SpoiledAdoptedLab
New member
I have a 1993 Toyota 4Runner with the V6 3VZ-E engine that I bought from some friends about six years ago. I've never had any problems with this truck, until now. This truck originally came from Florida, I know that there was a recall on it to replace the head gaskets (they've been replaced twice), and I'm the third owner. This truck was in excellent condition, as it was from down south, and it had, and still has very low miles for being a '93 - it currently has around 170,000 miles on it.
About a month ago, I noticed that there was a slight hesitation after taking off from a stop sign or traffic signal. My husband has replaced the fuel filter but it didn't solve the problem.
Then a couple of weeks ago, I was driving about 55-60 mph when I noticed that my speed was dropping off. When I tried to accelerate, the gas pedal was at first unresponsive, then with it floored it would finally begin to accelerate again very quickly (as if the gas pedal were stuck). I backed off once I reached 55-60 mph and it was fine for a bit, then it would start the cycle all over again.
It has been throwing a code 25 indicating a weak fuel mixture problem. My husband thought it was a vacuum problem and started searching for broken/cracked hoses - he found two, one he replaced and the other was the big hose that attaches to the throttle body that he band-aided temporarily with electrical tape until he gets the part. He also noticed a small crack in the distributor cap and that some of the little nubs had been worn down, so he replaced the distributor cap and rotor. Then he checked the spark plugs and learned that one of the wires was torn under the boot, so he replaced all the spark plugs and wires, as it had been about 4 years since the last time he had replaced them. None of this has fixed the problem - we're both getting very FRUSTRATED!!! I should also note, that I was standing behind the truck yesterday when my husband pulled out of the driveway and I noticed a very strong gas smell.
Oh, I should probably mention that my check engine light had been on for over a year, however, when it first came on he ran a code check that told him to replace the fuel filter. He bought the filter but never put it on (don't ask me why) until I recently started having the acceleration problem. What is really strange is that just before the recent problems surfaced my CEL went off. Seems like it was shortly after the CEL went off that I started having this problem. Why would it have ran fine when the CEL was on, and now that the CEL if off it runs like crap? We almost wish the CEL would come back on because that's when it ran fine...totally confusing me and my husband.
My husband has the original repair manual for this truck and knows that the problem that still exists could be caused by a number of things. We're hoping that someone out there has had the same problem and can point us in the right direction before he continues the process of elimination to find the right fix.
Any advice anyone can give us would be GREATLY appreciated!!! Thank you!
About a month ago, I noticed that there was a slight hesitation after taking off from a stop sign or traffic signal. My husband has replaced the fuel filter but it didn't solve the problem.
Then a couple of weeks ago, I was driving about 55-60 mph when I noticed that my speed was dropping off. When I tried to accelerate, the gas pedal was at first unresponsive, then with it floored it would finally begin to accelerate again very quickly (as if the gas pedal were stuck). I backed off once I reached 55-60 mph and it was fine for a bit, then it would start the cycle all over again.
It has been throwing a code 25 indicating a weak fuel mixture problem. My husband thought it was a vacuum problem and started searching for broken/cracked hoses - he found two, one he replaced and the other was the big hose that attaches to the throttle body that he band-aided temporarily with electrical tape until he gets the part. He also noticed a small crack in the distributor cap and that some of the little nubs had been worn down, so he replaced the distributor cap and rotor. Then he checked the spark plugs and learned that one of the wires was torn under the boot, so he replaced all the spark plugs and wires, as it had been about 4 years since the last time he had replaced them. None of this has fixed the problem - we're both getting very FRUSTRATED!!! I should also note, that I was standing behind the truck yesterday when my husband pulled out of the driveway and I noticed a very strong gas smell.
Oh, I should probably mention that my check engine light had been on for over a year, however, when it first came on he ran a code check that told him to replace the fuel filter. He bought the filter but never put it on (don't ask me why) until I recently started having the acceleration problem. What is really strange is that just before the recent problems surfaced my CEL went off. Seems like it was shortly after the CEL went off that I started having this problem. Why would it have ran fine when the CEL was on, and now that the CEL if off it runs like crap? We almost wish the CEL would come back on because that's when it ran fine...totally confusing me and my husband.
My husband has the original repair manual for this truck and knows that the problem that still exists could be caused by a number of things. We're hoping that someone out there has had the same problem and can point us in the right direction before he continues the process of elimination to find the right fix.
Any advice anyone can give us would be GREATLY appreciated!!! Thank you!
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