I guess ill drop this here, too. For anyone who has searched high and low trying to solve this issue, try this: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...htmare-199481/

Hope this helps. This seems to be an overlooked problem that a lot of other toyota mechanics havent heard of.

 

oh yeah, that sounds like I15 continuity problems for sure. check that thread.

 

mine starts up everytime but now it cranks longer for it to start. before it started in a split second now it takes like 2 seconds or a bit more to start.

 

even when i let it sit in -23 for 3 weeks not being plugged in. it fired up noooo problem. it even has an injector leak..... stinks like fuel when it runs

 

if you need a bigger battery to start it, then you have other problems. i've used the smallest battery's before and never had a problem. i don't remember if anyone mentioned the fuel filter? its been a while since i read the whole thread. anyways i've had 5 different 3vz's i think? lost track. and have never had a problem, except when you neglect to maintain it properly. you shouldnt need to upgrade the intake. if theres a leak, fix it. thats it. there are so many people with the stock intake that have never had any problems starting it. including me

 

I just got a 92 4runner and replaced the Connecting Rod Bearing put it all back together and it fired right up. I drove it home, turned it off to open the garage door and went back and it wouldn't start. Some other folks are talking about the cold start switch and i think that logically that sounds like the issue. Now my opinion, i am no expert and this the stupidest and easiest thing, but unplug and firmly plug the starter wire back in. I know they got hot and tend to wear out easily. I did a little playing with mine (nickel) and now she fires right away. These guys are probably a lot better at this than me, but that's my 2 cents.

 

Mine starts instantly too...at 222k. One of the things I love about this 20-year old truck!

 

258K+ miles, and she still starts within a second of the key turn!

 

I haven't been able to play around with anything yet, due to no time and also the temps, but I think maybe I will post up some videos of what I am talking about, might help a bit, better than words.

I will post one of a cold start (no problem), then one of a hot start(no problem), and then one of the troubled, not hot but not cold starts....this is where the problem lies.

I have noticed though that when I do have the problem, sitting longer than 15 minutes, that if I crank for a second, then let off, then crank again it will fire right up no problem.....or I can just crank for like 3-5 seconds and it will slowly sputter and then pick up and idle.

Lately I have been just cranking it for a quick second, then letting off then cranking again, and it fires right up....less wear on the starter that way.

Man I wish it would just start the way it does when it's cold or hot, fires off perfect.

Oh I also noticed that the bracket that holds the coil and ignitor to the wheel well is only being held it with one bolt, the other bolt is broken off in the hole, so that might be causing a weak ground. I am gonna drill that bolt out and clean up the ground surfaces and mount it back good. The PO must have replaced the coil, because it's an aftermarket, and he must have snapped that bolt off and never bothered to fix it right.

Anyway, once I check a bunch of stuff I will see what happens and write back.

 

mine fires right up unless its below -20C (not sure what the F. is) then its gotta crank a few times

 

mine sputers and the whole truck shakes for a second like its going to die when its cold outside and has sat for more then 6 hours but when the motor is warm it fires right up

 

guess i'll have to chime in. Forgive me if someone already posted something similar as i didn't bother to read all the posts.

I don't have this problem with my truck although i've only owned it for about 1 month. I did have a similar problem with my 92 VW Passat several years ago, which i still drive daily. basically it went like this. the car would start fine first thing in the morning or the first time driven that day. If i shut the vehicle off it would still start fine with in the first 15 minutes or so but after that it just would not start unless i cranked the engine over repeatedly while priming the fuel pump by actuating the key off and on again and again. eventually it would start to sputter on 1 or 2 cylinders and very reluctantly come back to life or I could just not drive the car for at least 6 or 8 hours and it would start fine (sufficent cool down time).

Heres how i fixed it ,and what i believe caused the problem.
On that car (and I believe most fuel injected engines must have somthing similar) to keep the engine heat from boiling off the fuel in your fuel lines a check valve must keep the fuel under pressure otherwise after 5 - 10 - 15 - 20 minutes of sitting while the engine bay is hot and not running the fuel boils off and causes a vapor lock that your fuel pump can't easily push out of the lines, but after the engines sits overnight or a sufficently long enough time the vapor lock cools down creates a vacume and pulls the fuel back where it belongs, similar to the expansion tank on your radiator when it heats up and cools down. i fixed it by freeing a stuck check valve on my fuel pump under the car by tapping on it with a hammer and the problem went away immediately only to return the next summer but i fixed it again in the same way with my trusty hammer. no problems since then. Maybe the toyota has a one way valve or means of keeping fuel pressure up while the engine is not running that has not worked properly? Does it seem to work better when its cold out during the winter months and worse in the summer?

 

Mine problem ended up being the cold start injector

 

i had a 3.0 for 1 year. 170k+ it would start before the engine could get to it 2nd revolution.
We used to live out in the country and the first weekend i got it (before I maintained the engine) it was -10*F windchill was -22*F After sitting for 4 days started as if it was 75*F and sunny.

I never had a doubt my 3.0 would start everyday. I had same comfort level I have with my Chevy Lumina I've had for 8 years with almost 230K on it.

 

This thread is really intriguing, but I am a tad bit suspicious by nature. If I told you that my 3vze started perfectly every time, it would cease to do so....

 

my 3vz will start with a bump of the key unless its below 5*F then it takes a bit of cranking to get her going, i was going to look in to the cold-start injector but now that summer is around the corner i had forgotten about my winter starting problems.

 

Starts everytime easily no matter what like a well oiled machine... Cuz it's a well oiled machine lol

 

OP - Check your temperature sender. It is what tells the ECU how much fuel is needed. (simplified statement)
If it indicates correctly cold, but not midrange or hot, the engine may recieve an incorrect amount of fuel. Hard to diagnose a problem on the internet, but not impossible.
Look at an electrical drawing and see if the same temp sensor drives the gauge and ECU. Some engines use one and some use two. I've not looked at this before.

I have had a similar problem as this before on a nissan ka24e engine where you could crank it up cold, drive it 2 miles and it would not restart. Not exactly the same as yours but similar. This shouldn't be a hard check, also the intake tube hole sounds like a possibility also.

Good luck and please post results because I'm sure it will happen to me sooner or later!

 

Trying to start in the cold morning, it takes at least one unsuccessful crank. It might just sputter and die on a semi-successful crank. And then it sputters a bit on the finally successful crank.

After school, it takes a nice 5 second crank. It might sputter a bit, but I don't recall one time that it's taken more than one crank.

 

I just bought my 2nd 3vze, it had been sitting for 10 months w/ a bad gas line and no exhaust, the damn thing started right up! My 1st and daily driver still doesn't miss a beat! (Knock on wood!)