Potential Gas Tank Sabotage - 2002 Prerunner Turns Over but Won't Start

Hey guys, first post here. I've been active in the T4R.org site for years, as I have a 3rd gen 4Runner as well. The Prerunner is my son's truck. I tend to get a little wordy when trying to include detail, so I apologize in advance for this long post.

I have spent lots of time searching for a solution, on Google, and within this group, and have found some good advice, but wanted to see advice more directly related to what my son's Taco is experiencing. Long story short, I believe someone poured something (Coke or even Quikrete) in the gas tank of my son's 2002 Prerunner. It's hard to get any real info from these kids, and the story seems to evolve. I have done a ton of repairs to my 4Runner, thanks to the help of those in the T4R.org group, and Toyota Timmy the Toolman's (and Sean) excellent repair videos, so while my diagnostic skills might not be great, I'm not shy with a wrench.

My knucklehead son runs out of gas often, and probably almost always drives around with little gas in the tank. So, after the sabotage episode, with the car turning over normally, but not firing, I figured that he fried the fuel pump. However, thinking that something was poured in the gas tank I wanted to drop it and clean it, which I did. Man, who'd a thunk that job would be such a bear!?! There was definitely something in there, as the color was off, and it looked like there was some debris in there. I cleaned the tank, let it dry, and reinstalled it with a new fuel pump. I also replaced the fuel filter. The old fuel filter leaked out gas, and wasn't all gummed up, so I thought that was a good sign. Same problem: the truck turns over, but won't start. Under the hood in the fuse box I checked the 20 amp EFI fuse, and it looks good, and has continuity with a multimeter. I also swapped the EFI relay with the power relay, to see if the EFI relay was bad, and still no start. I know there's a fuel pump relay, or some other relay inside the cabin between the steering wheel and pedals, but I have looked a couple of times and can't find it... although I've watched videos on how to test it.

What would you guys recommend I try next? Obviously I need to find where that fuel pump or power relay in the cabin is, but what else should I try? I do have new plugs and sparkplug wires, which I will install at some point, but want to do one thing at a time to help isolate/diagnose what the actual culprit is. I have more to say/ask, but figure I've probably already babbled too much in this post. I am confident that I can make whatever fix is required, but as previously mentioned, my troubleshooting skills are pretty nonexistent. So, asking you guys for some help. What do you think I should try next? I'd like to do things one at a time, if possible. Thanks in advance! Cheers!

 

The fuel pump is powered by the Circuit Open Relay, which is powered by the EFI Relay, which is powered by EFI fuse.

IIRC, the fuel pump won’t Run unless it sees a crank signal.
Which basically means you need to be cranking the truck to test for power at the fuel pump.

 

Start with the relay and ensure the pump is getting voltage when it should.

Then check the injectors, "junk" may have still made it past the filter to clog the injectors. Then get a locking gas cap, lol.

On a somewhat related topic (unsolicited parenting advice, lol), how old is your son? Hopefully he is at least helping you fix the truck he drives. Maybe he'll also learn the added benefit of taking better care of it if HE has to do the work to fix it, and how much it sucks when it breaks. The best part is taking them to school in the most embarrassing way possible to motivate them.

I'm 100% a fan of getting the kids involved in vehicle maintenance, if only for their own future benefit.

 

Thanks for your help! Yeah, I really need to find that Circuit Open Relay. The 3 or more pictures or videos I've seen have them in different locations, none of which is where mine is. That's kind of why I created this post, as all my searches have provided good info, but either for a different gen Taco (incorrectly posted in the 1st gen group), or one slightly different than my son's.

A lot of people say have someone turn the key while you listen for the fuel pump, and then others say that you have to be cranking the motor, but I believe you are correct, that turning the key to the ignition position doesn't start the pump like in some other cars. I've looked at the image below, and also need to locate the 15 amp ignition fuse, as I did check the 20 amp EFI fuse. Thanks again!

 

Thanks for the reply! Can I pop out an injector or 2 and visually inspection it for gunk? I've seen people reference a guy in SoCal that cleans and rebuilds them, as I'd like to avoid dropping ~$170.00 each if I needed to replace all 6. I was never really a stickler on going OEM, but with everything I've done on my 4Runner I've gone all OEM except for the steering rack and sway bar bushings, as I went poly. The Toyota stuff seems so good, why mess with an inferior copy? If it makes sense, though, I would entertain after market. I'm trying to avoid breaking stuff, creating more problems, or just blindly replacing parts, but have no problem checking out an injector or two.

Regarding the son, he's 22, but is currently 3 or so weeks into a 4 month stay at a drug rehab facility, so he can't help. This crap with his truck, and the knuckleheads he associates with, is finally what prompted him to get some help with his addiction problems. Thanks again for your help! Oh, and I like your pit crew!

 

There are certain things you should go OEM, and others not so much. I tend to think that most engine internals should be OEM, unless you're going for upgrades like high compression pistons or whatever. If you're just replacing something that failed, OEM is best. There are a lot of counterfeits out there and it's hard to tell, so avoid most retailers from Ebay etc, too. There are enough on-line OEM retailers out there (McGeorge, Camelback Toyota, etc...) that they have decent prices. You local dealer might even match the prices of places like Camelback (doesn't hurt to ask).

For the injectors, yes, there are places that can rebuild them. I've seen several threads on it so I'd search around, I've never done it myself.

Props to you, and to him getting help! I didn't mean to sound judgy, we all have our journeys. Hopefully his journey improves and you two can start working on the truck together soon! It can be great therapy.

 

Toyota didn’t make it easy to check fuel pressure
You need a banjo adapter to do it right. Always wish they would have used an old school shcrader style valve. Much easier.

 

Thanks, man, I appreciate it. Yeah, I pretty much ended any relationship with him after he started stealing things from me, and took my car without permission while I was asleep one night, crashed it, and left it in the driveway with a completely empty tank (thank god I made it to the gas station) without ever telling me. I hadn't driven that car in months, but when I went to put gas in I noticed the front passenger fender and half of the front bumper missing. Him going to rehab was one of my conditions to reestablish any kind of relationship. It's crushing, but hopefully on the road to recovery. Thanks again for your help!

 

How about pulling off the low pressure side fuel return hose? I hate to recommend this for the safety issue (although engine cold so only concern is sparks, perhaps extend the line away from the truck) but I looked in FSM once for a way to turn on fuel pump to check for leaks and only way is with the Toyota diag tool. Also, OP cleaned fuel tank but I would hate to have him get the injectors cleaned and then have them immediately clog again because of residue in the fuel lines it might be a good idea to pump through a qt or so of fuel.

Aholes putting crap in the fuel tank is not all that uncommon, I wonder what the general procedure to clean fuel system is besides obvious.

 

Yes, my son seemed to have upset some clowns that lived with his girlfriend at the time, and did something to the truck, but my son and his other friends aren't sure what. They also covered his Taco in a blanket of Quikrete (which is why I feared that may have been in the tank, which thankfully it wasn't), knowing it was going to rain that night, but one of my friends saw it and cleaned most of it up before the rain came. There's still some concrete on the bed liner, and both rear wheel had globs of cement stuck to them, which I cleaned out, but things could have been much worse.

I'm guessing this tire, and the passenger rear tire too, were a little out of balance.

Here's some of the gas I drained out of the tank. Something don't look right.

 

No, it definitely doesn’t look good.
It looks like it has water in it?
But ethanol gas can absorb water and eventually causes phase separation of the ethanol and gasoline. So you can’t really say “ some pour water in the tank”.

Anyways, it’s good you cleaned the fuel system.

 

Well, actually, I haven't quite cleaned the fuel system. I dropped the tank and cleaned that out, replaced the fuel pump and gasket, and replaced the fuel filter, but didn't do anything else to flush the lines. Not sure if it's as good of a sign as I originally thought, but I did shake out as much fuel as I could get out of the fuel filter, and it looked okay. The container I drained the old gas into had previously been used for waste oil. So while it was wiped down, I'm sure there was still some oil residual, which may have caused those bubbles. Color was off too, though.

 

a couple weights on the other side and that should balance right up!

Glad your friend took the initiative to hose it off, that could have been so much worse!

 

Yes, it most definitely could have been much worse! I am amazed at how much concrete chunks and globs still got under the bed, and every other nook and cranny. The bed liner still has a bunch of the concrete between the grooves, but like the inside of the wheel should be pretty easy to knock out. Damn punks! Pouring Quikrete on a car before the rain is a pretty good devious trick, though... not that I'd ever pull that crap. Quickrete is what I thought I'd find in the gas tank.

 

Yeah, people suck for sure. I remember when we just TP'd peoples' houses

What I have to try and remember is that each of of those kids could just as easily be someone like your son, wrong path, wrong time, and hanging out with the wrong crowd, and hope that someone like you come along to get them help.

 

I got a couple of small spots of wet concrete splashed on my truck when it was near new and it completely bonded to the paint. Acid is the usual concrete remover but I started with vinegar and that did not work so moved up to actual concrete stain remover and damaged the paint. No big deal, its a truck but if you have a vehicle with a nice paint job keep it far away from wet concrete!

Your friend likely saved your truck.

 

It was actually my son's friend, one that doesn't do drugs, that caught it and cleaned it up. He's also the one that got it towed back to our house, where it's sat for a few months before I replaced the fuel pump. I took him out for a nice steak dinner to show my appreciation. I really did have hopes (and my fingers crossed) that after cleaning the tank, replacing the fuel pump, and fuel filter would have fixed it, but no luck. So here I am now, trying to get help from some of you smarter than me.

Back to the Quikrete, in commercial A/C there's a product Rydlyme that would help dissolve the concrete, and may not hurt the paint, but if you spill it on your cement driveway you'll create more problems for yourself. While I had never heard of Quikrete being used for mischievous pranks like this, it sure can cause a bunch of nightmares.

 

Looks like I won't be popping out a couple fuel injectors, as that is a more detailed task than I initially thought. My next step will be to test each of the associated relays, and their circuits, and ensure the new fuel pump I put in is in fact working. If it is, then I guess I'll check out the fuel injectors. I'll just need to make sure I have the gaskets and O-rings I need taking that apart, and be ready to pull the trigger on a set from MotorWest Performance. After reading the service manual for my 3rd gen 4Runner (same engine) I'm getting more troubleshooting ammo. That and the Tacoma wiring manual will hopefully help me figure this out. Keep the tips and suggestions coming! Thanks so far for the help!

 

Testing the starter relay, EFI relay, and open circuit relay was pretty uneventful. I had continuity where I was supposed to, and no continuity where there shouldn't be any. When I applied 12v to each relay they clicked, and then I was getting .4v on the money pin, so I think the relays are fine. I guess my next test will be to check the relay circuits in the truck. I'd just go ahead and get 6 remanufactured fuel injectors, put those in with new plugs and wire, but what if the truck still doesn't start? That's why I'm trying to learn the troubleshooting, and order to do it. I keep hoping for that aha moment when I find a bad relay or something, but it hasn't happened yet. The pdf version of the service manual is a little challenging to navigate through, but I'm not giving up yet.

 

.4v on the money pin?
Also, the relays need to be commanded on and off.
You can test them manually like you did, but that doesn’t mean they are working in the truck.

Good to see you are trying to figure it out.