Help diagnose please

[ASUMTNEER]

My dad was driving his 99 SR5 4X4 V6 with 265k yesterday and it cut off on him driving down the road. He pulled off the road and tried to start it back, but no luck. It would turn over and act like it was going to fire, but wouldn't. It acts like it's not getting fuel.

Things we've tried:
Checked EFI fuse and relay, both good
put gas in the tank just to make sure, even though the gauge read 1/2 tank
changed fuel filter

We're thinking it could be the fuel pump. Does this sound reasonable? Anything else to check before we go down the pump road?

 

[TheDurk]

First, rule out timing belt. How old is t? Is it cranking extra fast? That's a dead giveaway. Open up the timing cover and take a peek.Second, rule out spark. Pull a plug from the driver side and hold it against metal with an insulated tool and crank--see if there's a spark. Also check plug to see if it is normal, oily, covered in fuel or whatever. If you have spark, and belt is good, then I'd check fuel pump. Have someone crank and bang on left side of tank with a mallet. The other thing to rule out is loose crank bolt, as the crank sprocket provides signal to the ECM and if it slips or pulls forward due to a loose crank bolt, the engine will die.

Those are your most likely causes IMHO. Good luck.

 

[nissanh]

You can check the fuel pump if you try to listen (for me I never hear it), also, you can crap open the fuel line bolt a bit at the fuel filter and see whether it drips fuel. NOTE: NO OPEN FLAMES AROUND at this time.

 

[4Reak Show]

Don't forget a basic key on/engine off code scan. Never know when a sensor connector pops off and that'd flag a code pretty quick.

Otherwise, ^^^ what they said

Good luck

 

[weezykid]

When tackling a problem such as this remember you just need fuel air(oxygen and compression) and spark for an engine to run. If the timing belt is fine (pull the top cover and see) then you then need to check for spark and fuel. Cracking a line is ok, just be sure to have rags and a fire extinguisher nearby just in case. Pull a plug and ground the threads off a metal object and make sure it is arching. And check all fuses as well..

Also, have you put a multimeter on the batt to see how much juice it has?

 

[TheDurk]

Just remember our fuel pumps do NOT pump with key on, only when the engine is actually turning (cranking or running). So you will have a hard time hearing it unless you are right on top of it under the back seat and someone else has turned the key to START. It's probably easier to jump 12V+ straight to the pump motor to check function (FSM suggestion). Obviously, do this with pump still sealed tightly in tank and no exposure of gas to electric spark risk.

Here is where I'd link to the FSM, but that site is now dead.

 

[ASUMTNEER]

Update :

Dad had a little time this evening to work on the 4runner. There are no codes stored. He cranked it up and it ran for about 4 seconds before it died. Ran smoothly when it ran, but wouldn't crank back up. Our toyota tech friend was pretty confident it was the maf, but I would've thought it would've thrown a code.

 

[ASUMTNEER]

Update :

Turns out it was the fuel pump.