Help! Car dies after starting!

[ghettoflow21]

Hey everyone, need some assistance on a weird issue I'm having.

Car will turn over, then the engine will sputter/shake and die. It was on a steep hill, facing down. I tried to start it ~20 times and this happened each time. One time, got it to idle for about 3 seconds, then hit the gas and it died.

My gas light was on at the time. Got the car towed, then once I was getting it off the truck, tried starting it and it fired right up. Drove into work and tried turning it off and starting it again, completely fine.

Any insights?

I recently did a BG44K and Seafoam treatment, could that be causing some issues?

Additionally, I'm getting a sputtering/stalling around 60-5 mph when I'm lightly accelerating. This doesn't happen when I'm accelerating hard or at any other mph. What could this be?

 

[CircuitCircus]

The fuel pickup pump is located at the back of the tank. When you're about to run out of gas, the truck will sputter and hesitate going downhill and then come back to life on flat/uphill.

 

[Kahndawg]

Definitely add fuel and see if the problem persists. I encountered an issue where the engine would die sporadically after the fuel level dropped below 1/4 tank. Initially, it happened when they vehicle was facing uphill. Considering I had narrowed my problem down to something fuel related I found this perplexing because as mentioned the fuel pickup is in the rear of the tank. I ended up dropping the fuel tank and cleaning the tank. There was a large amount of sediment and contaminated fuel in the tank. I was able to verify the fuel contamination by pouring the contents into a clear container and watched the liquid separate. I suppose the previous owner pissed someone off, or a lot of crap builds up over the years.

 

[Renegade_Medic]

The fuel pump is actually in the center of the tank. There is a little square barrier around it that keeps some gas near it. I'd say you were likely just low on gas or the pump is dying and it couldn't keep up with pumping what little gas you had in the tank. Add more gas and try again in the same spot.

Fuel Pump is pretty much in the absolute middle.

Here's the barrier looking down in it:

 

[rwrobs777]

Do you have a scan tool ??....if so see if there are any misfire codes...let me know !!

 

[ghettoflow21]

Definitely add fuel and see if the problem persists. I encountered an issue where the engine would die sporadically after the fuel level dropped below 1/4 tank. Initially, it happened when they vehicle was facing uphill. Considering I had narrowed my problem down to something fuel related I found this perplexing because as mentioned the fuel pickup is in the rear of the tank. I ended up dropping the fuel tank and cleaning the tank. There was a large amount of sediment and contaminated fuel in the tank. I was able to verify the fuel contamination by pouring the contents into a clear container and watched the liquid separate. I suppose the previous owner pissed someone off, or a lot of crap builds up over the years.

How involved is dropping the fuel tank and cleaning it?

 

[ghettoflow21]

Do you have a scan tool ??....if so see if there are any misfire codes...let me know !!

I don't have a scan tool and the check engine light has never come on.

Anyone have any other ideas what this might be? Not sure that it is a misfire as I'm not an expert, but it is a little concerning/annoying. Could the spark plugs need replacing?

 

[amalik]

How involved is dropping the fuel tank and cleaning it?

Fuel tank drop job is quite intensive, you can find some threads on it in the 3rd gen section.

 

[mtbtim]

Fuel tank drop job is quite intensive, you can find some threads on it in the 3rd gen section.

It's actually not that bad. Here's a video for the OP.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GrzX_K-jcuo" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Yeah fuel tank took me about 2 hours to do alone and I didn't see that video or know what I was doing. a pair of long reach needle nose and 90 degree angle bent long reach needle nose are required to do this job if you want to keep your sanity.

 

[19963.4lsr5]

I'm really thinking about and access hole above the tank.


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[19963.4lsr5]

An annoying part about the Toyota 4Runners fuel system is that in order to check the fuel pressure you must remove the banjo bolt on the injector rail and replace it with one that has a test port. Rather then all the vehicles that I've had that the test port was where already.


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[spartacus]

pull up the rear seat and check fuel pump resistance should be 0.2-0.3 ohms. if it is in line then it could be the fuel pressure regulator.

 

[Tipsy]

Judging by the low fuel and steep hill, it would seem that your answer is a simple one.

However, if the issue persists - theres some sound advice at hand.

 

[Drummermonkey]

I've had similar issues intermittently, though not on a hill. Starts up, sputters, then dies. Several times in a row before it starts and runs well. From my research I've gathered that the Idle Air control valve gets stuck and needs cleaned. I haven't done this yet, but it hasn't been a major issue yet. Might be your issue?