NG Crawler

I was driving down the road today when my 4runner suddenly started to lose power, felt like it waas running out of gas. I pushed the gas and nothing happened the rpm needle just went down and I had to stomp the gas pedal just to get the engine to barely rev up. Like i said it was acting just like it would if I were ruinning out of gas. I had to stop cause the vehicle cut off. No check engine light no over heating, nothing. I tried to crank it several times and again just couldnt get it to idle for long. Then I quit and tried calling my wife and my cell phone dies. Just my luck! So i wait just a couple of minutes and I try to crank it and it cranks right up. So I drive home and it didn't act up all the way home! WTF??? Does anyone know what the hell this might be? Injectors,fuel pump,fuel filter???? Im just confused. I noticed a couple of times earlier in the week a little hesitation when I got into the gas but Im not a mechanic so FCK IT. What does this sound like to you fella's?

Jdizzydub

MAF,TPS,Injectors?, or bad o2 sensor..my guess is the o2

kevin444

that happened to me. once, it was just lack of gas haahah.

NG Crawler

But wouldn't the o2 sensor turn the check engine light on.???

twitchee2

Sounds very similar to what happened to my 96. If i got on it really hard and revved up the 5k and then got caught at a light and didnt keep the gas pedel in and it just stalled. If wasnt getting enough gas. My fuel filter was clogged replaced that and havnt had a proble sense. It also happened one night when i was just cruising at ~70 it just lost power and shut off. It would keep running if i kept rpms about 2k and it seemed just fine. Good luck

ltbulldog23

I had the exact same thing happen to my '97 and it was the fuel filter. When it had a little time to sit it would allow enough gas to get through to run fine for a few minutes, then it would get starved again. Replace the filter, if that doesn't solve things I'd check to make sure the fuel pump is working.

NG Crawler

I will try that. The fuel filter... not the maf?

4biker

Every problem I've ever had with hesitation ended up being an ignition problem - usually bad plug wires. They may be getting hot and arc-ing so you're not getting good spark. After cooling a few minutes they won't arc so bad so it'll start back up. The harder you get on the gas the harder it is to spark. That's my experience for what it's worth.

Jdizzydub

Yeah I guess you are right mine did it after an intake instal and i had replaced both o2's already so didn't think it was that...but actually it was a crappy o2! My Runner would hesitate and stutter, you had to floor it and it would kick out. The light would come and go. Actually, originally I was gonna say bad gas!!---but that could mean fuel filter..like said before, it's an easy fix and plugs are not that hard to check either to rule those out! Good Luck

NG Crawler

Where is the fuel pump on a 3rd gen 4runner? Please god tell me it's not in the gas tank!

Ringmaster

You nailed it, Fuel pump is in the tank.

NG Crawler

So what do you guy think it is? fuel filter? maf? fuel pump? plugs and wires? I am confused and I dont want to change out all the things. ahhhhhhhh

4biker

I know I said earlier it may be plugs & wires, but if it seems like it's running out of gas, go with that. I had an old S-10 blazer that would run fine for a few minutes and die the next. It turned out to be the fuel pump (also in the gas tank). My earlier post about ignition was regarding more the problem of hesitation (without out-right stalling). Also, keep in mind that a 10-year-old truck is entitled to have more than one problem. You obviously hope it's only one thing, but you never know. I don't know - go with what you think is best first, and go down the list if you're wrong. Good luck!

iholla

How many miles on your Runner?

I would go with some of the cheaper obvious things--Fuel Filter and Plugs, also clean your MAF sensor (very easy to do) for a start and go from there!

twitchee2

I 2nd the cheap option, fuel filter and plugs are a good idea, if that doesnt fix it try other things. you are going to have to replace the filter and plugs eventually might as well do it now.

NG Crawler

It did it that once yesterday and now its not doing it. Beats the hell out of me. It just did it that one time. Huh bad gas maybe?

twitchee2

when mine did it, i was too lazy to go change the filter and waited like 6mo after the first time it did it. It happened like every month or 2 and the dealer couldnt recreate it when i took it in be for i knew as much (not that much) as i do now.

Adam F

I'd go ahead and replace fuel filter and plugs. It's regular maintenance anyways.

CLEANSR5

This happened to me, and i just needed to clean my MAF and bingo, problem solved.

Man4God

Well, I have a 97 and it was running what seemed to be a little sluggish. Just didn't feel alive. Never wanted to rev very high and always seemed liked it wanted to short shift into every gear.

Went and got some Seafoam. Sucked it in through the brake booster and let it sit for a half hour. Fired it up and it ran like a champ after the smoke was gone. Went back out the next morning and did a cold start. No more shaking from the engine. Now it cruises at a lower RPM on the highway too for the same speed it used to go. Very interesting result.

I say clean the MAF, check your plugs, unplug the battery for a half hour and Seafoam it and see what happens.