95 3VZE Won't start...

[Maui Cruiser]

1995 3.0L V6 3VZE, 205K

A while ago, had no power going to the fuel pump so I jumped the diagnostics ports and it ran just fine. Recently had an oil change gone wrong where the engine ran with 9 quarts in the pan for a short period of time, blowing white smoke out of the exhaust. Pulled the oil, smoke stopped. Since then, it had a rough idle when in gear at a stop. In park or neutral idled higher and smoother.

When at a red light, RPM's undulating... dropping, picking up, dropping, etc. Tough to start... need gas pedal fully pressed to catch. Drives fine while gassed up and running. I put "Seafoam" in the gas tank. Replaced spark plugs. Pulled out the fuel injectors and they seemed ok. Drove with a dipping idle, and tough startup for about a month until....

Now: Engine cranks over, won't start. Gas pedal down, no luck. Pulled plugs, some black with carbon, others not. Cleaned all six and put them back in, no luck.

Why would it drive fine but not start normally? It seems like I am not getting gas into the combustion chamber but I could very well be wrong. Any help getting out of this no-start situation greatly appreciated, and any indication of what seems to be a larger issue perhaps.

I have little in the way of tools, by the way!

 

[KidVermicious]

Start with the basics, check for spark and fuel. You can crack the fuel line on the engine side of the fuel filter to see if you've got good pressure there, put a noid light on an injector or just see if you feel it clicking, pull a spark plug and see if it arcs to the block, etc.

 

[willyt4r]

check the fuel relays

there are a bevy of relays/ switches related to the fuel system. This was the problem with my no start on my 3VZE.

 

[Maui Cruiser]

Basics covered

I am getting spark, #3 arc'd to the block. I have air, the intake is sucking when cranking. I have fuel pressure at the rail, and the injector I listened to was clicking...

When I crank it over and pump the gas pedal it gets a bit of gas but not enough to take off....

Power to injectors not functioning properly?

I took out the injectors and they look ok... 4 holes, tips don't seem clogged to the naked eye... I'm stumped.

 

[nicnmike]

Pull the vacuum line of the pressure regulator and see if gas squirts out while turning over. If so, replace.

 

[Maui Cruiser]

Pulled those

Nicnmike:

Top hose pulled, no gas out.
Bottom hose pulled, tons of gas out.

Normal?

 

[nicnmike]

yes.

Top line is the vacuum line and the bottom is the gas return line. When the regulator goes bad, gas will sometimes starting dripping through the vacuum line. Mine did and kept my truck from starting.

 

[Ahlem]

Clean the connection at the AFM and make sure it's flapper door is flapping properly. Any other loose hose clamps on the air intake side? Did you mess with the TPS lately?

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

I'm gonna say it may be time to just do a compression test. You say it ran with 9 quarts of oil and ever since its been hard to start, right? You may have blown out the rings on that engine by doing so. A quick compression test will tell you all you need to know immediately. It also holds true that if only a couple of spark plugs are sooty with carbon, could be oil is getting into the cylinder by way of bad piston rings and causing it to burn on the plug.

I'd also say to check all spark plugs for spark, not just one. Find an old plug and just pull wire, stick plug in, test, move on to next wire.

Any codes? If its not starting, you may have some codes to help you at this point.