Just picked up an 84 4x4. Truck is in great cosmetic condition but the engine has me a little worried. There seems to be a lot of valve noise. I have checked the valve adjustment and it appears to be ok. The previous owner replace the cam, and cam gear and said that the bottom end was done about two years ago although, I don't believe this to be the truth. The head and valves may be original but I can't tell. Any ideas...anyone....Bueller,

YOTA not yoda.....sorry. Told you I was new

Could be the valve adjustment screws are worn; easy enough to replace; part number is in the sticky here. I take it you've read this thread

Do a leakdown and compression test on it to see how things are; magic numbers are 142-171 psi, +/- 4% Valve condition will show up during the leakdown, which is how you check out the top end. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

compression is 145 across the board. I am not familiar with the leakdown test although I will assume it is used to check that the valves seat properly and allow the combustion chamber to hold pressure. How do I perform the test.

Are you sure its a valve noise??? My '92 'yota with the 2.4 liter 22re engine started making noise.. the mechanic thought it was rocker arms at first.. here it was the timing chain.. and thats a pricey fix.. the 6 cylinder's cost less to change the timing belt than the 4 cylinders chain.. I would check your timing chain and see how loose it is. if u do replace it, don't skimp out.. replace everything because if you don't it will start acting up again. if you have any other questions, drop me a message.. add me to your IM if you like.. no_cool_user_names_left@yahoo.com

Anthony is right, my 22re made all kinds of racket under the hood. All the time it was bc the timing chain guide broke and the chain was wearing against the timing cover. I replaced all that, adjusted the valves and now it sounds like a newborn kitten.

yeah, you could be right as the motor is very noisy. I am certain that at least some of the noise is valve related....I can hear the typical tap tap tap. The guy I bought the truck from relaced the cam and it looks as if the chain was replaced as well. I dont know if he replaced the tensioners at that time or not. When I pull the valve cover off next time I will try to check the chain tension. I am starting to wonder if maybe the rocker arms and adjusting screws are worn. If the previous owner threw the old set back in after changing the cam could this be the source of the noise?

It's possible; those chains can stretch a bit over time.

Also for you:

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/timingchain/

If you decide to go after this, go to our Toyota Tech Archive section and open up the viewing to 'all' to see some 22R tips that you'll find to be helpful. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Yeah if the timing chain is loose you will want to replace the guides, the chain, the tensioner, and the timing chain cover, if it looks worn at all. My '93 was making those noises, and I let it go a little too long. I ended up with a lot of chocolate milk in my oil pan, and was using my highly modified (big pain to drive on the road) '73 CJ-5 as my daily driver for a while, not worth the procrastination.