Engine worn out?

dbdavis

dbdavis

New member
Is my 4runner just at the end of it's life? All maintenance has been kept up. Been chasing a P0303 cyl 3 misfire lately. Comes and goes but running pretty good. No visual coolant loss. A little puff of smoke at start up (thinking leaking injector) warms up, no smoke, runs great. Just did a compression check and my numbers were 100,100,70,70,90,90.
Technician said pretty normal for 266,000 miles. Keep putting money in it? Fuel injectors? Engine rebuild or new motor? Hate to do new motor on a tranny with 266,000 miles even though it's running ok.
What do you guys think? Thanks.
 
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po303

po303 miss fire cyl 3 try coil plug wire if it has it i think it has coil over plug if all that is good go to fuel inj fuel press ,after thet it should be good
 
If its running fine, then there isn't anything huge wrong with it.
It could be something as simple as you having improperly gapped spark plugs.
I definitely wouldn't give up on the 4runner for that.

All I can see is someone buying it off of you and going out, buying new spark plugs, properly gapping them, and then laughing it off that they stole that car off you because of a simple problem. Ya know?
 
Those compression numbers are really low, even for that mileage. I'd keep driving it til it doesn't drive anymore. But swapping a motor in isn't all that bad if it comes down to that.
 
Look into your options

I went thru something similar late last year and did a little research into my options. I had 230k miles on a '91 and did some testing and found that my rings were showing signs of wear. This meant I needed to budget the time to tear down to the lower end and I came up with a couple of scenarios to price out /consider:

1-Rebuild engine, send heads out, leave tranny alone
2-Swap in a JDM engine (most had 30 day, start up guarantees)
3-Swap in a front clip with engine /tranny (depending on availability)
4-Buy a remanufactured engine long block, swap over accessories, fuel system, intake, and leave transmission alone. Some had 1 year warranties
5-Sell while it is still drivable and get something newer

I would have supplied most of the labor for the first 4 options, but you can also substitute in some shop labor hours to R/R the engine to price out your options.

Taking a little time to look into your options now is a great idea, especially while you still have option 5

Good luck!
 
New Optima tested good, so not dead battery. Maybe it was dry numbers on the compression. I'm going to ask him again. I'm going swap the injector and just drive it and go from there. Thanks.
 
dbdavis said:
New Optima tested good, so not dead battery. Maybe it was dry numbers on the compression. I'm going to ask him again. I'm going swap the injector and just drive it and go from there. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say those are "normal" numbers since the deviation between highest reading cylinder and lowest is about 30%. If it was 20% or less, I wouldn't really say much. But that engine has probably lived a rough life and possibly missed many scheduled maintenances. Either way, try a wet test to see if the numbers improve any so you can better isolate the problem to the rings or valves.

Also, if you haven't already, also check your throttle cable for slack at the throttle body (if you haven't already).
 
Finest said:
I wouldn't say those are "normal" numbers since the deviation between highest reading cylinder and lowest is about 30%. If it was 20% or less, I wouldn't really say much. But that engine has probably lived a rough life and possibly missed many scheduled maintenances. Either way, try a wet test to see if the numbers improve any so you can better isolate the problem to the rings or valves.

Also, if you haven't already, also check your throttle cable for slack at the throttle body (if you haven't already).
Click to expand...

Maintenance pretty good. One owner vehicle serviced at dealer ,but good idea on the throttle cable. I'm going to check that out tonight.
 
It turns out those were dry cold numbers on the compression after calling the mechanic back. I'm going to adjust the throttle cable tonight and just keep an eye on that #3 injector.
 
dbdavis said:
It turns out those were dry cold numbers on the compression after calling the mechanic back. I'm going to adjust the throttle cable tonight and just keep an eye on that #3 injector.
Click to expand...

That sounds much better. Compressions tests should be done on a warmed up motor. Hopefully you'll hear back with better results.
 
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