[Solved] Engine Misses for 10 -15 Minutes, Then Clears Up. Check Engine Light Comes On

All of a sudden the engine in my 1998 TRD started to miss and speeds under 50 mph. Truck runs fine at interstate speeds (70-80 mph), so I'm in the market for a good handheld OB2 reader. One that doesn't need a phone to work. I've been looking at the

$50 Foxwell NT201 OBD2 Scanner Car Code Reader Check Engine Light Reader OBDII EOBD Car Computer Diagnostic Scan Tool Auto Fault Code Scanner for All Cars After 1996

Foxwell NT201 (ca $$) and

$60 NT301 OBD2 Scanner Live Data Professional Mechanic OBDII Diagnostic Code Reader Tool for Check Engine Light

NT301 (ca $70) and I think the 301 is the better deal. Any comments are welcome.

 

Follow-up...
Went to an Oreillys and an Autozone, had them pull the codes, found P031 was the only code. So when the engine cools down I'll check the spark plug in that cylinder. It's been about 50K miles since I replaced the plugs.
This is a 3.0 liter engine. If the coil pack were bad on cylinder 1, I suspect that whatever cylinder is connected to the wire from the pack would also be misfiring, and the truck would really be limping along. As it is, it's still driveable.

 

I assume you mean a 3.4L?

The 3.0L's died when the Tacoma came out in 1995.5.

Also, you meant P0301, right?

Your plugs should last way longer than 50k. Might be your coil pack. Switch the coils and see if the error code follows that pack.

https://www.autocodes.com/p0301_toyota.html
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/possible-to-test-coil-pack.165552/

 

When was the last time the spark plug wires were replaced? - I went through something similar recently.

I like the Bluetooth OBD modules because you can pair them with some seriously powerful apps.

for Android Phones ONLY - Wireless Bluetooth Diagnostic OBD2 Scanner Car Code Reader and Scan Tool for All 1996 & Newer Vehicles ELM327 Compatible OBDII

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NLQAHS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8

 

@jbrandt You're right. 3.4L is correct. And P0301 is correct. My bad.

I thought the plugs should last longer than 50K miles.

If it is a bad coil pack on cylinder 1, would I not see an additional code that references the other cylinder to which the wire from the coil pack is attached?

And if a coil pack were bad, wouldn't the engine miss when it's cold as well??

It's kinda hard for me to drive into town to get tested (again), that's why I ask...

@OneWheelPeel On 1/14/2011 at 60400 miles I replaced all three of the the wire covers (but not the wires) and all six spark plugs. That was 35K miles ago.

 

The Wires are $25, just change them.

$40 NGK (4412) RC-TE66 Spark Plug Wire Set

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CJ8DC6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8

 

Hard to say, really. It certainly could be a bad plug, but they *should* last longer than that. If it is the plug, that would suggest to me something else is causing the plug to go bad prematurely. If that's the case, maybe the coil is next in line to be fixed. If you switch the coils around and another cylinder misfires, that's a pretty good clue it's the coil...

 

That's good information. I do have another question - is #1 cylinder the front-most or the rear-most cylinder on the passenger side?

 

Thank you for the diagram.

I was thinking that #1 was closest to the firewall.
Truth be told, I didn't think at all. I worked on #5 instead.