Okay guys, here's another dumb question about my '99 4runner. In the morning, my engine has been tapping. If I don't let the 4runner sit and idle for a good couple of minutes, the engine taps really fast as I go down the road out of my subdivision. After a few minutes, it stops. I've checked the oil and it seems to be at the right level, although knowing me I'm doing it wrong. To check it, I drove the truck around 5 miles at highway speeds until the engine had warmed up good. Then I parked it on level ground and let it cool for ~10 minutes. The oil was in the center of the crosshatching on the dip stick.

Is it possible I'm underestimating how much oil I've got? The tapping started shortly before my last oil change. I took the 4runner to walmart for an oil change, since my complex doesn't like people changing their own oil. They told me I was a quart low, but I'd checked the oil before and it seemed to still be in the ok area on the stick. After the wal-mart change I saw some fresh oil on the driveway the next morning after wal-mart (maybe a couple of tablespoons), but the spotting stopped after that. Either way, I'm never going back to wally world.

Any thoughts? Thanks.