ahickman

I just finished putting my 94 Runner 3.0 back in after a total rebuild. After setting the timing, it fired up after cranking a few times. It runs with good oil pressure, but will not idle and low power. It has the following symptoms:

1. Will not idle after running for 30 seconds or so
2. Engine wobbles when RPM is less than 1200
3. Sluggish when accelerator is pressed

I spent the better part of 5 hours today checking and adjusting the timing and looking over the vacuum lines. It has new plugs, wires, distributor cap and button, coolant sensor and thermostat.

With TE1 and E1 tied together, I get a steady blink of the CEL, which I interpret as a fault free code. At best, I can get it to run and rev up to 3K RPM, but it dies out unless I stay on the accelerator.

This is my first 3.0 rebuild, but have done several 2.4's with few problems. Any suggestions?

thook

Sounds like an intake leak or misrouted vac line. Maybe even exhaust manifold leak. It's hard to visually locate leaks, so try spraying starting fluid around all intake assemblies and vacuum hoses and soapy water around the manifolds.

Are you sure you have the cams, crank, and rotor aligned properly?

ahickman

THook, appreciate the reply. I spray brake cleaner all over the intake and vac lines yesterday and did not see a change in RPM's. I retraced all vac lines and did find one misrouted, but that did not seem to make a difference. I did not have the injectors tested or cleaned and hate to think about having to dig them out at this point. Read quite a few threads that point to bad injectors with these symptoms. Should I go this route? Regarding the cam timing, I had engine TDC and lined up the three marks on the timing belt with both cams and shaft. Did I miss anything when it comes to setting the timing?

pat24

mine does the same thing it hates to idle till it warms up and wont start the first few cranks will it idle after about a 10 15 min warm up? i believe mine is the cold start injector

ahickman

You might also try looking at the ECT (engine coolant temperature) sensor. There are a few threads covering this topic.

thook

I wouldn't blame the injectors at this point, if the they were working fine before the rebuild.

On the timing, you also have to make sure the rotor is pointing at the #1 spark terminal on the distributor cap.....like this:

In this pic, the rotor is pointing towards the pick-up coil....the black part. That's where it should be sitting when the cap is on.

thook

(Creative edit here....)

Just realized you said brake cleaner. While it is flammable, it doesn't work quite like starting fluid as far as combustibility in this application. Plus, it will rot your vac lines and any wires it comes in contact with. It's okay for now, just don't use it like this on a regular basis. The good news is, now all those areas are clean..

So, trying using the ether or unlit propane torch.

ahickman

Hey Thook (or anyone else), even if I am getting no CEL codes on the dash when in diag mode, should I take a look at it with and ODBC meter? Never used one before, but seems to me that there would be more info to troubleshoot with. Would this be correct?

thook

You got the steady blinking before, so there won't be any codes to pull for diagnosis. Therefore, it won't help your situation at all.

What's the word on the rotor, though?

thook

On the other hand, I have a mechanic friend that has an electrical device that he can hook up to the diagnostic port that will read the mechanical output/functioning of the motor. Don't know what it's called or if that is what an OBDC is and what it does, but if so it would certainly help. I can find out tomorrow, if you like.

ahickman

I was unable to under the hood yesterday. Forgot to mention that I am trying to find a replacement harmonic balancer owing to the fact that the previous owner had spun this one down so much that the keyway barely even catches when I line it up on the shaft. Easy enough to bolt it on at TDC, but the shaft will slip/spin from the pulley as soon as I put tension on it from the PS and AC belts. Lexushead has one for sale and am just waiting for him to send a picture showing its condition before i buy it.

thook

And, you're trying to run the engine with the pulley/crank in this condition?

ahickman

Uh, yep. Felt like I could set the timing initially by lining up the keyway on the shaft and bolting it down tight. Any slippage after aligning the dizzy was not going to affect the timing, just the alternator and power steering. Am I incorrect?

thook

Well, no....you're right. The pulley has nothing to do with the timing (except being able to read it), but you don't want to bugger up the keyway on the shaft, either.

ahickman

Thook, I was able to get a replacement harmonic balancer and have set the timing once again. While waiting for the pulley, I inspected all vac lines, removed the throttle body and adjusted the TPS. The engine starts and runs better, but not perfect. I slapped on the timing light to adjust the dizzy, and noticed that the light was intermittent on #1 plug wire. When I moved the pickup to wire #3 and #5, I got the same result. Moved the pickup to the primary coil wire and was also intermittent. To make sure it was not my timing light, I hooked it up to my 94 22re and it worked fine. Despite the coil checking out fine on the ohm meter, could I have a bad coil? Something else?

rowdy235

bad coil is unlikely if you're getting good spark, but its not impossible. I'd say new rotor/cap/plug wires/plugs if you haven't already.

ahickman

Rowdy235, all are new from NAPA. I noticed when setting the timing that the dizzy does not rotate freely like the one in my 22re. Instead, it turns one tooth/notch at a time. Do you know if this is normal for the dizzy on the 3.0?

thook

Do you mean turning the dizzy while the it's seated in the head? If so, it should move smoothly. If it's not, there's a problem in the shaft and you'll need to pull it out and look at it.

A erratic ignition signal on wire #1 could mean the wire. But, since it's erratic on all, I would test the pick up coil. But, the problem may just be with the distributor shaft.

Here's the FSM testing:
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...12onvehicl.pdf

ahickman

Thook, thanks for the attention. I took the distributor, ignitor and coil in to my local NAPA and asked their most knowledgable tech what he thought. He said the distributor pickup is magnetic and would bump as I described while being turned (out of the head). He also said that since the coils ohmed out well, he did not think it was either the coil or ignitor. I tested the distributor per the FSM and the pickup appears fine according to the ohm meter. Kinda at a loss here and feel like just replacing parts, but that is expensive and may be pointless without some direction. Did I mention that the same erratic signal appears on the high tension wire between the coil and the distributor? Tells me that this has to be a problem upstream from the distributor, doesn't it? Suggestions?

thook

I saw the other thread and realize now that you were talking about the rotor as opposed to the distributor itself.....like when you turn it to adjust the timing. That's normal for the rotor, but not the distributor.