Comedan03

I'm pretty sure I've pin-pointed the problem with my 4Runner, but figured I'd ask you guys before I officially decide to just call it quits with this rig.

It's a 1990 4Runner with the 22re, I bought it for a winter beater while my car is in storage. Bought it for only $300 because the person I bought it from couldn't get it running.

It will start up no problem, run fine for about 5-6 seconds, then the idle starts to drop and it will die out. The more times it starts, the longer it runs, and after starting it a few times, I can get it to stay running for about 20 seconds before it dies, and if I keep giving it gas, around half throttle, it'll stay going but wont go passed 3500rpm and it runs like crap, sputters and misses like crazy.

So I fired it up and pulled the plug wires off one by one, and when I pull the #2 wire off, it doesn't change at all, and same thing with the #3 wire, pulling off #1 and #4 will kill it right away. Switched the wires, and switched the plugs, and the problem stays the same. Haven't had a chance to get a comp. done on the cylinders yet.

Parts that have been replaced recently (That I'm aware of).
- Fuel pump
- Fuel filter
- Intake mani
- Fuel lines
- TB cleaned
- Fuel rail

So to me that sounds like I have 2 burnt valves. Which sucks, but I'm only into the truck for $300 so it's not the end of the world if that's what it is. But like I said, I figured I would get your guys' opinions on it before I decide to just scrap the truck and move on.

millball

Do a compression check, but adjust the valves first.

bbrideau

It could be burnt valves. Or you have the same problem i had only mine was between #1 and #2. The head gasket could have failed between the two cylinders resulting in just loss of compression in the 2 cylinders no coolant or oil loss/mixing because it only failed between cylinders. Compression test will tell you pretty quick, they should have almost exact same pressure in the 2 of them, a leak down test will be far more accurate in telling you if its rings valves or head gasket tho. Either way your doing a head gasket, very simple and easy to do on the 22re. Fel pro sells gasket kit for like 100 bucks, Don't go cheap on the head gasket, Toyota is your best bet on the head gasket, i used a Fel Pro and have had no issues at all. I wouldn't scrap the truck over a head gasket by any means. The truck is worth more than what you paid for it even with blown head. Fix it drive it love it or Part it out and make much more money back than what u paid.

osv

a cheap vacuum gauge plugged into the intake plenum will show valve problems.

the needle shouldn't hardly move at idle; i believe that a bad valve will make the needle spike regularly.

Comedan03

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll get a comp. test and whatnot done tomorrow but either way, chances are that whatever it is, wont be fixed.

I don't have the money for any major fixes, and thanks to my garage being broken into recently, I don't have the tools to do any major fixes

Comedan03

Just sitting here thinking and could the problem possibly be in the distributor cap? Or the injectors for those particular cylinders?

osv

doubtful that two injectors would fail at the same time, but since we are talking long shots here, the more likely scenario might be a wiring harness problem.

the millball advice to check the valve clearances was good, be sure and do it... if the valve(s) is hung open because it's out of adjustment, it'll eventually burn, if it hasn't already.

Gamefreakgc

Check valve clearances first, it's easy to do on a 22RE. However, valves out of adjustment won't make it stall, just idle real bad (experience).

You might have some vacuum leaks large enough to make it stall out. I'd do this next, it's cheap and easy and will rule it out entirely if it checks out fine. You might have to blip the throttle a bit from the engine side since it won't stay running.

Comedan03

Got some good news today, maybe lol

Did a comp. test tonight, somewhat. My battery was stone dead from trying to start it so I had to try to boost it while doing the test.

#1 cylinder had 120
#2 had 120
#3 had 90 but due to the battery it wasn't turning over as fast
#4 had 60-70 but again, by this point the battery was back to being nearly dead

I'm redoing the test tonight once my father brings his truck and good cables over. But just the fact that #2 cylinder had 120 and that was one of the cylinders I was worried about, is good news. And I'm thinking the #3 cylinder would have been around the same with a fully charged battery.

bbrideau

120 is to low of compression. Did u hold the throttle open all the way while cranking? Did u pull all 4 plugs out while checking compression?

RJR

Depends on where he lives. If he's in Denver 120 is about right.

Comedan03

I've never heard anyone say that 120 is too low for compression. Everyone I've ever talked to on the subject over the years has always said the same thing, anything under 90-100 is too low. And I live in Nova Scotia, in Canada

I did the test right, I'm sure of that much, I've done a few of them over the years.

Comedan03

Issue still isn't resolved. I've checked nearly everything I can think of at this point.

- Checked valve clearance
- Compression is good
- Fuel pump is good
- Fuel filter is good
- TB is good
- Plugs and wires all firing
- Cap is good
- Brand new EFI relay
- Tested the injectors with a noid light and got power to all 4

It's running better now, and I've barely done anything, most just cleaned things up. The truck will idle on it's own now, it just isn't running very well, not good enough to drive, as soon as I try to move it, it starts to sputter to stall.

It would be strange for 2 injectors to go at the same time. It also has NGK Platinum spark plugs in it, and I've read that the platinums aren't exactly the best thing for these engines and can cause some issues. So I think I'm going to order a set of OEM plugs and try it. It's probably not that, but at this point, I think it's worth a shot at least.

Could a vacuum leak cause problems at just those 2 cylinders?

Comedan03

After a LONG process of trial and error, I believe the problem has been solved.

Been saying all along how rare it would be for 2 injectors to fail/clog at the exact same time, well they did.

Started out this morning by replacing the NGK Platitnum plugs with NGK V Powers, and that didn't do it. Then I pulled the valve cover to inspect the timing chain and guides, they were all good, however I did find a plastic wire loom clip someone must've dropped inside at some point, so that is probably the rattle I heard.

Then after all of that I decided it was time to really check the injectors. So I pulled the intake manifold and all that jazz, unbolted the fuel rail, tried turning the truck over and got no gas coming from those 2 injectors, pulled them off and sure enough, both of them were clogged full of dirt, with dirt in the fuel rail. So I cleaned them all up and blew out the injectors and rail as best I could with a compressor. I'm assuming the dirt got in there from it sitting for the last 2 years, low on gas, sucking up lots of gunk and dirty gas.

I haven't put everything back together yet, but I'm 99% positive that's the problem.

Gamefreakgc

Yeah, that would do it.

If you can, change your fuel filter. It's obviously not doing its job since you should not have dirt that far upstream.

Comedan03

It was already changed. It had a brand new fuel filter put on by the PO before I bought it. That was one of the things he tried.

But I got everything put back together and the problem is completely gone. There's a vacuum leak somewhere, but it wasn't there before, so I'm assuming it's just a line I forgot to hook back up. Other than that, it's running like a top.