The 3rd Gen All Questions Allowed Thread
- Thread starter da_crew10
- Start date
- Status
3rd gen 4runner brakes
Hi, I’m new to all this. Hope I’m posting in the correct form if not, I’m sorry so I recently bought a used fairly modded 1998 Toyota 4runner and have ran into an issue with the brakes when I first got it when the car was off the brake pedal was very stiff and then, as soon as the car turned on, it would go to the floor before engaging the brakes. Hence, I bought a brand-new master cylinder, replaced it, tried it again, and still had the same issue. I then purchased a brand-new brake booster, which somewhat fixed the problem, so instead of going all the way to the floor, it now stops about halfway. Then it engages the brakes, but it’s still very spongy, and the brakes are not engaging properly, just to put it out there. It does have the tundra break upgrade. I also bought stop front soft brake lines and replaced those. I also replaced the rear brakes, including the drums, and adjusted them accordingly. Any help would be fantastic. Thank you. About biting the bullet and taking it into a shop. Don’t want to.
Hi, I’m new to all this. Hope I’m posting in the correct form if not, I’m sorry so I recently bought a used fairly modded 1998 Toyota 4runner and have ran into an issue with the brakes when I first got it when the car was off the brake pedal was very stiff and then, as soon as the car turned on, it would go to the floor before engaging the brakes. Hence, I bought a brand-new master cylinder, replaced it, tried it again, and still had the same issue. I then purchased a brand-new brake booster, which somewhat fixed the problem, so instead of going all the way to the floor, it now stops about halfway. Then it engages the brakes, but it’s still very spongy, and the brakes are not engaging properly, just to put it out there. It does have the tundra break upgrade. I also bought stop front soft brake lines and replaced those. I also replaced the rear brakes, including the drums, and adjusted them accordingly. Any help would be fantastic. Thank you. About biting the bullet and taking it into a shop. Don’t want to.
AuSeeker
Elite Member
Sounds like you have air in the system, bleeding the brakes properly should show good results.
lakeshorebrewer
New member
Ignition troubles - No codes
Hello all,
So we just got our first 4Runner and I cannot believe I have gone this long w/o realizing how great these things are. I have done a ton of research and troubleshooting on a problem that we ran into and am not making progress, hoping for a new thread to pull on…
Was taking the newly acquired 2002 4Runner out for a quick trip and it flat out died backing out of the drive. DTC’s that popped up were C1207 (P/R Range switch) and C1242 (IG1/IG2 Power source circuit). After month of checking and trying things, we do not get any DTC’s on a scan now which is a bummer as I am now running blind.
Here are the symptoms and checks (that I can remember) in particular order I have done..
- Engine cranks in park and neutral (can’t be a switch issue if it cranks right?)
- Battery terminals are clean and tight
- Fuel pressure is 46lbs going to the engine
- No spark at any of the plugs
- Replaced plugs / coils / wires
- Tried a newly flashed and tested ECM
- Tried a different igniter
- Verified many check points at the ECU for voltage or ground as appropriate per the FSM
- Checked ground quality at all three engine bay points
- Replaced all fuses for ignition and injectors
- Swapped relays that pertain to the ignition circuit / injectors / fuel
- Verified that the crank and cam sensors ohm out as they should
- Verified that the wires for the crank and cam sensors are not open or grounded. Good continuity to the ECU
- Verified power and ground at the igniter module are correct
- Verified the IG2 Circuit is good.
So running blind w/o any codes. I highly doubt a shop can help me with the problem. It has to be something simple but am not finding it. I have learned a bunch so far about this truck but there’s more to learn apparently.
Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Hello all,
So we just got our first 4Runner and I cannot believe I have gone this long w/o realizing how great these things are. I have done a ton of research and troubleshooting on a problem that we ran into and am not making progress, hoping for a new thread to pull on…
Was taking the newly acquired 2002 4Runner out for a quick trip and it flat out died backing out of the drive. DTC’s that popped up were C1207 (P/R Range switch) and C1242 (IG1/IG2 Power source circuit). After month of checking and trying things, we do not get any DTC’s on a scan now which is a bummer as I am now running blind.
Here are the symptoms and checks (that I can remember) in particular order I have done..
- Engine cranks in park and neutral (can’t be a switch issue if it cranks right?)
- Battery terminals are clean and tight
- Fuel pressure is 46lbs going to the engine
- No spark at any of the plugs
- Replaced plugs / coils / wires
- Tried a newly flashed and tested ECM
- Tried a different igniter
- Verified many check points at the ECU for voltage or ground as appropriate per the FSM
- Checked ground quality at all three engine bay points
- Replaced all fuses for ignition and injectors
- Swapped relays that pertain to the ignition circuit / injectors / fuel
- Verified that the crank and cam sensors ohm out as they should
- Verified that the wires for the crank and cam sensors are not open or grounded. Good continuity to the ECU
- Verified power and ground at the igniter module are correct
- Verified the IG2 Circuit is good.
So running blind w/o any codes. I highly doubt a shop can help me with the problem. It has to be something simple but am not finding it. I have learned a bunch so far about this truck but there’s more to learn apparently.
Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Last edited:
spartacus
Senior Member
The ecu relay good?
lakeshorebrewer
New member
Hmmm... Not sure I have ran across an ecu relay. Where would I find it?
5VZ-FE
Member
Very hard to say, but from the information you've given it sounds like it is worth a lot. Some factors that could also affect that are 4wd vs. 2wd, manual vs. auto, interior condition, etc. Let's see a picture of it too, just for fun.
If it is a 4WD and if you were in my area I would expect to see it listed for 12-15k with that low of mileage.
AlfiT4R
Junior Member
You'd be correct, no ECU relay on these 3rd Gens. I attached a wiring diagram reference for you, I imagine they are referring to the EFI relay. What I would do personally is bypass the EFI relay by using 2 spade connectors connected with a wire to act as a jumper, and jump the 2 larger EFI relay pins to test that. You would be correct about the NSS causing a no crank, but you can bypass that as well and eliminate that as a cause pretty easily. I attached a picture of the pins that I would jumper together, you would unplug the NSS connector and jump them on the connector itself. Theres also a continuity test you can do for the switch itself to eliminate that as a concern. Only reason I bring that up is the fault code specifically for the PNP/NSS (Park/Neutral Position Switch / Neutral Safety Switch, same thing AFAIK)
I would also check whether the GAUGE fuse is getting power from the IG1 switch, easy way to check is to key on car off, press cruise control switch and see if the light comes on. If yes then IG1 is powered, if no then trace back the FSM wiring diagram from there. Also, check if the ABS/Trac/etc lights come on and stay on with the key in various positions, could get some useful info from that.
Also, check all your fuses with a trusted meter for continuty, since a good deal of them can cause a no start issue, great resource if you've never used it is: 2002 Toyota 4Runner fuse box diagram - StartMyCar
Has a detailed diagram for each fuse plus brief descriptions. Main ones Id really check are EFI, visually check or remove and test the all JCASE style fuses, speficially AM1/AM2, OBD fuse, ETCS, STA, IGN, ECU-IG.
Good luck and keep us posted!
Attachments
lakeshorebrewer
New member
Thank you for the great info. I'll be digging back into the problem this weekend and will post back on results.
Cheers
toomuchcoffee
Junior Member
New Owner Old 4Runner
Been wanting a 4Runner forever and finally got one. 2002 salvage title with only 142k miles on it. Only 2 significant problems I have discovered so far:
1) Heat does not work. Coolant level is good. The guy I bought it from showed me a little valve midline of the vehicle, right on the other side of the windshield. He said he though it was missing a wire or something.
2) Driver's side window and door lock buttons don't work. Well, the window one works about 50% of the time for opening and (so far) 100% of the time for closing. Feels kinda loose/worn out. The door lock button does not work at all, but the passenger and key fob buttons work to actuate the locks.
I would love to get some advice as to how to proceed with fixing things myself (thinking of this as a project car).
Been wanting a 4Runner forever and finally got one. 2002 salvage title with only 142k miles on it. Only 2 significant problems I have discovered so far:
1) Heat does not work. Coolant level is good. The guy I bought it from showed me a little valve midline of the vehicle, right on the other side of the windshield. He said he though it was missing a wire or something.
2) Driver's side window and door lock buttons don't work. Well, the window one works about 50% of the time for opening and (so far) 100% of the time for closing. Feels kinda loose/worn out. The door lock button does not work at all, but the passenger and key fob buttons work to actuate the locks.
I would love to get some advice as to how to proceed with fixing things myself (thinking of this as a project car).
Spiker Engineering
official vendor
That sounds like the heater water control valve, they definitely go bad over time. I think this is right for your 2002 - Just a moment...
Last edited:
AlfiT4R
Junior Member
Could you attach a picture of your heater control valve? We might be able to verify that pretty easily if that is the case. The valve would be as you described, in the engine bay on the firewall right behind the intake. Haven't fully watched this video, but in the first ten seconds it shows right where it's at, and how it should look approximately. It has a plastic or thin metal arm on it that is rotates in a circle and is moved by a steel cable that attaches to the heat/cool dial inside the vehicle. You might try rotating this arm by manually by hand (if the cable isn't attached) and see if you can get any movement, or better yet heat. I would also turn the dial inside the car if you can and see if the cable moves freely, and if that arm rotates smoothly.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i407aoXilFY
Sounds like the physical window switch to me, I could be wrong though. I'll do some research soon and let you know.
Keep us posted!
Spiker Engineering
official vendor
Well this one just sold for $32K, with more miles than yours
. 1999 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4WD 5-Speed for sale on BaT Auctions - sold for $32,250 on October 31, 2025 (Lot #217,477) | Bring a Trailer
AlfiT4R
Junior Member
Heres a page from the FSM you can try looking into if you have a multimeter handy, you pop out the window switch and check the connector for continuty under specific actions to check if its working correctly with locks. As for the windows, they are a bit more complicated, looks like they require sourcing 12v power to the switch to test it for some reason, but pages are attached. Good luck!
As for wanting to learn more about these vehicles, I can't recommend Timmy the Toolman on youtube more than enough as a starting point for almost any and every repair on these trucks. Also, there is a copy of the FSM (Factory service manual) floating around on the internet you can download, a website called charm.li also has a less convienent but still usable format of it too. The FSM has almost all the specific information you'll ever need for keeping it factory
Attachments
Last edited:
I❤️4runners
New member
So I'm looking at getting a new wheel and tire set up for my 3rd gen and I have a question for you guys. I'm currently running a 31x10.5R15 set up and I would like to go up to a 33x12.5R17 set up. My question is whether I can safely run that large a tire without have to re-gear my rear end and/or have concerns about the trans getting over taxed? I know a couple people who run 33's on their rigs with no extra mods but I don't know of anyone running 33x12.5. Most people run 33x10.5 which I can do I just like the way the 12.5's look better. MPG isn't really a concern here and the wheel I'm looking at provides enough offset to clear the 12.5" tires from the upper control arms in the front I just want to know if I can run that large a tire without worrying about my rear end blowing up. Thank you guys!
phattyduck
Elite Member
Rear end will be fine. You may be dissapointed with all the downshifting at highway speeds on just about any hill. 33" tires (especially that wide) will also need clearance on the cab side of the front wheel wells. Rear fenders can be an issue too, depending on offset and bump stop length.I❤️4runners;3900807 said:
I run 4.88 gears with metric 32" tires (265/70-17)... It makes a huge difference in around-town and highway performance - though you do have to get used to 2400-2500 RPM on the highway.
-Charlie
lakeshorebrewer
New member
Problem partially found...
Thanks again for the ideas. I haven't been able to shake the thought of being able to actually test the cam and crankshaft sensors so spent some time digging into that. I found a video where the mechanic did a cam to crank correlation with a scope. This helped me begin to think about testing with an analog meter. I can't find the link right now but did find a reference to measuring AC voltage on 2V range looking for something around 200mV. The cam sensor will generate a higher voltage based on the correlation video I referenced earlier.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=E8ERV8h7a8JpFqK5&v=rjtvFEUWyMk&feature=youtu.be
My meter only went down to 10V range so not able to be as precise as I wanted but I was getting a decent pulse on the analog meter while checking the cam sensor so that seems to be good. The crank sensor was not registering any voltage at all. Not even a tiny bump. It should have been a smaller signal but still noticeable on an analog meter.
Went and got a new crankshaft position sensor, removed the old one and found it to be damaged. There was a good amount of metal shavings on the sensor and I can see some just inside the sensor hole so looks like the project has shifted into something else.
Note for myself...
Reluctor gear is what passes the sensor to generate a pulse.
Not sure how the sensor could have gotten damaged that way. Will have to dig deeper to see what else may be damaged. Need to figure out what to remove to be able to properly inspect inside and clean up / repair .
toomuchcoffee
Junior Member
Thank you so much!
As it turns out, the heater problem was just that the control cable had slipped off of the little hook/arm on the valve itself. The valve looks new-ish and has a different hose clamp on one side versus the other, so I am guessing it was replaced at some point. I went down the rabbit hole of another (very well documented) thread on this forum regarding replacing the cable and actuator to help me understand how the hell that whole assembly actually functions. I guess my remaining question here, if the cable slipped off the hook, is that an indication that the cable is not actuating smoothly, or perhaps the actuator itself is going bad? Any preventive measures I can take?
For the window and lock switches, I popped out the controls as you said just to take a look. I idiotically left my multi-meter about an hour away at my boat (another rabbit holse style project...), so I wasn't able to check continuity of the switches. Are the individual switches replaceable? The driver's side window button is almost springy in its housing compared to the other three, and the lock button locks but does not unlock. There are screws to take the control further apart, but I think it is more likely I will break the working switches than fix the broken ones, or am I overthinking it?
Meanwhile, the check engine light popped on. I scanned the code, which came up as an evap issue. I read online that the most common cause is a gas tank cap, so I replaced it. So far the check engine light remains lit. Would you please recommend other likely causes I should check for?
As it turns out, the heater problem was just that the control cable had slipped off of the little hook/arm on the valve itself. The valve looks new-ish and has a different hose clamp on one side versus the other, so I am guessing it was replaced at some point. I went down the rabbit hole of another (very well documented) thread on this forum regarding replacing the cable and actuator to help me understand how the hell that whole assembly actually functions. I guess my remaining question here, if the cable slipped off the hook, is that an indication that the cable is not actuating smoothly, or perhaps the actuator itself is going bad? Any preventive measures I can take?
For the window and lock switches, I popped out the controls as you said just to take a look. I idiotically left my multi-meter about an hour away at my boat (another rabbit holse style project...), so I wasn't able to check continuity of the switches. Are the individual switches replaceable? The driver's side window button is almost springy in its housing compared to the other three, and the lock button locks but does not unlock. There are screws to take the control further apart, but I think it is more likely I will break the working switches than fix the broken ones, or am I overthinking it?
Meanwhile, the check engine light popped on. I scanned the code, which came up as an evap issue. I read online that the most common cause is a gas tank cap, so I replaced it. So far the check engine light remains lit. Would you please recommend other likely causes I should check for?
- Status
