I bought this rig not running. Owner said it had been sitting for 8 years. Said he rebuilt the engine (new LC Engineering head) and transmission (W56). Said he drove it for 200 miles and it blew a head gasket so he parked it.

I dropped the fuel tank and cleaned it. Replaced the fuel pump and rewired the fuel pump bracket.

I added ~1/3 gal antifreeze to radiator (so it held coolant pretty good for 8 years).

It will crank if I spray starter fluid into the intake. It will idle just fine...no white smoke...no milk on the dipstick.

I checked the cold start injector, start injector time switch, and water temp sensor. They are all good.

Any ideas on why it is so difficult to start?

The bottom hose from the charcoal canister is leaking fuel pretty bad. What does this mean? Should I replace the canister or attempt to clean it and move on? The previous owner has plugged the end of this hose.

 

If the charcoal canister is leaking fuel that means that the fuel tank isn`t venting properly. Check the gas cap, it should be a vented cap, if its not then replace it, or if its a stock cap then it might be bad. Also make sure that the hoses are hooked up properly at the top of the fuel pump mount. Another thing to check is the timming, if its off that could make it hard to start.

 

x2 on the hoses on the fuel pump if they are crossed and the return line is mixed up it doesnt pressure the lines properly making it hard to start

 

If you are certain that your fuel hoses are correctly run and not clogged-

A little seafoam goes a long way. Just follow the directions. The eight bucks a can is a cheap attempt.

My 4runner that I salvaged from a barn fire had the same problem. I had to start it at first with fluid. After I let it run a while, it solved itself. Someone else will know more about this, but isn't there a "cold start circuit" somewhere in the EFI that has work to start, but not to run?

 

I checked the fuel lines. They are correct. Also, I don't think the fuel cap is vented because when I loosen it, there is pressure.

Once the engine is warm, it starts first time.

I am noticing a bit of white/blue smoke coming out the tail pipe after it gets warmed up.
Does that mean I potentially have an issue with the head gasket?

 

I second the SeaFoam suggestion. That stuff's amazing!

 

you never mention that the head gasket was repaired after previous owner

you did that ? or he did that and then sold it to you?

you have reviewed wiring diagrams? reviewed all the vacuum hoses and so on?

show us some pics and guys like 4crawler and waskilly wabbit may spot something so obvious you will want to cry. I like to take pics and them compare with other owners of exact same truck. (not your truck but exact same combo of tranny and engine and so on)

Don't assume anything. You have to admit buying a truck from someone that put a pricey LC Engineering head on it and then 200 miles later the head gasket blew seems odd to put it mildly. Personally I have never heard of any 22Re doing so, it's the 3 slow that is known and hated for this.

Don't get all technical in print-at least with me-find one or two guys on here to bounce ideas off of and 4crawler has probably forgotten more stuff than 100 of us ever knew.

I am no mechanic myself-just telling you to step back and think it out more.

8 year old coolant-you got to be kidding. Flush and start new. Measure capacities and see if something is not blocked to begin with....

and post in addition in your relevant section. (86-95s or whatever it is)

Not too many regulars hang out in newbie tech so hang with the guys that know your truck the best on an every single day basis.

 

I purchased the rig thinking I'd need to repair the head gasket. When I got it into the shop, I noticed I could loosen the spark plugs by hand. My thinking is that may have been what caused the guy to think the head gasket was blown.

On the hard to start issue, I solved it. When we re-installed the fuel tank, I kinked the flexible fuel line a bit. It is now un-kinked and starts first time every time.

I'll run it a while and see what happens but will probably sell it.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

sweeet

you da man