Clicking sound from engine after oil change

Hi all,

I've had some other questions for you in the past, and they've turned out to be nothing. It looks like driving my first car that's not a piece of crap turns me into an auto-hypochondriac (autos, that is, not me). It continues...

Today I heard a light clicking noise at about 368-400 beats per minute coming from the engine during acceleration. It was hard to pinpoint and see if it went away since I use the engine so infrequently with pulse and glide, but it was definitely there. I believe it went away by the end of the trip, but was present closer to startup each time I drove today. I'll be able to confirm that tomorrow evening after driving more. It seemed to come from the front right of the engine compartment, i.e. from the ICE. It was not present during EV acceleration, glides, braking, or anything else besides ICE on pulse.

Background:

I just changed the oil this past weekend for the first time since buying the car. It was also my first oil change by myself ever, and I'm thus most suspicious of myself. So go ahead and ask the questions that you might feel would be too "stupid" for most people, I don't mind! I do feel confident I did everything right, a friend had shown me before, and I followed directions from PriusChat as well - but you never know.

I used a Toyota filter (90915-YZZF2) and Napa 5w-30 oil, non-synthetic, which I assumed was what the dealer had been using all those years (2007 model year, btw). I checked the dipstick after driving it the other day and the oil came up to just below the top dot as I wanted.

Mileage doesn't seem to be affected, last few days since the change probably low to mid 60 mpgs average over 150 miles.

Perhaps this is something that comes up and "goes away" after some more miles? Looking forward to your mechanical expertise and experience, thanks in advance, everyone.

 

Thanks, Ed.

My dad had some extra Napa laying around, sounds like in the future I should spring for Mobil. Would only 3 days of a certain type of oil would do that (genuine question)?

The car has about 40k miles. I'll take a look down the oil fill hole tomorrow in the daylight. The assumption on the 5w-30 came from knowing it had always been dealer serviced, and Toyota recommended 5w-30 specifically for the Gen II during those years. I'll call the dealer to double-check.

As for Mobil 1 (that's always synthetic, correct?), if my car has been on non-synthetic all these years, is it alright to switch to a different type after 40,000 miles of the engine used to something else (says the guy who used the Napa...)?

 

Hey everyone, wanted to first thank y'all for the responses, and secondly give you an update.

I went out the next morning to just listen as I drove. Idling there was nothing special, I opened the hood even to listen before taking off. I found the clicking was not at a noticeable level, but would get louder when I added a little juice (I was not at highway speeds, just around town, between 30 and 40 mph), when getting toward 2000 rpm, for example.

I then had a couple longer drives, and everything seemed to go back to normal. Temps around 60°F today, engine was smooth as buttah, 62 mpg to work and 64 back per Scangauge.

Uart, that sort of placebo effect ("That's new oil and I hear something new!") I considered, but in the end I'm sure it was just different for a couple days in terms of top-end noise. I'm a professional musician, and all I do all day is listen to sound. This clicking stuck out like a saxophone in a Beethoven symphony

Cyberprius, I caught that after online, that Napa is just Valvoline. I think I will try Mobil next time around to see, and at that time we'll be getting near winter, it would be a good time to think about synthetic.

Thanks all, again, you're a wonderful help!