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Here's the story. 1987 4runner sr5 22re with 173,000 on the clock. Bought it last summer and have put about k miles on it. Got the vales adjusted in late October and learned that the camshaft is worn unevenly, so I have a loud tick because the rockers are out of sinc I would guess too. Noticed a month ago that my oil kinda smelled like gas, imagine a two stroke gas mix smell. Not overly strong, but definitely different. So changed the oil cause I was at the 3K mark. However, the oil continued to smell like gas so I didn't drive it for the last two weeks. Then went to the shop and they did a leak-down test and found that the head gasket is in the early stages of failure. I'm leaving for college in the Fall, so I know it should last throughout the summer. I just can't drive long distances..
My main problem now is that I have a fuel smell when I drive. Definitely scaring me cause I don't want my baby to go down in flames. I am confused where it could be coming from though because I don't see any fuel leaking around the injectors, or no puddles on the ground after it is parked. Also the smell only occurs when the truck is running. If I were to open the hood after it is parked, there is no overwhelming fuel smell. Only when your driving or rev the engine. I also read it might be the charcoal canister, but it is not dripping out any fuel at all. One more thing, I don't have a cloud of black smoke from my exhaust.
Really would appreciate some help to get this fixed! Thanks!
Ps. I'll post a vid of the engine tomorrow.
Pss. It almost smells like it is carbureted and not fuel injected.
isn't the access to the fuel filter/fuel pump under the right rear seat?
wonder if something is loose and coming in through the access port.
Just a thought
But I've already crawled under the truck and felt on top of the tank to find to find it was dry. And as I said before you can only smell it when the truck is running/revs.
Not sure how gas would get into the oil unless you have a fuel leak at the intake and the gas is getting by the intake manifold and puddling up and somehow slipping into the motor that way.
For fuel leaks check the fuel rail (least likely in my experience), the injector seals ( most common for me), the Cold Start Injector is under alot of pressure and is easily noticed if it is leaking, replace the crush washers for it if you are suspecting it.
The fuel return line at the back of the fuel rail goes to the firewall. I would bet that your Return line is clogged and it runs back to the tank. If you can get it unclogged that would relieve some of the pressure off of the system and could help cut down on the fuel smell.
To unclog the Return line I use a gear oil bottle lid as a funnel and fill the line with Marvel Mystery Oil and let it soak it way thru and then use a air hose to clear the line. This is a slow process and is not going to happen overnite.
Other wise I would check the connections for the fuel filter and they use crush washers on both sides. Like dropzone mentioned remove the access panel under the passenger rear seat and look for leaks.
Appreciate the reply Terry! I'll check that out later today. But would a clogged fuel return line make a difference when the engine is revving? Maybe because of the higher pressure? Also how long do you let the gear oil soak in the line before you blow it out? A couple of days?
I have seen several trucks with clogged lines and they run fine. Probably most on here dont realize theirs is clogged. I have had luck with a couple of days, just depends on how bad it is clogged. I use low pressure air and blow it from the fire wall back. Remove your gas cap so as not to build pressure in the tank. You will hear it bubble in the tank and the air flowing thru the air hose and air line. Using high pressure you have a chance of compressing the clog.
I have been hearing some good things on a product called Evaporust, it comes in a gray bottle, I have never tried it but great reviews.
Here's the story. 1987 4runner sr5 22re with 173,000 on the clock. Bought it last summer and have put about k miles on it. Got the vales adjusted in late October and learned that the camshaft is worn unevenly, so I have a loud tick because the rockers are out of sinc I would guess too.
a worn camshaft won't be out of sync as far as any kind of timing or whatever, what happens is that the valves don't open as far because the lobe of the cam is worn down... i would drive it until it drops.
if the shop did a leakdown test, they would have also done a compression test, what were the numbers on that?
did the shop comment on the fuel smell? or did that suddenly happen after they worked on it?
you are saying that there is a fuel smell in the oil and that there is a fuel smell when the motor is running, but there isn't much commonality there, no single thing that would cause both of those issues.
i wouldn't start messing with the fuel system just yet, need to do more troubleshooting.
Ok, have a big speed bump in my fuel smell issue. I come outside today and noticed my exhaust was hanging lower than normal. Sure enough, my cat was stolen. I hate thieves.. Freakin low life's. I'm thinking I'll just delete the cat cause I'm leaving for college in a few months and I don't want to put a nice exhaust system on an engine that doesn't scream. Also I'm in CA, aka smog nazis. What's scary is that I live in a very safe area but some idiots I guess just drove by and literally cut out the cat right in my driveway
Urrghh! CAT thieves are the bottom feeders.
At least you still have your sweet rig.
I'm in CA too and I just replaced my Cat with a Universal Magnaflow Cat to pass Smog:
It was pretty reasonable. About $150 for the part, welding was extra.
Seriously! For now I'm going to just pay $50 and have the exhaust shop patch it up and run without the cat till I need one for next smog. Thanks for the link though!
Seriously! For now I'm going to just pay $50 and have the exhaust shop patch it up and run without the cat till I need one for next smog. Thanks for the link though!
I think you'll be lucky to find a shop that will do it.
I can't believe how many 4x4 Toyota's have had their Cats cut off, its just crazy. The maintenance guy at my old job had his stolen in broad daylight in the company parking lot. He worked 8am-4pm too.
I wonder if you could get a shop to weld collectors to it? After the emissions test you could remove it and replace it with a straight pipe with collectors.
You really shouldn't have to build a protection box around it.
URGHHH I had to type this twice cause it deleted it the first time.
Anyways I have some news. So I thought I was the only one in my neighborhood who had their cat stolen, but apparently there have been 6 other toyotas that have had theirs cut out too in the past week!... My neighbor's friend who lives right around the corner had his TWO cats cut out past the flanges so he needs an entire new exhaust system. It could be worse for me I guess. Also the Tundra owner's neighbor has some security cams but they were on vacation. They're going to check them soon though. He also had his cut out Thursday night because when he started his truck Friday morning he discovered the problem. That surprised me too because they must have swiped mine Thursday night as well, but I don't get how an electric hack saw can be that quiet??? haha
I have some hope I'm not the only one, but it still sucks for everyone.
Anyways, I'm leaving on a school camping trip tomorrow for the next four days. I'll update everyone by the end of the week.
But I still have my raw fuel smell when coming to the top of a hill...? I'm guessing it has something to do with the greater throttle input. But I didn't see a fuel leak anywhere. I'm going to pull the gas tank access hatch and check it out sometime this weekend.
My converters just seem to disappear but I dont have to worry about inspections. When I have taken them off, they are so burnt up on the inside they are worthless for scrap. Since you will have to eventually deal with a smog check, from all that I have read, you would be best to get a Toyota converter for a better chance at passing the test.
The cheap replacements as I understand wont pass the checks you have to deal with. I did read where some use a Toyota converter for a test and after a test put in an aftermarket one and save the Toyota one for test only.
I bought a truck that had a brand new Edlebrock converter in the box that was not installed. I took it to the scrap shop and they gave me $15 for it just to give an idea of how poorly built it was compared to a factory one.
That is how I would go about a converter for your situation. Atleast if an aftermarket gets stolen you wont be out as much. The factory ones are built alot better.
Well I haven't updated here in a while, but I solved the FUEL SMELL!! And ^ Terry I agree that it was probably clogged and I actually think I gained a few HPs running no cat now!
So I walked out to my truck to take the fuel tank access hatch out to check the top of the tank. Pulled it off and, as I had thought, was bone dry. Still perplexed because there was a faint smell of fuel. So I put the hatch back on and moved to the fuel filler door. Open it up and noticed the cap was not that tight. The back story to the cap is the second day of owning the truck, I forgot to put the oem gas cap back on and drove off. So went to the napa and they hooked me up with a stant one. It worked well till now.. The cap clicked and locked on like it should, but was not latching down well. I went to Oriely and said is there any warranty for these caps? But forgot it was from Napa. I thought well I might as well try a new one for $11, so screwed it on and immediately noticed how much tighter it was secured.
Long story short it's fixed! Funny thing is stant is made in the USA while this new one is from Israel and works so much better.. haha not everything here is the best anymore
Last edited by 84 yota dude; 06-27-2015 at 12:04 PM.
I am adding shoulder belts to the rear seat and bought some off craigslist. But they are both Right units. Is there a different between the pickup Right and Left seat belts?
05-28-2015, 10:22 PM
