VIDEO! Fluctuating idle and K&n Intake issue

Hey guys, Getting straight to the point here. I bought a K&n intake for my Taco (V6 3.4l) and ever since I install the intake, my trucks idle fluctuates from 500RPM to 900RPM while in drive and park with the A/C off and on. While inspecting of my intake I did noticed that my MAF sensor was not seated flush with my intake. I found a rubber gasket to help seal the gap but that didn't help. I really like the intake while driving but not in idle. I really do not want to install the stock intake back into my truck.
I made some videos to have a more clear idea what the issue is.

Check List:

• Cleaned the MAF sensor.
• Checked all my Air lines.
• Cleaned my Throttle Body.
• Disconnected BOTH battery leads.
• Reassemble and assumable my intake.

 

Try it temporarily. If it fixes the issue, at least you prove where the problem lies, not that it was a coincidence.

While your here, if you'll do a little poking around, you'll find that the performance your K&N adds is really based on lightening your wallet. And it's filtration performance is poor. But it does add noise. And stickers.

So. You may reconsider your position. Or not.

 

I might end up doing back to the stock intake, it already has the Deck Plate Mod. Only reason I have the K&n intake because it was given to me.

 

Any other idea's??? I 'm stumped. I'm thinking since I am just idling that my intake it sucking in the hot air from the motor making it idle weird. When I drive, it runs great.

 

Yeah, what Bill said. The only gain is a throatier sound and maintenance headaches. Go back to stock. Your Tacoma will thank you by running many, many years with little issue.

Your original filter housing is a more of a cold air intake system. It gets its air from outside the engine compartment. The K&N is from inside the engine bay.

Maybe the stickers are faded, get some new ones and I bet it will idle fine.

 

put the oem intake back on and stick a k&n filter in it, its a better setup then those "so called" cold air intakes that just draw in hot air

 

Did you reset the ecu?

 

I did when I disconnected both leads to my battery.

 

Oh my bad, missed that part.

 

No prob.

 

Sounds like the new intake is causing turbulence that the MAF doesn't like. Finding a way to straighten the air prior to the MAF may fix the issue. Put a paper filter back in and toss that gauze type filter. The supposedly performance gain will be so minimal that it doesn't justify the dust and dirt going through the filter reduce the longevity of the engine. Now if it is a STRICTLY a pavement pounder ( no dirt or gravel roads ) you may be able to run a K&N gauze filter with no problems. Drive your truck a few months with the K&N filter. After those months pull the intake tubing and check to dirt, grit, dust. If present, there is your answer.

 

What you're say is leave the K&n Intake in the truck and get a new paper filter? Where would I get a Paper filter that fits my intake Tube? FYI: I drive the street more than dirt roads.

 

I was saying to take out the K&N filter because of the poor filtering properties for a paper filter that filters much better. But since you don't drive on dirt/gravel road or offroad on a regular basis, you should be OK. Just keep an eye on the amount of dust the gets past the K&N filter.

 

R2C has some nice filters. I plan to get one for my volant. I currently have a Donaldson powercore g2 filter on it. But they are expensive. The R2C is just as good if not better and is like $72 iirc. The Donaldson is an absolute no maintenance filter good for 100k miles/4 years. The R2C is washable, as well as able to be air blasted clean with light dirt build up.

But, you really should figure out the underlying problem first. I doubt it's just the filter itself. Maybe that maf not being seated properly Is an issue? Or maybe the tps is going out coincidentally? I would try resetting the ecu again just because. Other than that I don't know myself. Are you sure that specific k&n kit is correct for your truck? Maybe the intake tube is too small. For a 4 cyl maybe? Not sure how different if at all they are.

Edit: And you said trying to fix the gap on maf didn't really help. Maybe try spraying some, crap I forgot what you're supposed to use. I wanna say carb cleaner but I heard that's bad. Maybe maf cleaner, around the seal of maf, and see if it idles up.

 

put the stock intake back on and buy a k&n or better filter to use in it instead of those crappy paper filters. this works better then that k&n intake system and you truck will run better too. simply cut off the plastic 90 inside the fender so it draws clean fresh air in from the fender without making it suck it through that duct that's inside the fender and then you have a better, free flowing, stock intake system then that fancy k&n cold air kit.

 

I've had my fipk installed since a month after
my purchase new in 2000

Besides needing to reset so the 'puter can adjust...
has never caused issue.

That said...
I did have an idle issue later on.

That fault turned out being a dirty IAC ( idle control valve )
pricey little bugger to replace with new...
But sometimes they can be cleaned up
and their value will be acceptable.

The dirty is usually a fault of carbon build up...
and does not get cleaned by a simple intake cleaning.

I had to use a wood dowel to scrape off the carbon build up
off the IAC's vane.

and one time cleaning it worked... and another time it didn't.

On mine... eventually it wouldn't fire up at all.
I replaced my IAC with new... problem corrected.

My bet is your problem is either a dirty or failing idle control valve.

 

Can you give me a generally area where to find the IAC?

 

^ It's under the throttle body. It has coolant lines connected to it plus an electrical connector.

Word of caution... be nice to the OEM rubber ring type gasket.

I too needed a new one years back. $220.00 from the dealer including the O-ring gasket.

Rid of the oil type filter too.

Good luck

 

03-04 trucks dont have the same system as the 96-02 trucks, we don't have EGR valves and we don't have IAC valves.

what you would call the iac is that plate on the top of the throttle body. carefully remove the screws and tap on the plate until the seal breaks loose, then use a toothpick sprayed with carb cleaner to slide into each of the holes and slide it up and down to clean them out and that's all you can do to clean it

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3-4l-w-etcs-tb-cleaning.324673/

This is our 03-04.