Okay here's what I got. An 87 P/U with a 22re in it and a nasty missfire. Will work on posting a video soon but for now here's what I've done and a description of the problem





Bought it with a misfire a year ago and am chasing it down.
- It's only really noticeable while idling
- it's inconsistent, I.E "put put...........put...put put put... etc
- not specific to one cylinder, I pulled the plugs one by one and all the cylinders had double missfires
- runs without missfires on startup until the 15-45 second mark where it slowly starts missing more and more
- sometimes runs w/o missfires while warm and idling, seems to mostly pick random times to act up

here's what I've done and or checked.
-new plugs installed and gapped
-new distributor cap and rotar
-new injectors
-new fuel filter
-new MAF sensor
-new air filter
-compressions test, 180 PSI across the board
-3 months every other tank Seafoam treatment
-intake leak test, butane was blown everywhere across intake and vac lines with no revs
-new exhaust, (old one had fallen off)

chief concerns include
-previous owner unhooked several vac lines, still finding nipples that aren't hooked up to anything
-random wires hanging around. Don't know what they go to
-haven't checked under the valve cover nor do I know what to look for
-possibly fuel pump? Don't know how to test that.
-possibly ignition distributor? Again, don't know how to test that
-missed an intake leak somewhere in my testing possibly?

I've been fighting with this for awhile and I figure I've got enough clues for someone smarter then I to put it all together but for the life of me I don't know where I should look. Any help is REALLY appreciated, thanks guys!

 

The EGR modulator valve is missing. Do you have? It mounted next to the EGR valve to the same bolt that now has that ground wire(that wire is supposed to be bolted to the block.) There's also vacuum switching valve(s) that bolted to the valve cover. one of those connectors (the one green one)you're holding goes to that.
With the modulator valve you could reconnect many of the vacuum lines.
The adjusting bolt that locks down the distributer, is it fairly centered in the slot, or is it off to one side?

Is the fuel filter just propped up, or is it bolted to something? It's supposed to be bolted to the block just above the starter. Some relocate it to make it more accessible, but since it's so rarely replaced i think it's better left alone. I don’t think bending a 36 year old pressure hose that way is good.

Your accelerator cable is under hospice care.
The ground wire bolted to the intake/plenum is wrong, too. It went to the center-rear bolt on the plenum.

I'd focus on getting things hooked up correctly. It's going to be hard to troubleshoot an engine with SO many things altered and removed.
Go to epc-data.com and you can get pictures of parts sorta in their proper place/orientation.

edit: I just noticed the vacuum rail the runs along the right side of the valve cover is missing. Did the previous owner give you all the stuff they removed? Can you get?

 

here's the distributor bolt you asked for. It's cocked off mostly to the side. As for the EGR modulator no, never got one with the truck. I'll look at getting one and fixing the ground cable. Same goes for the rest of the stuff you mentioned vacuum wise. I got no extra parts with the truck, looks like someone had a field day with ripping out random lines for no reason and I'm doing damage control, problem is, I have no reference to what I'm missing. This is a good start in regards to that problem however. Fuel filter is propped up, it was originally half bolted on the intake manifold (wtf), but I'm going to find a new spot to put it. I am aware my throttle cable is bedridden with cancer, I'll put it out of its misery soon lol. Any idea why the previous owner would rip all this stuff out? Maybe a half done EGR delete? If so would it be easier to just complete the process?

 

I’ve never done the delete.
if you decide to get the modulator valve then you’ll definitely need that rail.
here’s a parts diagram. It’s sorta weird at first, as it makes it look like the rail is running down the drivers side of the valve cover. It’s actually on the intake side. But you can see how many open vacuum ports will be fixed. If you look on the throttle body you can see letters stamped in next to each port. When you get a modulator valve the corresponding ports will be lettered, too.

Ideally, the distributer should sit about in the center of the adjusting slot once timing is set. Maybe the owner didn’t set timing right. Is the TPS centered, or is it maxed out to one side, too?

in that diagram you can see that one valve, #17650. That’s what that green connector you’re holding plugs into.

The fuel filter bolts to the right side of the block under the intake, just above the starter. Put it there. It’ll take some work and finesse, but it’s just better.

 

I agree with everyone else: put the fuel filter back where it belongs, down on the side of the block, above the starter, tucked in under the intake manifold. Something a bit odd about it, by the way, is that the hose from the tank/fuel pump goes into the filter in the front, and the hose to the fuel rail comes out the back. You'd think it'd be the other way around, but that's the way it is. The fuel filter is marked with the direction of flow, so you can figure it out from there.

I'm an electronics guy by trade, so if I may speak to a couple of things...

First, the ground wire in the second picture, going from the valve cover bolt to the firewall. It's the ground for the head, and it's real important to making everything work right. Every one I've seen, and I used to own an 87 4Runner, goes from the rear bolt holding the engine hoist hook on the driver's side, rear, to the firewall. Something to consider, is that there should be a wire from the body metal, which includes the firewall, directly to the battery. It is normally bolted to the body metal just behind the passenger side headlight bucket, so it's not the longest wire in the world.

As to the wire being held in the bottom picture of the first post, it LOOKS, and appearances can be deceiving, like the wire from the keyswitch to the starter. Or from the starter relay, if you have one. Originally, Toyota electrical engineers weren't real bright about their electrical systems, and ran the wire controlling the starter direct from the battery, or at least one of the fusible links direct off the battery, to the keyswitch, then to the starter. Their first, intelligentest (is that a word??), mod was to add in a relay, controlled by the keyswitch, so that the control of the starter was by a relay.
Anywho, the whole point here is that the wire being held looks like the one that plugs into the starter. Wherever it comes from, it connects to the starter. Now, did the PO add in the starter relay, and their own wire from the relay to the starter, thus making the previous, factory wire redundant/unnecessary? Or was there some other mod, like an alarm system or kill switch, that made the factory wire no longer needed? I don't know. But that's what it looks like to me.

I just wanted to add in my 2 copper pennies worth in...
Pat☺

 

I’m going through something similar right now. I also had a half-assed EGR delete… no modulator valve, no VSVs, and vacuum lines going to the wrong spots. I managed to work around this, I think, but it’s still an ongoing process.

The fuel pressure regulator on the fuel rail, I have connected directly to the three-port on the back of the upper intake. The other two ports on that I have looped back to one another — someone may correct me, but I thought one went to the cruise control and the other goes to the VSV on the back of the valve cover (which we don’t have). So, I just connected those together. Plugging them would work the same.

The vacuum rail missing can be worked around, there’s no switching or anything fancy going on there, it’s just hard lines instead of hoses. The same can be accomplished with hoses alone, it’ll just be messier. A vacuum diagram can help, or there are some videos on YouTube explaining the vacuum system. Obviously they’ll have the VSVs so your setup will look a little different. If you have trouble, I can go through how I’ve done it tomorrow. My engine isn’t running perfectly, and I’m still chasing demons, but it does run and drive reliably despite the missing components.

If you still have the EGR valve instead of block off plates, loosen the two bolts on the back of the intake where the pipe goes in and cut a small piece of aluminum out of a beer can to slide down between the two and seal the hole. If the engine runs better, it means your EGR valve is bad or sticking (or the lack of correct vacuum is causing it to). You may then decide to go ahead and fully delete it if you don’t need to pass emissions.

 

A better picture of that single wire connector, showing the wire color, would be helpful.

 

sounds good, i dont have to pass any emmisions, all i care about is getting this fixed out enough to run reliably. It may or may not be my misfire issue but regardless it should be delt with.

 

There are some here who have done deletes properly. They might be able to give you some help.

if you decide to go that way I’d get a proper block-off plate and remove the egr valve. I’d clean out the carbon with brake cleaner and some pipe cleaners and store with any other related pieces. You might need at a later date.
I’d then get vacuum plugs and cap off any ports. You’ll have some on the throttle body, the plenum(surge tank), and tvsv(vacuum valve). Removing the vacuum valve would be ideal, but finding a metric pipe thread plug might be hard. Again, Here is where some others who have done the delete could offer advice.
That vacuum valve is expensive, don’t throw away. Amazing no one has broken it yet.

Once you get the vacuum ports plugged the first thing I'd address is the timing. I assume you know to jump the two terminals at the Diagnostic box to set it properly. And again, the distributer adjustment ideally should be somewhat centered in the slot. Maybe not dead center, but definitely not maxed out to either side. Once you have the timing adjusted properly you should set the TPS. I rec using the timing light method I've posted here a few times.
It's pretty futile to address engine performance and drivability issues until these two items are done properly.

 

Don't use the rubber vacuum block off caps because they will start cracking in less than two months...been there done that. Use the vinyl vacuum caps. Dorman has a set that can be bought at local auto parts stores. I have had the vinyl caps on my 22RE for almost three years now, and they are still good.

After the EGR delete, the spaghetti mess of vacuum hoses and metal vacuum rail will be gone.


https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...397/89015274-P