ive been having problems starting my 4runner. cant quite figure out the problem. its getting fuel to the cylinders as well as spark. has a new distributer cap as well as plugs and wires. injectors are all showing 13 to 14 ohms and has been re timed as well. other then that im lost and have absolutly no idea what to do. its a 1994 with the 3.0 if that helps at all. im about to the point of giving up on it but dont want to get rid of it at all. if anybody can help id greatly appreciate it.

 

Have you checked the fuel pressure to insure that the pump is working correctly. EFI must maintain a certain amount of fuel pressure to run correctly.

When was the last time it ran? What did you do to it prior to this problem? Did you time it or someone you know? Are you 100% sure that the timing is correct? Just because its firing doesn't mean that it's firing under compression. Full us in with a little more info.

 

Check fuel pressure?

Im sure one of the 3.0 guru's will be along shortly to help. Dont give up.

 

Haha I beat you by just seconds lol

You may wanna checkout the fuel pressure regulator as well. A faulty regulator can cause the same problems.

 

havent checked the pressure quite yet. not really too sure how to go about doing that. what psi should it be producing? it last ran 2 weeks ago. replaced the gaskets with a new gasket kit and it ran for about 2 days then it stopped. me and a buddy both timmed it and double checked it with other people and they all said it was good as well and left it at that. other then that im not too sure

 

Why don't you fill us in on HOW you know this? If it was timed (by 4 people, no less!) then you probably know a) how you did it, and b) what it was set to. How do you know it's getting fuel and spark?

You said "replaced the gaskets with a new gasket kit." As in, a complete top and bottom overhaul? If we have to guess, it won't help you much.

All it takes is fuel, air and spark. If you have just these three, it should run. So you might try checking the compression to be sure the spark has somewhere to go.

 

i suck at parts names so please be patient with me. we took off the fan and belts. as well as the plastic cover that covers the timing belt and rotated it till (the dots my buddy marked) were both straight up. cant remember how he knew how its supose to be to know where to mark. and the bottom pulley was straight down. at first we had that 180 degrees off so re did it and put it all back together. went to start it and it ran for a second then died. we can tell its getting fuel and spark because plugs are all wet with fuel and checked the spark with a spark tester and theyre brand new plugs.

 

Lets assume you did everything but the last bit correctly, Double check the plug wires go to the proper spark plugs.

 

the wires are all snug and the plug gaps are all at .032 like they should be

 

Snug and properly gapped doesn't mean going to the proper plugs. Please verify and confirm to us.

 

What do you mean by proper plugs then?

 

He means the right wires going to the right plugs. They don't fire at the same time, so if the wires are switched it won't run. (My distributor cap has the cylinder numbers printed on it.)

You've successfully set the CAM timing. But your symptoms could be caused by the IGNITION timing being off. You need a timing light to check that; they're not expensive, and not hard to use.

 

O alright. Ya my cap has the numbers and they're going to the right place. Ill try picking up a timing light this week and see

 

Sorry got busy/distracted, thanks yeah I meant the routing of cylinders. And "I got your back", he uh can't use a timing light untill after it fires up and stays running by it's self.

Your not running at all unless I missed it, right?

Another relatively easy check is to drop the exhaust to rule out back pressure from a pluged up cat ect.

I think the the injector wires only fit one way also, but it's worth a check.

Then work your way thru this TS flow chart, from the distributor section of the FSM, you can generally safely stop at the "replace ignitor" step but if you have an extra one handy try it also. Next is the fuel delivery system, assuming the cold start isn't pluged up you can get a sense of the fuel pressure by doing the CSI flow test(Disconnect, apply power to injector and fuel pump, measure fuel at 15seconds, should be 40-50cc), this is covered in the manual in detail.

If you have fuel and spark at the right times the only other option is compression. Run a compression check and verify none of the valves are stuck open ect.

 

Why not? It's a little harder to do because the rpm is so low with just the starter, but the plugs are firing enough for me to see the mark on the harmonic balancer. You're not trying to set it to within 1 degree, just see if it's at least near the right place.

If the timing light fires you know the igniter, ignition coil and distributor are all working, and can cross them off your list. If it fires and you can't see the mark (rub some white chalk or "wite-out" on it to make it easier to see), then you need to worry about where the #1 plug wire goes. If it doesn't light, you know where you need to look next.

 

Alright thanks. Ill be busy for a while due to moving but once I'm done with all that ill keep messing with it. Hopefully next week ill be able to get around to it