Top Speed only 55mph

[sdot2010]

I am having an issue where my 87 SR5 with a 22RE, it struggles to reach 55mph and will not accelerate over that speed. When it hits 55 there is no more power (floored pedal). It has a hard shift into 4th gear. It has a slow acceleration and just feels overall weak. I changed the plugs, wires and O2 sensor which helped. CAT is clean. Yet to check TPS or MAF

The mechanic seems to think it is a timing chain issue but I am looking for other opinions. Any ideas?

 

[UteRunner]

I know you said the cat was clean, but could there be anything blocking after the cat? I had pieces of my cat in my muffler and had the same issue. Just a guess.

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

I'd suggest the same thing as I've done before. Go through and do a full tune-up on the engine, and also check codes to see if anything has been set.

New plugs/wires
New air filter
Change oil and oil filter
Bring to temp and set the valves
set the timing
clean the throttle body with toothbrush (remove from truck, its much easier that way)

Once you get that far, I bet you will find it either starts running correctly, or you find the problem. Other than that, it could be a billion things that cause this problem. If you're running stock gears with 33's and its bone-stock, you won't be passing any cars above that speed! Especially if no maintenance has been done!

How old is the o2 sensor? When was the last time the tps was checked/re-set?

Is it running rich/lean? What color are the plugs?

Too many things to guess on, so go through and do the tune up stuff first, then go from there. Its what any decent repair shop would do first, before they start suggesting the timing chain is bad! That's a bit out there to call unless there's other information that supports this diagnosis, like super-noisy chain or backfiring because its slipped a tooth or two.

 

[sdot2010]

I'd suggest the same thing as I've done before. Go through and do a full tune-up on the engine, and also check codes to see if anything has been set.

New plugs/wires
New air filter
Change oil and oil filter
Bring to temp and set the valves
set the timing
clean the throttle body with toothbrush (remove from truck, its much easier that way)

Once you get that far, I bet you will find it either starts running correctly, or you find the problem. Other than that, it could be a billion things that cause this problem. If you're running stock gears with 33's and its bone-stock, you won't be passing any cars above that speed! Especially if no maintenance has been done!

How old is the o2 sensor? When was the last time the tps was checked/re-set?

Is it running rich/lean? What color are the plugs?

Too many things to guess on, so go through and do the tune up stuff first, then go from there. Its what any decent repair shop would do first, before they start suggesting the timing chain is bad! That's a bit out there to call unless there's other information that supports this diagnosis, like super-noisy chain or backfiring because its slipped a tooth or two.

I have changed the oil and the air filter. The O2 sensor is new, the old one was rusted, the plugs were a combination of black and brown.

How do I tell if it is running rich/lean? I'm not sure the TPS was ever checked or set. As of right now what I have replaced was stock i.e. plugs.

I'm going to take it to a different shop and get a tune up next week

 

[KidVermicious]

How do I tell if it is running rich/lean?

Sometimes you can tell by the smell of the exhaust, sometimes you can tell by looking at the plugs themselves. Don't take it to a shop yet, the 22RE is a pretty simple motor and if you've got a set of wrenches you can probably chase this down yourself.

I didn't see anybody ask the big question - what size tires and what diff gears are you running? And what elevation are you at?

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

Sometimes you can tell by the smell of the exhaust, sometimes you can tell by looking at the plugs themselves. Don't take it to a shop yet, the 22RE is a pretty simple motor and if you've got a set of wrenches you can probably chase this down yourself.

I didn't see anybody ask the big question - what size tires and what diff gears are you running? And what elevation are you at?

OOH! OOH!!! I did! Well, sorta... :lol:

Yeah, too many questions to answer before really diagnosing the issue, these could be the complete reason for lack of power! Let's see, 4.10:1 gears, 33's, and he lives near Vail, CO!

Hell, when my truck had stock gears with 31's, I recall driving through Vail at about 40mph and couldn't get her to go much more!!! Sounded like she had asthma!!! BWWWAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!!!!

 

[Infamous82]

Yeah stock 4.10s with 33s would be the likely culprit. Put some gears in it or go down to 31s.

 

[sdot2010]

Sometimes you can tell by the smell of the exhaust, sometimes you can tell by looking at the plugs themselves. Don't take it to a shop yet, the 22RE is a pretty simple motor and if you've got a set of wrenches you can probably chase this down yourself.

I didn't see anybody ask the big question - what size tires and what diff gears are you running? And what elevation are you at?

Exhaust does not have an distinct smell, maybe smells a touch like fuel but not too noticeably.

Running 30" nearly bald tires with stock gearing. I live in central PA, so elevation is like 400' - 800'.

Also, there is a clicking noise in the engine when it idles and it starts first turn every time

 

[KidVermicious]

Exhaust does not have an distinct smell, maybe smells a touch like fuel but not too noticeably.

Running 30" nearly bald tires with stock gearing. I live in central PA, so elevation is like 400' - 800'.

Also, there is a clicking noise in the engine when it idles and it starts first turn every time

Ok, cool. There's definitely something wrong then, because with just 30" tires at near sea level you should have no trouble maintaining freeway speeds.

So there's a lot of things mentioned up thread that you can check or ask your mechanic to look at. You can make sure your timing is set correctly, -5btdc with the test port jumped. You can run a compression test on each cylinder to make sure the rings and valves and such are doing their jobs. When you run the test, have a good hard look at each spark plug - for that matter, make sure you have NGK or Denso plain copper plugs, these motors don't like fancy plugs and they don't like domestic or German stuff (that goes for sensors like the O2 and components like the distributor cap as well, stay with OEM parts). You can test and calibrate your TPS, and I think that site has a procedure for checking your AFM too.

The ticking is probably just your valve lash, these motors are notorious for having hard to adjust valves. If you're concerned about it, the actual process is fairly straightforward, although you may need to do it over several times before you get the hang of it. If your valve clearances are way out of spec, that could contribute to your lack of power for sure. Your mechanic may be hearing that ticking and thinking it's timing chain trouble and that's possible, these motors are also known for wearing through the timing chain guides. When you (or he) takes the valve cover off to set the valve lash you can look down the front of the motor inside the timing chain cover and see if your chain guides are intact - if they aren't, you'll want to pull the cover and service the timing chain, but even if they are broken that's probably not contributing to your lack of power.

Run through all those tests and you should find your problem. It should be bad compression, bad timing, or an air-fuel mixup, and those tests should tell you which, although more specific tests might be necessary to narrow it down once you've identified it and at some point you may need to start throwing parts at it. But not yet. If all else fails, a muffler shop can test your cat and muffler for flow and tell you if either needs replacing. If it's none of the above and you still have no power, I'm afraid you're going to have to swap in a V8. I recommend a 2UZ.

 

[sdot2010]

Ok, cool. There's definitely something wrong then, because with just 30" tires at near sea level you should have no trouble maintaining freeway speeds.

So there's a lot of things mentioned up thread that you can check or ask your mechanic to look at. You can make sure your timing is set correctly, -5btdc with the test port jumped. You can run a compression test on each cylinder to make sure the rings and valves and such are doing their jobs. When you run the test, have a good hard look at each spark plug - for that matter, make sure you have NGK or Denso plain copper plugs, these motors don't like fancy plugs and they don't like domestic or German stuff (that goes for sensors like the O2 and components like the distributor cap as well, stay with OEM parts). You can test and calibrate your TPS, and I think that site has a procedure for checking your AFM too.

The ticking is probably just your valve lash, these motors are notorious for having hard to adjust valves. If you're concerned about it, the actual process is fairly straightforward, although you may need to do it over several times before you get the hang of it. If your valve clearances are way out of spec, that could contribute to your lack of power for sure. Your mechanic may be hearing that ticking and thinking it's timing chain trouble and that's possible, these motors are also known for wearing through the timing chain guides. When you (or he) takes the valve cover off to set the valve lash you can look down the front of the motor inside the timing chain cover and see if your chain guides are intact - if they aren't, you'll want to pull the cover and service the timing chain, but even if they are broken that's probably not contributing to your lack of power.

Run through all those tests and you should find your problem. It should be bad compression, bad timing, or an air-fuel mixup, and those tests should tell you which, although more specific tests might be necessary to narrow it down once you've identified it and at some point you may need to start throwing parts at it. But not yet. If all else fails, a muffler shop can test your cat and muffler for flow and tell you if either needs replacing. If it's none of the above and you still have no power, I'm afraid you're going to have to swap in a V8. I recommend a 2UZ.

Thanks for the information. I going to get on it this coming week and keep this feed updated.

These posts have been a huge help. I'm ecstatic about the community of people here.

 

[sdot2010]

New update:
The 4Runner had been sitting for about two weeks. Killed the battery by leaving the lights on. I dropped a new battery in and started her up. I got white smoke out of the exhaust. First time that has happened since I bought her 6 weeks ago. I'm taking it to the mechanic on Tuesday. Any suggestions about the white smoke?

 

[KidVermicious]

Any suggestions about the white smoke?

If it's coolant, the compression test should fail.

 

[nevada]

I am having an issue where my 87 SR5 with a 22RE, it struggles to reach 55mph and will not accelerate over that speed. When it hits 55 there is no more power (floored pedal). It has a hard shift into 4th gear. It has a slow acceleration and just feels overall weak. I changed the plugs, wires and O2 sensor which helped. CAT is clean. Yet to check TPS or MAF

The mechanic seems to think it is a timing chain issue but I am looking for other opinions. Any ideas?

that leads me to believe its an auto trans, yes?

New update:
The 4Runner had been sitting for about two weeks. Killed the battery by leaving the lights on. I dropped a new battery in and started her up. I got white smoke out of the exhaust. First time that has happened since I bought her 6 weeks ago. I'm taking it to the mechanic on Tuesday. Any suggestions about the white smoke?

white smoke is coolant. USUALLY due to a bad head gasket.

 

[9494runner]

Agreed on HG. Does the exhaust smell sweet or do you have bubbling at the radiator cap? How'd the coolant level? Oil colour? Coolant colour (milky or brown? not green or red)

 

[sdot2010]

Coolant level dropped over the last two weeks. Refilled it today. Oil is on the dark side of brown, not red or green. No bubbling in the coolant but it didn't run for very long.

Yes it is an auto.

It wasn't having this issue two weeks ago I'm not sure why it's popping up now.

 

[9494runner]

I would venture a guess to say you are burning coolant then. Like kid said, run a compression check