CaptainZ

Hi, I am new to the forum and hold I can get some help. I purchased this t100 and have fixed up some things but still have a couple of problems. Anyway, for a bit of history on the truck so you can see what I have done and what my problem is.

1997 T100
4x4
3.4 V6
Automatic
90,000 Miles

Bought it on ebay for $5600. I have already replaced:

All four shocks
Resurfaced Front Rotors and new pads
New Cat Back exhaust
Oil Change
New Drive Belts
Front & Rear Differential Fluid Change
Transfer Case Fluid Change
Transmission Fluid Flush and refil
Wheel Bearings Repacked
Recall done on the Front Relay Rod
New Idler Arm
New Starter
Newer Battery
New Air Filter
New Spark Plugs
New Plug Wires
Heater/Air Conditioner Units and lines Disinfected
New Wheels and Tires(Well, used, but new to me)

Now, with that all in mind, I still have a few problems. The truck seems to struggle to start. You have to push the gas pedal to get it to start sometimes. I tried a fuel system cleaner from checker but that didnt help. I seafoamed the engine(more on this later), and that hasnt helped. My next thought is the fuel filter but I havent had a chance to do that yet.

My other problem is that the truck sounds like it has an exhaust leak. At idle and low RPMs it sounds fine, but when you accelerate it sounds like a raspy exhaust leak coming from somewhere in the engine bay. I had the dealership check it out and they said it just sounds like an older vehicle with high miles which I dont buy. I seafoamed the engine. This is where you get a can of seamfoam, unplug the pcv valve hose that runs to the throttle body/intake manifold, and put the hose in the can and rev the engine. The hose sucks the seafoam into the combustion chamber and CLEANS your engine on the inside. This method causes a ton of smoke to pour out of the tailpipe as well as any exhaust leaks that there may be. I was looking in an under the engine while doing this and didnt see any but didnt get a real good look. The sound drives me crazy. I dont know how to describe it other than it sounds like air or exhaust coming through a small opening at really fast speeds...

HELP. I appreciate any input and feedback that anyone can provide. Also, I read somewhere that there was a recall on the 3.4 headgasket, but the dealer says no. Anyone care to elaborate..

elnido

check the heat sheilds of the exhaust directly between the engine and the fire wall (esp)driver side. I hose clamped the "flappy" sheild to the exhaust pipe on the driver's side to clear that noise up. Seemed to work for awhile, although a similar sound has returned, but very minimal. I've done searches on this noise and that's what I turned up, it's kinda like the "toyota turn", just part of the truck at this age.

CaptainZ

Thanks for the info. The sound seems to get louder as I increase speed which leads me to think that it can just be a loose shield, but I will certainly crawl under the truck and do as you suggest. Even slightly reducing the noise would be nice.

As for the starting problem, any idea on that one?

CaptainZ

Okay. I think I figured out the exhaust leak problem. I craweld under the truck to attempt what elnido had suggested. I checked all the pipes to see what I could figure out. Sure enough, there is a large gap in between the collector where it goes from 2-1 and becomes one single pipe. The gap is about the width of a dime, so definatly the noise I was hearing. The gap is only on a portion of the flange, so I assume a new gasket should fix the problem...

Also, I changed the fuel filter, and the truck seems to start right up everytime now. I havent been able to drive it because I awaiting the delivery of a tire I had to order so it has been sitting on jacks for a couple of weeks.

While working on the truck I also discovered something new. I noticed that the corner of the valve cover near the firewall on the passenger side was leaking a bit of oil. I checked the bolt and it was easily turnable with my hand. I tightened it with a rachet pretty tight, but not as tight as I could go. I noticed that all the bolts on both valve covers were pretty loose and tightened them up a bit as well. However, the manual says that they should be tightened up to 52 inch pounds and I used a torque wrench and the wrench would never click to indicate I had reached 52 inch pounds. I could literally turn and turn a bolt and it would never click. I know valve cover bolts shouldnt be turned too tight to avoid cover cracking(atleast that was the case on some other vehicles I have worked on...). Any thoughts or ideas on this one?

bigbadktm

well its nice that you found out where that sound is coming from. mine is a 98 2wd with 160k on it and it makes that horrible anytime i start until i drive for about 5min. the most annoying sound ever, but then it goes away. but if i go into the store and come back, its back. im gonna have to check that connection too.

CaptainZ

Well I got back under the truck last night and for the life of me I couldnt get the bolt to turn on those studs. I had been coating them with wd-40 for a couple of days, and I still couldnt get them to even turn a tiny bit. Any thoughts or suggestions?

bigbadktm

a breaker bar?? but chances are that would snap those bolts

CaptainZ

Well, I took the truck to an exhaust shop and he checked the spots where I felt it was leaking and he confirmed it. I didnt have time for them to fix it for me however, so the noise continues.

On the flip side, I think I have found some additional problems. The truck seems to have a bit of a shimy to it when I am going faster than 70mph. I seems to be coming from the rear and causes a vibration that I can feel in the seats. I am wondering if its cause the other day I greased the zerks on the rear driveshaft and it literally took like 15 pumps and even then I didnt see any excess grease coming out the bushings. As I was pumping the grease in, it made a creaking, almost metallic groaning sound, and the truck even seemed to move a bit as I did it. I stopped because of this.....DID I FUBAR MY TRUCK????

And lastly, the fuel filter did not cure my starting problem. It has a new battery, new starter, fuel system cleaner run through, and now a new fuel filter. I still have to pump the gas pedal to get it to start which leads me to believe its fuel related. I have even occassionaly heard some knocking/pinging when I get above 3k rpms in the lower gears. I dont think my truck is getting enough fuel and possibly not enough air as well.

FOR THE LOVE CAN SOMEONE PLEASE OFFER SOME ASSISTANCE

SoCal80

Not sure if you have resolved this yet but I had a similiar issue recently and changed out my plugs and wires and distributor and it helped greatly!!

Let us know if you have resolved the problem.

Froggy93

If you are still having problems, check your mass air flow sensor. It is screwed to the intake tubing just behind the air box with two screws. take a light and look down inside of it. Their should be nothing on the wires. if you do find fuzzies on the wires, take some electrical contact cleaner or some sort of cleaner that leaves no residue when it dries, and spray it lightly onto the wires. then blow it out with low pressure air. BE CAREFUL. if you use to high a pressure, you will break the wire and ruin the sensor. I work at a toyota dealer and have seen several dirty mass air flow sensors cause hard starting. They can usually be cleaned but it is not a gauranteed fix. The sensor is a couple hundred bucks. let me know if you have questions. hope this helps.

CaptainZ

Okay,

I still havent been able to fix the starting issue. New battery, starter, plugs and wires, and still does it. I am getting a puff of white smoke when it first starts up. It will only do it in the morning when it has been sitting all night or for a day or two.

Also I seem to have yet another problem. The seems to vibrate and shake a bit at certain speeds. Usually does it between 20-35mph and 60-70mph. At those speeds it does whether I am accelerating or decelerating.(Comes from the rear of the vehicle) I have put three different sets of tires on and two different sets of wheels on. I have done 3 alignments, had the wheels and tires balanced 3 times, and as you can tell from my first post, I have replaced MANY suspension components. I also recently had the driveshaft checked and he said that it seemed fine with minimal play and appeared to be properly weighted.....

So I crawled back under there the other day to see if there was anything that looked out of place. The only thing that I think looks odd are the leaf springs. First off, the very bottom leaf is skewed....In such a way that it doesnt sit parallel with the other leaves. It has turned a little sideways from the rest. Also, it seems to be missing a leaf because the clamp that holds the leave pack together looks like you could fit another leaf spring on the pack. And that same clamp looks like its in the wrong spot. Its up near the bushings...Plus the bushings themselves seem to be very worn. Any time I go over something like a speed bump, the front takes it very soft but the rear feels like I have no suspension at all....

This truck is really starting to bug me

CJM

My old camry ran 100% and always had a puff of white smoke at start up, it burnt a bit of oil though. Whatda want for 150k though..

Have your tires balanced, look for a place that has a hunter tire model #GSP9700 road force balance with a Haweka adapter. Toyota wheels are what they call lugcentric, this means that they balance out on the lug studs-all other wheels are mostly hub centric, they sit on the hubs. You want to find a place with the hunter tire machine that can do a road force balance-it puts load on the tires when balancing them. This is part your problem...

Also when mounting tires there is a little dot on the sidewall, thats the heavy or light spot and is supposed to be lined up with the valve stem. Check your tires if it isnt thats part of the problem. Also check to see how many weights are the tires, if they have 3 of them in 3 different places check the tire without any on. The moron who balanced them didnt do it right...

Balancing tires on a yota is a PITA

As for the rear suspension, sounds like you need new leafs and or shocks. If the leafs are loose like that I would take it to yota and a good dealer at that. You may need new busings and leafs and probably u bolts. How badly are the shocks worn could be another factor.

CaptainZ

I will have to check on the dot thing as I dont have the truck with me(it sits in front of my house now a days). The last time I had the tires balanced, they put three weights on the rear tires, and the weights are all together.

As for the shocks, one of the first things I had replaced was the shocks. They are monroe brand(Kinda crappy if you ask me), but I had a big-O tire place put them on as I didnt have time to do it myself, even though I could have gotten nicer ones for cheaper.

The leaf springs arent loose, or atleast I cant budge them at all. I dont know how the bottom one got turned a bit, but I cant move it back.

CJM

3 weights all together sounds like the wheel is now out of balance by alot. I highly suggest you check into that tire machine and adapter I talked about.

CaptainZ

Okay. I took the truck back and asked them to use the adapter to rebalance my wheels. I am wondering if they only did the rear wheels because that is where I told them I was feeling the vibration. Anyway, they redid them with the adapter, and it made it slightly better. It eliminated 1 weight off of each rear wheel. I can still feel the vibration though. I may just have to ditch the toyota wheels and sell the tires(bought them used, and I guess its possible that its the tires.....)

And one one of my other nagging issues. I failed to mention one thing about my starting problem. It hardly ever just starts on its own. I have to crank the key AND constantly push on the gas pedal to make it start. Any suggestions? I think it has something to do with not getting enough fuel....

Oh, and I had a Toyota Tech check my leaf springs and he said that the way they are positioned is perfectly normal...So I guess its not them.

CJM

It maybe cheap tires, take it back and make them balance all 4 tires and see if it improves. The tires may have flat spots or heavy spots..what kinda tires are they?

It wouldnt make sense you have to push the gas pedal down, in a FI car you dont pump the gas pedal to get gas into the engine like you would if the engine was carbed. My guess is something is wrong with the fuel system,. fuel pump, injectors, maybe a sensor of some sort-why not take it to autozone or somewhere for a scan?

CaptainZ

Tires are Big-O(Tire Kingdom in some parts of the Country) Brand all terrain tires.

The car absolutly will not start if it has sat more than 3-4hrs, regardless of how many times I try and crank it over. However, as soon as I start to pump the gas pedal while cranking, you can hear the engine sputter to try and start and then will fire up....But again, I can only get it to start by pumping the gas pedal.

misterzee

Cold start injector working??? check the connector, check the injector.

CJM

Never heard of those tires, cheap tires arent made well and thus have heavy of flat spots..I would try having them all balanced and if that dont fix it buy some better stuff. I want the yokohama geolanders next.

I would def check the injectors out and again, have it scanned.

RETRO

Sounds like a vapor lock