Firefightersink15

Ok I have read other posts on here and I am at a complete loss because I feel like I have covered all the bases and nothing seems to help. I have an 86 4Runner, sr5, 22re, that had around 327k on it when I had it pulled and rebuilt. The block was bored 30 over, crank polished,new Pistons/rings. The head was reworked, and all clearances were within spec. Since I was spending the money I didn't see any point in putting on old parts so I put all these on new:

NGK plugs
Plug wires
Distributor cap
Rotary button
Oil pump
Water pump
Timing chain
Timing chain cover
Fuel filter
Fuel pump
Exhaust pipe from manifold to converter

When I got the motor back and had it put in the truck it ran fine and had pretty good power. It was showing a check engine light on the dash and I called the place I had the motor put in and was told that it was nothing they just forgot to clear the codes before I got it and was told how to clear them. I did so however the light came right back on and so I checked the codes and it was showing 3 codes but was running fine. The three codes were:

Throttle position sensor
Knock sensor
Water temperature sensor

I called the place back and they told me that as long as it was running fine not to worry about the codes that if any of those were actually bad or causing a problem it wouldn't run right. So since I'm not a mechanic I took them for their word and drove it as it's just a spare vehicle for me and a hunting/beach/bad weather vehicle.

I drove for 500 miles and changed the oil as instructed with no issues. After a total of maybe 1000 miles put on it started to develop an occasional skip/popping sound through exhaust. I called the mechanic back and he said he was tied up and couldn't get to it for a couple weeks. I continued to drive it and couldn't ever get the problem to occur at specific times. There wasn't a certain rpm range or anything that I could figure out to be able to recreate the problem routinely. After putting about 1500 miles on it and still not able to get up with the mechanic to get it looked at he offered me opinions for troubleshooting the problem and suggested that I may have trash in the fuel filter.

Since the rebuild I have only ran BP 93 octane through it. I replaced the fuel filter with no change. That was the last time I was able to contact the mechanic since then he has become a ghost. My problem went from bad to worse and after about 2000 miles on it total it's now to the point that it is not drivable. I went back to the code issue and decided to replace all 3 sensors. I replaced the water temp sensor with no success, went to replace the knock sensor and found that there wasn't even one on the motor just an open hole and a plug hanging so put in a new one and still no change, and then put on a TPS and had it set and the timing checked and still no change.

I'm at my wits end here. I have been trying to chase down a ghost and for 6 months now I have had a useless vehicle. I can crank it up and it idles perfectly fine, I can even rev the motor and it revs fine with no misfire studder or anything. Go to take off however and as soon as it gets a load on it the sputtering/studder/misfire starts and if you're lucky you can get it out of first gear and into second but it stumbles so bad you can't get it going enough to get out of second. I'm at a loss and looking for help please!

scope103

Yeesh! You may have been taken for a ride. (Who forgets to install the knock sensor when they install a very expensively rebuilt engine?) But you've come to the right place!

What codes do you have now? If you have code 52, that will certainly account for your current driveability problems. (It means the ECU hasn't "heard from" the knock sensor.) Most likely a bad connector wire. Of course, other codes are there for a reason; we need to know them!

Firefightersink15

Actually since I replaced the sensors I no longer have any codes which further complicates the situation because obviously replacing the sensors fixed the codes but had no effect on the running.

wallytoo

iTrader: (1)

agree with you about being taken for a ride, however, can the '86 have a Code 52? the '87 only has Codes up to 13 or 14 (non-turbo vs turbo).

to OP. sounds similar to how a lot of these 22re trucks run. for a simple system, there are too many complications. your symptoms could (emphasis on could, not are) be lean misfire. i'm in the same boat, although no rebuild (low miles, good compression, no oil consumption). new NGK plugs, brand new toyota plug wires & cap, brand new toyota TPS & AFM, new oem pulse damper, new oem pressure regulator, new toyota fuel filter, new denso fuel pump (although my pumps suck, i'm on the 4th one in two years), rewired the injector harness from the solenoid to the injectors, fresh rebuilt/cleaned injectors. and i'm still stuck with the crap misfire under load. doesn't happen "under the hood" by working the throttle plate, just when trying to accelerate. it also doesn't always happen. some days i get really good performance (strong, misfire-free acceleration), other days i get plenty of stumble. ambient temperature doesn't matter, and it hasn't rained here much this summer, so air has been very dry. oh, and i replaced the water temp sensor (next to the CSITS) & O2 sensor (because of consitent codes after resets, which haven't returned after replacement). verified the CSI & EGR work properly by testing according to FSM.

about 1 in 5 starts warm/hot are difficult, but cold/overnight it fires right up.

like OP, no codes. even tried a spare ECU. blah.

wally

Firefightersink15

I actually forgot about that as well it's been so long since it ran right. When it all started going downhill, I say in the last 500 miles of driving, I was having difficulty with warm/hot restarts. It wasn't every time however mine was more like 3 out of 5 starts were like it was flooded. I unhooked the cold start injector thinkin maybe it was malfunctioning and activating flooding it out however as everything else I've done it had no effect on anything. I'm so fed up with paying insurance and tags on a vehicle that's sitting here worthless that it's about to get a for sale sign on it and find another piece of junk to deal with if I can't get something figured out here. Unlike yours I don't have any good days mine does te misfire all the time under a load. I agree with you for such a simple system they are very temperamental and have a lot of these misfire problems that seem to be very difficult to trace down because I haven't read any 2 that were exactly the same or any 2 that had the same fix but they experience a lot of the same symptoms. The most difficult thing is knowing when to cut it loose and say enough is enough and find something else. Wishing I had just bought a reman engine or a used running engine now, I would have spent less than I have this route.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

The 85-87 injector connectors are a poor design. They are held on with a wire clip, I would guess the mechanic probably did not know the correct way to get them off and they get brittle and break off the end of the clip. I replace mine from Connector Fast and hear Rock Auto sells some to. That will cause them to miss fire off and on.

Check for vacuum leaks and that he got all the vacuum lines connected right.

wallytoo

iTrader: (1)

the injectors aren't the only poor design in these 22re engines/trucks. the list is pretty long.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

LOL^^^ I agree with you. When they are good, they are good but when one starts having issues they can be a handful. I am leaning to the 22r motor now.

Firefightersink15

does anyone think that it could possibly be the distributor itself? I replaced the cap and rotary. I had a friend suggest replacing the whole distributor and after seeing sticker shock on the price of a new one I thought I would ask on here before dropping that kind of money.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

What parts are you using? Part store? I get my cap, rotor and plugs at the dealer. Wires I get off of ebay. I have had part store plug wires to back out of the cap or just fail right out of the box.

I cant see it being the distributor myself unless it is mechanically bad. The two wires coming out of it, you can do a resistance check on it and see if it is in tolerance. I cant think of the name of that part at the moment. Also verify your Air Gap is correct between that part the 4 pointed star on the shaft.

Firefightersink15

Yes I have been using parts store parts, there isn't a dealership close by where I live.

AKHeathen

Start with an ecu reset. remove the battery cables ND tape together for half an hour then hook back up. this should reset the memory to new. from the sounds of things you might want to reset the base timing at this time too.... and get a new mechanic. That guy is no good.

wallytoo

iTrader: (1)

sadly, i am too.

Rapala

92 toyota 22re 4x4. engine stumble under load. newer rebuilt with 73,000 miles on it. just rebuilt tramsmission. had all new vacc. lines put on when rebuilt. have replaced maf. had tested all good. did all the tune up items & tested all good. had split in intake hose, replaced with new. new o2 sensors. swaped out intake did not fix. new & tested tps. no fix. removed fuel injectors ,tested all good. pulled cat all good. new fuel pump & filter no change.also had valves adjusted , not fixed. the tech. did find that my EGR tube was never screwed on when the motor was put in, so there has been a vacc. leak from the begining. what did that do to my valves over the last 2 years ??? scerwed that on tested the EGR. its all good , but what kinda damage did that do to my valves of the last 2 years ?? well taking it back in tomorrow to have them pull the head to find out . its my buddy's shop & he has been very good at working to find the problem over the last year & a half. i take very good care of my truck & do all the things needed to be done on a regular basis. this problem seems to be a thing with the 22re as i have read in tons of threads on the webb. i have yet to read a solution to the problem. is there anything i may have overlooked here ? all who reply thanks in advance. hope to get s much feedback as possible on this matter.

Rapala

also there is no check engine light on or codes popping up. since i replaced 02 sensor.

Rapala

this problem has been there from day 1 of new motor. im guessing it started with the EGR hose not being screwed on. it was sitting up against were it mounts up just not screwed on so when ever i put load on the engine it would be torked away from the EGR valve thus making a vacc leak for this whole time. but a code never popped up for it ever.the problem just got worse & worse over the course of almost 2 years. now the problem is real bad. i have to ride the clutch just to get going up a slight hill. but it will run perfect all the time if i slowley get going witch is way to slow, like may get rearended to slow. unedr witch should be normal acc. it spudders like crazy.

DCMatt

I've also got this problem on my '88 4Runner currently under restoration.

I've read upwards of 40 - 50 threads about this problem on various forums. Some solved. Some not. Some threads simply abandoned - I wish people would post if they find a fix.

A few things you didn't mention - fuel pressure reg, weak electrical connection to the fuel pump, rust inside the tank, damaged lines (kinked metal or degrading rubber).

Another non-fuel related possibility - poor grounds - especially from the block to the body or from the neg battery terminal to the body.

Please post if you get it fixed.

Thx DCM

Rapala

well my 92 22re is fixed. no more stumble with the engine . like you all i tryed everything you all tryed & more & nothing worked. not until i bought a new head, not a re-maned (new) HEAD. swaped it out & bingo no more engine stumble. I have not got through the head yet to check everything, but wile pulling the head noticed a few things, (a shop did the install) same shop different tech. tour it down. GREAT TECH. He gave me a step bye step of what he did & found while doing so. anyway the EGR metal tube was never scerwed on just sitting up against the mount so when the motor was tourked it created a vacc. leak form day 1 of getting my truck back with new motor, fixed that didn't help. my cat was not totally pluged but close. took cat off knocked everthing out put it back on, got more power but didn't fix it.replaced maf.sensor, tps.sensor, 02 sensor,coil & egnighter, plug wires cap rotor, found the intake hose had a crack along the bottom, replaced with new, forgot to mention i had all vacc. hoses replaced when the motor was put in. did a valve adjustment because it was due anyway having 75000.00 miles on the new rebuild. didn't fix the stumble. it wasen't untill i bought a new head & swaped it out for a brand new one the stumble stoped. this is what fixed mine. this may not be your problem & thats the reason for the long post. there are alot of things ive listed here you can try, starting with the least expensive things. im thinking with the vacc. leak at the EGR. i had from day one messed up my valves over time. my truck ran fine for the first year or so, it did have a barley noticable stumble for a long time & got worse over a 2 year period . it wasen't till just the last 2 mo. it got so bad it was pissen my off, so i told the shop i had enough of this I want the problem found & fixed now. so the hunt began.good luck with yours. my truck runs like a dream now. as it should with everything being new...lol.. not really...lol..HAPPY HUNTING..!