So I decided to take my truck in to Toyota to get my steering rod recall service done and have them look at and diagnose the noise for me. I thought maybe they would be able to find the problem if it was something simple like a pulley or water pump. They looked through it and agreed with me that it sounded like something internal and it was not something simple. Hardly worth the $100 labor charge. Anyways, I decided to pull my engine so I could inspect the rod bearings, head, and pistons more closely. I got the engine out yesterday and today I pulled the oil pan. I found some metal shavings in the oil pan, but the rod bearings didn't look like they were in too bad of shape. One had a decent gouge in it, but it didn't look convincing. Anyways, here is my question: what sort of wear/damage should I be looking for that could've created this loud knocking/ticking? I guess I'm not sure what constitutes as normal wear versus something that is damaged or worn out. Thanks for any input,

Dan