P0171 Disaster - Please Help!

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vr4playa

New member
Now I am probably the 1,000,001st victim of the dreaded P0171 - left bank lean condition curse of Toyota, however, I think mine has ended in disaster.

After doing a few thorough cleans of the MAF as well as actually having the CEL miraculously turn off on its own for about 300mi(before going back on after a trip up north to the mountains) I had something very awful happen yesterday.

After getting 19.5mpg on my last tank and my 3rd gen running relatively normal after a quick trip to pickup dinner I went out again and less than 5 minutes in as I was pulling onto the expressway I noticed a bunch of white smoke coming out of my exhaust and heard an awful sound coming from under the hood(like something was hanging off the engine and dragging on the ground). I pulled over as quick as I could and took a video of the noise:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oj1VfrJTRA4?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


I'm hoping that it's not FUBAR and something awful like a spun bearing, thrown rod or hole in the piston, but I'm fearing it is one of those which most likely would result in needing a new motor. If it could be anything else, please let me know. Thanks in advance!
 
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Sounds completely unrelated to a typical 0171 code. It's hard to tell. A 0171 is usually MAF or front 02 (air leaks) related. Do a compression check (possible head gasket). Hate to ask the obvious but how is your oil? You didn't mention if you lost power or not. I wouldn't panic.
 
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I did lose power, however, after checking the oil and 1) it still looking brand new(changed about 500mi ago) and 2) no metal shavings, hopefully rules out blown head gasket(would've had "milkshake" color with the coolant/oil mixture) and major bottom end destruction(spun bearing, thrown rod or blown up piston should mean metal shavings in oil)

Here's a pic of the oil:

17726870243_2d05551cb2_z.jpg


NOTE: oil checked cold about 5mins ago and I put 5.5QT in when I changed it so hopefully if I start car up it'll be at service level when warmed up. Also, I wiped the dipstick 3x before taking this pic and didn't see metal shavings on it even on the first wipe.

Next possible culprit could be thrown timing belt, but it was replaced at 119k and I'm at 170k now.

Finally, for the CEL I had the code run about 5x on 2 different OBD scanners and every time it came up at P0171.
 
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How's the coolant? Nothing funny going on in there?

A vacuum leak would not cause your engine to blow up, I agree the P0171 is unrelated. What codes are you getting now?
 
Didn't see any oil in coolant. Haven't been able to run down to Autozone to get the CEL code checked, however, as mentioned above I kept getting P0171 when it went off.
 
1moreToy4me said:
Sound like intake manifold gasket...
Click to expand...

From the description or the video?

Also, where do you go to get yours serviced?

I'm trying to find somewhere in the North Central area, but if there's a good place out East I might go that route. I found Integrity Auto Repair on Craigslist who claims to be a Toyota/Lexus specialist(as well as all other Asian makes) and they're pretty close(Deer Valley and I-17 - I'm at Dunlap and I-17).

I also found this TOYOTA LEXUS MECHANIC who says East Valley, however, it's a 623 number so I'm hoping they're actually closer to where I'm at than Mesa.
 
Just rode my bicycle to Autozone to borrow a scan tool. New code: P0301 - Misfire in Cylinder 1 Detected.

No P0171 this time.
 
Sounds like a plug blown out of the head. Look up what a 5.4 Ford sounds like when they puke plugs.

Fwiw I found plugs backed out to some extent on my 3.4 a couple of different times. None of them actually blown out though.
 
vr4playa said:
From the description or the video?

Also, where do you go to get yours serviced?

I'm trying to find somewhere in the North Central area, but if there's a good place out East I might go that route. I found Integrity Auto Repair on Craigslist who claims to be a Toyota/Lexus specialist(as well as all other Asian makes) and they're pretty close(Deer Valley and I-17 - I'm at Dunlap and I-17).

I also found this TOYOTA LEXUS MECHANIC who says East Valley, however, it's a 623 number so I'm hoping they're actually closer to where I'm at than Mesa.
Click to expand...

I had a broke manifold/manifold gasket before and it sounded very similar.
Not smoking in engine compartment i.e., coolient or oil burning looked on youtube found some that sounded similar...

I usually turn my own wrenches, however if it is big and costly I take it to a Toyota dealership. Never done me wrong.

However, knock on wood, never had anything go wrong for quite sometime.
Try and take care of my toys.

Couldn't tell you in the Deer valley area. Go to Tacoma world check in the AZ forums section their are usually some knowledgable guys there.

Great resource sight to cross ref with.

Good Luck.
 
Snowy21 said:
Sounds like a plug blown out of the head. Look up what a 5.4 Ford sounds like when they puke plugs.

Fwiw I found plugs backed out to some extent on my 3.4 a couple of different times. None of them actually blown out though.
Click to expand...

Same sound I had when a Mazda Tribute I was driving blew a plug getting on the freeway—lost power and suddenly it sounded like I was driving a really loud lawnmower.
 
Thanks! I'm hoping it's just the backed out plugs. After talking to the guy at Toyoworks it sounds like the "plug shot out of the engine" scenario is exclusive to Fords, however, I'm hoping and praying it's just a backed out plug.

A cracked manifold would make me cry, a cracked manifold gasket... ehh... I could live with that. I guess I'll find out tomorrow. I'll only have time to stop by and show the guy at Toyoworks the video and/or I'll hopefully have the mobile Toyota guy come by and take a look.
 
3 culprits found so far, hoping these are the only ones...

1) large crack in exhaust manifold

2) bad exhaust flange gasket

3) cracks in both end of rubber tubing connecting MAF and TB
 
That doesn't explain the misfire. You're not firing on all six cylinders. I listened to your video clip a few times and as [MENTION=80297]Grenvilleter[/MENTION] said it sounds like a blown head gasket or cracked head. Especially with a loss of power and white smoke. If you have a cracked head, you may have a bent valve which would create that knocking sound. You'll still have power with a misfire. It will just sound and perform like crap. It sounds like it's coming from the #3 or 5 cylinder but it's a video clip. Pull your valve cover off and look around.

Remember 50% of maintenance is due to 50% of maintenance. Do the easy stuff first. Taking a few things a part and looking won't cost you a dime.
 
Found another culprit...

18377067586_137eef0b57_k.jpg


That's the coil from #1. 3 and 5 were fine.

Here's the plugs (5, 3, 1):

17781117664_8564513ec0_k.jpg


5 and 1 were hand tight. 3 was snug.
 
That's not a good sign. Keep us posted on what you find. Once you repair it, make sure you replace those plugs with Denso dual electrodes or NGK's.
 
Already dropped in NGK platinums on the "easy" side. Now I'll have to lift the plenum to get at the "hard" side.

What a joke, my friend who is quite anal got taken for a ride by whoever did his tune-up. To snowy21, you were right on the money! The sad part is the plugs in there were cheap Autocraft coppers(normally found on Ford) so that explains a lot.

I'll have look over the service records for all the other stuff he claimed was done to make sure OEM Toyota parts were used. The fact that he drove from Chicago to PHX hauling a trailer makes me want to believe that the proper control arms were put on and that it's an OEM radiator on there, etc.
 
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