Exhaust leak? Ticking? What is it...

[Picasso]

Originally Posted by YotaTruck

Thanks for the replies guys. I don't think it's piston slap, but I could be wrong. It happens when the engine is cold, or after having stopped the engine for a few minutes, or even after a few minutes of idling at a light. It usually disappears when the engine is warm. It is very pronounced when listening outside through left (driver's) wheel well, and almost no sound in the passenger side wheel well.

I'm fairly certain you have identified a leaky driver's side exhaust manifold. Now all you have to do is decide if you want to fix it with a new manifold or new headers.

Originally Posted by YotaTruck

I'd re-record it from the left wheel well, but don't have my microphone handy.

I'm pretty sure the driver's side manifold is cracked, but wanted to post good sound files to help other people quickly diagnose the sound and for my own reassurance that this is really what it sounds like. I'll try to get a new recording that is more pronounced.

I'm convinced but if you think you can get a better recording, that would be good for this board.


Paul

[FoxRacin17]

my 02 tundra does this too. i got dual exhaust (magnaflow) and i cant hear it as much. what can fix it? custom headers?

[seanch77]

The ticking noise is a normal sound on the 4.7 liter. What I have seen while working on them (tundra and sequoia) is that the steering shaft boot at the firewall will become torn and you will hear the ticking inside the cab of the truck rather than it being suppressed through the firewall. Check it out with a mirror from under the hood where the steering shaft meets the firewall and I bet that it's torn.

[nukehammer]

You need to be cautious of an exhaust leak. If it is an exhaust leak on the manifold, cold air can be sucked back in and you are in danger of burning out your exhaust valves. A head rebuild is more expensive than an exhaust manifold replacement.

[YotaTruck]

Now you've got me all worried. I've been driving for almost 8 months with the ticking noise, and it has been getting worse. I'm looking to put on the JBAs in the next month.

I've looked on the web for some information on cold air damaging hot exhaust valves, and oh boy, now I've got more to stress about than paying for the JBAs: What's a sign of a damaged exhaust valve?

[nukehammer]

If your engine starts running rough. My Tacoma had the same problem. I drove it around for a year with a leak and then the truck started running rough. By that time it was too late. It cost me $1500 to have my 4 cyl head rebuilt (3 burned out exhaust valves) and have the exhaust manifold replaced. The good news is that the truck had 165k miles on it and I just sold the truck with 206k on it. The head is the only work I had done on the truck.

You could do a compression check on the truck, but I would just take the truck into a good mechanic and ask to have the leak found and your heads checked for valve burnout. A junkyard exhaust manifold should be pretty cheap, maybe a $300 fix?

[YotaTruck]

Thanks for the reply, sorry to hear about your Taco $$$. My truck does not run rough at all, so looking good. Also, I lived in southern Cali where the weather was almost always over 60 degrees, might have helped avert damage.

The only thing I can think of is that it occasionally misses when cranking. It will turn over 4 or so times, almost start, pause for a split second like it's having trouble, and turn over again and roar to life. Not sure if that's a problem, it usually starts on 6 turnovers. I'll be changing my fuel filter soon.

Just bought the JBA headers on ebay. One question I have for anyone is whether the JBAs are manufactured in the USA and fall under NAFTA so I don't have to pay duty to Canada.

[jeffb]

i have had it for 5 yrs

it is worse in the winter. below 25 degrees it taps pretty loud for 20 sec or so.

if you tune it out it probably wont make any difference.

I used to really worry about little things. my truck has 140k and is fine.

people have written about this extensively for years.

[Justme]

JBA's are manufactured in San Diego, CA. Went to the factory a couple of time to resolve an issue. Watched them producing new sets of headers!

Originally Posted by YotaTruck

Thanks for the reply, sorry to hear about your Taco $$$. My truck does not run rough at all, so looking good. Also, I lived in southern Cali where the weather was almost always over 60 degrees, might have helped avert damage.

The only thing I can think of is that it occasionally misses when cranking. It will turn over 4 or so times, almost start, pause for a split second like it's having trouble, and turn over again and roar to life. Not sure if that's a problem, it usually starts on 6 turnovers. I'll be changing my fuel filter soon.

Just bought the JBA headers on ebay. One question I have for anyone is whether the JBAs are manufactured in the USA and fall under NAFTA so I don't have to pay duty to Canada.

[whateverz]

Yota truck,
I had the same thing at 80k when i got the truck till i changed out. Don't listen to the dealers, injectors, piston slap is all BS. The stock manifold will do it till it's warm. I have a pair of Downey headers and no tick with 150k now. One thing is you want to keep an eye on the header flange on the downpipe, my passenger side ate a gasket. But with proper installation and if you keep an ear open for the first bit your should be golden. Enjoy.

[KFlash]

I have a leaking one on the driver's side. The dealer quoted me $320 for the manifold alone. Is this a reasonable price?

[2000LtdKen]

Originally Posted by KFlash

I have a leaking one on the driver's side. The dealer quoted me $320 for the manifold alone. Is this a reasonable price?

KFlash,

Thats what dealers are charging. I suggest buying JBA Headers for a little more and getting both sides changed out. Save some money and install them yourself. Lots of write ups on the board about how to. The great thing is some of your fellow tundra owners have run the dyno tests so you know there will be a benefit hp and torque wise.

Ken

[KFlash]

I really wanted to go that way. I just went through this with the passenger side but was covered because the O2 sensor went bad at the same time and they had to replace the manifold due to it being froze in it. Under warranty is always a good thing. Now that this one is on me, I will be doing the repair myself. If only the O2 sensor on that side would go bad-HMMMM?

With the passenger side being new, I just thought to go with OEM on the driver's side. Plus, I have a body lift on the truck and know that others have had to do a steering shaft mod to clear the headers. Still a possibility, but up time is important being my daily driver. Perhaps I will grab another steering shaft, have the mod done and be ready for headers.

I have read all the posts and it seems fairly straight forward. Will keep fingers crossed about corroded bolts breaking free. PB blaster to the rescue.

[craigferriter]

Same issue here. Just bought an 01 V8 4x4 with the ticking. The previous owner paid $600 for one manifold, and since this didn't fix the noise, was told he needed to replace the other side. He sold me the truck instead.


As far as headers/exhaust to fix this AND get more umphhh:

I looked under my truck and was a little shocked to see 2 cat converters, perfect setup for real dual exhaust? How many 4x4 AC V8 have converted to headers with dual exhaust? Is this completely removing the issue of ticking? The local muffler shop said headers are headaches, is this true? What can one expect to pay for this setup? Best brands/websites? Can I do it myself, or should i have it welded?


Thanks! I'd much rather spend $800 and get more power plus low growl rather than $600 and get nothing.

[KFlash]

Self diagnosed leaking exhaust manifold. Was hearing what others have described as a frequent problem and surmised mine had been added to the list.

I picked up the stock driver's side manifold and gaskets yesterday. I went ahead and bought 3 new studs for the end of the manifold so I didn't have to mess with the old ones. I was able to reuse all the old bolts, but bought a few extras just in case. The manifold still seems a bit expensive for what it is, but that's the way it goes.

I figured I had 5 good hours of light left when I got home from work this afternoon, so thought I'd do it tonight instead of burning up my Saturday. Plus, I'd be able to order anything else I needed tomorrow if I ran into trouble. I had already soaked all the nuts with PB blaster over the past two days.

I assembled all the tools suggested on the many posts. The must haves for my install were the 20" socket extension, one universal joint and a swivel head 3/8 socket wrench. The swivel head was a must for removing the nuts just above the motor mount. I was able to use a deep 14 mm-6pt socket to get these off. Unlike all the others where I could get a breaker bar on, I had to position the wrench/socket and the lean into the engine bay and really pull. Not much torque with a 10" handle. All the nuts gave way with the loud and initially alarming pop. I did have to remove the oil dip stick, one vacuum hose and shift cable clamp, inorder to slide out the heat shield and manifold. I have a body lift on my truck which gave me all the more room to work. I can't imagine having to do it with 3 less inches of work space. I was also relieved that the O2 sensor came out with no effort at all. For those that struggled with the O2 sensor plug, there is a lever that you depress and the plug comes right apart. This is most visible looking through the wheel well.

The reinstall went much quicker and was able to torque down all but the two nuts above the motor mount. Just gave them a good equal crank. Before I installed the heat shield, I ran the truck for about 10 minutes and then re-checked the torque. The tire went back on and out I went for a test drive. I was initally alarmed with a rough idle until I realized I didn't hook the one vacuum hose back up.

Now you are asking, "where was it cracked". Well folks, it wasn't. I feel like somewhat an amateur for jumping into a major repair, but really thought I was going to find a crack. After all that I was fairly pissed to find that (or what I think was the problem) the rear two manifold nuts were loose. Meaning that they spun right off with no effort like the others did. There did seem to be a little soot jetting out at that spot. I initially considered putting the old one back on with the new gasket. Questions - can a gasket going bad or loose nuts case the same noise as a cracked manifold? Second, and I hate to ask, would the dealer have taken back that part? Being 6pm by this point, it was too late to call the dealer and see if the new manifold could be returned. I was too into it at that point and figured the passenger side had been replaced for a bad O2 sensor, so why not make it a matched set. I just hate to spend money that wasn't needed. Either way, the leak is resolved and I had a fun couple hours working on the truck. The problem however, is that under acceleration I still hear the same noise. Now I'm really baffled, especially since I just spent a couple hundred for nothing. Perhaps back to the dealer? I need to think on it for a while.

I must say that this would not have been near as easy a task without having benefited from everyone's hints listed following their installs. Tire off to tire back on was 2.5 hours. I had mentally rehearsed the teardown for a few days and was able to bang right through it. The bolts didn't fight too hard and all the studs stayed right where they should. This is a managable job. You will need the right tools and as others mentioned "patience".