I'm at a loss for this so I'll ask here even though it is not exactly Toyota related but does involve my truck. Any ideas what would cause an engine to stumble, sputter and often die but only while turning right? It doesn't seem to matter how fast or slow I'm going nor does any incline seem to affect it but as soon as I make a right turn it happens. Every time. Never while turning left. Never while going straight. And it's only right turns (as with an intersection) not curves to the right on the highway. I can't duplicate the problem while stationary nor does it happen when the wheel is turned but the truck not moving (thus eliminating PS isuues I hope). It is on my V8 powered truck. The EFI is Holley Pro-Jection, the ignition is an MSD 6T & Mallory Autolite distributor.

So far, I've checked all the wiring for possible intermittant shorts that may occur when the wires move. Nothing. The gas tank is full (40 gallons) so the pickup tube isn't losing a suction. I'm planning to change the spark plug wires soon for a slight miss anyway but I'm not to confident in that being my problem with the turning. Any ideas on what to look at next would be greatly appreciated.

 

Have you tried checking the wiring that goes to the fuel pump?

It could be a ground issue with one of your wires.

That's all I can think of.

 

My professional (?) diagnosis: possesed by the devil himself. I say trade it in on a s/c'ed 3rd gen. Just my .02

 

i think it's because you did the unthinkable. you swapped in a NON-toyota engine! reap what you sow buddy, reap what you sow. haha, jk man. yeah, that's kinda wierd. my first thought is so bluntly obvious that it can't be correct: maybe the place where the fuel is pumped from the tank is on one side of the engine, and you're low on fuel so when you go around a corner, the liquid is sloshed to the opposite side of the tank, leaving the pump nothing to pump except maybe a few drops, causing it to sputter. like i said, i can't imagine that's it.

my other thought is that maybe your carbeurator float is broken or not adjusted correctly or something.

other than that, i gotta stick with the non-toyota engine thing. sorry, i'm worthless in diagnosing things.

 

I thought that too but he's running an EFI set-up = no carb.

 

What??? And take a step backwards in hp, a giant step backwards in torque and IFS (It's For Shopping) as well? Not in my lifetime. As fas as I'm concerned, Toyota lost me as a new truck buyer in '86. Besides, this one has been paid off for more than fifteen years; car payments=bad.

So do I. That's a lot of why I'm not a mechanic anymore. I've decided that I can build most anything. I can also fix most anything... once I know what's broke. It's finding out what's broke that always kills me.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. While I'm stuill not sure what was wrong, I rewired the fuel pump and the problem went away. The more research I do, the more it seems that almost every problem with Pro-Jection can be traced to the fuel pump.

 

I was gonna say that if you're running the Toyota in-tank EFI pump, when the level is low enough it'll start sucking air when turning right or when off-camber leaning to the left...