07 lifter tick ! Valve adjustment

They're hydraulic so fairly certain you can't shim them... Have a look at your oil and search for issues with dirt & grime, check VVT solenoid, then pull off the valve cover and see if you can find some visual evidence of the source of the problem.

 

In the 2ZR (Gen 3 and later and Prius v), they are hydraulic.

In the 1NZ (Gen 1, Gen 2, and Prius c) they are mechanical. This is in the Gen 2 forum, so 1NZ is the engine in question.

Still, the 1NZ's mechanical lash adjustment is not made using shims. There are no shims; instead, the bucket lifters themselves are sold in 35 slightly different sizes (that's 35 sizes for intakes and 35 sizes for exhausts), so you (1) measure how far off each of the 16 valve lashes is, and then take stuff apart and measure (2) which size lifter was in each spot, and from (1) and (2) you compute (3) what size lifter you really should have in each spot, and buy the sizes you don't have, and wait for them all to arrive, including the one that wasn't in any US distribution network and had to take the slow boat from Japan, and then you put it all back together and the clearances are right.

People rarely do this.

 

Are you sure it's a lifter tap? The only time I have had to check and "adjust" valve clearance on a shim (bucket) type Toyota was when I replaced the head on a 2.0L Camry. That's one time in 34 years across hundreds (a thousand+?) Toyotas.

It's possible but unlikely. Usually if there's wear in the valve train, the valve recedes into the seat and clearance becomes tight. I have never seen cam lobe wear on a Toyota. Their design is pretty bulletproof.

Other noise possibilities are timing chain slap, bad VVT sprocket, broken piston skirt, etc

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What’s the miles?

If you phone a dealership service department and ask for a quote to get this done, that’d give you a rough idea of the complexity. And bear in mind they have the knowledge (well hopefully), equipment and the best access to all the bits that need swapping.

Repair Manual info:

 

The valve springs push hard on the cams, so sometimes the chain will be pulling the camshafts against the spring pressure, and other times the spring pressure tries to push the cams ahead.

 

"Decent aftermarket parts". I think that's an oxymoron.

Personally I am done with crap aftermarket parts for so many things. I do not want to do the same job again a couple months down the road because some inexpensive POS part failed. Often "premium" AM isn't much better. Twice the labor isn't saving any $$ in my book.

I would get OE from the dealer.

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The tensioner has a spring for outward force, and a mechanical ratchet to prevent moving backwards, and it also gets more outward force from oil pressure when the engine is running.

I don't know the distance between the mechanical ratchet teeth; perhaps the distance you are able to move it in and out is simply the slop of one tooth, which is the best you can expect when the ratchet works right.

I also don't know what full extension of the plunger looks like. I would want to check whether this is a defective tensioner (it should extend further, but won't), or this is really all you get from the tensioner and the problem is the chain is stretched or the guides are worn.

 

Per ChapmanF's description, the tensioner has a ratchet (the teeth on the bottom of the piston) and a hydraulic function.

The ratchet looks to be working, otherwise the piston would go ALL the way in. If you move the lever on the tensioner to one side and hold it, you can push the piston in almost flush.

The tensioner could be faulty, but that assumes that there's enough oil pressure reaching it to make the hydraulic function work correctly.

IF you're sure that the chain is the cause your noise, then look at the guides and the chain for wear. I would replace everything - chain, all sprockets, guides, tensioner.



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I'm kind of a low tech guy. If this were my car, I would pull out my automotive stethescope and try to track down exactly where the noise is the loudest. Your ears can play wierd tricks on you and disguise where the noise is coming from. If it is a lifter you should easily be able to tell which cylinder it is by placing it over each valve assembly.