I am going to look at getting a 93 toyota tommorow and the owner says that the computer is gone out i know how to change it and i know where it is. I own an 85 pickup with a 22re and i was wondering if i can swap the computers and the 93 still run fine or will i run into problems. ide like to not buy a new computer.

 

I can't answer your 85/93 compatibility question.

But ....
How does he know the computer has "gone out"? Most likely, he's got some serious problem and he (and his mechanic) just can't figure out how to fix it. Every diagnostic sequence in the manual, after 6 or 7 other things, ends with "replace the ECM."

So, given what the seller says, will putting in a new computer (from your '85 or elsewhere) clear up all his problems? I doubt it. And he doubts it too. (or he would have done before trying to sell it.)

I'm not there and you are. It might really just need the computer from your '85. But you might want to think twice about this one.

 

Agreed. When it comes to automotive electronics, most mechanics don't have any idea how to troubleshoot things. They replace parts until the problem is fixed. When it comes to a ECU, they're really friggin hard to kill.

I'd definitely try and pry more info out of him before you buy it. What may look like a unsolvable problem to one person can be obvious to another with the right info.

 

I went and looked at it today and my computer is not gonna work but he explained how they had no voltage past the distributer but voltage all the sat to it and they had traced it back to the computer the owner has agreed to buy a computer and if it runs well then I will go thru with the deal.

 

if its the 93 in fortwalton i wouldnt bother with it, its a POS, body beat to hell and bac, almost no interior AND it needs tires for 2000......

 

i just got back from that 2 hours ride....... def not worth it

 

it is deffinantly that yota lol. im not worried about the body and im not gonna judge it till i drive it. its gonna be my dog hunting truck anyway itll get some dents just need it to run good.

 

I'm really not confident in that diagnosis of the computer being bad. There are a few parts to the ignition system and any one of them not functioning would cause no spark at the plugs (which I assume is the symptom they're chasing?).

Bad pickup in the distributor, bad ignition coil or igniter... Granted a lot of those parts are hella expensive on their own but given that they're high voltage parts I'd expect them to go bad at a much higher rate than the ECU. A lot of ignition problems are hard to track down for people without the right tools (an oscilloscope) because the signals are short.

More information about what's actually going wrong might give us a better chance of telling you if it's gonna cost you a few hundred bucks or less than 100.

 

the owner says he has replaced the coil and distributer capa and button, its still not getting spark to the plug. i wish i was close enough to go pull off parts and go thru it myself. he did say that he bumps the computer and the truck trys to start.