22re down on power

[illzoni]

Help?!?!

My '87 4Runner SR5 with 22re is driving poorly lately.

Symptoms:

1) Lack of power. Easiest to quantify on the freeway. Before this problem started, this truck would cruise very comfortably at 65mph with a 1500 pound load (trailer, motorcycle, etc) and would push to 75mph without too much effort unloaded. In contrast, this afternoon I could barely maintain 60mph in 4th gear and 5th wasn't an option as it would lose speed. Even a slight grade dropped me below 60mph.

2) No acceleration (guess it's the same as #1). It's not like the T4R ever pulled hard, but I can definitely feel it's slower to spin up when accelerating than before.

3) Hesitation/stuttering. Between the stiff front end (cranked up torsion bars) and lousy Tucson roads, it's a bit hard to differentiate between stuttering and bad roads. However, driving at a steady speed of 40-45mph on smooth pavement reveals the truck is stuttering.

Last week my BIL (former Toy mechanic) took a look and said the plug wires were arcing out. I replaced plugs and wires that afternoon and could swear it drove better around town. However, the next morning was my first time on the freeway and the performance was still poor.

Per the PO, "The engine is stroked to a 2.71 has headers and a cam all from LCE."

What should I be looking at?
It sure seems it must be spark or fuel, right?

All advice is appreciated.

Thx,
Jon

[All speeds are as indicated. Actual speed is higher, as I'm running 32s. 65mph indicated is about 70mph actual per GPS.]

 

[the_dingman]

I'm guessing you've got a misfire. Can you hear is hesitate in the exhaust at idle? Try idling, and pulling each plug wire, one at a time and listen for a change. If there is none in a certain plug, that cylinder is dead.

 

[fourwd1]

...Per the PO, "The engine is stroked to a 2.71 has headers and a cam all from LCE."]

Have you contacted LCE to see if they even have a stroker kit for the 22RE to verify your engine has it?

 

[illzoni]

Have you contacted LCE to see if they even have a stroker kit for the 22RE to verify your engine has it?

The engine definitely has a 4-into-1 header. And a quick search reveals several 22re kits including:
EFI Power Package - 22RE (83-88)

Been a busy day, but I do intend to check each plug wire one at a time. Doubtful but not ruling it out.

Thx,
Jon

 

[SV_Dude]

Have you checked your cel codes? Also, take a good look at all your vacuum lines. You could have a vacuum leak that would cause that. Another thing is maybe sludge in your throttle body or intake? Hows your timing?

Download the FSM at the top of the forum and it will give you some things to check and tell you how to check them.

It probably wouldn't hurt to run some seafoam through your motor and clean it out.