takes too many cranks to start

Every other vehicles I've been used to takes one 1 or 2 cranks for the engine to start. My Tacoma takes about 5 or 6 cranks to start, even with temps outside hovering around 60F. What could cause the numerous cranks? I have 3400 w/ 78K on it.

 

v6 or v4?

 

I've noticed toyotas take longer to start than most. MY old bronco w/ a 4.9 straight six would start in 30* weather with just a bump of the starter lol.

I recently replaced my battery because of leakage and it definitely cranks faster now.

 

mine too

 

if it had higher miles i'd say maybe valves are outta spec. I know with motorcycles when the valves out out of spec they get really hard to start.

 

ive never had a problem with it starting up. it takes 5 seconds to start, but not 5 cranks. hows the battery? clean connections?

 

once in a while.. it would start after one crank.. but that pattern has never been associated with the temperature of the engine when I crank it.. it almost felt like the pitch of the truck... but I might have been looking into it a bit too much... I don't know if the battery that's in the truck is the original battery..

 

for some reason the previous owner of mine put in a HD battery.... maybe that was why?

 

1st ~ general tune up with fuel filter.

2nd ~ check voltage at the pump harness plug.

3rd read more below...
(Linked article is great for those wanting more info / but it does get deep in some spots)

Most of the time hard starts like this are a fuel PSI related issue and show sign s of a weak / dieing fuel pump. Generally it takes a few more PSI of fuel to start then to run.


The root cause is often a failure on the fuel pump motor. This is either a bad connection (hot or ground) or a bad motor armature/contact (where each section of motor windings have an individual contact). If a few of these contacts go bad then the fuel pump reduces RPM / flow and pressure. The pumps by nature are built to give more flow and pressure then the system requires and thus the fuel pump pressure regulator and return line system. With a few bad contacts or lo voltage the pump can not build up enough pressure to start the truck as easily.

Eventually you will get unlucky enough for the pump motor to stop on a bad spot on the armature or corrosion to build in the bad connection and the pump will not restart, their fore the truck will not start. This is why you can usually jump start a bad pump by smacking the bottom of the fuel tank. This trick is used to shake the bad connection and get the pump motor brush / armature contact to work/make connection one more time. Mechanics will often have 1 bump / smack the tank while the other turns the key to get the pump to run one last time to avoid having to push the truck around to repair.

For more then you ever wanted to know about Fuel systems and start up. See this article here. It speaks in general terms discussing many different makes.

http://www.motor.com/article.asp?article_ID=1178


They also speak about pressure regulator and fuel pump check valves (For hard start issues) but I find that most of those fail to hold good pressure on older 100K vehicles anyway. This is why it turns over 5-6 times to start as opposed to hitting and starting first revolution. Once you get to needing a 2nd crank their is a greater issue

 

The reason why Toyotas in general take longer than most other vehicles to start is because they dont have a fuel pump prime circuit. On a non-Toyota, when you turn the key on(engine off) it powers the fuel pump for a few seconds to build up fuel pressure for quicker starts. Toyota is the only manufacturer I know of that doesn't have this. The good part is that, in the 4 years I've been a mechanic, I have yet to see a Toyota fuel pump go bad. On the other hand I can't count how many fuel pumps I've replaced, especially G.M. fuel pumps.

 

Mine only starts up quick when iv'e been driving around all day. Ive gotten so used to it cranking long that if it starts up fast it seems weird.

 

My truck was taking a lil longer to crank over than usual about 5 months ago. I changed my spark plugs and that was the end of it...it fires up right on point every time now

 

yep you are correct KumaWRX.. Taco only powers the pump with engine RPM> I was thinking Older Toyota / GM / Suzuki ect.... T H A N K S ! ! ! ! ! Corrections made...


With out the pre prime circuit ~ That would leave just low pump voltage / and the usual pump check valve / fuel rail psi regulator.

 

No problem, even my co-worker with 10+ years experience forgot that when he was checking a Toyota for a no-start condition.

 

Cool info, thanks.

Oh and the fuel pump needs replacing on my moms suburban

 

Id rather have my pump be reliable and never die than have to replace it for quicker starts...

 

kumaWRX how many starters did you replace (toyota compared to others) just wondering

 

Exactly my feelings.

Eh, a little less than average. As a whole they last longer but not as extreme as the fuel pumps.

 

Plus the starter is about 10000x easier to replace than the fuel pump.