Please Help! T4R shaking and loss of power

[1985taylor1925]

Here are the symptoms. Saturday I drove 50 miles to my base. When i left the vehicle was fine. Once getting off the highway and coming to a stop I noticed the iddle was very inconsistant and weak feeling, like it was about to die. Though it didnt. When I drove it home, no problem at all. The next day i drove it in the morning and it was fine. Then in the evening the symptoms came back. It was really bad on the highway. It started shaking really bad when given gas, mostly between 1000 and 2000 rpms, the engine was sputtering alot, and it lost alot of power. I noticed that when i pushed the rpms above 2000 it stopped shaking. Also stopped as soon as i let off the gas. The service light that looks like a camera also came on. Then yesterday it was fine all day, and today, symptoms are back. Completely random. I have no idea what this could be, but i hate the thought of bringing it to a shop and them fixing 5 different things before they actually fix the problem. I thought about the driveshaft being bad, which would explain the shaking at specific rpms. But that doesnt explain the engine acting terrible. Plus if it would be consistantly bad every time i drove it. So I am ruleing that out. But i really dont have a clue. If you can help i would greatly appreciate it

 

[brian2sun]

You're not running on all 6 (or 4?). We need your vehicle info (most of us put it in our signatures) to help you better with tech questions so we know what engine, tranny, year, etc.. that we are dealing with. And post your location too so other members might try to help you out in person.

Stop by Autozone or whoever you have where you live and have them read the codes (most do it for free). Your "camera" light is the Check Engine Light. I'll bet your codes will be P0300-0306 which are cylinder misfires. If so start with new plugs and wires and let us know how it goes from there.

 

[1985taylor1925]

You're not running on all 6 (or 4?). We need your vehicle info (most of us put it in our signatures) to help you better with tech questions so we know what engine, tranny, year, etc.. that we are dealing with. And post your location too so other members might try to help you out in person.

Stop by Autozone or whoever you have where you live and have them read the codes (most do it for free). Your "camera" light is the Check Engine Light. I'll bet your codes will be P0300-0306 which are cylinder misfires. If so start with new plugs and wires and let us know how it goes from there.

Wow, nice call brian2sun. I brought it in, had the diagnostic run, and thats exactly what it is. The third cylinder in misfiring. So my next step is repair. I would like to do the work myself if its possible. I changed my struts myslef, as well as the steering rack bushings (which took me a lot longer than expected). Is this a job that I could do on my own with basic tools? About how long might it take? And are there a particular brand of plugs you would reccommend? Thanks

 

[1985taylor1925]

I just checked my service records for the vehicle (iv only owned it for 2 months now) and found out that the vehicle was brought in for cylinder #2 misfiring about a year ago. All six spark plugs were replaced, but the wire was only replaced for cylinder #2. So in that case these spark plugs arent even a year old yet (replaced oct 09). Should i just replace the wires then?

 

[brian2sun]

#3 isn't on a wire, it sits directly under the middle (of 3) coil packs on the passenger side. I would pull the plug out and inspect it, maybe even take a pic of it and post it up on here. Instead of a wire, #3 has a coil boot which would be my guess at this point since the plugs are fairly new. Several things can cause a miss, but we'll start with the most likely and cheapest 1st. Probably not the coil because they fire 2 cylinders and you are only missing on #3 right?

 

[kaiser]

Its an easy fix, just replace all your spark plugs with TWIN GROUND, spark plugs. Thats very important to use twin grounds, I had the exact same thing happen to me, after I put my new engine in I wasnt thinking at all and bought single grounds. Took a road trip on those spark plugs and the exact same thing happened to me. I came off the highway to grab some food and had the same idling problem.

If your problem still persists after youve changed out all your spark plugs to twin grounds, then its probably a coil pack. But just change out all the plugs first see what happens.

 

[1985taylor1925]

#3 isn't on a wire, it sits directly under the middle (of 3) coil packs on the passenger side. I would pull the plug out and inspect it, maybe even take a pic of it and post it up on here. Instead of a wire, #3 has a coil boot which would be my guess at this point since the plugs are fairly new. Several things can cause a miss, but we'll start with the most likely and cheapest 1st. Probably not the coil because they fire 2 cylinders and you are only missing on #3 right?

I take that back. The wires were replaced with one complete set, so they were all replaced. Obviously alot of this stuff is new to me.

 

[1985taylor1925]

Its an easy fix, just replace all your spark plugs with TWIN GROUND, spark plugs. Thats very important to use twin grounds, I had the exact same thing happen to me, after I put my new engine in I wasnt thinking at all and bought single grounds. Took a road trip on those spark plugs and the exact same thing happened to me. I came off the highway to grab some food and had the same idling problem.

If your problem still persists after youve changed out all your spark plugs to twin grounds, then its probably a coil pack. But just change out all the plugs first see what happens.

How can i tell if the plugs are twin ground by looking at them? I dont want to spend the money if I dont have to. Thanks

 

[brian2sun]

I take that back. The wires were replaced with one complete set, so they were all replaced. Obviously alot of this stuff is new to me.

A full set of wires is just 3. The cylinders that are wired are 2, 4, and 6. But 1, 3, and 5 are connected to the coil packs by coil boots which I really doubt were changed (barely anyone does) and that would be my first guess (after you inspect/change the plugs). If you're not using OEM NGK or Denso dual electrode plugs (like kaiser mentioned), then you should because single ground plugs only last 1/2 as long as they should in our engines and have a tendancy to foul (from my own experience).

 

[Bighead2001]

How can i tell if the plugs are twin ground by looking at them? I dont want to spend the money if I dont have to. Thanks

...

 

[1985taylor1925]

...

But how do you distinguish a single ground plug from a double ground I mean?

 

[1985taylor1925]

A full set of wires is just 3. The cylinders that are wired are 2, 4, and 6. But 1, 3, and 5 are connected to the coil packs by coil boots which I really doubt were changed (barely anyone does) and that would be my first guess (after you inspect/change the plugs). If you're not using OEM NGK or Denso dual electrode plugs (like kaiser mentioned), then you should because single ground plugs only last 1/2 as long as they should in our engines and have a tendancy to foul (from my own experience).

Sounds like the right place to start. Where would I order the boots for 1, 3 and 5?

 

[jdmaccord6]

But how do you distinguish a single ground plug from a double ground I mean?

In your picture, see how the plug has 2 "J-shaped" grooves coming up. Those are the grounds. A majority of vehicles have just one of those, the 4runner OEM plugs have 2 just like they are pictured.

 

[brian2sun]

Sounds like the right place to start. Where would I order the boots for 1, 3 and 5?

Start with the plugs and see if that takes care of it. If not, swap the coil boot in question with another cylinder's boot and if the miss moves (your CEL will throw a different code), you know it's the boot. If it stays with that cylinder, then we can go from there (we will then swap coil packs to test them, then we can test injectors if necessary, then do a compression test, etc..).

Also, put a little dielectric grease in the boots and the ends of the wires when you re-install the plugs. The grease will help to insulate and also makes it easier to reemove the wires in a few years when you go to change them again.

 

[1985taylor1925]

Start with the plugs and see if that takes care of it. If not, swap the coil boot in question with another cylinder's boot and if the miss moves (your CEL will throw a different code), you know it's the boot. If it stays with that cylinder, then we can go from there (we will then swap coil packs to test them, then we can test injectors if necessary, then do a compression test, etc..).

Also, put a little dielectric grease in the boots and the ends of the wires when you re-install the plugs. The grease will help to insulate and also makes it easier to reemove the wires in a few years when you go to change them again.

Where can i get the coil boots?

 

[1985taylor1925]

In your picture, see how the plug has 2 "J-shaped" grooves coming up. Those are the grounds. A majority of vehicles have just one of those, the 4runner OEM plugs have 2 just like they are pictured.

Gotcha. Thanks

 

[brian2sun]

Toyota or pretty much any parts store. Swap the one in the pass. side middle (#3) with another cylinder's first. If the miss moves (according to the code it will throw), then you know it's the boot and didn't have to spend any $$. If it doesn't move, then you can rule out the boot as the problem.

 

[miken6570]

you can go to advance auto or auto zone

 

[1985taylor1925]

Toyota or pretty much any parts store. Swap the one in the pass. side middle (#3) with another cylinder's first. If the miss moves (according to the code it will throw), then you know it's the boot and didn't have to spend any $$. If it doesn't move, then you can rule out the boot as the problem.

Which cylinder is which? Like if sitting in my vehicle, three cylinders on my side and three on the passenger side, how would they be numbered?

 

[brian2sun]

Which cylinder is which? Like if sitting in my vehicle, three cylinders on my side and three on the passenger side, how would they be numbered?

If you're looking at it from the front, facing the truck:
(windshield)
5-6
3-4
1-2
(Front Grille)

^^This is the cylinder number order. This is not to be confused with the wiring or the firing order which are different. The coils sit on top of Cyls #1, 3, and 5. Each coil has a boot (like I mentioned before) that goes directly to the plug underneath it and also a wire going to another cylinder on the driver's side. So each coil pack fires 2 plugs. The wiring/coil order is:
-The coil on top of #1 also (has a wire going to and) fires #4
-The coil on top of #3 also fires #6
-The coil on top of #5 also fires #2
Make sure your plug wires are routed this way, if not the engine will run like crap and not fire in the correct order.