Nessmuk

I have a 98 Tacoma with the 2.7L and a 5 speed and 62K miles. Every once and a while it feels as though the fuel is cutting out. The sensation is one you get when your wheels slip on ice and then catch again. It never happens during idle or hard acceleration. It happens for the most part between 55 and 70 mph. The dealer couldn't reproduce the problem, of course, and insists the fuel filter is "lifetime". Anyone have any ideas? I am ready to give up and wait until it just quits on me. One other thing, the Check engine light has never come on.

Thanks for any advice,

Bob Smith
Charlottesville VA

jimbo74

even before i got to the part about fuel filter being lifetime, which is crap by the way, i thought immediately fuel filter.....

you most likely need a fuel filter

rimpainter.com

Do you have any idea what the dealer actually "checked?"

jimbo74

if the dealer is insisting that the fuel filter is lifetime, i am sure the dealer also then probably did not check it as they think its lifetime and never needs replacement.... this is the reason i do all my own work on my cars

rimpainter.com

Me too.

SloPoke

Yup. Sounds like a fuel filter to me. Doesn't need much gas at idle so there's no issues. Has alot of vac. at high throttle helping suck the gas through the filter. In normal driving, you use a bit more gas than at idle but don't have as much vac. therefore it's only intermittently loosing prime.

I bet it's your fuel filter.

rimpainter.com

Even if it isn't, it is cheap and easy to replace on your own. Go for it.

If you need help, you know where to look.

SloPoke

The fuel filter on the 2.7 is a biatch to get to. It's doable but it's a PITA. It's located in the rear center of the intake manifold and it's plenumn. You know, between where the intake is on top of the engine and the actual ports that wrap down and enter the engine. Yup, inside there. Hope your a scrawney dood like me with long arms.

Fahrenheit 451

Lifetime fuel filters are pure Stierscheiße (Thank you Altavista world translate for making this more reader friendly hehehe).
Sounds like a fuel starvation issue of some sort and filters are relatively cheap, doable (kinda) and frequently the culprit.
Having worked in a gas station way back in high school (during the early Mesozoic it feels like), trust me when I tell you the gas you get can be really dirty and that little sock on the pickup in the gas tank is meant to keep out chunks not the fine elements that the filter catches. Add to that how much dirt/grit gets into the tank every time you fill up and the filter is *Lifetime*. It's just that *Lifetime* depending on your area might be 30,000-50,000 miles or less. I've had a local mechanic even suggest changing the filter every 15-20k and every time I have changed my filter I have noticed the difference.
Once more for emphasis, *Lifetime* is pure merda del toro

Fahrenheit 451

Just thought I would add, I understand on the 22re, the 2.7's daddy, that they have issues with running lean under highway driving conditions. Assuming engineering at Toyota hasn't necessarily made great strides, this is likely still an issue with the small EFI motor.
So, when toodling down the highway, you may already be running in a lean state. Throw in a fuel filter limiting delivery and voila, one thirsty motor left sputtering and stuttering without enough to drink.

Nessmuk

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the help. Seems everyone is in agreement. I was thinking that it was the fuel filter, regardless of what the dealer says. I think the dealer just took it out on the road for a few minutes and gave up. I once had a Susuki SJ-410 do the same thing and it was the filter. I don't have the time to do it myself, but tomorrow it goes back to the dealer and getting a new fuel filter. Once again thanks.

Bob

phil_98

I just bought a 98 tacoma with 107K miles. should I try and change the fuel filter based on the 15-20K advice so that I know it is new? I haven't really noticed any problems yet.

SloPoke

It would be a good idea but so would plugs, wires, belts, timing chain, throttle body cleaning, injector cleaning, old & filter change, ...that may be a bit overboard but......you know ...anything you don't knows been maintained before you bought it. The filter is a good place to start though.

Ironmike4x4

I don't know why in the heck a factory would even come out with a "lifetime filter" the job is to clean isnt it? Well if it cleans then obviously it gets dirty in the process, therefore you must replace the filter. It does seem to favor a filter problem, but like 96 Runner said it is cheap to replace anyways, although it's in a tricky location. That just burns me up about the filter, that's the reason why the fuel pump goes bad when the filter is clogged up and the sending unit is not cheap either.

Nic

If you have the tools, changing the fuel filter is doable. It may just take a little while. I did it and it was a good learning experience. You have to jack the truck up and take off the tire to get to it. You need about 3 feet of ratchets extensions, a universal joint, sockets, and a 17mm wrench. Magnetic inserts for the sockets work great, and you wont loose your bolts.

CynicX

My Wrangler had the lifetime fuel filter, and well it lastest 200k miles....but I only used brand name gas and I would pass a station if I saw the truck filling up the tanks....

But its beyond me how a filter can do any good if its expected to last the life of the vehicle...well unless the filter was the size of a 50 gallon barrel....

Pretacopower

I'm sure you get the point by now, but just thought I'd throw in that I too have a Tacoma, and had my fuel filter replaced at 65,000 miles by a well-trusted mechanic. I wouldn't trust anything that dealer says.

miket223

You need a fuel filter. It's like the new trannies that everyone's putting out that are entirely sealed. They tell you that the transmission flud is good for the life of the tranny. So, if the tranny lives 60k miles then one could conclude that the tranny fluid was good for the life of the tranny even if it was only 60k miles. Get my point? Toyotas can go for a long time without a fuel filter, but not for eternity.

ctcost

Yup on Nics quote...plenty of extensions and a universal...Takes a little but a friend did it on his as a Saturday project.

phil_98

thanks slopoke and the rest--I'll make the fuel filter change my next project as soon as my hi lift jack comes in the mail. Time to go spray on some PB so it can start to work.
phil.