1997 - trouble starting after 6mo parked, new battery

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Fuel or Fire.

It sounds like it is cranking strong, but it either is not getting fuel or not getting a spark.

Do you start to smell fuel after attempting to crank a few times? You can try cracking a fuel line fitting to see if you have fuel pressure.

You can pull a spark plug, plug it back in and hold the tip about an inch from a ground bolt to see if it is sparking. Just be careful that you dont do this right after cracking a fuel line. Dont want accidently make an external combustion engine.
 
cmc4130 said:
Parked my 3rd Gen 4Runner for 6 months after I got a 5th Gen. Battery was toast, so I replaced it today. This is the video of trying to start it. Any advice (for an admittedly newb mechanic)?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF7V951gNi0&feature=youtu.be


Thanks!
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Didn't even try to fire. How long did you try to start it before giving up?

It would pressurize that fuel injector rail in a few seconds even it the fuel line was empty which it probably isn't.

Did it run perfectly fine 6 months ago? Are you in an area were animals may chew on the wiring? (mice, rats, squirrels, chimpmonks) love to chew on wires here in the northest if you live in a rural area..
 
brillo_76 said:
Didn't even try to fire. How long did you try to start it before giving up?

It would pressurize that fuel injector rail in a few seconds even it the fuel line was empty which it probably isn't.

Did it run perfectly fine 6 months ago? Are you in an area were animals may chew on the wiring? (mice, rats, squirrels, chimpmonks) love to chew on wires here in the northest if you live in a rural area..
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Yes, it did start and run fine before I parked it. Well, fine, except for some steering/rods issues, but yes, it started fine. Well, here in Central Texas we do have a lot of squirrels, but I've never heard of them chewing on stuff. Interesting though. THANKS!
 
I wasn't sure your location. I was just trying to think of what could have happened. I had a rodent chew my speed sensor off my 91 camry once. Ever since then. The first thing I look for is critter damage. Especially if a rig didn't move for long period of time. May not be case but a thought. :]

Sent from my SM-J337V using Tapatalk
 
I had the same problem with a new(to me) '97 I picked up not too long ago. Tested resistence in the fuel pump and it checked out. As I was testing for spark realized that if you crank the engine over a few times you can smell raw fuel from the exhaust pipe so I knew the fuel pump was working. When I found I had no spark I consulted the FSM and tested resistance for the cam and crank position sensor. Turned out the crank position sensor was bad, engine will run without cam position sensor but not the crank position sensor.

I'd start with the fuel and then check for spark.
 
It is possible you are enjoying the benefit of ethanol blended fuel.

We should always try to fill the truck with non ethanol before storage and use a bit of fuel stabilizer.

Realistically, I think ethanol going off would make it run poorly, not complete no start as you are seeing but still worth noting as good practice.
 
We recently got a 1998 that was running fine, but parked about 5 years ago. The owner had not started it since then. I tried to fire it with no luck, but it would fire when I sprayed a little starting fluid into the air box. Found out the fuel pump wasn't pumping. I checked it out, and ended up dropping the tank to replace the pump. Found it had been sitting for all that time with about 2 or 3 gallons of ethanol, which pretty much turned to water. The tank and fuel pump assembly were totally rusted junk. My new tank and fuel pump arrived from Rockauto last weekend, and I hope to get it put together and running as soon as I get time in the next week or so.
 
Big Bad Dad said:
We recently got a 1998 that was running fine, but parked about 5 years ago. The owner had not started it since then. I tried to fire it with no luck, but it would fire when I sprayed a little starting fluid into the air box. Found out the fuel pump wasn't pumping. I checked it out, and ended up dropping the tank to replace the pump. Found it had been sitting for all that time with about 2 or 3 gallons of ethanol, which pretty much turned to water. The tank and fuel pump assembly were totally rusted junk. My new tank and fuel pump arrived from Rockauto last weekend, and I hope to get it put together and running as soon as I get time in the next week or so.
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This gets my vote, too. Check the gas tank.
For the future, there's fuel additives for when a vehicle sits for a while that keeps the fuel from separating. The fuel pump may also be clogged from old fuel just collecting and solidifying on the strainer.
 
AntleredRuin said:
This gets my vote, too. Check the gas tank.
For the future, there's fuel additives for when a vehicle sits for a while that keeps the fuel from separating. The fuel pump may also be clogged from old fuel just collecting and solidifying on the strainer.
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We leave one of our vehicles parked in our sea can every winter for 6-8 months. It's usually the 4runner. The key is to get NON-ethanol gas in it for a couple of tanks before storing and then 1/2 a can of seafaom (or equivalent) in the tank before parking.

Touch wood, they always fire right up.
 
Got the tank and pump replaced in our 4Runner. Starts and runs great now. I could not believe how badly everything was rusted up inside the old tank. I hate ethanol gas.....
 
Big Bad Dad said:
Got the tank and pump replaced in our 4Runner. Starts and runs great now. I could not believe how badly everything was rusted up inside the old tank. I hate ethanol gas.....
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Ethanol is nasty on all engines. Never should have been added to the gasoline in my opinion that is.
 
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