Ok so I have a 94 Toyota 4x4 with a 22RE with 275,000 miles on it. I bought the truck with a blown head gasket and did the head gasket, timing chain kit, timing cover, and water pump. No problems with that since. While the truck is worn and I know I probably should have just rebuilt it, even without the rebuild it has been going pretty good. I have had some weird issues but they all ended up being caused by bad gas. Going to work the other day up a hill the truck started hesitating and sputtering like it was running out of gas. Snapping the throttle seemed to resolve the problem and I got to work fine. Leaving was a nightmare. Trying to get up hills the whole time the truck wanted to die. I managed to make it home but it wasn't pretty. It was also having a hard time taking off from stops, wanting to stall. I have had a CEL on for a while for the knock sensor and I decided to actually try to fix that figuring that was the problem. It ended up being some messed up wiring near the computer which I repaired and the light has gone out and has not come back on since, however the truck still has almost no power. The truck idles fine but cannot perform under load. I also checked the TPS sensor and noticed it was slightly out of adjustment and corrected that however once again, no difference. I have checked the timing and idle air settings with the jumper wire in the diagnostic box and they are all correct. This is driving me crazy. I also noticed and this could all be in my head but for some reason the throttle pedal feels softer, like there is not as much resistance as usual, and there is a slight spot at the beginning of its travel that is not actually pulling the cable, like the cable is stretched or something. Again, maybe this has been going on the whole time but I definitely think I feel some difference in that. I really appreciate everyone's assistance and I really hope that we can figure this out.

 

Set the crank to TDC, pull the valve cover and see if the cam mark lines up properly. If it doesn't rotate the crank 360 deg and check again. It's possible the chain jumped a tooth.

When mine jumped it idled fine etc... but had no power.

it's a 10 minute job, just check and report back

 

So I did what you suggested and popped the cover and put the engine to TDC, the cam mark is slightly to the left of the very top and based on my research that is what is expected, so it seems that is not what it is. I appreciate the idea though and your help. Any other thoughts?

 

Your blown head gasket is a pretty big red flag.

Truck ran fine prior..?

Truck still have a catalytic converter...?

Excessive coolant/oil entering the catalyst can damage and "clog" or restrict the catalytic converter.

Check engine Vacuum to verify.

 

The truck does not have a cat on it. Its been decent power wise since he head gasket job until now.

 

I also forgot to mention that disconnecting the TPS makes the truck run much better and I do not seem to have nearly as many problems going up and down hills. It idles high and I am sure it can't be good for fuel economy but it seems to be a major improvement on the situation with the TPS connected. Tomorrow I am going to disconnect one plug wire at a time while it is running and see if any of the cylinders are misfiring.

 

During all the fixing of things have you ever changed the fuel filter??

Have you had someone move the throttle as you watch maybe the cable is starting to break.

Then your not getting the throttle movement your used to.

 

Yup, a few hundred miles ago. I had actually just changed it before that but then I got the bad gas and as a precautionary measure decided I should probably just put another fresh one in. Thanks for the ideas guys. I am going out right now to check out the plug wires and see if I can determine a misfiring cylinder.

 

So I checked for misfiring and none of them seemed to be, at least not consistently. I will check out that idea about a breaking throttle cable though I doubt that that is causing my main issue but it could be contributing to that difference I think I feel in the pedal.

 

So I just got a code 25 for lean mixture. I do have a small exhaust leak where the pipe meets the manifold. Could this be to blame?

 

Any other ideas? I tried another coil and that didn't make a difference. I am stumped here. I really need to get this truck running normally again. I appreciate everyone's help.

 

SOLVED So I replaced the ignition coil on my 94 22re pickup that was sputtering and had almost no power going up hills. What a difference! The truck is running excellent now with noticeably more power in general! Anyone having this issue should definitely look into changing their ignition coil.