shooter86314

1988 SR5 22RE original owner, 381K

After working thru some problems recently with cooling system, leaky power steering hoses, broken alternator belt, and dry differential, I noticed a few weeks ago that the engine occasionally idles roughly at startup and rumbles occasionally when accelerating (2700-3200 rpm) upslope to 70 mph on a highway on-ramp.

I read many threads about misfires and the possible causes and solutions. Whew.

The one I noted was about arcing sparkplug wires. When I changed the sparkplug wires six months ago, I tossed the wire separator into my cup holder for future installation. So, I installed the separator today and took the pickup for a test ride, up the onramp that usually reveals my problem. I did not see any burned insulation.

The engine ran very smoothly, without a burp, hiccup, or rumble, up the ramp and level at 70 mph.

Could it possibly be that the close proximity of the wires, tied together to the high point of power steering pressure line, created an electrical interference that caused my occasional misfires? Or should I expect the misfire to return on a future trip?

scope103

Yes. Those wire separators are not there for decoration.

shooter86314

thanks. I try to start with simple solutions.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Poor quality wires can do the same thing. I find a dark street or shop to look for arcs in the past. A problem I had in the past is part store distributor caps will let plug wires slide out of the cap.

I get my rotor, cap, plugs from the dealer and my Denso wires off of ebay. I have seen 20+ year old trucks with original wires still on them and running descent.

AKHeathen

also, maintain enough distance from the exhaust manifold and use "tune-up grease" or similar to keep moisture and corrosion out.... not to mention to keep the rubber from fusing to the plug and ripping off later.

shooter86314

Thanks for your comments and advice.


On Thursday, I installed the wire separators, and everything seemed wonderful. However, on Friday morning, it started rough and rumbled whenever I accelerated. Darn it. More reading. I found lots of stories about problems with cheap S/P wires. Could it be my economy wires? Anyway, a compression check was on my mind, to alleviate recent fears about possible BHG. So I went to O'Reilly to borrow the compression tester. When I pulled off the wires from the plugs, #1 wire came apart. Aha! Maybe that was the problem. I went wild and ordered Toyota wires from the local dealer. When I returned the tester and showed the broken wire to the salesman, he allowed that the economy substitutes might be inferior. What a revelation. He looked up my purchase; it turns out I had bought the cheapest set available.

Saturday about noon: I finally got the wires installed correctly and turned it over. Smooth as silk. I took it for a test drive, including highway and up the steepest hill in the area. It runs very well. Sunday, she is still running well and has more pep than before.

btw, all cylinders are about 140 psi, the cooling system holds pressure, and all the plugs look alike, with tan electrodes. Maybe I can go a week without lifting the hood.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

When I priced wires at the dealer they were $83, I get mine off of ebay for around $25 and that is with shipping. Try to stay with OEM parts and that will make life a little easier for you when it comes to truck parts.

shooter86314

Thanks. Amazon has lots of good deals. I was in a hurry.

AKHeathen

also have great luck with carquest silicone wires.

shooter86314

After nearly two weeks since I installed new spark plug wires, my engine sputtered briefly while climbing a steep hill yesterday in a local park, during heavy rain. Despite the generally improved performance of my engine, I am still mysteriously losing coolant. I refill the coolant reservoir about every 200 miles.

Is there a test which might reveal head gasket problems?

PunchyMcGee

there are kits that you connect to your radiator to check for combustion gases in the coolant, look into that. For a more permanent solution (If you have the 3.0 v6) prepare to buy a wrecked truck and do a 3.4 swap lol

skypilot

iTrader: (1)

Blown head gasket.

Might as well overhaul & put a cam / chain in it.

shooter86314

I borrowed a block tester kit from O'Reilly today. The fluid stayed blue for 7 minutes, so I feel relieved that the head gasket is probably OK. There was no sputtering. I will conduct a very close examination for hidden leaks from the cooling system.

AKHeathen

possibly simple as a radiator cap.... they do go bad or get junk in them more often than you think,

skypilot

iTrader: (1)

Not if its going out via the exhaust cycle. It just drinks, and drinks, till finally you realize that its the head gasket.

shooter86314

AKHeathen said: Do you mean, apply the tuneup grease to the contacts, both at distributor and plugs? thanks

shooter86314

AKHeathen said: I haven't tried that recently. Could be, but there is no antifreeze residue on top of the radiator.

I put some coolant dye in the radiator, tried to get the engine temp up to 180 degrees several times. I could not find even one drop of antifreeze anywhere with the blacklight, not even in the tail pipe.

After reading more about misfires, I changed the sparkplugs. VOILA. The engine runs like new.

Something curious about my loss of antifreeze Whether driving 20 miles or 100 miles after topping-off the resevoir, the radiator is still full and the reservoir level drops to nearly empty.

Also, I get CEL every time I drive. My local mechanic jumped two connectors in the test-connection-terminal. He read the codes manually: 22 and 71. A new EGR valve is on order: it seems to be a very scarce part.

I burped the cooling system yesterday. After the overflow phase, the coolant level returned to full.

AKHeathen

it doesn't leak out of the radiator cap when it's bad, it goes strait to the overflow. the overflow spits out when it heats up and sucks it back in when it cools. it always does it a little normally, but surges a great deal more with a bad cap, even simply revving it up and going back to idle could surge some.

skypilot

iTrader: (1)

this is normal, it is supposed to work this way.

Unless you live in a must have State I would not bother or I would put in an EGR delete. I have one made from a tin can, or you can get the fancy CNC block plates.

I do believe the dye is consumed in the combustion process so you would not see any in the tail pipe, unless its really bad.

shooter86314

Late yesterday, I closely observed the cooling system of my running engine for 20 minutes while squirting soapy water on all visible connections and the top soldered seam of the radiator. When I flushed the soap from the radiator, I observed some dye under the forward end top radiator hose, where it connects to the radiator. I thought this might be the tiny leak that was permitting my loss of coolant.

First thing this morning, I drained some antifreeze from the radiator and loosened the hose clamp on the top radiator hose. I couldn't believe it: the clamp screw was loose! Of course coolant was leaking here. I sanded the corrosion and antifreeze residue from the pipe and reconnected the hose, very securely. I replaced the coolant into the radiator and filled the reservoir half way.

I drove about 60 miles to the range and big box store. After the engine cooled at home, I checked the coolant levels. The radiator was full and the reservoir level was unchanged. WooHoo!