Recently picked up 2 new to me 86 4Runners 22RE manual. The red one (Rosa) has a cracked exhaust pipe and a leaking timing chain cover. I'll fix them soon enough. She's got over 400K on her with a rebuilt 22re with 70K. Great interior, terrible exterior. The white one (Blanca) has a little over 200K. She has a better exterior with a lot less miles on the body. But her issues are far worse. Drives fine on flat but as soon as I try to drive it uphill it loses power and will eventually die. I have to keep downshifting to the point where I'm in 1st gear going 10mph. If it gets too steep it totally dies. I've gone through and done the following to no avail:
- valve adjust
- timing
- new vacuum lines
- adjusted and tested TPS and replaced connector
- new O2 sensor
- new fuel filter
- serviced injectors and replaced connectors
- new dip stick
- new hoses
- new PCV
- compression test ok
- new plugs gapped
- new wires
- cold start injector serviced and connector replaced
- new bvsv
- cleaned throttle body and plenum
- new fuel pressure regulator
- tested air flow meter
- found air valve disconnected and repaired that.
The list goes on. I'm at a loss. I even tried driving with the gas cap off. Pulled the fuel pump and checked the screen. It was all clean. Ran sea foam through it along with fresh gas. Still no change. Any suggestions on where to go from here? Any help is appreciated!

 

I would check fuel pressure, egr valve stuck open? Catalytic converter plugged? Air intake through radiator support obstructed(i did that once!) Put a vacuum gauge on it.

 

I tested fuel pressure and it was on the high side with no variation in the different tests conducted, so I replaced the fuel pressure regulator with a new one. Also tested the EGR. It's working normally. I'll double check the air intake and the cat tomorrow. Thanks

 

So I replaced the air flow sensor with one from my other rig and no change. Air flow is good. No plugs, no leaks. Still need to check the cat. My power steering pump is leaking though. I'm wondering if that could be a vacuum leak causing loss of power? Any thoughts?

 

I also just deleted the egr to see if it would run better. No change. I'm doing another valve adjustment right now and then I'm fresh outta ideas...

 

I just adjusted the valves again. Dipped my finger into the oil sitting by the rockers and this is what I found.

This is going from bad to worse I think.

 

forgive me if this was a given, but did you check for any codes? I was thinking TPS but you already checked it, maybe the cat as melrose mentioned. tank looked nice and clean inside? has it sat for a while before you bought it? blow out the fuel return lines and make sure they're not crossed? just thinking out loud...make sure the line that goes to the bottom of the tank is not clogged at the elbow? I read that somewhere...hopefully someone out there has experienced this and will chime in. The problem with researching old threads is that alot of the time the OP doesn't come back and share the fix, they just drive along to the next problem lol good luck

 

TPS has been checked, rechecked and then checked again. Haha! I did a vacuum check on the cat and it's normal. Cat looks new actually. Tank was clean inside and sock is clear. Pump actually looks like it was replaced by PO. Didn't check all the lines though. The two things that have me most concerned are the silver in the oil and a knock that has developed at RPMs over 1500. Seems to be coming from around the union of the transmission to engine. Sigh... I'll check the fuel lines next and swap the fuel pump from Rosa and see if that does anything. Thanks!

 

Oh yeah, the check engine light has never come on so didn't think there were any codes to read. Am I wrong on this?

 

You're probably right, I would think there would be a CEL on if there were a detectable issue in one of the systems, but when mine wouldn't stay running right after starting, and since that's a classic COR symptom, I thought it was worth checking for any codes, especially because it's such an easy test...there were no codes, by the way! sorry to hear about the knock, but a great opportunity to tell your wife "see, this is why we need 2!"

 

Silver oil and a knock is going to be a rod bearing. Hold idle at 1500 or so and remove spark plug wires to see which cylinder. You can maybe replace the bearing, it’s a lot of work, i just went through it. But mine has another problem so will still have to pull the engine out.

 

Yeah I was thinking it was a spun bearing. It's on the number 4 cylinder. Would the spun bearing account for the total loss of power going uphill? I'm seriously considering pulling the motor out of Rosa and putting it in Blanca. Then I can do a full tear down of Blanca's.

 

COR? I'm missing the acronym.

 

Yes, it sure would.

 

here's a good thread on it How Circuit Opening Relay Works - 22R-Eliable - YotaTech Forums

 

Thanks! Ok, yeah I tested to confirm it's clicking away when I jumped the fuel system to do the fuel pressure tests. I'm really leaning toward the spun bearing being my issue at this point. But now I know more about the COR! Thanks

 

Well, I've officially made the decision to pull the engine on Blanca and do a full rebuild. I figure that way I know exactly what I have going back in. Once I get her up and running again I can pull all the interior parts and pieces out of Rosa to make her look nice and have one solid truck. In the mean time Rosa drives and I can use her as an interim. I'll start a new thread for the full remodel of Blanca. Wish me luck. Never done an engine rebuild before... what's the worst that could happen!?! Bahahaha!
(I foresee a lot of swear words in my future). 🤬