Need you SENIORS on this one- "check engine" during acceleration!

[oriojasjr]

Hey, gang. I am still fairly new to the site, but already on my 2nd T4R. Bought my 1st '98 SR5 March '08, and sold it to get a '98 Limited (for the wife). Pretty sharp truck, all the whistles, was for sale at $5,500 with 164K miles, managed to bring him down to $4,500 with little updates that were necessary.

Ran a Carfax, truck is fine, however, the check engine light came on blinking the other day when I accelerated using the pedal while on cruise-control . I reset it (disconnected batteryt), took it to the dealer and had it looked at, and when I picked the truck up, I was told they could not diagnose the problem as there was no previous codes registering. Great, so I thought. We took the truck out of town this weekend, and having to accelerate (again while in cruise control) from 70mph to 75'ish-mph, the check engine light began blinking around 5-7 times, and has stayed on since. I am reluctant to reset it again, as I would like to dealer to troubleshoot, but do any of you gentlemen have any idea/suggestions? I will be taking it to an auto shop within the next couple of days to see if they can give me a code diagnostic, but wanted to see what my fellow enthusiasts thought 1st. Thanks in advance, and I look forward to hearing back!

 

[004Gunner]

First of all: Sponge bob? Seriously?! To each his own i guess. I would recommend taking it to an autozone or some other place that can give you the code without any charge. Once you get the code then you can post it up here and maybe get some help with it. I would also recommend never resetting a check engine light until you have the code read because you never know if that code will come back even if the problem keeps recurring.

 

[oriojasjr]

LOL, yes, the Spongebob has lots more to do with little ones in my family, not my love for the cartoon, but aside that, the little guy's pretty cool!

Thanks for the info- I will most likely be heading out to AutoZone tomorrow morning/early afternoon for a diagnostic, and I will post the results. Talk to you soon!!

 

[toytech76]

When the check eng lite blinks it usually is indicating a misfire. Have it checked to find out exactly

 

[druuu88]

its an engine misfire. bring it in to see which cylinder... and be expected to pay quite a bit of money for a new fuel injector (or DIY for a lot cheaper, since most of the cost is for labor)

 

[Stick Figure]

if you are doing your own diagnostic/repair work, you may consider buying a cheap code reader for yourself. It is most likely a misfire like everyone has mentioned, however when you figure out which cylinder it is, you can replace the spark plugs, swap the coil to a different cylinder, and then swap the injector to see if the problem moves cylinder w/ each component.

If it is an injector problem, i would just send them out to be cleaned (all of them) rather than replacing just one, witchhunter is my recommendation for this service. great to deal w/ and always fast turn around time.

 

[oriojasjr]

Gents,

I received the bad news- the code is "PO303- Cylinder 3 misfire detected". The good news is, well, at least I now know what the bad news is and can begin the work.

I want to immediately say first thanks to all who responded, as your knowledge and expertise is very beneficial and inspiring. Second, it's really awesome how the Lord brings his people together, and to see each and every one of you contributing to those in need is truly a blessing. I hope you guys know that what you do helps a great deal for us rookies and "newbies" who are just joining and discovering what the love for these trucks (and Toyota in general) is all about. So for those who forget to say it after they've found what they're looking for- thanks, gentleman!

Now---- where should I begin? Is this a DIY capable project, or do I need the dealership on this one? I like getting my hands dirty and learning, but without a good buddy who knows what they're doing beside me, I'm not sure about taking the risk. Someone mentioned another member as a trustworthy mechanic, however, is this person in my area (Houston, TX)?

 

[Charlee78]

Well... first step is to replace the spark plug in this or all cylinders. I would also be a good idea at this point to change the coil no.3 with the number 1 or 5 and reproduce( no sure of this term...) the problem that seems to occur on acceleration at high speed.

If you don't have any problems while accelerating on highway, you fixed your truck! Congrats!

If you still have a check engine light flashing, you know it's not the plugs. Next step would be to check the code to know wich cylinder has a misfire and replace the coil of that cylinder.

Oh!! By the way, when the check engine flashes, it means you are destroying you cat!! Be careful with that

 

[toytech76]

Check the #3 plug for carbon tracks down the side of the plug. If it had this, you will also need to replace the coil since it will just do the same thing to the new plug. If the plug is ok, move that coil pack to another cylinder and see if the miss follows, indicating a bad coil pack