87toyy

I have a 97 Tacoma 3.4 5 speed. Cold starts great. But after it's been driven it takes a lot to get it started again. Its only random. Sometimes it will fire right back up. Other times cranks a lot. Which it's be doing lately. No check engine lights. Runs great. Just the starting issue. Any help would be great. I'm new to the tacomas.

75w90mantraN

No pun intended. But here's a quick search:


https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/9...ime-start-5383

Can also search on starter 3.4 v6 and see where that leads you...worn contacts if I can recall what I read.

Make the internet work for you my friend and you might save some dough. But take what you get with a grain of salt.

87toyy

I've done lots of searching. And can't find anything relating to mine. Starter seems to spin fine. The problem has become random. I thought it was once the truck is warm. Now it can be anytime. I've noticed when it happens I can smell gas strong before it starts. Thought I could smell fumes from the charcoal canister so I changed it and it didn't help any. Once it starts it runs great and no lack of power. No obvious gas leaks but it is soaked in undercoat and hard to tell. Just looking to see if anyone had any similar problems. I have a parts rig I can swap stuff off.

75w90mantraN

Could check fuel pressure. Think there's a tool you can rent out.

If there's low fuel pressure or you don't find anything and still have issues, my next thought would be to take down the fuel tank to check the components.

This assumes battery, alternator, starter, connections are all good.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Leaky injectors fouling the plugs .

It starts fine after sitting long periods the time allowing the plugs to dry

You might want to install a fuel pressure gauge and see if the fuel pressure bleeds off after shutting the engine off.


Just a thought

87toyy

This is my first Tacoma. Where's the best spot to tie in for fuel pressure? Battery and alternator tested good. The previous owner said he replaced fuel pump. That's if he actually did. I was gonna put a new fuel filter on it this week. Also gonna pull the plugs and see how they look. Are the injectors hard to change on these engines? I have a spare engine and parts rig both with good injectors.

75w90mantraN

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/h...essure-257165/

Seems like an adapter is necessary to check fuel pressure on these engines.

Hopefully that fuel pump was done right and you can rule that out.

How many miles on the Tacoma? You say it runs great. Dont replace injectors just yet.. Just find a way to check fuel pressure first.

See if you can have a buddy start the engine while you take a look at the injectors for any visual or strong smell of gas. Definitely another possibility. Can check lines and fittings for any sign of gas leaks/odors. And while down there, change the fuel filter if it hasn't been done already. That part is cheap to replace anyway.

87toyy

The miles on it are kind of scary lol. It has 531000 kms. Pretty sure it's the original engine. doesn't burn oil or smoke. Still has lots of power.

Its just the hard starting sometimes. And then if it is hard starting it runs rough for a few seconds. Then it's fine. Thinking it's rough from over fueling mayby when it's not firing.I have a spare engine with injectors and a smashed 4 runner I bought for parts. So I can swap parts if needed.

I checked a lot of the lines for leaks, but it's hard to tell with all the wet under coat on it. I do think I'll buy a fuel filter and plugs this week. Just like to sort things out before I burn the starter out. The previous owner was kind of hard to talk to. He said something about replacing the fuel pump, then Found out it was a temp sensor causing whatever issues he had.

TacoTank

I remember seeing a thread where a guy had the same issue. Turned out to be the intake/throttle body. It was so clogged with crud (years of neglect and using a cheap filter) that it would warm up and almost become sludgy, thus restricting intake upon warm starts.
So check out the air box, then MAF, etc. Just go down the line and make sure its all clear. My 95 intake was disgusting when I got it. Had a mouse nest full of acorns under the filter.