Check engine light , cylinder 5 misfire/having problems!

[seanxgodfrey]

Hey guys as the title says my 97 t4r gave me the check engine light right before I left for vacation , I got it checked out and my mechanic says my 4runners 5th cylinder is running with a little bit of struggle every here n there , he told me to warm it up every morning or everytime I drive for that matter , has anyone had this problem yet ? How can I fix it cause this could become a huge nuisance . Like I said its a 97 limited with 220k miles on it ! Any feedback welcome

-sean

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Sean,

Could be a number of things but a misfire is the result of either compression, spark or fuel. Start with the easy stuff and then go from there.

1.) Pull the plugs and wires, look for signs of something wrong. How old are they?
2.) While they're out, compression test the engine. (It's easy to do.)
3.) If compression is good, install new plugs and wires. Hope for the best.
4.) If still misfiring after that, move the coil packs around. See if the code goes to a different cylinder. If it does, you found your problem. If it doesn't, most likely fuel related.
5.) Try easy stuff like a new fuel filter and running some injector cleaner through it.
6.) If still misfiring, it's probably a bad injector. (starting to see this more on older 3rd Gens.) Not a biggie though, pull your injectors, send them to WitchHunter Performance out in WA for a clean a rebuild. DO NOT buy eBay/aftermarket injectors. Get your OEM injectors fixed up and you'll be good to go.

 

[BobLMTDT4R]

Sounds like the same problem I had and it turned out to be a bad injector.

Pitbull is correct, follow those steps and you should be able to figure it out. If you get a automotive stethoscope you should be able to listen to the injector and see if its firing correctly.

Bob

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Sean, where are you located? If you're anywhere near Philadelphia get in touch with me, I'll help you out.

 

[FancyPantsMcGee]

I don't want to fill your sleep with nightmares, but if/when you pull your spark plug to check it out; get a really bright flashlight and shine it down into your cylinder, you'll be looking for green. It's not terribly common, but the 5vz heads have been known to crack between the intake and exhaust valves around cyl 3 and 4 respectively. if you see green, you've got coolant in the combustion chamber and therefor have cracks or a head gasket failure. ..which will cause misfire.
If you exhaust your options up to injectors, pull the upper intake manifold first so you can get a better view down the intake ports to see if there is green. otherwise you'll spend $200+ on injectors when you could spend it elsewhere.
Good Luck!!

coolant on the back of the valve

 

[seanxgodfrey]

Sean,

Could be a number of things but a misfire is the result of either compression, spark or fuel. Start with the easy stuff and then go from there.

1.) Pull the plugs and wires, look for signs of something wrong. How old are they?
2.) While they're out, compression test the engine. (It's easy to do.)
3.) If compression is good, install new plugs and wires. Hope for the best.
4.) If still misfiring after that, move the coil packs around. See if the code goes to a different cylinder. If it does, you found your problem. If it doesn't, most likely fuel related.
5.) Try easy stuff like a new fuel filter and running some injector cleaner through it.
6.) If still misfiring, it's probably a bad injector. (starting to see this more on older 3rd Gens.) Not a biggie though, pull your injectors, send them to WitchHunter Performance out in WA for a clean a rebuild. DO NOT buy eBay/aftermarket injectors. Get your OEM injectors fixed up and you'll be good to go.

well my mechanic did a total check on it, said all the plugs are fine and everything , he recommended i use this fuel filter cleaner which i did, im giving it till the end of this tank, every time i turn on engine the lights still on , when i get into higher rpm's it seems to run fine, but low rpms i start to bounce a little.. but i will do all this stuff after this tank is good.

 

[seanxgodfrey]

Sean, where are you located? If you're anywhere near Philadelphia get in touch with me, I'll help you out.

im in phoenix sadly, so if anyone here is from phoenix and has had this problem before please let me know

 

[seanxgodfrey]

I don't want to fill your sleep with nightmares, but if/when you pull your spark plug to check it out; get a really bright flashlight and shine it down into your cylinder, you'll be looking for green. It's not terribly common, but the 5vz heads have been known to crack between the intake and exhaust valves around cyl 3 and 4 respectively. if you see green, you've got coolant in the combustion chamber and therefor have cracks or a head gasket failure. ..which will cause misfire.
If you exhaust your options up to injectors, pull the upper intake manifold first so you can get a better view down the intake ports to see if there is green. otherwise you'll spend $200+ on injectors when you could spend it elsewhere.
Good Luck!!

coolant on the back of the valve

i will look at this when i go to change them in a week, thankyou very much!!