesel noise. The dealership claims it's a noisy overhead. Some here say its piston slap. And others claim it's a cracked exhaust manifold. In my opinion, Ive ruled out a cracked exhaust manifold as the culprit. Anyone else replaced their manifolds and still have the diesel noise?

That noise you hear is normal injector noise. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOURS OR ANYONE ELSES TRUCK THAT MAKES THAT NOISE. Bascially don't worry bout it you'll get many happy miles out of you Tundra.

[jday4]

Originally Posted by rsvees

That noise you hear is normal injector noise. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOURS OR ANYONE ELSES TRUCK THAT MAKES THAT NOISE. Bascially don't worry bout it you'll get many happy miles out of you Tundra.

Obviously you have not heard my truck on a cold morning, and it is not a tick like an injector. It is a DIESEL sound. They're different. There are some sound clips floating around here someone or maybe dude boy has some. I can't remember where I found them. If you can find them, listen to them. That is not an injector. Mine has been diagnosed by a mechanic shop and the Toyota dealership as piston slap, so to say it is normal injector noise just doesn't fit.

[Don H]

jday4

Last spring my truck was also diagnosed by a Toyota dealer as having piston slap. They said that it was normal and did not detract from the life of the engine and that Toyota would not fix it. They blew my theory that the engine had been damaged by running a quart to much oil because of the short dipstick when they showed me a 2003 that did the same thing.
I agree that people whose trucks don't make the noise can't appreciate the embarrassment of starting your truck at work and having it sound like a Dodge diesel. Every fall it seems to be worse than the year before, louder and starting at a warmer temperature.

[Dude Boy]

Anyone else replaced their manifolds and still have the diesel noise?

Yes, but I had the piston noise a long time before the manifold cracked. I never expected to have either problem when I bought the truck. I guess some do it and some don't depending on how loose the pistons were fit. Mine gets noiser every year also.

[dupont24]

Originally Posted by jday4

Obviously you have not heard my truck on a cold morning, and it is not a tick like an injector. It is a DIESEL sound. They're different. There are some sound clips floating around here someone or maybe dude boy has some. I can't remember where I found them. If you can find them, listen to them. That is not an injector. Mine has been diagnosed by a mechanic shop and the Toyota dealership as piston slap, so to say it is normal injector noise just doesn't fit.

A gas motor does not sound like a diesel. I have heard that clip and it is the injectors. I told that person the same thing. We have a good motor, it does have some tendency to have alil valve train noise when cold, and alot of injector noise, but trust me guys it's NORMAL. And I don't find it embarsing at all, cause I know I'll be running my Toyota with fewer problems and and MUCH longer then any domestic truck on the road!

[KLS]

One cold mornings, when I first put the truck into reverse to back out of the garage, I hear a quiet, hollow knocking sound from the engine. It isn't the sharp tick I'd expect from injector solenoid valves. Anyway, I only hear the knocking when it's in gear. It's gone after a minute or two of driving. I can easily understand aluminum pistons being small when cold, knocking in the bore, and expanding to the correct size when hot. Certain brands of oil will reduce the noise...I don't know if the oil actually reduces the knock or just absorbs the sound. Try different brands of oil. I'm noticing less knock with Schaeffer than with Amsoil, although it hasn't gotten that cold yet.


Ken

[v8Toilet]

Originally Posted by KLS

One cold mornings, when I first put the truck into reverse to back out of the garage, I hear a quiet, hollow knocking sound from the engine. It isn't the sharp tick I'd expect from injector solenoid valves. Anyway, I only hear the knocking when it's in gear. It's gone after a minute or two of driving. I can easily understand aluminum pistons being small when cold, knocking in the bore, and expanding to the correct size when hot. Certain brands of oil will reduce the noise...I don't know if the oil actually reduces the knock or just absorbs the sound. Try different brands of oil. I'm noticing less knock with Schaeffer than with Amsoil, although it hasn't gotten that cold yet.


Ken

Mine sounds a little like a diesel in very cold mornings but it goes away in a few minutes and mine seems to have been consistent for the 60,000 miles now that I have owned it. I'm nut sure if the sound is piston slap or the solid valve followers clacking when cold but I think all Tundra’s do it and its normal. My parents four cylinder Toyota Corolla makes a similar noise when it's cold too. One of our GM Vortec company trucks with the 5300 engine has piston slap or what sounds like it.

These things are complex machines so they aren’t going to be whisper quiet! Many of the pushrod V8’s of the domestics are quieter because they have a less complicated valve train with quieter hydraulic lifters. If they had solid lifters they would be noisy when cold and as a side benefit make more power too.

[tlcatundra]

Crank up any DUAL OVERHEAD CAM ENGINE (oh yeah my chevy didn't have one of those) when all the oil is cold and in the bottom of the engine and you will get the same type noise. Piston slap...yeah, the Lexus LX470, the Lexus GX470, the Tundra, the Sequoia, and the 4 runner are all running engines with piston slap...I don't think so. Go visit a big 3 forum if you want to talk about new trucks with bad engines trannys or rearends. They've even had 50 years to get it right. Toyotas only been making these things for less than 10 and they are superb in every aspect.</soapbox>

By the way, does anyone know if cracked manifolds are covered under the 5/60,000 powertrain warranty?

[jday4]

Originally Posted by tlcatundra

Crank up any DUAL OVERHEAD CAM ENGINE (oh yeah my chevy didn't have one of those) when all the oil is cold and in the bottom of the engine and you will get the same type noise. Piston slap...yeah, the Lexus LX470, the Lexus GX470, the Tundra, the Sequoia, and the 4 runner are all running engines with piston slap...I don't think so. Go visit a big 3 forum if you want to talk about new trucks with bad engines trannys or rearends. They've even had 50 years to get it right. Toyotas only been making these things for less than 10 and they are superb in every aspect.</soapbox>

By the way, does anyone know if cracked manifolds are covered under the 5/60,000 powertrain warranty?

Mine were not. However if you live in CA they are due to emission standards. If you have toyota replace manifolds it will not be cheap.

[Dude Boy]

Toyotas only been making these things for less than 10 and they are superb in every aspect.

Two questions:

1. What have they only been making for 10 years?
2. If yours is superb in every aspect, why are you asking about the warranty on the cracked manifolds?