Hey everyone, I'm new round these parts but I'm hoping someone can help me out with what may be wrong with my little pos.

its an 88 SR5 (though Im told the 88 didnt have that engine? so maybe an 89..) its got a rebuilt engine as of 100k ago so Im told but I have no idea what was done. Odometer read 265k. Its been sitting about a year and did have some running issues; running rough over all, has a miss in it, was chugging all the time.. pretty much just running like a tank.
Changed the plugs, air filter, cap & rotor. Threw some cleaner down the air intake. Bought a new fuel filter but havent put it in yet, threw some alcohol in the tank for the time being.
So now she's idling pretty well all the time, not chugging.. miss is still there intermittently

But the pain in my ass is that at 2000 rpm it will drop power, bog out, chug but will pick right back up if I keep it above or below that point. If I throw her in neutral and hold the rpms at 2gs it flucuates on its own. Not badly, a little above & a little below, but only does it at that point. Its lost all power on me once or twice while driving but doesnt stall out. As soon as it drops below 2 grand again power kicks back in and she's all good.

This is totally a beater truck for the winter while my old school celica sleeps. I'm okay with it being a beater I just dont want to pull my hair out if it leaves me on the side of the road somewhere.
Any recommendations to help a gal out?? Thanks!

 

eeeeesh. . . . 4 or 6 cyl?

could be: vacuum, throttle position sensor, or egr. . . . .cant remember when egr is supposed to kick in. . . . .does it do it warm AND cold or only when the engine is warm?

 

is check engine light on or does it ever come on?

 

Warm and cold and no, light never comes on. Its a 4 cyl

 

i had this problem with my tps recently

 

tps or missrouted vacuum lines. . . . . moreso tps

buy a new throttle body gasket, remove throttle body, test tps according to FSM or 4crawler's write up. try to adjust replace if necessary. did mine a few months back. paid 80 for one through dealer and havent looked back. in the rare case that that is not the exact problem, at least you have another 20 year part

edit: check vacuum line routing first though just in case. diagram is under the hood. ensure hoses are in decent condition

edit2: if it comes down to the tps, TAKE YOUR TIME! There are 4 different positions to test, and in my case, took some very finite adjusting to get all 4 within range.

try hitting your "rough spot" at a different throttle position. ie more or less throttle than you would normally use. if it runs clear past 2000, dead giveaway. if not, dont pass it off as not being the culprit

 

Thanks, Ill eff around with it this weekend.
Last night it started losing power while driving it. Wouldnt die or stall out, but all of a sudden it just wouldnt go, pedal to the floor and no gas. Rpms drop below 1000 and it picks up and again and resumes driving. In the five times it did it, the check engine light came on once and didnt stay on.

I dont mind wrenching and tinkering, but bloody hell, I'm about to set it on fire

 

damn, i've been there, frustrating i know. see which code comes up from that check engine light

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I just went ahead and replaced the tps and it ran beautifully... for a week. Now its idle jumps from 900 to 1200, but the 2000rpm bog is gone.

Now however Ive blown a belt and a hose, so much fun!
One question though.. the 22re, are there any major changes from year to year? I may have a line on a short block but it's a 90 so Im just wondering if theres going to be any issues putting this head on and throwing it in there

 

does the idle fluctuate all the time or only when you press the brake? it sucks that youre having this much trouble with a 22re, once you get all the little problems worked out you wont be dissapointed.

 

All the time, brake or not. It does suck! My other little beast never gave me nearly as much trouble. I'd like to do a full engine rebuild on it come summer, but if I can only get it running well for winter. Bah!

 

Alright so new developments... it doesnt do it with the brake off now, but with the clutch engaged the rpms climb to about 1500 and stay there. Havent been able to check it out idling without clutch or brake engaged, my e-brake doesnt work and everywhere around here is hilly, ugh!
Any thoughts?