1999 T4R P0300, P0306, white smoke, etc!!!!

CharliePR74

CharliePR74

Member
This is driving me nuts! I own a 1999 T4R, 199,500 miles on it. Very well taken care off. Never had any major problems with it till 2 weeks ago when all of a sudden I started it up and there was some misfiring cylinder. Up to date I've replaced wires, plugs, cleaned the MAF sensor, did an injectors service and thinks have only gotten worse! At some point it started blowing a lot of white smoke, but a lot of it! Doesn't matter if its cold or at normal operating temperature and happens sometimes and sometimes just nothing. Smoke smells very toxic, like gas. I even removed spark plugs and found most of them covered with what seemed to be gas (still humid). Today I replaced the upstream O2 sensor and also found it humid, same scenario. Still waiting for the downstream sensor as it was giving me some funny voltage values. I have gotten several codes, P0300, P0304, P0306, P0172, etc. After cleaning the MAF sensor, the P0172 disappeared but still getting P0300 and P0306. Swapped 4th and 6th coils and same story. Have also had code for bank 1 running too rich on fuel. I have read almost any forum on the internet and no one provides a true solution for this type of problem. Head gaskets? Could be but I see no coolant consumption as previously stated, no presence of water in oil (replaced it days ago when doing the troubleshooting),did a compression test having pressures ranging from 210 being the highest to 170 being the lowest. Coil packs checked and also injectors and everything seems to be fine.

Still to check, fuel pump pressure which doesn't seem to be the cause and coolant temp sensor... running out of options.

Any help from you guys will be appreciated.

Thanks,

CJ
 
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CharliePR74 said:
This is driving me nuts! I own a 1999 T4R, 199,500 miles on it. Very well taken care off. Never had any major problems with it till 2 weeks ago when all of a sudden I started it up and there was some misfiring cylinder. Up to date I've replaced wires, plugs, cleaned the MAF sensor, did an injectors service and thinks have only gotten worse! At some point it started blowing a lot of white smoke, but a lot of it! Doesn't matter if its cold or at normal operating temperature and happens sometimes and sometimes just nothing. Smoke smells very toxic, like gas. I even removed spark plugs and found most of them covered with what seemed to be gas (still humid). Today I replaced the upstream O2 sensor and also found it humid, same scenario. Still waiting for the downstream sensor as it was giving me some funny voltage values. I have gotten several codes, P0300, P0304, P0306, P0172, etc. After cleaning the MAF sensor, the P0172 disappeared but still getting P0300 and P0306. Swapped 4th and 6th coils and same story. Have also had code for bank 1 running too rich on fuel. I have read almost any forum on the internet and no one provides a true solution for this type of problem. Head gaskets? Could be but I see no coolant consumption as previously stated, no presence of water in oil (replaced it days ago when doing the troubleshooting),did a compression test having pressures ranging from 210 being the highest to 170 being the lowest. Coil packs checked and also injectors and everything seems to be fine.

Still to check, fuel pump pressure which doesn't seem to be the cause and coolant temp sensor... running out of options.

Any help from you guys will be appreciated.

Thanks,

CJ
Click to expand...

Interesting.. It does seem like its a head gasket but, you would be seeing a slight coolant loss and see the number 6 cylinder plug wet with coolant.

Check the FSM for the right ranges for a compression test. I don't remember the ranges off the top of my head. And just checking did you do the compression test on the #6 cylinder?
 
How's the oil level? I've seen a few vehicles that were overfilled with oil and their diagnostics went berzerk in a similar manner.
 
Possibly an injector sticking open. I'm not sure about the white smoke. Do you have access to a scan tool with live data? Preferably one with a misfire monitor like the Techstream computers we use at the dealership. With the right computer you can see what cylinder is missing constantly. Sometimes you will get "ghost", meaning false, misfire codes from resonance in the engine caused by the actual one that is misfiring.
 
I'll be replacing the downstream O2 sensor tomorrow but don't think that'll fix the problem... Called the dealer and they told me it can be scanned for about $30.00... Should get something more specific, not just random codes like the ones I'm getting from my cheap scanner. Keep you posted, wanna share my experience for the benefit of others.

Thanks for your posts!
 
Devious81 said:
Possibly an injector sticking open. I'm not sure about the white smoke. Do you have access to a scan tool with live data? Preferably one with a misfire monitor like the Techstream computers we use at the dealership. With the right computer you can see what cylinder is missing constantly. Sometimes you will get "ghost", meaning false, misfire codes from resonance in the engine caused by the actual one that is misfiring.
Click to expand...

I believe that's what the guys have at the dealership. Hopefully will get it scanned tomorrow and hope it's not related to cracked heads or head gaskets!
 
Like the other Brian, I also had 2 cracked heads with weird symptoms. No smoke, good compression, clean oil and coolant, but missing like crazy. Like Brilliant said, white smoke=coolant being burned up in the combustion chamber. That pretty much has to mean either a head gasket or cracked head(s).

Hope it's just a head gasket, but make sure they resurface your heads and inspect for cracks before they just slap em back on there. Wouldn't hurt to resurface the block also.
 
Replaced downstream O2 sensor bout an hr ago. I wouldn't say there was some improvement as the engine is still misfiring but is not as rough as it was before. Now I'm getting only 2 codes, P0172 System Too Rich bank 1 and P0300 Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected. No check engine light whatsoever, not even blinking. There's still a huge gas smell at the engine bay and at that white smoke coming from the exhaust. I even noticed there was gas mixed with condensate coming from the exhaust, droplets of gas with water which matches somehow with code P0172. I am not saying it is not a cracked head nor a head gasket failure, if the way to go is to take them out, then that'll be, but I don't give my self up that easy. Still to check the coolant temp sensor and replacing intake gaskets as I removed the intake to give it the injectors service, but did not replace them (maybe there's some air intrusion caused by that intervention). If all of that fails, get it scanned at the dealership and then, who knows what'll happen next.

I am just noticing that during cold start, it is not making the usual high rpm idle they do, checked tubings but all of em seem to be ok.

Keep you posted guys and thanks for the shared info.

CJ
 
dude no reason to go to the dealership. they will charge way too much.

find a local shop that does engine work on Toyotas and have them do a compression test. you are spending cash replacing all these parts but how much does a compression tedt cost? I assume only $50.
 
Did compression test by myself, highest pressure found 210psi, lowest, 175psi. Dealership said it was about $35.00 for scanning only.... I'll follow your advice and check for cheaper options.

Regarding parts, I have only replaced injectors o-rings and pintle caps (needed as I found them all cracked and worn), new spark plugs (needed), new spark cables (needed), both oxygen sensors (most expensive components and I found one of them giving some weird output voltage readings).
 
cool man. I am definetly not a source of knowledge on how to best fix a white smoke issue but I did suffer through one. fixing it cost me pretty penny but now the truck runs great.

where are you located?
 
Thanks for the info provided man! It's not actually knowing, but having the experience what give us the ability to help others in a faster way! That's why I search for info in these forums.

I am from Puerto Rico. Our advantage in the island is that there are several options and almost every guy is a car freak, everyone love cars. Doing mods and stuff on cars is easy and cheap here. Only ladies and guys who don't know a bit about cars are those who take their cars to dealerships, not my case :D.
 
Hey I didnt think about it before just because of the codes but when is the last time you put gas in it? And was it at a new place? I was thinking bad gas maybe.. its a long stretch but whats a couple bucks spent on a bottle of that stuff that gets water out of your gas tank( forgot the name)? If it solves it, it could save you hundreds on false replacement of other parts.. just a thought.
 
Actually the problem started after adding some gas at a gas station which is very concurred but I will clarify that the misfiring started just after turning the key to start it up, just immediately (not even one second passed, it turned on misfiring already). The problem did not started minutes later so that's why I discarded water in the gas as the cause of the problem. After getting the tank almost empty, first thing I did was to add new gas (93 octanes along with a bottle of injector cleaner) and nothing changed. I even replaced the gas filter and removed, cleaned, tested and replaced all injectors o-rings and pintle caps. O2 Sensors replaced, MAF cleaned and tested and seem to be ok, intake gaskets replaced, tubings and hoses checked, none of them broken, PCV ok, timing belt ok, coolant and oil level and appearance ok. Pending to check the coolant and crank sensor. Other than that, just take it to a shop to get it scanned.

And never sea foamed it. Watched a couple of videos related to it couple of days ago cause didn't know about the treatment but don't think that'll be the solution. It is actually burning a lot of fuel (or just letting it go through the exhaust).
 
The good news: mystery over, you have a cracked head or head gasket.

Bad news: well you know where this is going ...
 
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