Here's my thread from TTORA:

http://tacomaterritory.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44056

I didnt know what to think of it at first until someone pointed at pinging and now I'm a little worried.. I just bought this truck from a Toyota Dealer in New Westminster, BC..

I dont know where to start... I'm seriously comtemplating making an appointment at a different dealer.. Maybe after the next fill with high grade gas, checking the spark plugs.. I dont know.. I had a Civic before which never had a single problem after two years of owning it.

Help??

 

sounds like your engine is gonna blow any minute.















































seriously though, what the guys are saying on ttora is the same response you'd get here. What you described don't sound good.

My only advice is find a reputable shop that knows about Toyotas...NOT a dealership. Theres a few guys on here from BC...

Heres some searches i did:
BC:
https://www.yotatech.com/search.php?searchid=2067474
Reputable Mechanic in Vancouver, BC?
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f208/reputable-mechanic-vancouver-bc-73368/
Anyone out there?
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f52/anyone-out-there-19630/
Vancouver:
https://www.yotatech.com/search.php?searchid=2067476

good luck!

 

I will offer you some insight into the "Ping" that I have experienced.

1) Its common
2) It can cause damage over time.
3) It is preventable

I have dealt with ping on my 4runner for almost a year now. As a mechanic I know the sound well and find it unacceptable on my vehicles. As you mentioned I also had a hesitation. So here are the steps I took to eliminate it.

I began by cleaning the MAF. At first it this helped but at some point I couldn't get it any cleaner and the ping was still there. (I still recommend this as a first step).

My next step was an injection service. I had this done at the dealer as well as supplement the cleaning with some of the services people have mentioned on this site. I also used a seafoam treatment. This had a huge improvement on the power and hesitations but there was still some ping.

Finally, I decided to look at the 02 sensors. With the truck on a machine I watched the switching of the oxygen sensors. While they were definately within spec they seemed a little slow to me. (Forward O2 sensor primarily). I bought 2 new 02 sensors from Underdog and the problem was gone!

While each of these things helped, I think it was a combination of all of these that finally got rid of the ping. A tune up should always be considered when doing these steps as well.

My vehicle has about 120k miles on it so it has been around the block a few times. If you have less miles you may not need to take all of these steps. This is just what worked for me.

Good luck!

 

I totally agree, I find the sound unbearable and embarrassing..

I've searched and found a bunch of horror stories of cleaning the MAF gone wrong.. so I'm a little worried about doing it, haha..

I have put some Seafoam into the gas to clean the injectors, but I'm also thinking of pouring it into the PCV (correct me if I'm wrong) to clean the engine..

I looked at replacing the O2 sensors as well... but theyre like 100 bucks (Canadian) a piece! ..and I dont know if I need them or not, we'll see..

Thanks for the comments though

 

since you just bought the car.check the timing...the T-belt maybe out a tooth...(belt driven?.....(chain?..4 cyl?)

 

It's the 3.4L V6... Timing might be it... too many maybes haha..

 

i had a friend who had a bit of pinging, threw the seafoam in it let it work the magic and presto!!! $6 and hes a happy camper now.
search seafoam!

 

I was going to put seafoam in it, but everytime I took the PCV tube off, the engine stuttered and stalled..

 

have a friend just keep the rpms up slightly. Also, clean the throttle body while your at it

 

When I first purchased my 96 in Feb of 02 and it was stock, it pinged too. It drove me nuts. I performed a tune-up and solved the problem. I wish I could say I knew exactly what it was that solved it, but it would be hard to say for sure. I am almost certain I solved it by replacing and properly gapping the spark plugs. The ones I pulled out were a tad out of spec.

What a lot of people don't know about the 5VZ is that it runs a pretty aggressive timing map. That's one reason supercharging these things is such a pain. Anyway, what I am trying to say along with the other guys is that a good tune-up will most likely solve your problem.

 

yea, I made an appointment to get it serviced/checked out on Saturday... I also Seafoamed it tonight with the help of my Dad... blew cruddy ugly smoke out the exhaust, haha.. I think it runs smoother now, but that may just be in my head..

still pings and hesitates though...

 

Newb question:

Would a 170 thermostat and one step cooler plugs help this situation at all?

TRD claims the 7th injector cures the ping problem... They suggest one step cooler plugs, and provide a 160 deg thermostat with their kit, (160 thermostat has been hypothesized to increase engine wear). Thankfully there's no ping problem with my sc'd 7th inj truck.

 

Yeah, it would probably alleviate the problem, but it would only be masking a deeper issue. I would definitely have it diagnosed and get to the root cause. I am almost certain the dealer is going to recommend a tune up, but we'll see. Personally I would just tune it up and go from there, but that's just me.

 

This is a good idea for a modified truck (ie S/C'd or T/C'd), but for a stock truck you will be hurting engine efficiency by changing the combustion specs (plugs, thermostat, etc). As Christian mentioned, you are basically trying to band-aid a problem with other changes......you really need to get to the root of the problem. Now at a dealership they usually play parts replacement like that because when you are paying for labor by the hour, parts get alot cheaper. If you are doing it yourself, you often come out ahead even if you sometimes replaced a perfectly good part in pursuit of a problem.

That said, in your case, I would do a few things (always use OEM parts!!!) in this order.

1) Replace your plugs
2) Change the air filter
3) Replace the MAF (fairly cheap anyway on a 99)
4) Replace the front O2 sensor (again only OEM Denso!)

Take it for a spin and see how it did. If it still pings after that you may need to get an OBD II type tool or take it to a shop for futher diagnosis (since you really need to see what signals the engine sees to do any further work with it).

 

I would try to do my own tune-up, but with school coming up and working fulltime, I just dont have the time or energy...

 

You don't have an hour to spare?

At least change the plugs. Those are cake and might solve your problem. 30 minutes at the most. Make sure you gap them with the proper gapper though.

 

I hear a lot about the Seafoam treatment and how it blows black crud out the exhaust. I wonder if this screws up the O2 sensors? I also wonder if Seafoam just burns black all on it's own?

 

If you had alot of carbon buildup and were able to dislodge it in one shot (ie you don't put any in the gas first to begin removing some of the buildup slowly), then yes, you could have issues with both the O2 sensor and the converter getting contaminated or clogged.

 

since you did the sea foam...
i would...
plugs (30 min)
clean throttle body (20-you're already in there with the intake house off)
CLEAN maf ($6-better than replacing with new...CRC MAF cleaner)
replace front 02 as MTL said...only denso ($89 on urd's site...just do a quick search)
replace oil-oem filter

should be about 2-3 hours to get it all done. if it dosnt olve it THEN take it to the dealer and tell them NOT to do those things! make sure you pull the little efi fuse while you clean the MAF, only to let it reset itself!

that will save you a TON of money at the dealer ship....$95 per hour in labor!!!!! :yikes:

 

So.. I have a day off and instead of doing chores and ĊĊĊĊ around the house as usual I thought I would take your guys' advice and decided to do exactly as fireteacher said... I went everywhere looking for the right spark plugs, CRC contact cleaner, and o2 sensors.. but nowhere in this hick-ass ĊĊĊĊty town has ANYTHING.

I have an appointment with the shop on the 5th, Ill just waste my money and pay someone else to do what I can for a ridiculous amount...

..would it be OK to use NGK o2 sensors?

Which spark plugs should I get? Standard, V-Power, G-Power Platinum, Laser, or Iridium IX?