RSR

The oil sensor on the 3vze is roughly right above the oil filter on the 3vze. If they did a really sloppy job, I suppose they could have twisted that off with their filter pliers...

Since you're seeing pressure, I'm guessing that you have the SR5 dash cluster. I think the oil gauge for the SR5 dash cluster sort of just attaches to the standard gauge, but you'll need to look at the SR5 dash cluster swaps for exact info. Mine came w/ the SR5 dash. The thing I do know is that if you knock off the SR5 sending unit near the filter and plug into the standard unit, it'll fry your dash gauge. Which from the scenario you're describing is might be what happened and you might have an unscrupulous shop trying to cover their rears from paying for repairs...

1toyota4me

no shaking. everything is normal except for the sound

JasonYota

iTrader: (1)

My first thought would be the valve lash but it would make noise at all RPM's. Wait for others to chime in as I haven't worked on a 3.0 before

1toyota4me

jasonyota... thank you so much for the input.

rsr... thank you as well.... you're right about the SR5. is the SR5 sending unit a whole different part than the oil sensor? does the oil sensor connect to that? are you saying that i might simply need a new dash gauge cause it might be fried? do i need a new sending unit as well? and how do you account for the loud clicking sound when i hit the gas? is that just a separate issue?

JasonYota

iTrader: (1)

What RSR is saying is that if the mechanic replaced the sensor with one made for a base truck(with out a oil pressure gauge) it will fry the gauge in the dash as they do not work together.

1toyota4me

hmmmm.... maybe we put in the wrong sensor.... i got it from kragen auto parts. they looked it up for my truck so i figured it was the right one. well, today i'm gonna get that aftermarket gauge to see if that's the problem. i'm still worried about that strange sound though. you suggested the valve lash. i'll mention it to my mechanic friend and see what he thinks. what is the valve lash?

1toyota4me

the sensor we took out looks exactly the same as the one we put in.

scope103

How much did you pay for it? In my neck of the woods, all the Kragen's became O'Reilly's. When you go to the O'Reilly website and look for "Oil Pressure Switch," it asks whether it is for a truck with a gauge (yours) or a light. The sender-for-gauge is about $63; if you went for the sender-for-light it's as little as $12.

And as JasonYota says, if you used the $12 sender-for-light on your SR5 gauge, it will ruin the gauge.

JasonYota

iTrader: (1)

Valve lash is a small gap between the rocker arm and the valve stem.

1toyota4me

scope103... i paid about $40. it looked exactly the same as the one we took out.
jasonyota.... could the valve lash have been compromised when the valve cover gaskets were replaced?

1toyota4me

i'm confused... i got the oil gauge sensor... is that the same as the oil pressure switch?

JasonYota

iTrader: (1)

They shouldn't have, you do have to remove the valve covers to adjust the valves though.

JasonYota

iTrader: (1)

You should have got a sensor as your truck you can see the pressure on the gauge. A pressure switch is needed on a truck with a warning light. When the pressure drops below a set point it triggers the oil light(On base model trucks)

1toyota4me

i just looked it up on oreilly's website. the picture of the sender-for-gauge is the one i got. so i guess it was the right one. so we put the right sensor/sender/switch on... whatever it's called....

1toyota4me

jasonyota.... could the valve cover gasket job have effected the valve lash?

JasonYota

iTrader: (1)

No. Not unless they messed with them

1toyota4me

ok. i'm gonna go talk to my friend. i'll keep you posted. thank you so so very much!

1toyota4me

okay. here is what I found out. its the timing belt tensioner making the sound. does that make sense? as far as the oil gauge goes, haven't solved that yet.

JasonYota

iTrader: (1)

Yea that makes sense wouldn't be a bad idea also to replace the timing belt while your in there. As far as the oil gauge, just get a aftermarket one and mount it somewhere unless you want to take the gauges out and try to get another stock one