Not running! Varsity level issue

Help!

Long time listener, first time caller. I have searched everywhere but can't find any hints towards this issue.

Vehicle: 1997 tacoma 3.4 V6 5vz-FE with auto trans and 2wd. Only 90K miles!

Problem:
Engine floods out the cylinders. I can get it to start for about one to two seconds and then it dies. I have to pull the efi Fuse and turn it over to clear it out (the fuel). Then it will start for one to two seconds again. If I pull all the plugs, they are all six covered in fuel.

When I want to, I can get it to run by pressing the gas peddle, after it fires up, and keep it running by pumping the gas peddle. I assume because now I am getting Air into the flooded cylinders. Additionally, if I sit there and pump the peddle to keep it running, I consume a quarter of a tank of gas in my driveway in a matter of 5 minutes(I'm not exaggerating). Also, the ticking when I turn the key to "on" without turning it over yet is extra loud and I'm not sure if I remember that ticking from the little vaccum valve (VSV)going to the egr stuff before.

BRAND NEW parts: both O2 sensors, Cat converter, fuel pressure regulator, coolant temp sensor, spark plugs(yes denso duals), plug wires, MAF, new air filter, new fuel filter, cleaned the IAC, cleaned the throttle body.

Additional notes, the timing belt/water pump was changed about 3 months ago by a professional shop. The fuel pump changed about 3 years ago. I check the resistance on all three coils, they are fine. No other real maintenance done of late beside oil changes. I live in Hawaii (no extreme weather).

Here's the kicker: I can't get an OBD II reader to read the thing! The "protocol" will not identify, and I have used a couple of different readers. Can't win here!

Anyone have any leads on where to look next?

 

Once the truck is started for the few second as mention, is the mil light on?

Have someone crank the truck while you visually inspect around the injector area. Look for external fuel leak and gas odor. I worked on a 5vz a while back that had 2 crack injector that were leaking to block on the driver side and 1 leaking seal on passenger side.


Also, when did the issue started? After the tb/wp changed? If so, check for bad ground connection. I'd seen tacoma with poor ground where engine will stall on its own. Bad ground lead going up ecu. Check the ground on intake manifold on driver side. Since you're not able to connect to your obd, seemed like a power or ground issue to the ecu.

 

02hilux,

Excellent, thanks for the new areas of interest.

To answer your questions:

1. Yes the CEL light has come on.
2. The truck ran fine until about 3 weeks ago, on that day it initially stalled at a stop sign but immediately restarted and made it home (1 mile away) just fine. Once I parked it in the driveway that day, the truck has never started correctly again. Also, it has been a couple of months on the new timing belt. The truck usually runs fantastic without any issues, has always been extremely dependable, the stall out that day caught me off guard and was very uncharacteristic.

 

02hilux has you on the right track. Next, we we need to know the exact codes that the ECM is throwing. When you get the code/codes let us know.

 

hmm, odd. I am thinking a few things and not sure which one to tackle first... is an injector broken so that the engine floods. I think you might have to take them out and see if they spray all the time. Not getting any OBDII info is concerning too... could the ECU be fried? maybe... any signs of rats/mice in the vehicle? Do you have a factory repair manual?

 

Cruiserguy,

I can't get the codes...no reader will accept the protocol from the truck. It never connects. Hence my writing to you brilliant minds for some new ideas. In the past I have hooked it up to readers just fine. This is all new.

 

Glamisman,

Thank you for the document, I will definetly utilize it and I plan to start the multimeter scavenger hunt this afternoon. Additionally, I will check the injectors.

 

Well, I went out looking for leaky injectors first, I had someone else start it and keep it running by pumping the gas pedal. As the eng warmed up, smoke started billowing out of this region and the exhaust smelled awful! This pic was taken immediately after shutdown and yes that is smoke coming off of those two fasteners attaching that hose to the exhaust manifold. It appears the valve cover gasket needs replacing? Maybe it is squirting stuff out? Or with that smell, the head gasket is blown on that side? Oil and coolant still look fine(no milky residue). This is driver's side. I haven't done a compression test but suppose that would be a good place to start?

 

look like a bad valve cover gasket leaking oil to your exhaust manifold / egr valve pipe. smoke is probably from oil burn off due to heat

 

on a side note, check the connection on your ignition control module, camshaft position sensor, crankshaft position sensor

 

Crankshaft Pos sensor 148 ohms(can't find a tolerance value on this one online to determine if it is good).
Camshaft Pos sensor 1223 ohms(within tolerance according to fsm document I found online).
Both plugs that connect to these sensors grounded out well.

Working on finding some info on how to test the ignition control module.

Still disassembling the top to get access to all of the fuel injectors in order to inspect them.

 

I just inspected all injectors, no issues whatsoever.

Agreed on the valve cover gasket, a bit more oil than I would like to see, I might as well replace them.

Does anyone know of a factor involved with disconnecting the battery, which resets the ecu and once reconnected, won't allow it to read an ODB II for a certain number of miles there after?

The smell has me wondering as well, tale tale sign of bad fuel or water in the combustion chamber?

 

From my understanding, there should not be a given mileage in order to communicate with your obd.

Are you able to pedal the gas long enough for about 1 minute? If so, you might be able to communicate with the obd. On my previous 03, the system did not allow me to communicate with the obd while key is on the "ON" position. But once truck is started and running, it communicates fine.

 

I had very similar issues when I did the 1gr engine swap into my 87 pickup. The ecu was grounding to the frame through the bolts that held it in place. I ran the bolts through a pair of rubber grommets and problem solved.

I would bet my left nut that you have a damaged ecu.

 

I see that you are trying to address certain members. To do that you need to add the @ symbol to the screen name like this @ecknavy or use the quote button in their reply.

 

I have had it running for a total of five minutes(running horribly). I have tried to get it to connect about five times now with that sole intent of keeping it running long enough for the computer to register, but it never does and always gives me a protocol error. I can use the same odb on another vehicle in my driveway that it registers within second of connecting.

 

Awesome! I'm gonna try that.

 

I even went as far as drilling a small hole at the lowest point of my exhaust to drain the gas that was collecting in there.

 

Honesty, as @TACO626 and myself have mention, you might have a bad ecu thus causing a hard start and no communication to your obd. Next step i would do is try to gain access to another ecu and plug it to your truck to see if it'll make a difference. Only downfall if your truck work fine after that, whatever caused your original ecu to get damaged might cause your new ecu to have the same problem.

 

I would also give the truck an oil change before swapping the ecu.