I’ve been trying to figure out this issue for a while now but can’t seem to get any straight answers on it, for some reason unknown to me, my 91’ Surf (I live in New Zealand) runs terribly when cold (shutting off, no throttle response, anywhere between 100-600rpm) and then idles high when warm, I’ve replaced the spark plugs, ignition leads and cleaned the distributor, was wondering if anyone had any ideas who know more about these engines than I do?

 

First, welcome aboard.
Post as much info about your vehicle as you can. Engine info, etc. NZ and AU got a lot more variants on some models than we saw in the States.
And relevant mods are nice to know about, too.
Did this problem slowly come on and get progressively worse?

 

Thanks good to be here! Yeah so it’s a 91’ Hilux surf SSR Limited Auto, it’s completely stock other than extended travel rear shocks, 31 inch mud tires And I have just replaced the transmission because the old one just stopped working, it’s got a 3VZE, and a A340H Trans, it’s always had a rough time idling, but yeah way worse over time (idle was bad before the trans swap)

 

Well, that’s pretty identical to our version. I’d probably start with getting compression readings at all cylinders.
i assume base timing has been set and the distributer adjusting bolt is somewhat in the center of the slot. If not let us know. Not being centered is often a clue.
Ive posted on how to set the TPS using a timing light, that might be worth doing. Set correctly it too should be somewhat centered in the adjusting slot.
The plugs and wireset you got are either Denso or NGK?

 

So here in Nz it’s pretty much impossible to source parts here, the v6 ones are really uncommon, mostly diesels over these ways, so I couldn’t get any branded wires for it, had to be custom made, silicon outer ‘high performance inner’ as they called it, but yeah I’ll get that dizzy and compression checked out asap and see where that leads me, also any tips on how to get to the rear most spark plugs easier? from my experience they have been a pain. I’ll give an update on the outcome once I check thanks )

 

So I pulled the dizzy cap, accidentally ripped the coil to dizzy ignition lead so that’s a new problem that I’ve got to deal with, butttt looking like I might need a new distributor, the contacts are worn right down to the cap, so probably not making good contact so bad spark, bad fuel burn as well as they were corroded as hell, as well as the distributor cap seal is gone and looks like it has been for a while now, not surprised I am the 9th owner of this vehicle. Under the dizzy cap on the actual dizzy is rusted and all the connections are corroded so now I have the fun of trying to find a new one, all parts that I can find so far are coming from the us, so big shipping and customs fees, but on the plus side, looks like I’ve found 😂 I love this car