rough idle.. coil packs?
03-01-2010, 04:05 PM
#24
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Ok so i started this thread a year ago and just now fixed the problem this past weekend. I finally gave in took it to a shop to get a diagnostic, ran me bout $70. After all the stores (autozone, oreilly, napa) and everyone swearing it wasnt a timing issue were wrong! The shop said it needed new water pump timign belt and serpentine belts. I replaced all this and it runs beautifully. so if you havent changed your timing belt in a while you wmight want to check on that mine was worn out. good luck with figuring out whats wrong.
hopefully next time I will remember to suggest checking the marks on the cams to be sure they are on the mark!!! simply could have been that cam jumped a tooth or two as well but the stretching makes sense!!
and mlombardi is responsible for that revival and dgl4runner finally concluded the fix so this is now a great thread as far as I am concerned!! mlombardi THANK YOU for searching!!!
Last edited by eddieleephd; 03-01-2010 at 04:08 PM.
03-01-2010, 04:45 PM
#25
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02-27-2012, 06:43 AM
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I'm bumping this thread cause my truck has been running rough at random times. I had a check engine light come on that said misfire in cylinder 4 so I changed the spark plugs and wires with all oem stuff. Now that I have done that the truck seemed to run good till about mid day when it started running rough again. As I was driving home while it was running rough all of a sudden it started running fine. I checked to make sure all of the wires were pushed all the way down so now I am stumped. Do you guys think it could be a bad coil pack? I currently have no check engine light on.
02-27-2012, 09:36 AM
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02-27-2012, 10:24 AM
#30
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Before you do in to all of that use contact grease on the coil packs and spark plugs.
I had a similar issue that was solved this way.
and seriously double check ground contacts!!!
Run all trouble shooting before throwing parts at it. the FSM has ECM trouble excellent shooting procedures, using multimeter!!
and 4cyl or 6cyl? I had taken the spring out of one and cleaned it and greased it as well, hard part is getting it back in to the spot.
I had to use a long thin flat blade screw driver!
I had a similar issue that was solved this way.
and seriously double check ground contacts!!!
Run all trouble shooting before throwing parts at it. the FSM has ECM trouble excellent shooting procedures, using multimeter!!
and 4cyl or 6cyl? I had taken the spring out of one and cleaned it and greased it as well, hard part is getting it back in to the spot.
I had to use a long thin flat blade screw driver!
Last edited by eddieleephd; 02-27-2012 at 10:25 AM.
02-27-2012, 10:54 AM
#31
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Before you do in to all of that use contact grease on the coil packs and spark plugs.
I had a similar issue that was solved this way.
and seriously double check ground contacts!!!
Run all trouble shooting before throwing parts at it. the FSM has ECM trouble excellent shooting procedures, using multimeter!!
and 4cyl or 6cyl? I had taken the spring out of one and cleaned it and greased it as well, hard part is getting it back in to the spot.
I had to use a long thin flat blade screw driver!
I had a similar issue that was solved this way.
and seriously double check ground contacts!!!
Run all trouble shooting before throwing parts at it. the FSM has ECM trouble excellent shooting procedures, using multimeter!!
and 4cyl or 6cyl? I had taken the spring out of one and cleaned it and greased it as well, hard part is getting it back in to the spot.
I had to use a long thin flat blade screw driver!
01-31-2014, 03:57 PM
#33
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Hey, another misfire here. I have a 2000 4runner 4cyl, codes are random misfire and misfire on cyl 2.
I clear the code and it goes away for a while, then come back. Always at idle. It runs a bit rough at idle as well. Not horrible, but enough to anoy you.
I have 180K miles on this, all original items minus the plugs that have been changed not to many thousand miles ago. Only thing this vehicle ever did to me was take me for oil change money which I did every 3K miles or so. This has been an extremely nice running truck.
So reading through these post, I was hoping someone can help me with some things. I have already checked my plugs. They look nice and and not fouled. They don't looks very worn. I have checked compression and all cyl read close to 200psi. I cleaned the MAF and air filter.
One comment mentioned timing, and looking at timing marks. Is this something that can be seen without taking things off? Or are the marks spoken of under the valve cover. Im not equipped with much for tooling or a place to work on it, so the less I have to disassemble the better.
Also, its worse when the car is cold. Its starts to run a little smoother after it warms up. In fact, I can start the car cold, drive it till it warms up, and still have the problem when idling. Its not until I turn the engine off for about 5 min ( like running into a store) and then starting it again that it smooths out some( not perfect, but better than cold). Strange it takes turning the motor off and on again while its warm to make a difference.
I clear the code and it goes away for a while, then come back. Always at idle. It runs a bit rough at idle as well. Not horrible, but enough to anoy you.
I have 180K miles on this, all original items minus the plugs that have been changed not to many thousand miles ago. Only thing this vehicle ever did to me was take me for oil change money which I did every 3K miles or so. This has been an extremely nice running truck.
So reading through these post, I was hoping someone can help me with some things. I have already checked my plugs. They look nice and and not fouled. They don't looks very worn. I have checked compression and all cyl read close to 200psi. I cleaned the MAF and air filter.
One comment mentioned timing, and looking at timing marks. Is this something that can be seen without taking things off? Or are the marks spoken of under the valve cover. Im not equipped with much for tooling or a place to work on it, so the less I have to disassemble the better.
Also, its worse when the car is cold. Its starts to run a little smoother after it warms up. In fact, I can start the car cold, drive it till it warms up, and still have the problem when idling. Its not until I turn the engine off for about 5 min ( like running into a store) and then starting it again that it smooths out some( not perfect, but better than cold). Strange it takes turning the motor off and on again while its warm to make a difference.
01-31-2014, 08:30 PM
#34
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Timing marks are on the crank and the cams.
You need the engine at TDC so the crank timing mark is in position, then you look at the cam marks to wee if they are straight up.
If they are off some the belt is stretched.
Generally the top left will be off more than the top right because the tensioner is between the crank and the top left cam. the difference may not be all too noticable.
If they are off by 2 teeth there tends to be a little rough idle.
Rough idle is a tricky one. If you are running two steps cooler plugs this can do the same thing and make it idle a little rough.
My first question is do you have the right plugs in?
Dual ground strap plugs preferably NGK or denso, I prefer NGK.
Next question is whether there is spark plug grease, not having made mine run rough. It helps the conductivity between the spring and the plug.
The connector to the coil that fires the coil can be culprit too.
The whole rough idle at start up but not if you turn it off for five minutes throws a curve ball in there too.
Almost could be a sensor thing or even a IAC thing.
The more likely of these is the IAC. It could need burped of air if air gets in the coolant line; it can get trapped in the IAC and cause all kinds of funny idle issues.
To burp this air loosen the rear coolant line to the IAC and leave connected.
Start the truck then pull this line of momentarily so coolant fills the IAC valve.
Then quickly put it back on and retighten.
It is best to do when cold so there is no heat in the line to deal with and you don't burn yourself.
ED
You need the engine at TDC so the crank timing mark is in position, then you look at the cam marks to wee if they are straight up.
If they are off some the belt is stretched.
Generally the top left will be off more than the top right because the tensioner is between the crank and the top left cam. the difference may not be all too noticable.
If they are off by 2 teeth there tends to be a little rough idle.
Rough idle is a tricky one. If you are running two steps cooler plugs this can do the same thing and make it idle a little rough.
My first question is do you have the right plugs in?
Dual ground strap plugs preferably NGK or denso, I prefer NGK.
Next question is whether there is spark plug grease, not having made mine run rough. It helps the conductivity between the spring and the plug.
The connector to the coil that fires the coil can be culprit too.
The whole rough idle at start up but not if you turn it off for five minutes throws a curve ball in there too.
Almost could be a sensor thing or even a IAC thing.
The more likely of these is the IAC. It could need burped of air if air gets in the coolant line; it can get trapped in the IAC and cause all kinds of funny idle issues.
To burp this air loosen the rear coolant line to the IAC and leave connected.
Start the truck then pull this line of momentarily so coolant fills the IAC valve.
Then quickly put it back on and retighten.
It is best to do when cold so there is no heat in the line to deal with and you don't burn yourself.
ED
02-01-2014, 07:40 AM
#35
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I seen some other posts about these dual ground plugs. I have never see one. When I look up plugs at NAPA or AutoZone, etc, they never seem to list anything thats Dual Ground. Is it possible none are made for my year vehicle?
I have not used the plug grease, and when I pulled the coil packs out and went to reinsert them, I noticed only about a .05 gap between the rubber seal on the top and valve cover. Then I seen a post about the springs inside being compressed over age. So if you can maybe direct me to where I can get dual ground plugs, of if they are not needed, I am going to get new plugs, with grease, and stretch that spring out some and see if that fixes it.
Also, there are so many variations of plug types. What gives? Iridium IX, Laser Platinum, Laser Iridium, Standard Nikel, V-Power, etc, etc. Are these just gimics and money makers. Can I buy the cheapest? Which would you recommend.
I have not used the plug grease, and when I pulled the coil packs out and went to reinsert them, I noticed only about a .05 gap between the rubber seal on the top and valve cover. Then I seen a post about the springs inside being compressed over age. So if you can maybe direct me to where I can get dual ground plugs, of if they are not needed, I am going to get new plugs, with grease, and stretch that spring out some and see if that fixes it.
Also, there are so many variations of plug types. What gives? Iridium IX, Laser Platinum, Laser Iridium, Standard Nikel, V-Power, etc, etc. Are these just gimics and money makers. Can I buy the cheapest? Which would you recommend.
02-02-2014, 02:54 PM
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Side question. Havent had time this weekend to swap out the plugs and stretch the ignition coil springs, but i remembered something from a while back.
I had a code about my heater going back on my O2 sensor. I replaced it and all was fine. During my searching for how to determine if mine was bad, I came across a site that said the heater should read 11 - 16ohms when cool. I just spent the last 5 hours downloading all the manual for 2000 4runner off this site: https://techinfo.toyota.com. I couldn't find one that matched my vehicle, so i bit the bullet and paid 15 bucks, now I have a accurate service manual for my car....Anyways, this also says it should be 11-16Ohms at about 68F. Well I remember when I purchased my new one (off amazon, said it was for my car) the heater measured 1 Ohm :O. I was hesitant on installing it as 1 ohm is almost as good as a short, but I did it anyways, and its been working so far ( no engine light for that anyways).
So question is, can the heater, not being what is factory specified suggests, be the cause of a poor idle also? Should I just goto a dealer and buy one from them? I went to AutoZone, Oriely, etc, and measured the ones they had, and they also were 1 Ohm, and these were the ones that were said to be for my vehicle.
How can all these places have these parts that are out of factory spec? The one I got was Denso by the way, if that really matters.
Any thoughts on this?
Edit: Nevermind - Seen the manual calls the front O2 sensor a Air Ratio Sensor and is supposed to be close to 1 ohm.
I had a code about my heater going back on my O2 sensor. I replaced it and all was fine. During my searching for how to determine if mine was bad, I came across a site that said the heater should read 11 - 16ohms when cool. I just spent the last 5 hours downloading all the manual for 2000 4runner off this site: https://techinfo.toyota.com. I couldn't find one that matched my vehicle, so i bit the bullet and paid 15 bucks, now I have a accurate service manual for my car....Anyways, this also says it should be 11-16Ohms at about 68F. Well I remember when I purchased my new one (off amazon, said it was for my car) the heater measured 1 Ohm :O. I was hesitant on installing it as 1 ohm is almost as good as a short, but I did it anyways, and its been working so far ( no engine light for that anyways).
So question is, can the heater, not being what is factory specified suggests, be the cause of a poor idle also? Should I just goto a dealer and buy one from them? I went to AutoZone, Oriely, etc, and measured the ones they had, and they also were 1 Ohm, and these were the ones that were said to be for my vehicle.
How can all these places have these parts that are out of factory spec? The one I got was Denso by the way, if that really matters.
Any thoughts on this?
Edit: Nevermind - Seen the manual calls the front O2 sensor a Air Ratio Sensor and is supposed to be close to 1 ohm.
Last edited by changedsoul; 02-03-2014 at 04:34 PM.
02-07-2014, 06:16 AM
#38
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NGK BKUR3k-11 I believe is the number
or bkr3k-11
I was looking at the chart below to come up with that #
http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/techinf...tnumberkey.pdf
It has been a while since I had the yota I ran bkur5et plugs which were 2 steps cooler and copper core recommended for supercharged trucks.
you can always go to toyota to get them.
I used to get them from Advance Auto Parts and remember looking them without the vehicle listed.
You should be able to get them most places.
Bkur5Et is what I used to run By the way.
or bkr3k-11
I was looking at the chart below to come up with that #
http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/techinf...tnumberkey.pdf
It has been a while since I had the yota I ran bkur5et plugs which were 2 steps cooler and copper core recommended for supercharged trucks.
you can always go to toyota to get them.
I used to get them from Advance Auto Parts and remember looking them without the vehicle listed.
You should be able to get them most places.
Bkur5Et is what I used to run By the way.
Last edited by eddieleephd; 02-07-2014 at 06:17 AM.
02-07-2014, 06:19 AM
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02-08-2014, 03:21 PM
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Ok, so I went to the dealer and got the plugs they suggested for my vehicle: K16R-U11. They are Denso. I dont really know if these are better, worse, or the same as the ones suggested in this post. I still have a rough idle though. I have changed out the plugs, I pulled the springs out of the coil packs and stretched them a bit for better contact. I placed dielectric grease on both ends of the spring, and reinstalled. As one poster commented, this actually improved how my engine responds when starting from a stop what I like to call "grampa style", slowly. It used to sputter a split second before it took off. Now its nice and smooth.
So I think I may have had an issue with spark before the new plugs and stretched springs in the coils. But now that this is resolved, and I still have a rough idle....any more thoughts?
I burped the IAC as well. Checked Timing, all seems ok.
Also, when I say rough idle, i am not saying its violent. Im not in fear of the engine stalling or anything at a stop light. Its just not "smooth" like a new car. I know its got 180K miles on it. Its just the feeling I have when at a stop and the car is shaking a bit, makes me worried something worse is coming down the line and I want to nip this in the but if its possible.
So I think I may have had an issue with spark before the new plugs and stretched springs in the coils. But now that this is resolved, and I still have a rough idle....any more thoughts?
I burped the IAC as well. Checked Timing, all seems ok.
Also, when I say rough idle, i am not saying its violent. Im not in fear of the engine stalling or anything at a stop light. Its just not "smooth" like a new car. I know its got 180K miles on it. Its just the feeling I have when at a stop and the car is shaking a bit, makes me worried something worse is coming down the line and I want to nip this in the but if its possible.
