Hello,

I have a 1997 4Runner with 240,000 miles on it. Last time I got the oil changed they found oil in the air filter. They changed the PCV valve out and sent me on my way. Before that It drove perfectly. After that it was like the catalytic converter would clog up and it would kind of "put put" along. It also started dripping oil on the ground. It had never done that before. Now, it will drive perfect for a while and then start the "put put" thing again. Any idea what this could be.

Also, I'm in the process of trying to sell it, but I don't want to sell it to someone and have it go out in a few weeks unless I give them fair warning of the problem. Someone I told about the problem said it sounded like it needed to have the engine rebuilt. If that is the case, what would it be worth?

Clean the MAF sensor

$1500 max with it needing a new motor. That's a repair just shy of $2500. That way once the new owner fixes it they would have paid just about fair market value

Thanks J-money - That makes sense.

Chris,
You might be on to something. It ran fine before I got the oil change/PCV replacement. After that, I hardly made it home and back to the shop. They told me they forgot to plug something back in properly and that is why it was running bad. They said they plugged it back in properly and after that it ran fine for a while. A few days later it started acting like the catalytic converter was clogging again for about 10 miles and then it went back to normal. Sorry for my ignorance, but would that have anything to do with the MAF sensor?

Thanks a lot for the help.

best thing to do is to take it to the dealer in situation like this, might cost u a couple of bills but in then end u would get more money outta the rig by fixing the problem

Thanks. That sounds like good advice. I will at least feel better about knowing even if it cost a couple hundred. Who knows, I might have purchased my new (used) Tacoma too soon.

Thanks for all the help. I'll update after I have taken it in to get checked.