Asta La Vista

good bye

 

When the last time you cleaned the maf sensor and are your A/F ratio sensors factory still?

 

Do the fuel trims show a rich bank?

 

And drive it around hard for a few minutes while watching.

If they're close to zero i wouldn't worry about it

 

Hey gearchruncher thanks for all your transmission knowledge!! When you say right side I assume you mean passenger side? Do you have anyway to read fuel trims like a scanguage or scanner? Check exhaust for leaks especially by your wraf sensors and o2 sensors. Small vac leak at sensor could throw more air in stream and cause ecu to add more fuel to that side to adjust for the extra air being sucked in.

 

MAF sensor won't affect just one bank. Good callout on the A/F sensors though.

Along with monitoring fuel trims as B_r_o recommends, snap-test the throttle a couple times and monitor how quickly the A/F sensors respond (assuming your scan tool has a fast enough refresh rate). Might have a lazy sensor. An exhaust leak up to several inches in either direction of the sensor can also skew its results.

 

Is your engine all stock, like intake etc..?

 

Yeah, similar thoughts here. Your MAF and TB serve both sides, but fuel trims are done side-to-side based on inputs unique to each side. So, checking fuel trims, checking for any exhaust leaks, and/or finding out what the O2 sensors are reading side to side may narrow it down.

And yes, thanks for all the knowledge you share here!

 

This guy gets it. Nothing upstream of the throttle body will cause a single bank lean/rich concern. No CAI, no MAF sensor, not even a dirty throttle body.

 

Thank you @gearcruncher for all your drivetrain help!
Are you throwing any codes?
Maybe a/f, 02 sensors seeing how it’s all three on 1 side?
Maybe a clogged cat?
Just guessing but looking to try and help someone who’s helped so many already!!

 

Best approach for a definitive answer I think would be monitoring fuel trims and go from there.

 

After you try the above suggestions and still made no progress, I would be inclined to replace the AF sensor and run some fuel injector cleaner in the tank.
Just to rule out a failing sensor or dirty injectors thats not at a threshold to throw a CEL or driveabiility issues.

 

There's nothing to worry about in the photos you have posted. Bank 2 side runs a different fueling strategy from Bank 1 because the intake hangs over it so the cylinders get hotter by default.

Check your long term and your short term fuel trims. If you see anything over an average of +-5.5% on bank 2, then get a little concerned. Otherwise, everything looks normal to me.

EDIT: WHOA hang on, did you first change your plugs at 110K miles first time ever?! You realize those are coppers and you should leave them in no longer than 50-60K right?

 

Ah. Okay. Then my post applies minus the edit.

 

Keep in mind that you should not be reading the porcelain at the top, as shown in your pics. You should read them down at the bottom, inside the shell.

 

Those plugs looks normal, as shown. Agreed, if fuel trims looks OK I wouldn't worry about it.

 

After seeing the posted pics, I agree with blu92in99. Looks normal. New plugs should improve your mpg.

 

I usually chalk it up to the fuel rails running slightly different pressures. Definitely fine though.

 

which oil? good expensive oil or bad cheap oil?
bad cheap oil is volatile and burns off/evaporates on it's own no matter what you do, even if the engine is good

also
I get that Toyota is supposedly indestructible
but at the end of the day they're subject to rules of A: emissions laws including CA
and B: the idea that it hopefully will not destroy itself, and warn the owner to repair it first in the form of a stored code and check engine light

in this case, there appears to be no code, no check engine light
on passenger vehicles in general, that will happen if there's an issue
or other problems, like fuel smell. high fuel consumption. tailpipe smoke.

or even just a code/MIL for emissions because they're programmed in a way that the car has to tattle-tale on itself to the smog station if anything is running wrong
like releasing too many unburned hydrocarbons to the atmosphere, and so on
the car will basically be like "uh oh. Something's fucked up. I gotta store this fault code. So that the smog guy knows when he plugs in the OBD scanner and tells the owner 'ay sorry man I can't give you a smog pass, therefore you can't register your vehicle that requires it, therefore cops gonna give you a ticket and court date for driving, therefore you better figure out the engine problem and fix this shit'
which, as you said, at least from what I understand, there is no check engine light

unless Toyota has figured out some defeat device the way many other manufacturers did
and set up their software to allow a wide margin of engine running
which I doubt
because physics is physics
if you run too rich, you'll kill a cat. Period.
Among other things.

Plus, I doubt it's like Audi/VW TDI clean diesel software where the car runs clean on a dyno but dirty on the freeway to get more power and MPG.
Toyota was honest about this truck. They pretty much said "Look. Right out the gate, this thing has no power, and trash gas mileage. Enjoy!"

And sometimes, depending on how it happens, if it runs lean, the ECU (at least on cars) detects that and thinks it needs to send more fuel. Resulting in running way too rich.
Lean is usually fuel supply can't keep up with the demand. Like fuel pump.
So it gets air. but not fuel.

And we all know about how Toyota did us all a great favor by making the fuel filter not separately replaceable from the pump like car has.
Even though fuel pumps die. And so do filters.
Just like how they did the great job of building rusty frames.
And a retarded throwout bearing design.

 

I also have a leer cap and LTs, I get 14-16 mpg no matter how i drive.

Long story short, like Rob said, if the trims are under 5% it aint a fuel control issue. Gotta look elsewhere.. mechanical stuff like tire size, weight, etc