CoedNaked

Say you're sitting at an intersection and you're idling. You put your hand on your shifter knob like most do. You can obviously feel the engine idling through your shift knob. It's usually a steady vibration almost like a little tick or vibration through it. But what does it mean when it sort of gives a brief sudden shake and then back to the normal sort of vibrations? I'm not talking like a violent shake, just a subtle sort of kick and you can only feel it through the shifter knob, almost like a hesitation then right back to normal, say every 2-3 seconds? The engine's idle RPM doesn't go down, it doesn't stumble, no issues there. I'm just curious what this means? Nothing is wrong by any stretch, when I push the gas pedal, she goes like normal. But it seems like this sort of mild stumble is ever so mildly more apparent lately. Not a huge deal, but I wonder if it is a symptom of something like dirty fuel injectors or something like that. Or a dirty intake plenum/intake valves, etc.

aviator

If it goes away when you give it a touch of gas like you say then it sounds to me like it might be a fuel issue. You could try putting a can of fuel injector cleaner in the tank at next fill up for starters [I use the mastercrap one with octane booster about twice a year] this might help. It could also be a cloging fuel filter [bigger pita]. The other thing now I think of it it might just need a tune up... Thats about all I can think of for now but I'm going to see my wrenchbender early next week and I'll ask his thoughts.
have a nice weekend aviator

Spanky

low turn signal fluid would be my first guess

no really i agree... seems like a fuel problem. i heard putting in a new fuel filter helps with any hesitations people had before. i just threw in a new one in my self and maybe noticed a little difference, nothing much. other than that, new plugs and wires never hurt anything.

farmerj

Because it is one. Driveablitiy problems are a pain over the internet.

what is your fuel pressure? When was the last tune up? Do you have a leaky injector? Cold Start injector? TPS?

Just some of the things I have been going over even on my own truck.

rocket

iTrader: (1)

I agree with the others. There are too many questions to be answered that could be the cause but all of them IMO is most likely fuel related and/or lack of normal maintenance.
When was the last time you replaced, cleaned, or checked the...
fuel fitler?
PVC valve?
throttle body?
TPS sensor?
o2 sensor?
AFM sensor?

along with...
injectors?
plug wires?
plugs?

For starters, i'd run a can of BG 44K in your tank and do the Seafoam treatment.

CoedNaked

See the funny thing is guys, I maintain my vehicle regularly. I ask these same questions to the main tech at the dealership who works on my vehicle. You may have heard me mention this before but the tech who works on my truck is one of the best master tech's in all of Canada. His opinion,or at least implied to me is if something isn't broken, don't fix it. IF it drives fine, leave it. I get the impression that he seems to be a somewhat big believer in the sort of relationship of all the parts under the hood i.e. all things work together and degrade together so if you put in a new part it might not work well with another older part and cause a sort of failure or backlash if you get it. Give you another example, my brother got a 96 4runner with high K on it. My brother wanted a safety done and he said not to bother, that these things are flawless.

He has been to Toyota Japan supposedly a few times and seen what it's all about, goes to the internal press releases supposedly, and things like that, and I know he's a big fan of Toyota and what it puts out. He's also fairly strongly anti-aftermarket - he's seen some really crappy aftermarket installatins and sub-par parts.

My truck gets it's regular oil changes and things like that. Having said that I've even had other tech's look at my truck, when I had a partial misfire in the morning when warming it up (that I could rev away to normal) they said don't bother....just leave it...and after my last oil change about a week ago it seems to have gone away.

I've been told the fuel filter in these things will go for about the life of the vehicle.

TC22RE

My 94 22RE does the same thing. I have kept the truck clean and performed regular maintenance on the engine. I used to wonder what it was but it seems to be a regular thing on the 22re's and on most 4 cyl. engines. It doesn't cause any problems other than shaking the shifter every once in a while. I just keep driving and don't worry about it. This is all assuming you have a 22re, or a 4 cyl. engine in your toy.

AH64ID

I'm not going to get into the rest of it, I agree with the other guys and I am a preventitive maintenance guy myself... but as far as a lifetime fuel filer... not that I have ever heard of. One bad tank of gas could destroy a brand new filter. Run low on fuel and stir up junk in the tank and suck it up, bad filter. I try to change mine once a year, regardless of miles...

TACOMANATOR

I never believed in the low fuel/suck crap out of the bottom of the tank theory. All vehicles draw fuel from the bottom of the tank regardless of fuel level.

aviator

That life time fuel filter thing is a bunch of manure... The toyota filter is a very good filter but as John [ah64id] said one tank of dirty fuel can ruin it. The 'good' news is that the stock filter has a bypass in it if the filter media clogs up it will allow fuel to bypass and go straight to the engine so you don't get stuck someplace, bad news is now you are burning unfiltered fuel and there is no way to know if this happened or not. The fuel filter on the V6 engines is a major PITA to replace a lot of the time it gets rusted in up there along with the fuel lines and when you try to change it everything breaks or falls apart [I know] what my mechanic and I did when I was having similar problems was to remove the toyota part and replace the lines with new [they were leaking all over the road] and install a GM in line fuel filter on flexible fuel line hose. The benefit I now have a cheap easy to replace filter that I change once a year and my driveability has greatly improved. The down side no flow through by-pass for a clogged filter... but if this happens a new filter is available anywhere and for wheeling situations a short piece of coppertube can be substituted in a dire emergency. I would have kept the toyota part but it is just too costly and unserviceable for my taste. Especially since here in Ontario we have the dirtiest fuel standard in NA and and crap fuel is everywhere [even at the big guys pumps].

aviator

What we're talking about here is that as the fuel gets lower in the tank the concentration of crud to fuel increases. When you get to the bottom of the tank fuel that would normally be unuseable [.66 USgal/2.5L] is now sloshing around and may reach the pickup point if you have a dirty tank this is where all the crap is larger particles/rust flakes could be sucked up against the pre-filter screen of the pickup which would interupt the flow and posibly lead to an overheated and failled fuel pump [they are flow cooled] smaller particles that get through the screen can go on to clog the filter/injectors and so on.

So as I stated its the ratio of crap to fuel that increases, also some of the crap will be floating on top of the fuel... as the top gets to the bottom...

bktaco

i recently popped the top off of my 4runner fuel tank, because i had a more serious fuel delivery issue. i was thinking that i would find junk at the bottom of the tank (because my issue cropped up at the end of a tank of gas, massive stuttering - and was not solved right away with a fill). well, the tank was spanking clean, like off of the showroom. you might be surprised at how clean your tank is. i didnt even have any junk like i thought. there is a screen around the pump intake that also would take care of small particles.

has anyone else actually looked into their gas tank? i'd be interested at what you found compared to my experience. since gasoline is a grade-A cleaner, i would bet that everyones gas tank is spotless. with all the filtering that gasoline goes through (refinery, pipelines, tank farms, tank trucks, UST pipelines and dispensers probably all have filters) the only way i imagine particles getting into your tank is if you actually put it in there on purpose. just my 2 c...

AH64ID

Gas tanks should be clean, but if the gas station has a bad filter or the truck is dirty, it can get really dirty and it does happen. And most times youll never know.

^VooDoo^

There is no difference wether the tank is full or near empty, Fuelinjection does a constant curculation of the tank and All particals get picked up and ether stick to the pump screen or are cought in the fuelfilter.

FuelInjection, Fuel starts at the pump pick up that has a screen on it to protect the pump large particals that somehow have enterd the tank.
then the pump to the fuelfilter, Up to the fuelrail that feeds injectors and fuelpressureregulator that keeps a constant pressure rating by bypassing un-needed fuel/pressure back to the tank (LiterPerMin).
This makes the fuelfilter plug faster but the tank is most of the time kept cleaner.
Most earlyer carb systems do the same thing but there are a few that have non-return systems, Its these non-return systems that hold water and crud in the tank longer causing more rust and rush of crud to the fuelfilter when the tank is low.

CoedNaked

So if the Toyota fuel filter has a bypass, are there any of you who have taken it apart and found out (if that's possible) that the fuel was going through the bypass? How would you know? I asked this tech how would I know if it did happen, when my fuel filter was going, and he said it would stumble during highway driving a bit. Is that the only way to know? That the bypass lets enough gas through to just make it but not to run normally? Or are the symptoms slow but sure? Somehow I wonder if it's time to just pull the injectors and have everything cleaned pro, and then get a new fuel filter perhaps. I've already heard about the lines rusting out and 9 times out of 10 when you do the fuel filters you need to put new lines in too.

fireteacher

first statement is REDICULOUS. preventetive maint is just that. to keep your rig on the road/trail PERIOD. why would you wait until something breaks and your stranded somewhere? then youll say..."dang toyota, left me stranded" when it was your fault it broke! (given, certain things just happen)

i take it your bro wanted a safety inspection (if not, ignore please!) ANY vehicle could use an inspection from time to time. this is where leaks are spotted, broken things are found BEFORE they become worse off than could have been PREVENTED! (it all ties together huh!) i cant believe he was cool saying, yeah...it dosnt need it! tell him to have it done for some peace of mind

someone hear awhile back actually took there fuel filter off and cut it open out of pure curiosity (why i love this place!) and it was REDICULOUS what it looked like. i am not going to search for it for you but i am sure someone will post it up soon enough. toyota would not sell them if they lasted the life of their vehicle. gas milleage would also be effected due to a real dirty/clogged filter.

dont take offenseto this as i was when i wrote it. just cause they are top mech dosnt mean they ALWAYS have your best interest in hand. remember this, they are not driving your rig, YOU ARE!!!!!

aviator

I don't know of anyway to open it up that would be safe considering it's full of fuel and residue and so forth... I can say that once we did the switch on my baby she ran a lot better and the mileage improved... 'coarse that could be becase it was'nt pissing about a 1/4 tank on the road anymore .

echo what fireteacher said just cause it ain't broke don't mean it ain't worth fixin' now [$10 spent today could save $100 next month] on the other hand if cash is tight one does tend to defer maintenance where posible...

fireteacher

i lied!!! heres the link to the filter..... YUCK!!!

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/not-so-lifetime-3rd-gen-fuel-filter-80287/

kmcc78240

Quick question is your AC on. When the compressor kicks in on mine, I can feel it and even watch it on the tach. I really need to change the fuel filter though, I don't know if has ever been changed.

Spanky

i know i wasnt the first one to post pics of their fuel filter, but i think i was the most recent... that i have noticed. regardless, take a look at this and tell me if this is what you want yours too look like at 175K!!
i know i will be changing mine about every 5 years or so. 60K

original thread:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116/fuel-filter-replacement-tips-novice-90497/