hilux1026

check the electrical connection to the igniter. Mine had this issue and it was random. Starts everytime now. connections on these vehicles are 15 plus years old now and are deteriating with age and heat. Found on mine that the igniter connection was allowing water to pass down the wires. Seeing as how your in NY i would imagine that salt is an issue and this will definately rot connections. I fixed mine with a can of electrical cleaner from advance for 5 bucks and some sealant around the connection.

I would start going through the connections and checking them.

Matt4Running

Mine starts easily with a bump every time thank God.

norcal707

mine starts ok..every now on and then it act up

Wheelingnoob

Mine starts first time every time with very little cranking. I have started it after 5months of sitting and same thing.

mmcpeck

Wow, haven't looked at this for a while, still haven't been able to get this figured out, but then again I haven't tried very hard yet.

Yeah the problem really has nothing to do with sitting cold for a long time, I have left it sit for 2 weeks while away and it will crank up on the first crank, as I mentioned cold starts are not my issue, whether it's overnight or a month of sitting.

Hot starts either. I can shut it off run into 7-11 grab a cup of coffee and come back out 5 min later and it will barely crank, will fire over with a bump of the key. Which is kind of strange to me too, that sometimes it take a crank or two to start and sometimes it starts with no crank and just a bump of the key.

Every engine I have ever owned has started the exact same EVERY single time you turned the key, whether ice cold, sitting for 3 weeks, or hot as can be after sitting for 5-10 minutes after running. Same amount of cranks to start.

Including the two 22RE's that I have owned. Didn't matter how long or short those things sat, hot or cold, they cranked the same amount of times to start.

But now on my 3rd 3VZE and it's the 3rd one that I've had starting issues with. My '88 had the exact same problem as the '92 I currently have, same EXACT starting problem. My '91 started hard cold, but would take a bump of the key for the rest of the day, no matter how long it sat.

Just another strange thing about the 3VZE that make me nuts.

Anyway.....

I took a look around the whole intake, took it apart, and put it back together....nothing wrong with it. Drilled out the broken bolt for the coil/ignitor bracket, and cleaned up all the ground points and re-bolted it back down good and tight, checked all the connections at it too. No change.

I am gonna check my timing tomorrow, and also go through the checks for both the cold start injector and time switch. I gotta get this resolved, it annoys the hell out of me.

I saw the temp sensor mentioned in here. Does the 3VZE use one sensor for both the gauge and the ECM or does it use two? Seems like a bad temp reading to the ECM would cause a problem.

This is definitely temp related, as now since it's warmer and doesn't cool down as much, as fast, it starts hard when I come out of work and it's been sitting for like 4 or 5 hours. In the middle of winter I can come out after 2 hours and it will start fine, because it has cooled down to the point where whatever is causing the problem isn't happening at the cold temp.

rustyf99

iTrader: (1)

You checked some basics but I think Skybox was on to something. Throw a pressure gauge on the fuel line, check the pressure with the engine running, 5 min. after you shut it off, and an hour after you shut it off. I'd bet you are slowly losing pressure in the fuel line which is causing some vapor lock because of engine hear. This is a common problem that's hard to diagnose in fuel injected engines. When you crank and crank you're refilling the fuel line and then eventually it restarts, sputters as the sensors catch up and correct everything, then runs good. You said it starts better when you leave the key "on" for a few seconds - the fuel pump is running and refilling the lines.

If the pressure stays constant or only decreases a little, check your other sensors. Start with the cold start injector - that's a simple check to see if it squirts when you crank the engine (search here, it's on this forum somewhere). Cold start injector is on the pass. side of the upper plenum, circled in red.

Good luck!

mmcpeck

Thanks rusty, I will definitely give checking the fuel pressure a shot.

I have also noticed that if you just hold the key and crank the hell out of it for 3-5 seconds without stopping, it will then fire right off. If you actually look at your watch and count 5 seconds while picturing cranking, you will see 5 seconds is a LONG crank.

Any pics of where I can hook a pressure gauge up to measure fuel pressure?

Thanks again.

skybox

yep, you gotta check those pressures and see if your losing it shortly after shutting vehicle off. The haynes manual might have some PSI numbers that are normal and how much PSI drop is acceptable after a certain amount of time for this engine, but even without those exact numbers you can tell if things likely aren't quite right with the pressure gauge. Problem is you have to buy the gauge or find someone who has one to lend out.

mmcpeck

I don't might buying a gauge at all.

Just need to know where to hook it up to, I assume somewhere on the fuel rail, but I don't see a Shraeder valve on the driver side fuel rail, and hopefully Toyota wasn't genius enough to put it on the rail that's under the plenum, for the pass side bank.

Also if it is losing fuel pressure after being shut off, then wouldn't it always start hard, and not just when after sitting for longer than 15 minutes? Wouldn't it still not have correct pressure for a cold start then too and be hard to start cold, or would the cold start injector make up for that?

pjb00stin

I notice that in the morning it takes a little longer to start,but nothing too dramatic. Other than that,she starts up everytime. *knock on wood*

pj

mmcpeck

Didn't drive it yesterday until about 2pm, sun had been beating on it all day, and the inside was pretty hot, so inside the engine bay was hotter than 7am, when I usually leave for work.

Well since it was hotter than I when I usually start up for the first time of the day in the morning, it started kind of hard. Cranked it and it didn't start, cranked again and it stumbled a bit and died, then cranked again and it stumbled and recovered and then idled fine, ran fine all day.

So this is definitely temp related, and I don't really see how vapor lock would be an issue, if it had been sitting all night and half the next day, and wasn't started until 2pm. I can see vapor lock being an issue after it sitting for a bit after running, but not for like 20 hours. I could be wrong though.

Does this sound to anyone like the cold start injector time switch, is not turning on the cold start injector at anything except very cold temps, even when the engine may need it at semi warm starts?

skybox

I have to admit that does seem a little odd to me as well that it didn't start real well just because the sun and outside air temp seemed to warm it up enough. I would think that the pressure build up inside the fuel tank would be enough to push fuel up the lines to your injectors and keep it there and not be vapor locked. I checked the haynes manual to see if there is a pressure test location but couldn't find anything. It did say your pressure should be around 30-40 something, I can't remember the exact numbers.

PhilR

I still have a Jeep XJ with a 4.0 and I had another one in the past (both pre-1991 Renix) and they both needed a lot of cranking before they would start. And so did a few others that I started (even when they were much newer!).

But so does my 3VZE with 142k miles on it. It never really bothered me but yesterday night, I was wondering why it does that while I was starting it (it has been sitting for about 2 hours when I started it). I haven't noticed if it's worse in any situation, just needs cranking for a while almost everytime. And since a few weeks, it still idles fine and accelerates ok but seems to misfire at around 1800-2200 rpm. I guess it needs a tuneup (at least!) and maybe something related to the cold start injector...

4Chin

I would have loved a conclusion to this thread, sorry for reviving it after so long. I've been troubleshooting the same problem in my 4runner for the last 3 years. I've hooked up the fuel tester to the line and found all the pressures are within limits of the FSM. My question to you is, if you jump across the fuel pump test ports and let the fuel pump run for a few seconds before starting does it work just fine? Mine does, although I don't know what it means.

Zachariah

My 3VZE started instantly, the second the key reached the ON position. Not bad for a truck with 278k/miles!

Not to mention, she blew like-new emissions numbers this last smog test, on the original exhaust and cat!

Oldfart

If you think you're not getting enough gas in the engine at startup try this.
Like an old carb with a spray nozzle and a pump to make them start the 3vz has a similar system every time you turn the key on it pumps gas into the in intake and injectors. I know this because when my starter was acting up I flooded the engine more than once.

az_eaglescout_pilot

iTrader: (1)

the two times i started mine it fired right up! and besides the blown rod bearing it ran smooth haha

El Brouchay

Check that all air intake connections are tight. Air leaks = no good.

little_93_pickup

my 4runner started every time except for when it needed a started.. and the truck starts every time.

Runner491

In the FSM they show a gauge being hooked up to the banjo fitting for the CSI, just find a longer hollow bolt and you should be set. I believe the FSM says 33-37psi while at idle
Jon H.