S_M_ Porter

Hey all,

I have a 1990 Toyota 4x4 (what else is there?) with the 2.4 EFI engine & 5-speed tranny. This truck was my daily driver until it blew the engine (bad head gasket) in 2000. I had it "fixed" by a local moron my friends recommended, he eventually replaced the engine with a reman and I drove it for another year, eventually retiring it when I bought my 2001 Nissan Xterra. I still drove the Toy (I love this truck, couldn't stand to sell it) and used it. However, last year it blew the radiator, so I parked it. Now, I'm trying to resurrect it. I did everything I could think of before I parked it to make it easy to re-start. However, none of my old tricks are working. Last time I tried to start it (about a month ago) it cranked. Now it won't crank. It has fresh fuel, and a good battery. All cables are connected and fuses ok. ANY SUGGESTIONS would be greatly appreciated. I've worked on motors and cars for years and I'm stumped. It SHOULD be running! I've stored vehicles before like this with no problems.

I HAVE to get this truck running again. I took a big pay cut to go back to grad school and can no longer afford my Xterra and afford to get married. I've always liked the Toy better, anyway ! I know that I'm new to this board (just found out about it), but I also know that Toyota owners are one big family (we have owned at least one Toyota continuously since 1975) and we help each other out when we can. Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreicated.

Thanks in advance to any who can give me some input.

Stephen

Mohamed

You say it's not cranking, do you know though that you have juice (i.e., when you turn the key to the "ACC" position, you see the check lights come up)? If not, and you say you have a good battery, check your connections. Could be a bad starter?

When you say no cranking, I mean I imagine no clicking or turning noise, is that right?

S_M_ Porter

You say it's not cranking, do you know though that you have juice (i.e., when you turn the key to the "ACC" position, you see the check lights come up)?

Yes, It appears to have juice. Lights come on, radio works etc. I'm still suspicious of the battery, however. I once had a battery that tested ok and would exhibit all the signs of being fully charged. However, it only crank intermittantly. I eventually determined it had a bad cell and was not "holding" a full charge, despite indications otherwise.

If not, and you say you have a good battery, check your connections.

A bad connection may be the culprit, I noticed eariler that one of the cables appears to have corroded inside the protective insulation. I cleaned it up, but I'm going to get another cable anway.

When you say no cranking, I mean I imagine no clicking or turning noise, is that right?

Exactly, no noise, or perhaps a brief click that sounds as if it is coming from the battery or fuse-block (it was VERY faint, so I may have just been hearing things). Anyway, I checked the fuses and everything looks OK.

I suspect that the starter may be the culprit, simply because everything else seems to be ok. I'm going out to try a couple more things this afternoon. Basically I'm going to retry everything else (like I am starting over) to see if I might have missed something. Also going to try a few things that I have picked up reading some related posts here. Regardless, I need to get this thing going, since I bought the engagement ring today . I appreciate the suggestions, I'll post what I find out this evening!

Stephen

Mohamed

Yikes...man down, man down Just kidding, hey good luck and I wish you the best.

More than likely your battery is shorted out, if it's a faint click you hear, my money is on a weak battery. Take out your battery and take it to Chucks/Kragen's whatever they call in your area and they can run a test (load test) on your bat to see if it's okay.

PirateFins

I'd have to agree with the battery theory also. A weak battery can still power things like lights, radios, etc... but does not have the amps to engage the starter. Put a meter on the battery and have someone try and start the truck, if the battery is going you will see a drastic immediate drop if voltage. Hope it helps.

S_M_ Porter

The battery was indeed the first problem. Although several tests showed it to be OK, when I pulled the battery out of my Xterra, the 'lil red Toyota tried to spring to life. I say tried, because it now it won't fire. It's cranking, though! .

It appears to be a fuel issue. I replaced the filter, however there doesn't seem to be any gasoline reaching the engine. I know there is (stabilized) fuel in the tank. I guess the fuel pump has failed? I've been told that there may be an air bleed-off valve somewhere on the EFI system that would allow any air in the fuel line to be removed. However, I couldn't find any such valve. Also, I have read how to de-pressurize the fuel system. Does it need to be re-pressurized in order to function? Or do I just need to drop the tank and replace the fuel pump?

Any further suggestions/hints/advice would be greatly appreciated. And I truly appreciate all the advice that everyone has been giving me! Thanks

Stephen P.

AgRunner06

I'm not sure about an air bleed off valve. I don't see any point in having something like that. The air will leave the system after you crank the motor for a while.

The fuel line will repressurize as you crank your motor. How do you know that it is a fuel issue? If you crank your truck and then remove a plug it should be wet if your fuel pump is working properly. You can check the spark by removing a plug wire from the distributer and have someone crank it while you hold it close to the socket. You should see/hear the spark jumping from the distributer to the plug wire.

I wouldn't be suprised if your truck won't run on that old gas. You may want to try adding some octane booster and some premuim gas to it to see if that helps it out. Otherwise just drain the tank and put fresh gas in.

I would check everything first before you start replacing stuff.

Good Luck

PirateFins

I'm not sure exactly how to do it, but I think I read in a post somewhere about how to check your fuel pump. I belive you jumper something on the AFM but don't quote me on that. Do a search on fuel pump and you might find out how it's done. Also you might try posting in the general section to get more exposure, not everyone comes to all of the different sections of the board. I for one just started to read the maintenance board.
Hope that helps.

Also I have replaced an internal fuel pump (in my nieces Grand Am) and it was not that difficult. It was messy and stinky but not that hard. If you have to replace it take care of the fuel level sender unit, it is very sensitive.
Hope any of this helps.

S_M_ Porter

Thanks to all for the help! The fuel pump appears to be the problem. I checked the cylinders, plugs are dry. I'm going out in the next few minutes to see if I can test the pump before I have to drop the tank. I'm a little nervous about it, as I don't want to spend the money for the fuel pump unless I'm sure that is what the problem is. I'm also going to check the wiring diagram again to make sure there isn't something obvious that I may be missing.
Wish me luck!

Thanks again,

Stephen P.

joez

did you put the stabilizer in the tank after you parked it? if you did, and never ran it again, then the fuel in the tank would be good, but not the stuff that collects in lines and injectors. you could just have gummed up injectors.