Valve train clacking noise during mild acceleration when engine is cold?

I have a 2022 TRD OffRoad with 12k miles on it and noticed recently after the 10k oil change that there is a clacking noise when accelerating under light load when the engine is cold.

I usually let my 4Runner idle for a minute or two before pulling out of my parking spot. When I leave my apartment complex I make a right turn onto a 45 mph road. At this point the engine usually has been running for 3-4 minutes, mostly idle and a short distance to the exit of my apartment complex without exceeding 10 mph. When I go to pull out onto the 45 mph road, I give it light throttle to get up to 45 mph (usually around 2000-2500 rpm). Once the transmission gets into 2nd or 3rd gear (I’m at around 15-20 mph with steady throttle input and maintaining 2000-2500 rpm), I start to hear a clacking noise like what I imagine an oil starved valve train would sound like. The clacking is in sync with engine rpm and speeds up with more engine rpm and slows down with less engine rpm. There is a stoplight about a mile down the road that I usually hit the red light at. By the time I get there, I’ve driven about a mile at 45 mph, run time is about 8 minutes and the engine is warmed up. Upon taking off from that stop light I no longer hear the clacking noise when accelerating.

It’s possible it has always made this noise and I just didn’t notice since I have to have the air conditioner fan off and the radio off in order to distinctly hear it.

Anyone else experience this noise in their 4Runner? I changed the oil myself and have done so at the 500, 1000, 2500 and 5000 mile mark with Toyota 0w-20 and OEM oil filter. I think it’s a coincidence that I started hearing it after doing the 10k oil change as the oil change went smoothly just like all the others I’ve done following the write up on this forum.

 

My guess it is vvti clattering. But it's usually happened with heavier oils. Or cold. Take it on hwy long stretch and make sure you not overfilled. Crankshaft may aerating high oil level and bubbles gets into vvti making it slap hard

 

10k oil changes on Corolla 200,000 miles runs like brand new. Maybe you changed it too much oil gets better with age.

 

When my 2022 was doing this, they replaced the idler pulley and it went away.

 

There's no need to warm up the engine. Let it idle for 10-15 seconds and go.

These are noisy engines, but I usually notice it the most when it's cold.

 

Yeah the 4.0 always sounds like it's slightly broken. I was convinced for months there was something wrong with mine, 80k later it sounds just as bad but zero issues.

If you watch 4Runner YouTube vids, a lot of the time you here it there too. That's what helped convince me it was normal.

 

Have you checked the oil level since the oil change? Also, have you changed where you get your gas normally?

 

The valve lash adjusters are hydraulic (i.e. using engine oil as the operating fluid). When the oil is cold and orders of magnitude more viscous than it is at operating temp, there could be more valve chatter.

4th gen with the single-VVTI 4.0 engine, lacking hydraulic adjusters, sounds like this all the time.

 

That is good to know that they have hydraulic auto-adjusting. I'm used to Honda where you have to manually adjust the valve lash every 60-90k miles.

 

I have been running 5W-40 T6 Shell ROTELLA oil for the summer. It has very much quieted down the normal 4.0 noise.

 

In the spring, summer, & fall I let my 4R warm up for about 3-5 minutes before I pull out.

In the winter, I will wait at least 5-10 minutes before driving.

Never heard any clatter.

 

Well hell, why change it at all?