Smeddy2

I have had some long crank and rough/low idle issues going on. 89 4Runner 22RE. Well I determined I had a leaky injector and a pretty clogged fuel filter which were probably all contributing to my problem. I ordered some new flamethrower injectors in hopes to get a small performance boost while I was tearing into things.

Sad news is I have now taken everything apart and installed twice only to develop a large leak at the o-ring of the injector both times. I have cleaned out the fuel rail with brake parts cleaner/q-tips and applied engine oil to the o-rings. When I put it all together it feels smooth and rotates nicely. Is there something else I'm missing? Any tips? Anyone in Kansas City, MO willing to help for a few beers?

Good news is when it starts up it runs crazy smooth!

anndel

Using sil-glyde on the injector o rings? Its a silicone lube that will ensure smooth seating.

Smeddy2

Thanks, anndel! I may give this one more shot this weekend. My offer still stand for anyone in the Kansas City area who may know a thing or two about this!

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

The FSM says to use gasoline to lube the o rings. I use, gas, wd-40, or just anything to make them slick. Use a little twisting motion when sticking them in the rail helps as well. Wish I had a few Yota guys in my area as well. We are just out of luck here in Missouri.

Smeddy2

Agreed, Terry! I used gas the first time and oil the second, both resulting in a massive leak at one of the injectors. The frustrating part of it all is I had zero problems with these when I first installed my injectors several years ago when I rebuilt the motor.

Smeddy2

Well I got everything apart for the third time and it looks like my fuel rail has some ever so slight corrosion on it that I think is the cause for my leaks. Now to try to find a replacement fuel rail :-/

jennygirl

By corrosion, you mean that the fuel rail has been eaten away where an o-ring sits? You can't just buff it off? If it is additive corrosion (meaning not eaten away), try some B12 chemtool and that should help dissolve whatever is on there

Otherwise it sounds like a trip to the boneyard is in order. I would imagine a fuel rail is pretty cheap.

I used gas to lube the o-rings when I installed my flamethrowers and wiggled them as I slid on the rail. Happily no issues to report!

Good luck and let us know how it goes

Smeddy2

Yeah the previous owner had left the fuel lines full of bad gas so it started to pit a little where the o-rings rest.

I've got a buddy who had a spare fuel rail I just bought. I haven't got it completely clean but it looks like it is going to do the trick.

Wish me luck tomorrow!

Odin

Any idea how long that sitting time was? Ethanol gas just flat out sucks!

Smeddy2

Odin, it was like 4 years (with some of the return lines on the gas tank open, too). I've replaced the gas tank, fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel level sender and now I can add injectors to the list! The gas had varnished and was bad news for a lot of parts.

Odin

Dang man that's a lot to replace. I hope you got it cheap enough to offset the cost.

Smeddy2

It's okay, I only paid $400 for the truck!

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

These fuel systems get nasty and I think it is just from the poorer quality fuel we get with ethanol. I have seen some rusty tanks but when I clean them up, there is no signs of pitting from rust, it is just build up of chemicals. The only rust issues I do see is when mud sits on top of a pick up truck tank and rots from the outside in.

Hope all goes well for you. With a 9 volt battery, a syringe, some wire, you can flush your injectors and get them working a lot of times.

Smeddy2

New fuel rail on and I still have a leak. I don't know if I've worn out the orings that came with the new injectors or what. I've lost my patience with it and it's not worth my time or sanity. Looks like she's getting towed to the mechanic and I'll just pay someone else for the headache!

Smeddy2

Took it to NTB and they threw on a new set of o-rings and now I'm good to go! Thanks everyone for the advice!

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Great to hear you got it back on the road. To bad you were so far away, would of helped on that.

Smeddy2

No worries, Terry! Thanks!

Smeddy2

Incredibly sad news...hard start is back and worse than ever. It gets worse the colder it is. Sometime I have to crank for 10 or 15 seconds with the gas pedal to the floor to get it going. I have poor gas mileage (15 mpg highway), power loss (can't hardly hold 65 mph sometimes) and my idle is all kinds of screwy as it is warming up. It starts off idling really high then about half way into warming up the idle tanks to around 500. Eventually it warms up all the way and idles at the right speed. The rough idle comes and goes.

I just took it to the dealer to have them try to diagnose it for me. $120 and they did pretty much nothing. He suggested it was the AFM but didn't actually test any of the resistances. He claims he could hear the timing chain making noise on deceleration but I can't really hear that. He did say they adjusted my idle slightly and when they hooked up the timing light that it jumps around a bit.

I guess I'll test my afm myself. Any other hunches?

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

The Cold Start Injector Timing Switch, the brown sensor just underneath the thermostat is the one I see problems with when it turns cold. Run a resistance check on it at room temperature and then stick in the freezer for 15 minutes and run resistance checks on it and see what your readings are. Haynes has a good test for it.

I haven never had the Cold Start Injector in the Plenum to fail myself. It is the CSI Timing Switch that I have problems and one that you will see missing in the yards when you do find a truck in the yards.

Haynes has a good test for the AFM as well. Recently I had two bad AFMs and truck did run great with no codes. One was terrible and did cause issues and still no codes. There is a temp sensor in the AFM and it is not a serviceable item from what I can tell. You will need to change the whole assembly.

Check for vacuum leaks. I would check your Throttle Position Sensor. I took my 88 to the dealer for the Cherry Manifold issue and not thrilled with results from Toyota dealer myself. They really don't work on the 22re anymore and all of the ones that did have probably retired by now. They mostly work on 5 year old cars and newer so will be unfamiliar with them.

Added: Sometimes the CSI Timing Switch just needs cleaning with a brass tooth brush as it just gets hard water scale build up on it.

Smeddy2

Thanks Terry. I guess I'll get the old multimeter out and get to testing.

I was hoping the toyota tech was going to check that kind of stuff. He basically told me they only really did stuff like that on the newer cars because they can simply plug in their computer and run a program. "So instead we checked the timing, gave you our opinion and gladly charged you $120." Thieves.