skestral

Hey.. I've had my 4runner for a number of months now and haven't done anything major to it.. I've gone a winter in the snow with it and it's been fine.

Recently my brake and battery light have been coming on and off and random times, I guess my alternator is going out now.

I don't really know much about engines beyond a basic knowledge of where things are. My engine is clearly not in the best shape.. I should probably just take it into a shop and have them deal with it, but I'd like to try to fix it for myself. There are few things I've noticed..

1. I leak oil and burn it. I'm assuming it's burning as it hits hot metal. There's a pretty constant smell of burnt oil in the engine after I run it.. I think there are multiple spots that oil is coming from, but one of them is from the engine itself, the case where the spark plugs are? Somewhere near there, it seems like oil was coming through the seal? I don't really know how to tackle something like that beyond just taking stuff apart and seeing what it looks like inside. Though, that doesn't sound like the safest idea..

2. My sunroof came off it's track, I guess. It just make a pop one day and now it won't move with the motor.. I can manually move it and the motor works.. But I haven't been able to find any help about how to fix it, just suggestions of a body shop.

3. My rear window didn't work, then I went in and cleaned the relays and now it works fine, but then my wiper stopped working.. I'm not sure where the relay is for it or what I can do to fix it.. Also, there's a spray nozzle for the rear window.. But it never worked. I'm not sure where to look for it's motor or a rear resevior?

4. My ABS light never turns off, I knew the abs system in it is probably junk. I'm just not sure how to disable the sensor.. Taking the fuse out didn't help =\

5. I have terrible acceleration, always have.. I know 4runners are supposed to have bad acceleration.. But mine is pretty bad until it gets warmed up. I always need to rev my engine to 3000rpm to get it moving and it seems to struggle to do that... just kinks of an old motor? Is there something that can be cleaned or..?

6. I just moved down to San Diego from Lake Tahoe a month ago and noticed that my gas mileage in went from 220 miles a tank (15 gal) in Tahoe to about 160 miles a tank in San Diego.. Is that really the difference the bit of stop and go of a city makes or is it a filter or some other issue?

Those are the issues I've had with it after the few months I've had it, it doesn't seem like much, or maybe it is..

Once I get all that fixed up, i'm going to gear it up for my move up to Alaska, but it's a long drive and I'd like to be more comfortable with my engine.

Thanks

Sav

Tubbyfatty

you could fix your alt yourself if you have tools and kinda know what your doing. Its not that hard, just unplug your battery and take a lot of pics.

5. sounds like your thermostat is open all the time. So coolent warms up slowly. So you might need a new one of those.

As for the rest of your questions, i have no idea. Taking it to a shop will cost you alot of money. Alot more then you want to spend.

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

Alternator:
- http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/mainte...nator_brushes/

Rear window/wiper:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...arWindow.shtml

Ardent

I can probably answer #6. The answer is yes, it can fluctuate that much. I moved across town recently and my speed on the way to work went from an average of 35-40 mph to 50-55 mph and my mpg went from 13 to 15. But now that it's getting cold out, it's dropping back to 13. These engines seems to be very picky about things like temp and speed. I'm also at 6500 ft., which doesn't help any.

Now that all of that's been said, I hope you have the 3.0L. If you don't, disregard this post.

abecedarian

you didn't say which engine- 22re (4cyl) or 3vze (v6)?

1) valve cover gasket(s)?
2) http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/1990-1995...e/moonroof.pdf
3) follow 4Crawler for this as well as the alternator
4) take it to the shop- the ABS has testing and repair procedures most people cannot easily do at home
5) likely the thermostat as mentioned above. however you didn't say if yours is an automatic or stickshift...?
6) do a basic tune up- plugs, wires, cap, rotor, etc., maybe the fuel filter. also, could be related to #5

space-junk

iTrader: (1)

could number 5 have something to do with the cold start injector?

scuba

Doubt it...Its only a Cold START injector...
If it was stuck open, It probably wouldnt have bad acceleration like OP said...

Are you still getting cable through an antennae ?

space-junk

iTrader: (1)

what does that mean?

and, i know taht the cold start injector is for starting purposes, but i was under the assumption that it keeps pumping until the truck is at operating temp...

abecedarian

it only operates while cranking the engine. I found that out a few weeks ago. had to double check some wiring diagrams. but on many vehicles it does operate until the engine is up to a certain temp (like vw/bosch cis-e).