Ok, I have a buddy here who has a '90 4runner with 3.0 that won't start. It blew the timing belt on his way out of town and so replaced that and in the process the coil and the wires. It ran great for a bit then the next day it wouldn't start again and he narrowed it down to the distributer and after a new one it still wouldn't start. So need some suggestions. Almost every time we turn it over it sounds different. Sometimes it sounds like it is fireing well and can hear it trying to catch and others it just turns over like all the plugs are out. Need suggestions as soon as possible. thanks

 

do u have spark and have u checked that after replacing the dist. are u sure the timing of it is correct and has not moved. that is where i would start, use a timing light and see where the timing is,

 

Got spark, got fuel, new distributer is in the exact spot the old was. Another mechanic said the timing belt slipped? Could be I guess. Most of the time when you turn it over it sounds like there is no compression. So I guess that might explain it?

 

I'm curious how he narrowed it down; it sure looks like he was wrong.

Fuel, air, spark. If it "ran fine for a while" it is not likely to be the timing belt (you can put them on wrong, but it's very hard for one to slip.) Check compression anyway; it's easy to do. Check timing, WITH A TIMING LIGHT. I'm sure that you put the new distributor in correctly, but you can't check it by eye. Are the plug wires going to the right plugs? Are the plugs "wet" when you remove them (showing fuel in the cylinder)?

 

yeah could be a slipped timing belt, are all ur grounds good on the motor? one on driver side off head to finder wall and another on intake manifold to rear fire wall. if there not hooked up it wont start too, check those then i would check timing, pull cap off and see if its turning the rotor, then line up the crank on #1 and see if the dist. is on the right spot with the cap.

 

Lol, ya he was. In all the trying this and trying that he put in a new distributer. Another mechanic has the rig right now, My buddy needs to get home and is tired of dealing with it. So we'll see if he can fix it. Pretty sure the grounds are hooked up, they were not messed with so...

 

Ok, fixed. That mechanic got it running and my friend is home. So for further reference, if your engine has bad compression and sounds like an electric motor instead of what it should sound like, there's a really good chance your timing belt slipped or is off a tooth or two.

 

That was surprising...is the 3.0 and 3.4 both non-interference engines?
I am a 22 RE guy but thinking of moving up.

 

3vz is non-interference, 5vz is interference.

 

Does the 5vz use belts or chains for timing? I'm guessing belt. They ought to use gears like they do in aircraft!