Driving pains..help!

[97_4Runner_SR5]

Ok, so here's my deal. I bought my 97 4runner in August 07, drove fine for a few months, then the starter was going bad so I had that replaced. But in the past 2 months I was having some starting problems due to cold weather and my lack of driving it every day. My starting issues were that my battery was about 3 years old for one, so the day I was attempting to start my truck it was acting like it wanted to start but never did and eventually I drained the batt, attempted to jump start with no luck. I buy a new batt the next day and still nothing, frustrated at this point I went out to the truck one last time put the gas pedal to the floor and cranked and cranked until it started. A few days later it was miss firing bad so I took it in to get looked at, my mechanic replaces spark plugs and wires, and troubleshot the missfire to the #2 cylinder so they replace the #2 cylinder coil boot and also they told me it was running lean at the time. So after they repaired everything it was running fine for about 2 weeks, and now I noticed that when I first start driving my truck after letting it warm up for a few min, it feels a little hesitant and once I get moving it begins to move rather quick from about 1500 rpm to 3000 rpm, but once I get over 30 mph it drives normal and once it is warmed up it drives fine too. Oh and I have also noted that since all these repairs have been done it seems to be a gas hog!
prior to everything being replaced I was getting about 130 miles on a half tank with 87 octane now I am getting about 90-100 to a half tank...any ideas....I know this is a lot of info...but I am frustrated and don't really have the cash to keep on taking it in...any help would be good...thanks


Oh and it has 126K on it
V6 3.4 and 4x4
Nick

 

[T4RBoarder]

bad injector?...just a thought

 

[97_4Runner_SR5]

bad injector?...just a thought

would you be referring to the #2 or any of the injectors...my mechanic said they put that injector cleaner in also. Are they a pain to change? I am going to have a lot of questions, this is my 1st 4runner btw

 

[T4RBoarder]

specifically to that cylinder...we had a Land Cruiser that was acting like that and it eventually threw a CEL and it was just one bad injector. I didn't attempt to do it myself as it was my parents car so I let the shop take care of it.

 

[97_4Runner_SR5]

specifically to that cylinder...we had a Land Cruiser that was acting like that and it eventually threw a CEL and it was just one bad injector. I didn't attempt to do it myself as it was my parents car so I let the shop take care of it.

I can see how the injector would cause problems with it being hesitant...you think it would cause that kind of Mpg loss though?

 

[97_4Runner_SR5]

Anyone else have any ideas? Or should I go with the injector for cylinder 2 being bad....

 

[97_4Runner_SR5]

Could the fuel filter be causing these problems, and is it easy to change? I cleaned the throttle body and put mid-grade gas in, keep the tires inflated and don't drive agressive and still no change...I have no CEL on and I am also thinking it could be my MAF.

 

[p nut]

Clean that MAF. There could be a ton of reasons why this is happening. Also, did your mechanic put in OEM plugs (Denso or NGK with two electrodes)? What kind of mods do you have? K&N filter?

Also, the mid-grade gas isn't going to do anything. Keep using regular gas. Maybe fill up at Chevron, as the Techron will help clean up some stuff.

 

[97_4Runner_SR5]

Clean that MAF. There could be a ton of reasons why this is happening. Also, did your mechanic put in OEM plugs (Denso or NGK with two electrodes)? What kind of mods do you have? K&N filter?

Also, the mid-grade gas isn't going to do anything. Keep using regular gas. Maybe fill up at Chevron, as the Techron will help clean up some stuff.

I was going to buy the MAF cleaner from autozone but I have never cleaned one before and didn't know if that was safe to use. I would have to ask him, I didn't request that he put OEM plugs in but the wires they replaced are OEM and so is the boot they replaced over the #2 cylinder. I have been filling up with BP gas that has up to a 10% ethanol mix. We have BP, Mobil, Citgo, Shell, Motomart, Kwiktrip and some other gas stations here, so I am not sure which one would have Techron. I don't know if there is a chevron up here. Oh and my truck is completely stock.

 

[97_4Runner_SR5]

Latest update,

I went to autozone to buy an airfilter, maf cleaner and pcv valve. I get the filter and valve but they didnt have cleaner so I will have to wait. I replace the air filter at the store, while doing this it appears the old filter was installed backwards because I tried to put the new one in the same way the old was installed and the door for the filter wouldn't close, so I turned the filter around and wala it goes in fine. I also noticed an instant change in the way the truck has been acting, it seemed less hesitant and more responsive...maybe the filter was more dirty than I thought and the fact it was installed backwards didn't help as it wasn't getting a good seal. I just changed the PCV valve, and it was nasty. It was all brown around the tip that connects to the vacuum hose and the other end was covered in sludge, it was still working but I changed it anyways. So when I clean the MAF I will let you guys know what the changes are, if any.

 

[97_4Runner_SR5]

So I guess I spoke too soon. I was driving home from work this morning and I'm back to square one, it's still hesitant and now I noticed that it can't maintain speed for anything...like it's losing power. with or without cruise on, it can't maintain highway speed of 70. With cruise on it slowly creeps below what I set it at and jumps into overdrive which puts the tach at 3k for longer than I would like (wasting more gas) and just takes forever to get back to the cruise setting and this is a repeating process. When I drive it at highway speed, same thing....I have to mash the pedal to gain speed, of course then it jumps to 5k. I have about had it with the damn truck, I don't know wtf is going on...its got more new parts than I care to think about and still sucking gas like no tomorrow. I am going to clean that MAF asap and if that doesn't fix it...I don't know what else is left....unless I have a vacuum leak somewhere....ok I'm done ranting now.

 

[TopRunner]

If I were you I would take it to a couple of mech. and see what they say. I seems like a faulty inj. is very plausible, but I am no mechanic.

 

[97_4Runner_SR5]

I changed the fuel filter today, took it out for a drive and noticed a little bit of a difference, still a little bit hesitant though but not as bad as it was. I'll have to drive it some more to see if it changes as time goes on.

 

[97_4Runner_SR5]

so I decided to take the truck in since I can't find anything wrong, it has been there since last thursday and they looked at it for 2 days. They checked pretty much everything, including the fuel pressure, fuel pump, plugs, wires, egr, ignition etc. They told me that the truck has a lean condition and is acting like it has a clogged cat, which isn't actually clogged, and the exhaust has no backpressure. They are thinking it may be the MAF but don't have the tools to test it, so I might be stuck with taking it to the stealership. If you guys have any other suggestions let me know, otherwise I will be calling the stealer ship on wednesday. Thanks

 

[Her4Runner]

For 1 more trip to the auto parts store & $6, buy CRC's "QD Electronic Cleaner" or equiv. & CLEAN THAT MAF! Your symptoms fit a dirty MAF to a T. Since the mechanics ruled out a lot of other stuff, this makes even more sense.

Easy job w/ only a rt. angle screwdriver - 2 screws & its out. Spray, spray...let dry...reinstall. Lots of ppl have reported tangible driveability improvements after doing this. Worth a shot... Let us know how it turns out.

Cheers,
Her4Runner

 

[97_4Runner_SR5]

For 1 more trip to the auto parts store & $6, buy CRC's "QD Electronic Cleaner" or equiv. & CLEAN THAT MAF! Your symptoms fit a dirty MAF to a T. Since the mechanics ruled out a lot of other stuff, this makes even more sense.

Easy job w/ only a rt. angle screwdriver - 2 screws & its out. Spray, spray...let dry...reinstall. Lots of ppl have reported tangible driveability improvements after doing this. Worth a shot... Let us know how it turns out.

Cheers,
Her4Runner

I tried using CRC's mass air flow cleaner a couple weeks ago, but my MAF doesnt look like the one that everyone talks about with the screws, I will take a pic of it and show what I'm talking about.

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Here are 3 photos of my MAF sensor, I looked all over for the screws and did not see any...my sensor doesnt look like the one in the write-up to clean it...

 

[97_4Runner_SR5]

photos of MAF sensor are up

 

[GT4r97]

photos of MAF sensor are up

On image #1, spray ample amount of that CRC elec. in the hole (notice there's a sensor inside if u try to look closer) cleaner and let it sit for a while, replace it spray more...do it until you're satisfied. You may want to blow it with compressed air but not too much. Sensor's fragile you don't wanna damage them.

 

[97_4Runner_SR5]

On image #1, spray ample amount of that CRC elec. in the hole (notice there's a sensor inside if u try to look closer) cleaner and let it sit for a while, replace it spray more...do it until you're satisfied. You may want to blow it with compressed air but not too much. Sensor's fragile you don't wanna damage them.

So I cleaned the sensor again, 3 times to be exact. I let it dry outside for about 30 min before putting it back in. It seems to drive better, but still slow at gaining speed from a stop, it does not bog down when I am starting from a stop now, which is an improvement also. I took it out on the highway and it seems to drive considerably better now and doesn't lose speed with cruise set. I am not 100% sure this totally fixed it, but it is better than before. Just wish I knew why it is so slow gaining speed from a stop.

 

[4runDiZZLe]

Ok, so here's my deal. I bought my 97 4runner in August 07, drove fine for a few months, then the starter was going bad so I had that replaced. But in the past 2 months I was having some starting problems due to cold weather and my lack of driving it every day. My starting issues were that my battery was about 3 years old for one, so the day I was attempting to start my truck it was acting like it wanted to start but never did and eventually I drained the batt, attempted to jump start with no luck. I buy a new batt the next day and still nothing, frustrated at this point I went out to the truck one last time put the gas pedal to the floor and cranked and cranked until it started. A few days later it was miss firing bad so I took it in to get looked at, my mechanic replaces spark plugs and wires, and troubleshot the missfire to the #2 cylinder so they replace the #2 cylinder coil boot and also they told me it was running lean at the time. So after they repaired everything it was running fine for about 2 weeks, and now I noticed that when I first start driving my truck after letting it warm up for a few min, it feels a little hesitant and once I get moving it begins to move rather quick from about 1500 rpm to 3000 rpm, but once I get over 30 mph it drives normal and once it is warmed up it drives fine too. Oh and I have also noted that since all these repairs have been done it seems to be a gas hog!
prior to everything being replaced I was getting about 130 miles on a half tank with 87 octane now I am getting about 90-100 to a half tank...any ideas....I know this is a lot of info...but I am frustrated and don't really have the cash to keep on taking it in...any help would be good...thanks


Oh and it has 126K on it
V6 3.4 and 4x4
Nick

just buy a new one like, i have one for sale btw... check out my sig