V8 oil pressure gone - pump maybe?

[jediwebdude]

Trying to diagnose issue with 4.7L V8 engine in my next door neighbor's 2001 Sequoia. He called me because my 4Runner has the same engine.

Video/audio of the start attempts:
Jul 28, 2013 - YouTube

Jul 28, 2013 - YouTube

- vehicle suddenly died while he was driving
- electrical power is fine, starter turns fine, engine won't fire up
- he thinks the oil pressure went to zero, but I think it would do that if the engine died

Engine has 170K miles on it. He recently did the timing belt and plugs.

Am about to help him tow it from the grocery store parking lot back to the house.

 

[NJshadow93]

Sounds like a fuel pump/fuel delivery issue to me.

 

[mikebontoft]

tell us how it cranks when you get to it. See it's just freewheeling or if it has compression. Make sure it has fuel pressure of course. Oil pressure going to zero is not likely...though it certainly will happen when the engine stops running.

 

[jediwebdude]

Thanks. We're about to go over there. Stopping at O'Reilly automotive first to get a CEL reader. I'll shoot video to get audio of how it sounds when he starts it.

 

[mikebontoft]

I bet you there aren't any codes.

 

[TOY2G]

I bet you there aren't any codes.

Mike is right. If it just died with no lights on, it is very unlikely it will have any codes now. Sure sounds like a fuel pump to me. Check his fuel gauge. Running them dry can cause premature failure.

 

[jediwebdude]

Just finished towing it back to his house. Shot videos of him trying to start it...1st one is engine bay, 2nd is of gauges/lights:

Jul 28, 2013 - YouTube

Jul 28, 2013 - YouTube

 

[mikebontoft]

a quick look at it says it's not getting fuel. can you audibly hear the fuel pump? how old is the fuel filter if it's not equipped with an in-tank one?

 

[CXS]

x2 on what Mike posted.

 

[sr5hi]

Check the basics, are you getting correct FUEL PRESSURE at the injector rail and SPARK at the spark plugs.

 

[richbasv]

I'll shoot video to get audio of how it sounds when he starts it.

 

[jediwebdude]

We're not hearing the fuel pump, so we believe that is the problem. He's decided to have the vehicle towed to a mechanic and let them troubleshoot since we're not certain of the problem. Thanks to everyone for their input. I learned from this experience.

 

[jediwebdude]

Turned out to be a bad camshaft sensor.

 

[boondoggle]

Sounds fairly inexpensive at least.

 

[jediwebdude]

Sounds fairly inexpensive at least.

He said the mechanic charged him $200. I have no idea if that's fair, but it has me wondering if I need to be pro-active and change mine. His truck is at 170K mi, and mine is 118K mi.

 

[mikebontoft]

sounds fair to me. I also wouldn't bother. By that logic you may as well replace every single sensor .

 

[boondoggle]

Just looked through the FSM for a 2006 (it's all I can find online)

and it looks like there are replacement instructions on Pages ES 485 through ES 486. Nothing for troubleshooting that I could find. Guessing multimeter could tell you quite a bit though.

I don't think I'd replace mine unless it needed it either, but good to know where it is and what it does.

 

[jediwebdude]

Just looked through the FSM for a 2006 (it's all I can find online)

and it looks like there are replacement instructions on Pages ES 485 through ES 486. Nothing for troubleshooting that I could find. Guessing multimeter could tell you quite a bit though.

I don't think I'd replace mine unless it needed it either, but good to know where it is and what it does.

Yeah...this dissertation covers troubleshooting...sorta:
Part 1 -Crank and Cam Sensor Diagnostic Basics