engine problems or what 2.7 4WD

hi,
i recently bought a very used 1996 2.7L 4X4
the engine does not seem to turn over much power at all. ppl have said you arent used to a 4 cyl, so i tested that theory and went to a used lot and drove a 1994 toyo 4x4 with smaller engine, it would blow the doors off mine.
so i took mine to garage, they said it probly just needs a tune up,
after replacing fuel,air,oil filters, new plugs, wires, cap, rotor, belts.
nothing has changed. it seems to really lag hard. there is no way it would be able to tow anything. one guy at the garage said the timing chain may be the problem, one guy said it might be low on cylinder compression. I dont know but all that cost me 300.00 ? and it has been through several tanks of fuel already and lucas injector cleaner one time. it is avg 21 mpg, but then again it is not making any power. it feels like when you shift into 3 gear there is no more power. when i took it off road it had difficulty pulling hills due to the fact the engine could not rev up much over 2,000 rpm's to turn over more power. I don't know what the problem is. if the engine was bad would it run so well otherwise. no rough idle or mis or backfire. no use of oil or smoke. It does have 190,000 miles but truck is in good condition. I have checked into other engines just in case, whew they are expensive. I would appreciate any help. i love the truck and want to keep it, i just want it to run the way it should. i will come back to site tomorrrow to see your suggestions. By the way the mechanic that worked on it offered to buy it off of me. Makes me wonder, but it had the problem when i took it to him. I guess he thinks i will give up and he can buy cheap and fix it right for himself, good strategy, i am not going back there. but dealership garages are too costly.
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I had a Landcruiser FJ40 a few years back (I really miss that truck). It lacked power, and I determined that the compression was low. That is, the pistons, cylinders, and valves were worn, and the power generated by combustion was not being effectively transmitted to the wheels. If this is the case, the only effective way to remedy the problem is to rebuild the engine and/or get a valve job. A compression test is indicated. If you're lucky, a valve job will be required. If you're unlucky, then a complete rebuild. Good luck.

 

+1 on that compression test.

 

Just do a compression test and that will tell you if it needs any engine work or not. I personally don't think there is anything wrong with your engine I think it's your timing thats off and that's why you don't have any power. The mechanic you took it to knows what's wrong and didn't tell you because he wants to buy it cheap from you and then do a quick fix like you said.

 

x3 thats what your symptoms would be like if you were only running on 2 or 3 of the 4 cylinders, or lacking efficient compression on all 4.

 

True that.

 

Boy do mechanics get thrown under the bus on here. How about this? Find a technician. Compression tests are outdated technology. Find someone that can do a running compression wave form analysis and you likey have found a technician. Pressure is one thing, but if the chain is advanced or retarded, it can be seen with a correct setup. Just like looking at an EKG. You can even see valve issues and so forth.

The problem you have is that someone did all the easy stuff without actually testing to find the cause of the problem. That happens for two reasons.

1. The person working on the vehicle does not know how to do it.

2. The person that owns the truck does not want to pay for testing because they do not see any value in it. Sounds like testing is worth about $300 on this vehicle.

I know this sounds mean, but I do not intend it to be that way. Vehicle problems suck. Paying for things that do not fix the car are worse. If you want to try something, use the shop locator on www.iatn.net to find another shop. That is a site that is only for ASE certified technicians and shop owners. It used to be only the best of the best when the internet was too technical for the average person. It has grown a lot since then, but still frequented and supported by a lot of good shops.

That or you can PM me and I will try to find a referral for you if someone I am familiar with (on a technical basis) is close to where you live.

Keep us posted.

BTW this could be many things including fuel pressure, load calculation, restricted exhaust and so on. Good testing should point the direction quickly.

 

Well, i have appreciated your responses. I work in sleep medicine and by no means am I a mechanic of any kind. I took the truck to the garage expecting the mechanic to diagnose the fore mentioned problem. He was the one that suggested he do tuneup work. What concerned me is that the truck did not show any improvement and he offered to buy it from me. So that made me wonder, why did he want it? Oh well, I do want to keep the truck. I am just gonna have Toyota service diagnose the problem and I will go from there. I just commute a long way to work so a car better suits my mileage concerns and I bought this older truck, to do light duty work around the house, occasionally take off road and camping. How do you upload pics to this site? I will show you some pics of my toy off road here in Monticello, KY. Thanks for all your help.

 

I would try cleaning the air flow sensor, if this gets loaded with dust and gunk, it plays havoc with performance. Be very careful, this is very delicate. Make sure you know the right method to clean it before you mess it up. I won't give advice , because I am not sure myself. I think its a spray, you use..