k-man

I have purchased a '97 Limited with 69,000 miles. It is 4WD with 3.4 V6. I love it unfortunately my wife does too. :o) I'm hoping some of you may be able to address a few concerns.

Does anyone know what is considered normal RPM's on a cold engine vs. normal operating temperature? After an "all-nighter" in the garage the engine races up to about 1600-1700 RPM's at start and gradually works it's way down as the engine warms up. Even after it's only been sitting a couple of hours it does pretty much the same thing. We're having temperatures here in Kentucky during the day around 75-80 degrees... 50's at night. At normal operating temp it settles down around 650-700 RPM's.

Also after sitting overnight, there seems to be an unusual amount of air noise coming from the engine compartment. It settles down after a minute to a very quiet, smooth running engine. It reminds me of one of my first cars, a '77 Monte Carlo when there wasn't enough coolant in the radiator. I've checked levels in radiator and overflow and levels looks fine. It will do this each time after it's been sitting at least an hour or so.

Anyone experienced the tranny not downshifting properly? It has good clean, crisp upshifts - but it will hesitate somewhat when downshifting. A couple of times while sitting at a light if felt as if someone bumped me in the rear. As if it wanted to slightly lunge forward.

Thanks for feedback, I appreciate it!

outdoorfever

hmm well the rpms sound fine. Mine are always high at start up and once the engine has been running, it idles around 400-600. As for the bump in the rear, that usually only happens to me when the engine surges when the A/C is on. And the downshifting...mine only does that when the engine is cold, just the thermostat telling the engine its cold..now if you have a bad thermostat or a leaky radiator, the engine might be getting tricked into thinking the engine is cold when really it isnt...

i have a 90, those are my suggestions. gl.

SpecializedBrder

I get the lunge too, Only when the AC is on of course and I have the 2.7

4RUNR

A bit high for this time of year.

A bit too low.

Fan clutch warming up.

Severe slip yoke binding?

SLC Punk

It could be your rear brakes hanging up, or like 4RUNR said, it could be your slip yoke. Get under there and lube the u-joints and yoke.

k-man

Thanks 4RUNR & SLC Punk. I'll try the lube.

dobber

I have a 97 sr5 with the 3.4 and mine does all the same on start and warmup.As far as the bump mine did that when the rear axle seals were leaking and the gear lube was on the rear pads,someone said it was cause the pads blow up when soaked with lube.

Jason B

Congrats, we have the same truck.

Mine does that as well when it's cold. It will hold 1st gear longer than normal, then will finally shift.

dobber

Same here mine will hold first gear longer when it is cold and the idle is higher.I really dont think it is a problem and my runner has 180,000 miles and it is great.

kevin444

My engine surges to like 1600rpm when i havent started it on for awhile. But if its warm its like 600-800rpm.

superjoe83

the taco will go up to around 1500 when cold, but will drop within 20 sec to about 1300-1200, and gradually sink to around 900-1000, then when it reaches operating temp it drops to 600-700

tulsa_97SR5

Welcome to the forum! You should also know that if you have the rear diff locker on your 97 Toyota recalled them as unsafe. I have a 97 too, without the locker so we should trade rear diff's and I'll take care of it for you.


j/k about the locker, sounds like you got a nice 4runner, has low miles for the year!

dobber

yes that is really low mileage,it should give you years of dependable running.Just be ready to change those axle seals when they start leaking,they're real fun. When i did mine on my 97 someone on this site gave me some killer instructions this dude was right about everything,but hopefully you wont have to worry about that for a while,mine have been changed twice.Come to find out the dealer that sold it to me pressed the retainer that goes up against the seal in the wrong place therfore they were still leaking.

k-man

Tell me about this rear diff locker recall. You'll have to forgive my ignorance as this is my first Toyota ever, not to mention my first 4WD vehicle. My primary reason for purchasing the Runner is my previous vehicle was a money pit in mechanical repairs. The Runner was perfect for what I could afford without involving a monthly payment. I needed something reliable and provide relatively many miles of trouble free service. It came down between the Sienna or a 4 Runner.

As you can guess the Runner got the nod. Overall I'm very pleased with my decision except for a couple of things. It's sharp! Previous owner took pretty good care of her.

I went ahead and had brakes serviced, new timing belt & waterpump. If I can figure out how to put a picture on here I'll take a pic and load it.

Any thoughts on the tacoma cone appreciated...

tulsa_97SR5

If you have a locker it would be an extra switch (by the shifter?) that locks the rear wheels together, great for mud & other low traction situations (not so great in snow I hear). There isn't really a problem with them, they are actually very desirable, which is why I was jokingly trying to talk you out of yours

I think the switch would say 'RR diff' or something like that, search for e-locker or electronic locker on this site if you aren't sure if you have one or not. They were an option for your year, and most I've seen were on Limiteds.

northfacer581

the locker switch is right beside your lights brightness control. if its just a black rectangle, no e-locker. and if you have an e-locker it should say "RR DIFF LOCK" on the rectangle.

k-man

Yeah, I don't have the locker on my '97. Took the faceplate off around the radio, ac/heat controls this weekend to gain access to the cup holder. The 2 arms that are spring released to hold a can were broken. I found one on Ebay for about $35.00.

I'm really concerned about the downshifting situation. It seems it's confusing itself. Ran up to Meijer last night and going around the corner in the parking lot it was like the tranny wasn't sure if it should downshift. It's like "oh" I need to downshift to a lower gear now. It upshifts great. It doesn't matter if the engine is cold or hot.

Does anyone experience a "rocking" motion with auto trans gear shift lever? As well the 4WD lever does the same thing. I've had my Runner for a little over three weeks now. I placed my hand on the lever while driving today and noticed the rocking sensation. It just rocks back and forth. Does anyone know if this something I need to be concerned about and looking into? I've got a drivetrain warranty and want to take advantage of before it expires.

Thanks!

MODZILLA

Dead on analysis. Good info from the man up north.

rimpainter.com

There was a thread going about this just a few weeks ago. It is normal. I had the same thing on my 98 Taco LTD and my 96 4Runner that I used for my axle swap.

As for your downshifting problem, have you messed with the ECT button? That will hold each gear longer when "PWR" is activated.

k-man

No Christian, I don't have the PWR/ECT button engaged. I have engaged it just to experience the difference in shifting. The downshifting is so inconsistent, I'd say about 50/50. Half the time it downshifts just fine and the other half it doesn't. When I come to a complete stop you can feel the tranny downshift as you're just sitting there. Sometimes this happens instantly after stopping or a few seconds go by before the downshift occurs. Other instances I can be going around a corner, as you're coming out of corner pressing the gas you can sense it hasn't downshifted to appropriate gear. Engine kind of rev's a little and then the tranny senses it should be in a lower gear.

This is my first 4WD ever. Is this typical of 4WD's? I can't imagine this being considered normal. I appreciate anyone's opinion.

Thanks.