12 Tundra 5.7 ticking from engine

Hello everyone,

My 2012 Tundra 5.7 has a ticking noise coming from what seems to be the front center of the engine. I got the truck with 150k one year ago and now it shows 179 on the clock. I do oil changes at 10k miles with Mobil one 0-20. The strange thing is the tick goes away when the truck is cold. The tick speeds up with RPMs although I have kept it below 3k RPMs since I have noticed it. The oil pressure is normal as is the engine temp. It does not smoke and there is no antifreeze in the oil. The truck runs really well besides this noise. It sounds like an exhaust leak I had on a Silverado 6.0 I used to drive only not as loud. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Thank you. Be well everyone.

 

Most ticks are the vvt and mostly go away when the truck warms up. Do a search. There are some threads on ticking from other issues.

 

Thank you for the reply. That's what scares me. Most ticks go away as the engine gets warm but this is the opposite. It goes away when the engine is cold and comes on when it gets up to operating temp. Be well.
-Ian

 

@White12tundra I have had my 07 since February. It was one owner, really clean and well maintained. 130k when I bought it. The engine is really loud and makes all kinds of noises. It is more noisy after it’s warmed up and in Drive. There are a lot of threads about this engine being a noisy aluminum block. I am starting to buy into that. Despite the noise it runs and drives really well.

I guess what I’m saying is that it’s probably normal, but who knows.

 

Dalandshark, thanks for the reply. I don't think it's normal because it just started happening recently and it is a really pronounced sound once it gets warmed up. The more I read about it the more I am thinking it may need a timing chain. I am going to bring it to a mechanic that I have known for a long time and tell him to fix it. Thanks for taking the time to respond, I appreciate it. The engines are noisy when they are healthy but I miss that type of noisy right about now.

 

My '10 5.7 sounds loud when it is first started when its cold but after it warms it sounds normal. I joke with my wife that when it's cold it sounds like a diesel.

 

I bought my '07 three years ago when it had 270,000, it has a little over 295,000 on it today and the 5.7L makes all sorts of sweet mechanical music. I like the sounds it makes so much, that I removed the vanity cover and the foam insulation under the intake manifold so I could hear more of the engine noise.

 

Get a mechanic's stethoscope and try to locate the source of the ticket. It will help narrow it down a bit and perhaps even nail down the issue.

vvti engines are interference engines, so it will probably go limp if the timing gets off.

 

Please let us know what you find out.

 

I've had the timing chain tensioner replaced in my 2013 twice under warranty: 45K and 60K miles. Sounded like a diesel when idling, especially when warm. A loud tick, tick, tick came from the driver's side, front of engine. Search the Internet and you'll find this is a frequent problem with Tundra's 5.7L.

 

My 2015 was crazy noisy when I got it and I just decided to chalk it up to what I read here about the 5.7 being noisy at times.
It drove me crazy and we dove into it deeper and mine turned out to be a noisy alternator.
Not the cheapest fix but now it purrs like a thirsty kitten all the time!
The noise was hard to track down as it would come and go and sound different at different times but was well worth investigating in the end.