3.0 cranks, does not start
 

Good morning,

As I type this my 1993, 3.0, manual, 4Runner sits on the side of the road waiting to get a parking ticket. The back story goes as follows;
About a month ago I was driving and as I slowed for a red light the engine sputtered and died. The engine would crank but did not catch. AAA got it back up to my house and since then I have been teased with it starting after I did a few things.
First I pulled the battery, charged it and the engine caught for a few seconds.
I pulled my fuel filter hoping that was clogged but this changed nothing. Replaced the spark plugs, which produced about 60 seconds of running motor. It died and went right back to the crank over with no catching.
I pulled fuses and checked them.
I pulled an ancient alarm system and cleaned up the hack job that they did under the dashboard.
I replaced the ignition coil after it was deemed to not show the right resistance. This produced the desired effect of starting the vehicle and idling nicely. I pulled in and out of my driveway a few times. Felt fairly confident. Backed out to the point of no return (I live on a steep hill, no more pushing it back into the driveway) and wouldn't you know it, does its death sputter and there it sits. :bang:

I have reached the end of my rope. I am ready to tie it into a noose and hang the 4Runner. :pop:

Any advice would be appreciated. How far can the starter be used to move a vehicle? Seems to me uphill and across the street might be far but I ask those in the know? Would be a shame to have to get a tow truck for about 30 - 40 feet of movement.

Looking forward to suggestions on what to look for next.
-tim

I have a hunch... try this:

Find your diagnostic connector under the hood. Passenger side, beside your fuse/relay box.

Open that connector. You'll find the pin markings on the bottom of the lid.

Use a paper clip, or short wire, and jump "B" to "FP". That will supply 12V positive to your fuel pump - regardless of what the MAF or Circuit Opening Relay is doing. The pump has a constant ground, and will run whenever this jumper is in place. Try and start the truck. If good, drive home and PM me. Of no-go, post up.

I will do that. I jumped this connection (and should have posted such) and I did hear the pump running. I did not try to start it however. I have about 4 more hours here at work and will post my results when I get home.

Thanks for responding Noltz, hopefully your hunch will get me back into my driveway.

-tim

We need the 3 basics; Fuel, Compression, and Spark at the right time. If you've jumped the pump and it's not even trying, I doubt it's a fuel issue... unless the injectors are not getting their signal for some reason. You can verify by spraying some quick-start fluid (Ether, Starting Fluid) down the intake and see if it coughs. Compression we'll assume is ok, given that it sporadically runs just fine (compression can't disappear and come back!). So we're down to Spark. The ignition system is rather complex and hard to diagnose over the net, but I'll giv'er a try with ya.

Pull a spark plug... make sure you're not flooding first.

Then check for spark. You can use a proper tester, or a screwdriver up the plug wire and hold it a half inch from the rocker (or other ground source). Have a helper turn it over. DON'T lean on the truck.... :) You know why!! The ignitor boxes on Toys are rather weak, so you may have a problem with it.

Get back to us...

I am home now and collected one parking ticket:pissed: Stupid city.

Jumping the connectors, with ignition on, I hear the fuel pump running. The engine will crank but does not start. Once I have it in my garage, and my assistant gets home, I will post about the spark. I previously have checked it by sparking against the header and there appeared to be spark. Not sure if there is a way to check it is firing in the right order. I failed to mention that I have changed the distributor cap and rotor with no effect.

Could a faulty oxygen sensor cause this problem? I had my catalytic converter stolen and put on a magnaflow about 500 miles ago. I would be surprised if an O2 sensor could foul up the air:fuel ratio that much.

Tomorrow my friend will be bringing over his 3.0 pick-up truck so I will have operating parts to test any theories. ECU, MAF, ect ect ect. Is there a way to test that my wires are all good? I looked for any obvious nicks or abrasions and did not see any. I have never been good with electrical demons.

Help of any kind is appreciated. Hell even a good laugh would help me out right now.

Slainte,
-tim

have you checked the intake from manifold to filter. and mass air flow censor. if everything is not tight sometimes it wont start. i also have a 3.0. and have had similar problems.

I have not checked those items yet Swapped89. I will take your advice right after i get some food in my gut. Fingers crossed that it is the cause of my woes.

-tim

when my 3.0 timing belt started to fail, it did the same as yours. when it finally gave out, it never ran again until i replaced the belt. apparently, when it first started acting up, it skipped two teeth on the belt and ran for a while until it finally stripped a number of adjacent teeth and got completely out of time. check your tdc marks and ensure you're at tdc on #1 cylinder. sometimes when the tensioner is going out, there is enough slack in the timing belt to allow jumping out of time even with a healthy timing belt. hope this helps.

Thanks Coma. I will check for that. I have been in to the front of the engine and it is not where I want to venture again. But you have a valid point and it should be checked off the list. The belt and water pump were done within the last 10K miles, but that was by me so ... Yup I should check I did not screw it up.

Updates will come soon. Tonight became more about :drink: (except with out the smiley face) than it should have. Little too tipsy to look under the hood tonight. My excuse and I am sticking to it. Thanks for the suggestions and I will put them into the "to do list".

-tim

Case closed, finally.

I had my buddy with his timing gun under the hood as I cranked the engine. As I was sitting there I noticed the wire from the ignitor to the distributor was arching to throttle cable. Swapped that out and the thing is running like a champ again. Took me a while to track it down the problem, but it could have been a lot longer had I not been lucky and seen the spark. Funny thing is I checked all the wires but failed to notice the tiniest of cracks. So goes life.


-tim

edit- nevermind, saw you fixed it.

good deal.

Had a very similar issues on a '90 when I worked at the Toyota dealer. Truck would stall when downshifted into 3'rd on a downhill (engine braking), or when put into reverse. Turns out the crank position sensor wire had rubbed through on the P/S hose, shorting the CKP signal, but only when the engine was torqued over in the bay.