Engine noise at idle

It just had an oil change 200 miles previous...sounds same at 5k

 

I did the lab oil

 

I have a 18 4 runner and have the same issue , I came from a 09 Highlander with 218 k and it was quiet as a church mouse .

 

did you buy the 2018 4runner new ? did you also change the oil changes and use the Toyota oil filter ..0-20wt synthetic sn plus ...

 

I always use the Toyota filter and Mobile 1, 0-20 I bought it used in dec. 2019

 

I do the oil change and the drive shafts grease ... in nov/dec around 7500 miles .. I run the engine with the correct temp then the oil is draining .mobil 1 0-20wt SN PLUS ....synthetic ..
drain it 45 mins.... my engine oil is like the same new color ...
many Toyota vehicles are rodents and the soy material is chewing up the harness ...peppermint spray ,, I did the rat wire screen to the air filter port ...

 

Just to chime in on 4Runner's noisy engines, recently scared the crap out of my grandson, he was hanging out in his garage, my '19 SR5 was parked just outside the closed garage door, I went outside to start up the truck to move it out of the way. of course the engine fan roared at start up and grandson came running out of the garage shouting what the hell!!. He said it sounded like an airplane was going to crash though the door.

I also have the knock/rattle till it warms up good. I was concerned at first but had a friend tell me his father has owned 2 5th gen 4Runners and they both sounded just like mine. At 70 mph and 2000 rpm, reminds me of grandmas old Singer sewing machine hammering out a hem.

 

I notices this also at a test drive.
Sounded like injectors or lifters to me.
We bought the truck and have a 100k Warreny. No worries here

 

Engine noisy? It’s normal.
Watch the first 7 of 8 minutes of this Car Care Nut video:
https://www.4runners.com/threads/latest-car-care-nut-4r-video.29263/

 

Question for Limited owners, I haven't had the opportunity to drive a Limited. Was wondering if they might have more sound deadening since they are a higher end model. And maybe they don't notice the engine noise as much.

 

When I bought this 2014 at 127k it had what seemed to be lifter noise, changed oil and haven't heard any engine noise since.

 

Nope

 

I have a 2020 4Runner with 43k miles and it makes a flapping noise while accelerating while it's cold. Like it's fluttering or wings are flapping. Once the engine is warm, the noise isn’t as audible, but if you listen closely you can hear it.

 

Yep, it’s a noisy engine. My second gen Taco wasn’t that quiet either.

These threads are interesting… like the guys who don’t understand why the tcase lever vibrates, and the folks who get confused about when to use 4H, I think we have a lot of younger members on here who didn’t grow up working on cars and don’t remember what it was like driving cars with carburetors and distributors and manual transmissions, 10w30 oil that needed to be changed every 3000, timing belts that would snap catastrophically if you went too far past 60k, etc…


If you remember having to set the choke, crank and crank until it fired and then god forbid don’t touch the gas pedal till it warmed enough that the high idle solenoid kicked off and it dropped down to normal idle you know what I mean

 

I also think it could be a lot of people buying these come from Civics and Camrys or whatever and bought this as their first SUV. I see a lot of new member posts that start out with "... finally got my dream car!", and might not be enthusiasts in the typical way that includes having some mechanical knowledge. Nothing wrong with that of course, that's why we're here to help, but considering how uninvolving most new cars are, the more basic and mechanical nature may be a bit of a shock.

That said, I'm definitely familiar with that high idle, to this day I don't put my vehicles in gear till the idle slows. My first vehicle was a squarebody Chevy pickup with a carb'd 350 with a fairly agressive cam, and even that engine was quieter than the damn 4.0, haha. Not counting the exhaust, but unlike the 4.0, the 350 sounded amazing through headers and true duals.

4 years later, the sound of the 4.0 STILL makes me cringe.

 

Is there any 1 oil that these engines like the best to reduce noise ?
Over in my chevy form some say mobil 1 is noisey. We are talking 5w 30 weight there not 0w 20

 

I've tried Mobil, Valvoline, Pennzoil platinum, and even the Toyota branded stuff, and I didn't notice any perceptible difference in sound.

I read in another group that an additive from Liqui-Moly is good for quieting it down, but I'm hesitant to try things like that.

 

Flapping sound is a weird way to describe it. There could be something going on. Tie down the rubber splash shield in the wheel wells. Zip tie them in, might help. Or look for plastic bags.

 

It would seem odd at that age/mileage, but my first thought was exhaust leak.

 

It crossed my mind, but I had the same thoughts regarding the age. First mental image I got was a an old delta 88 making that slappy ffft ffft ffft sound every 8th combustion cycle lol.

 

For those concerned about engine noise. Here's normal at idle scroll to 5:50 in the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDGAe8DOmck&ab_channel=TheCarCareNut

 

heh...ah...yes...it tis normal....heh..heh...

 

IF it's within your skill set: set on jack stands. using a and go around the oil pan. then just above the oil pan, being the lower engine block. Bearings will make a distinct metallic sound. Move up towards the spark plug area to the heads.
Valve train noise also will have a distinct sound.

So it may be a few hours of playing around but and they always come in handy.
Much easier then a huge 12" screwdriver against the ear......heh..heh...

Unless it has signs of neglect or abuse, The Car Care Nut in one video says he's never opened up a 1GR-FE engine.
Seem a bearing problem may be low on the list of source of noise.
Maybe consider running 7 ounces of sea-foam in crankcase for 200-250 miles and then oil change to clean up the innards and see what happens.

 

Somewhere in the past year, came across this question. Pretty sure it may have been the car care nut video but here's the summary.
Most all synthetic oils have a basic chemistry. Find one you like and stick to it. oh wait now I remember it may have been my Ford forum on my F-250 6.2l discussions.
Anyway, something about keeping the same internal lubricant chemistry for the sake of the internal seals and gaskets.
I've tried the major ones and settled for Valvoline SN rating because my local NAPA guy always carries it. And if they are out their NAPA oil is made by Valvoline so for me it's a win-win thingy.
Now is this so called hypothesis true? Ah gots no idea, just sharing what I've read in the past and tossing it out there.
So the 4runner and F250 get Valvoline.
Sometimes NAPA will have their brand oil on sale for 3 bucks a quart and i go load up for both vehicles , tractor and zero turn. Get it while the getting is good. Got a 48" by24" shelf stocked up with earl and filters...!

 

mine has this stupid rattle that started about 2 months ago, it started like a loose bolt or some tiny metal to metal rubbing, now is louder and sounds like coming from the passenger side, under dash or even door, no longer as metal rubbing is just a weird rattle when idling in Drive or Reverse, its absent when in park, tomorrow I am going to check the exhaust flange as I have the feeling its either the bolts or springs in it. already check the rubber covers in the wheel wells and is not that.

 

the toyota plastic nuts are breaking down in the wheel well ....I changed the plastic of the s/steel screws and locked it up ....I took it out and used the black metal rustproofing and my 4runner is no rust and no noise ..

 

Normal operation, I promise

 

I've tried both 0W20 and 5W30 oil in this truck and find the engine runs quieter with 5W30.

 

Interesting

 

I'm coming from a 2500 Diesel so I don't find it very noisy...