My 97 4runner died.

[4x4toyz]

I went out to start it this morning and it wouldn't start. I usually only hit the starter for about 1 second and it starts, but this time it just turned over without starting.

I tried again and it sounded like it was going to kick for a second but didn't. This is weird because it has been very reliable up until now.

The cranking doesn't sound weird like the timing belt broke... I wonder what else it could be??


It has plenty of gas and I just pulled it out of the garage to wash it and pulled it back in 2 days ago.


The timing belt has about 50K miles on it and 109K on the motor.
The engine is the 3.4 Liter V6.

Any ideas?

 

[4x4toyz]

Nobody has a clue here?


I pulled all the ignition fuses, the EFI fuse and everything critical to the engine function, but all that seems ok.

It has to either be fuel, spark or timing. I guess spark would be an easy first test.

Fuel, I am not so sure. I can say I've ever heard the fuel pump engage when I turned the ignition on.....

Timing will be the more intense check...... that will have to wait until the snow stops blowing

...anyway, I am open to ideas if anyone cares to chime in.

 

[mikes4runner]

I see it does crank .
Most frown on double posts:

Anyway your in OH pretty cold my guess test spark then check fuel pressure if it is cranking it has to be one of the two.

Mike

 

[4x4toyz]

I see it does crank .
Most frown on double posts:

Anyway your in OH pretty cold my guess test spark then check fuel pressure if it is cranking it has to be one of the two.

Mike

I tried it again last night and it seemed to kick for a second but never fully took off and started.

I think the compression is ok which should rule out the T-belt. I am thinking now maybe it is a fuel system problem.....maybe the fuel pump or something else???

The other thing which is unlikely is if the timing belt somehow skipped a tooth?

..... oh well, I will update when I figure it out. It is too cold to work on it right now.

 

[mikes4runner]

clogged or part clogged fuel filter.

I don't think you have enough miles on your belt for it to be that.
IIRC you said you had it changed less then 50K ago.

check your fuel pressure.

 

[vandert]

Same problem on my T100

In the past,

It turned out to be the vaccum lines on the left side of the vehicle, yes, vaccum lines.

I would also recommend the fuel filter as I'm sure its original and the replacement should be every 10,000 - 25,000 miles.

If you want to know though there is a bunch of vaccum lines on the drivers side inside fenderwell, two of those cords came off somehow and it wasn't allowing it to start? Dont know why, I had exactly 110,000 on the 3.4 when it happened.

Timing belt on the 3.4 is every 60,000, and I always recommend going with the stock or a Gatorback to expect that many miles out of it, if you went with the 2 dollar cheaper belt, you might be regreating it now.

You can also see if any of your buddies have a code puller. And I'm pretty sure that there is a way to read the amount of blinks that the check engine light makes when you first turn the ignition key on. I think there is a chart somewhere online thtat will let you know.

I had a 97 as well so I hope for you it is one of the two mentioned problems.

Good luck, if you need further instruction aor help jsut let me know.

BTW, turn on the ignition, then wait till the check engine light goes off, it will then start to blink a certain number of times if the code has recognized the engine fault.

Also pull the efi fuse for about 30 minutes then place it back in and try it if nothing else works.

T

 

[AZRunner]

It has plenty of gas and I just pulled it out of the garage to wash it and pulled it back in 2 days ago.


:

Did you wash under the hood? Is there any chance water got somewhere it shouldn't have?

 

[4x4toyz]

Re: Same problem on my T100

In the past,

It turned out to be the vaccum lines on the left side of the vehicle, yes, vaccum lines.

I would also recommend the fuel filter as I'm sure its original and the replacement should be every 10,000 - 25,000 miles.

If you want to know though there is a bunch of vaccum lines on the drivers side inside fenderwell, two of those cords came off somehow and it wasn't allowing it to start? Dont know why, I had exactly 110,000 on the 3.4 when it happened.

Timing belt on the 3.4 is every 60,000, and I always recommend going with the stock or a Gatorback to expect that many miles out of it, if you went with the 2 dollar cheaper belt, you might be regreating it now.

You can also see if any of your buddies have a code puller. And I'm pretty sure that there is a way to read the amount of blinks that the check engine light makes when you first turn the ignition key on. I think there is a chart somewhere online thtat will let you know.

I had a 97 as well so I hope for you it is one of the two mentioned problems.

Good luck, if you need further instruction aor help jsut let me know.

BTW, turn on the ignition, then wait till the check engine light goes off, it will then start to blink a certain number of times if the code has recognized the engine fault.

Also pull the efi fuse for about 30 minutes then place it back in and try it if nothing else works.

T

Thanks !

I don't think it would be vacuum lines since I pulled the truck out of the garage, washed it, started back up, pulled in and then a day later it wouldn't start.

Funny thing, the check engine light came on about 1,000 miles before this happened, but it seemed to run fine. The weather is rather cold so I didn't want to mess with it right then.

I am going to do some work on it today and see what I can find out. The motor sounds ok cranking, so I am going to concentrate on spark and fuel. I will try the EFI fuse trick and see what happens. Too, I may disconnect the battery for about a minute and see if that resets anything in the ECU.

I was thinking about removing the air cleaner snorkel and having someone crank the motor while I give it a shot of starting fluid. If it kicks at all, that will tell me it's a fuel problem ..... kind of a quick check.... then I can go after the fuel filter and pump.

.....and no, I didn't wash under the hood, so everything should be fairly dry in there.

 

[vandert]

One thing real quick

Unless you want to pay 100+ for a new O2 sensor, don't spray the starter fluid or wd 40 in your intake. It will kill your o2 sensor.

We also have two on it as well.

It all comes down to fuel delivery and timing though, if one of those isn't right your screwed.

The EFI fuse for 30 minutes wil do the same as pulling the battery, just seems to relearn faster when you pull the fuse.

Good luck.

I never in a million years expected it to be a vaccum line but thats what it was, Toyota, hmmm.

T

 

[4x4toyz]

Well, today I verified I had spark (took a spare plug, hooked it up to ground and cranked it) ....it is sparking pretty good like it should.

Next, I loosened the fuel line fitting and then had someone turn the ignition on. No gas... no pressure

I climbed under the vehicle and loosened the fitting on the gas tank side of the filter, to rule out a plugged filter. Turned the key on, still nothing.

I checked the EFI fuse and relay. The relay is clicking... I think it is ok.

Next, I pulled off the throttle body boot and shot some gas in there with a turkey baster thing. I thought the motor would kick for a second, but it didn't. I tried it again and still nothing. That is weird, you would think that it would fire just for a second.

Last, since the timing belt is so easy to check, I lined up the crank pulley to 0 on the marker and pulled the cover. The marks are spot on and the belt looks new.


So..... it looks like a fuel problem. I guess the pump is in the tank and I will have to drop the tank. I wonder how often these pumps go bad like that ? I sure hope that is what it is and not some other electronic relay or fuse that I missed.

 

[Jim_Chow]

Do you have a fuel pump test plug? The first gens have them. I was having fuel supply problems in hot, dry conditions (temps of 90F+, rh < 20%). In the 1st gens, the relay for the AFM has to close before the path to ground is closed for the fuel pump. Only then does it supply fuel. By shorting out the fuel pump test plug permanently, the fuel pump turns on as soon as the ignition is on rather than having to wait for the AFM relay to close. I heard on the tacos and 3rd gens, the AFM was changed to some kind of wire that gets gummed up if you use a K&N/oil-based air filter. Anyways, something to consider. If you have the FSM, look to see if there's a fuel pump test plug. That might save you from having to unnecessarily replacing a good part.

 

[4x4toyz]

Do you have a fuel pump test plug? The first gens have them. I was having fuel supply problems in hot, dry conditions (temps of 90F+, rh < 20%). In the 1st gens, the relay for the AFM has to close before the path to ground is closed for the fuel pump. Only then does it supply fuel. By shorting out the fuel pump test plug permanently, the fuel pump turns on as soon as the ignition is on rather than having to wait for the AFM relay to close. I heard on the tacos and 3rd gens, the AFM was changed to some kind of wire that gets gummed up if you use a K&N/oil-based air filter. Anyways, something to consider. If you have the FSM, look to see if there's a fuel pump test plug. That might save you from having to unnecessarily replacing a good part.

Thanks, I will have to check that. The pump isn't running when I turn the key on. I pulled the back seat out, found the access hole and hooked the pump up to 12 volts. The pump runs like it should, and while it was running, I tried to start it up. Darn thing still won't start.

While the pump was running I heard a hissing sound under the hood. I can't tell exactly where the sound is coming from. I turned the pump off and of course, the hissing stopped.

I guess I need to start pulling stuff apart enough to find the pressure regulator..... or at least find out what is making the hissing noise..........sounds like a vacuum leak .... only problem, the engine is not running. There is no smell of gas or no leaks.

Anyone been to this point before ?

 

[hulk311]

You ever find out what the problem was?

my '97 4runner died today and it won't start.