Ok kinda thought that might be the case. Any idea what that may run at the dealer? Should I do all six at the dealer or one?
Is it something an amatuer mechanic can do? Do I do them all at once if it's all opened up or should I just do the one? Thanks
I'm bored at work right now so here it goes...
The dealer is ~$130-170 for the injector + labor. #1 is not under the intake plenum so it's pretty easy to replace. Because of that, I would personally just replace the bad one and leave the others alone unless they give you problems in the future. Besides, we're still not 100% sure it's the injector so don't go spending too much $$ replacing the other 5. It could be a valve or even a head gasket issue but the injector is the most likely candidate at this point. If it was me, I would just go ahead and replace #1 (unless you have been loosing coolant lately which would indicate a HG).
The job isn't very hard since it's on the easy side of the engine. It takes about an hour (or 2 if you don't know the engine well). Buy some new o-rings for all 3 injectors on that side (3 top and 3 bottom). When you remove the fuel rail to replace #1, you have to pull it away from the other injectors and the o-rings shouldn't be reused because they can get scored and leak easily. Also, dab a little Vaseline on the o-rings before you reinstall them so you don't score them going in and cause them to leak.
A few more tips (note when I refer to the fuel
rail or fuel
line):
When you unbolt the short curvy metal fuel line (in front and on top of the engine) from the fuel rail, be careful not to loose the beveled washer in-between the rail and the line. That washer is directional so pay attention to which way it's facing when you remove it. You can just loosen the other side of the fuel line and swing it out of the way once you disconnect the fuel rail. When you go to tighten this fuel line back up there is no torque setting, the bolts just bottom out and stop so don't overtighten them!
The fuel rail has enough play in it to leave the rear attached to it's line. Just swing the rail out of the way to get to the injector(s).
If all this sounds confusing, it'll all make sense once you're in there doing it. I also did a MotorVac induction cleaning on my engine which cleans the injectors as well as the combustion chamber and valves. I would recommend doing this to help keep the other injectors performing correctly. My mpgs also went up by over 50% (from 10 to 16 avg.) after I did it so it's good to do anyways. Here's my thread if you want to read up on it:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...ning-horrible-but-not-any-more-hopefully.html
. I am getting a 301/300 code - random misfire in cylinder #1. Was thinking about changing out the plug in that cylinder before taking it to the dealer. Is it tough to get to? Do I run the risk of stripping the threads in the head?? In addition, which cylinder is #1? Assuming I am in the drivers seat.
