I'm a newbie here and have a problem I need help with.

I bought a used 1998 T4R v6 4wd about two months ago with 115,000 miles on it. I love the truck and have put about 2,000 miles on it over the last couple months. The problem I am having is that the car won't start up after shutting it off when engine is warm/hot. Yesterday after driving a couple miles I pulled over to talk to my neighbor and shut the engine off. After about 2-3 minutes I tried to start the engine and leave but the truck would not start. The engine was turning over but would not fire up. There was also a noticeable exhaust odor after trying to start it a few times. I waited about ten minutes and the truck started right up. This is the third time I have run into this problem. Each time I let the engine cool off a little bit and it starts right up.


Any ideas what might be going on?


Your help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Joe

Check the coil packs. My friend had a 99 it had the same problem and it wasn't frequent enough to diagnose the problem so he started to replace parts. After replacing almost everything a tech from Toyota told them what the problem was. After replacing the coil everything was fix.

Welcome Joe,

Unless you have deep pockets, I would not just throw parts to attempt to fix your problem.

First, is the check engine light on?

If not, then there could be a few culprits.

Hey Little Caesar,

I definitely don't have deep pockets! I guess that's why I bought a 15 year old truck!

The check engine light is not illuminated.

Not sure that it's apples to apples but older accords that had the same issue had bad fuel pump relays. Once the relay cooled down, they'd fire right up.

Actually the check engine light just came on. Now what?

scan the code and report back.

Stop by a Shucks or Autozone. Those places will usually loan you a scanner to plug into the ODB2 port under your dash (right beside where your right knee would be while driving, looks like an old computer serial port.)

Plug it in, follow the instructions, read out the code. Google the code, and ask for more help here if Google doesn't make sense to you.

So it turns out the check engine light came on because my buddy pulled the MAF sensor plug while the car was running. I reset the light by unhooking the battery terminal and the light has not appeared since.

So I've done a few things in the last week.

1. changed plugs....although they looked fine.

2. changed pcv valve.

3. changed oil and oil filter.

4. changed air filter.

5. cleaned MAF sensor.

6. cleaned throttle body (looked pretty good)

7. cleaned IAC valve (was kinda dirty but the gasket was in great shape)

8. had the battery and alternator checked out and they were fine.

9. used an unlit propane torch to check the vacuum hoses. I think the hoses are ok.

The truck is still having the same issue. I've taken some notes and this is what is what I have:

1. The truck starts up fine when I first get in to go somewhere. The idle goes up to about 1800-2000 RPM's and then slowly drops down to around 700-800 after about 1-2 minutes.

2. After I drive around for a while and the truck gets up to what I believe is normal operating temp(the needle sits right below the middle of the gauge) the idle jumps up to 1100 while in drive. If I put the truck into park the idle goes to around 1800-2000 and stays there.

3. If I shut the truck off while the idle is running high and try to start it, it cranks fine but takes about 15-20 seconds to start. If I let it cool off for a while (15 mins) it starts fine.

4. Occasionally the idle is erratic and jumps around for a few seconds.

Not sure where to go from here.

Could the IAC valve need to be replaced? Are there any sensors I should be concerned with?

Any help is appreciated.

When the vehicle will not start, check to see if the check engine light is on key on engine off and that it remains on during crank.

let me know. and yes I know the CEL is not on but it should turn on with the key on and stay on while cranking. If the light turns off while your cranking it is indicating that the EFI relay has opened. (watch it when starting normally to familiarize yourself with what it does than compare to when not starting)

Also when your problem occurs check to see if you have spark and fuel. You really need to gather some info on the effect before we can speculate on the cause.

If you have a device (a phone app, scangauge, scan tool, ect) to read scan data monitor look at your RPM data. When it is cranking but not starting it should read cranking RPM. If it reads 0, very low, or erratic I can direct you accordingly.

So the engine light does come on and stays on when the engine is cranking and trying to start. This happens both when the truck starts right up and when it won't start for 15-20 secs.

I'm going to buy a obd2 reader and some software for my computer and report back regarding the RPM's

How do I check to see if the engine has spark and fuel?

Thanks.

Not to add confusion but a bad check valve in the fuel pump could be the culprit.

If it turned out to be a bad check valve in the fuel pump would I just need to replace the pump? Any other ideas what it could be?

I think I have the same problem. Not as severe, but still an annoyance.
Will stand by for remedy.

New to me. 1999 Limited 82K, RR Locker, rust free.

Coincidence, I just found my clean beauty in Brooklyn, a month ago.