Hello all - I'm a huge car guy here and I've owned over 22 vehicles (cars and trucks alike) and I have recently acquired a 1992 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4WD.

The truck is in fair condition overall and I have been steadily replacing OE parts inside and out with the goal of bringing this truck back to life. I started out with the thought that I would repaint the truck (it's been terribly repainted) and restore it back to original condition. But, as I've continued down this rabbit-hole, I am finding more and more things wrong with it. It's changing from a quick restore/flip scenario to a labor of love. I suspect that is what I deserve, seeing as though these nowadays don't go for much when you sell them. Having already exceeded any possible profit in a return, I am now shifting my focus to make it a fun and reliable rig for usage at the beach and Home Depot runs... that being said.... I need some advice.

I recently got a CEL and the code was a EGR related 71. I changed out the VSV Solenoid with a brand new OEM part, reset the CEL and the truck ran good for about 10 minutes. Then, the truck bogged down again at idle. I disconnected the vacuum line from the EGR Recirculation valve and my idle returned back to normal.

My only issue right now, besides the fact that I bought a VSV Solenoid for $100 bucks for nothing... is that the vehicle seems sluggish upon acceleration. Almost as if after 2500 rpm... there is a dead spot. The powerband up to 4K is just flat.

I also need to mention that the top half of the motor was bebuilt about 10 months ago from a respected Toyota dealership here in town. The truck doesn't leak a drop, oil pressure is good not to high, not to low - the pcv valve if it was clogged would cause a higher pressure reading.... just trying to get some advice from the fan base here.

I ordered a new recirculation valve and a new valve vacuum switch. I guess I'll just keep replacing parts until it works... oh, I also replaced all the vacuum lines as well, just to rule any cracked/crazed tubing.

any and all advice is welcome. I will soon post pics of the restoration project as I progress and post back.

3.0 V6 or 22r-e?

my apologies - 3.0 V6

Most times when there is a dead spot in the power band it is either related to the throttle position sensor or timing. Grab a multimeter and a FSM and check the tps, make sure it's adjusted correctly. Also, grab your timing light and check your ignition timing as well. If both the TPS and ignition timing is good then you have another issue that you will need to track down.

I need some help answering a quick question. After scouring Google and researching vacuum diagrams, I made the observation that my reed valve does NOT have a vacuum line going to it and it looks like it hasn't been there for years. (I just acquired this vehicle)

In this pic for the 3.0 motor, the yellow line represents the line I am talking about:


The yellow vac line on MY 4WD 3.0 motor does a 180 and goes to some check-valve in the passenger fender! Is that right? Why is my truck different than all of the diagrams? That reed valve is very important from the diagrams I have been researching.

Even after replacing all of the parts (listed below) I still have that EGR vacuum issue and it's definite. I believe this is what is causing my acceleration issues as well.

NOTE: the spark plugs had the tell-tale white powdering residue on them indicative of high-heat and/or vacuum leak problems.

I changed out the following parts in my hunt to fix this:

VSV Soleniod - OEM Toyota replacement - NEW
VSV Vacuum Switch Valve - OEM Toyota replacement - NEW
All new vacuum tubing - swapped one for one at a time
New NGK Spark Plugs
New NGK Spark Plug Wires

I need to know about this reed valve vacuum line issue in my truck. Is it supposed to be NOT USED in 4WD trucks? All diagrams say it needs to be used and I don't want to mess with the current setup until I get some feedback from the forum.

Thanks in advance!

* bump *

I really need some advice here. Here are the parts I have replaced in my relentless pursuit to address a recent Code 71 - EGR System:

New OEM VSV Solenoid
New OEM VSV Valve Switch
New OEM EGR Valve - new gaskets
New OEM EGR Temperature Sensor
New OEM EGR Vacuum Solenoid
New Vacuum lines
Traced vacuum lines to verify locations
New Platinum NGK Spark Plugs
New Spark Plug Wires
New Cap/Rotor

I am nearly $1000 in replacement parts and I am left scratching my head as to what in God's name I may have missed here.........

With everything I have replaced, what possible could be left? I have the standard horrible low idle until I unplug the vac line going to the EGR valve then it smooths out - but performance in poor on acceleration.

Does anyone have any tips or ideas? Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance!!!

Did you check your tps and timing as suggested above?

When I had code 71 I put a resistor on the plug and tricked the ecu into thinking it was working. But my truck still ran fine when the light was on. Have you tried cleaning the tube that runs into the manifold out?

Thanks. I don't want to do the resistor thing, I just want it to work like OEM. When I replaced the EGR valve, I had to take that long tube out, and I cleaned the outside off as there was a lot of build up on it - I blew threw the tube and it was clear.

Do people usually clean out the inside of the tube out with carburetor cleaner or something like that? It was clear, but not cleaned on the inside of the tube.

Thanks.

No, I have not done either of those yet as the truck was operating fine 2 weeks ago until I got this darn code 71.

Just for argument sake and my own education on this t4r... would a tps or timing issue cause a code 71?

I'm trying to isolate the origin of the 71 - what have I missed?

PCV?
O2 sensor?

What other components other that the ones I listed cause cause a 71?

You could have two unrelated issues. From what I have researched so far, no one else with a code 71 has reported the power loss symptoms you have reported.

In the mean time, I will try and do some research for you and see what I can find in the 3.0 EGR system and that code. I'll post up what I find.

Out of curiosity, does your runner have federal/canada emissions or CA emissions? I'm not sure if there is a difference for the 3.0 but the 22re has a few different vacuum diagrams based on its emission system.

I couldn't find that picture in the areas I looked at in the '92 FSM....I was wondering if maybe it was a CA vs Fed emissions thing.

In the FSM (download or buy one if you don't yet have one, see the permathread at the top of the classics section) on page FI-112 it says for the 3.0 engine that code 71 is only used for CA Specifications (so there you go). For it, it lists the Trouble Area as "Open in EGR gas temp sensor circuit; Open in VSV circuit for EGR; EGR vacuum hose disconnected, valve stuck; Clogged in EGR gas passage; ECU"

Let's hope it's not the ECU, though a few people here have had to replace theirs in the last 6 months. It has a flow diagram and ways to check this stuff on page FI-136.

Good luck

I am not 100% sure what all you have done for trouble shooting. For starters, I would route your vacuum lines exactly as your picture above shows regardless of what it looks like now.

Here's the vacuum line diagram as per the FSM:
http://web.archive.org/web/201008061...n/layoutan.pdf

Also, here is a link to the FSM index:
http://web.archive.org/web/200807310...es/repair.html

Another link to the Code 71 issue that the ECU is throwing. It shows the code and the possible causes of what could give that code:
http://web.archive.org/web/200911221...e/diagnosi.pdf

And lastly, the troubleshooting steps to troubleshoot all of the egr related emissions parts that are related to that code:
http://web.archive.org/web/201008061...n/exhaustg.pdf

Like I said, I don't know what you did for troubleshooting. I'm not a fan of buying parts for guess work so hopefully all of those parts you replaced were in fact bad... but since you replaced that long list of expensive parts I can only assume that they were not tested but replaced out of blind hope of fixing the problem. Go through the last link and test all components and determine where your problem lies using the steps above. Save the second link since troubleshooting per the FSM can save you a LOT of money.

If all parts test okay then you need to look further into the wiring harness or ECU. Using the second link, find the wiring diagram and start chasing your wire harness to make sure your wires are in good shape and your grounds are good.

Let us know what you find. Good luck!

Here's a couple other helpful links for egr troubleshooting.

I know you said you replaced the EGR Valve but did it come with a new temp sensor? If not, use this link to test your current sensor:
http://web.archive.org/web/201008061...e/egrgaste.pdf

The two wires going to that sensor also need to be tested to see if they are in good shape.

Here's a simple way to test your ecu to rule that out:
http://web.archive.org/web/201008061...yste/engin.pdf