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

I'm no expert on this but I would not give up on the OEM injectors too fast as they are incredibly reliable and expensive. I'm a bit skeptical of the price on those injectors - if they are rebuilt OEM it is a great deal especially if you can keep your originals but there are horror stories on here regarding aftermarket injectors.

Its just my concern is that if indeed your injectors are compromised somehow, why would whatever happened to them not happen to the new ones? If as you say the bad fuel has been pumped through then you are OK (or contaminant may be diluted by now) but also know that the fuel actually gets returned to the tank via the low pressure return. I think this is the only way it can maintain a set pressure, it has to bleed fuel back to the tank since the fuel pump is always at a constant pressure AFIK.

In any case the perpetrator made a damn mess for you, any chance you can move? I know its not easy to move now but you should not have to put up with BS like that. I have been robbed once at my house (stole Catalytic) and that is not totally unexpected but vandalism is just pure stupidity.

 

No need to move, as this happened an hour away, at or near my son's ex girlfriend's place. It's done, they're not together anymore, so I'm not concerned about any repercussions. It sounds like this ex girlfriend threw a rock or brick through one of their car windshields, which started the "payback" cycle.

 

Good, what I have noticed is that many younger people these days cannot take any criticism, they will immediately resort to violence at the slightest perceived injustice. When I was young, many decades ago, adults often berated me and my friends, sometimes it was deserved sometimes not. In the latter case we would say something like "crazy old bat" to ourselves but if we deserved we knew it and did not say a thing. Never really crossed our mind to retaliate - what the hell is the point?

I get cut down all the time, my wife does it, sometimes bosses do it. Just have to ignore it or it will destroy you. If you cant do that you are in for a tough life.

I read where a older guy was fishing and some teenagers were throwing trash into the lake and he asked them not to do that - they killed him and both went to jail for life. What a waste!

Anyhow I'll stop now because way off topic.

 

Just to toss this out there -- seems I read somewhere years ago (maybe with a Ford) about needing more gas than usual in the tank to start after running dry. Saying the truck might run with less than 3 gallons but might not be able to prime the new pump and start.

 

That's a great point, Rusty! I have thought about adding more gas, but feared that at some point I may need to drop the tank again. Since the pump has been replaced I may slide back the bed if I have to access it again. That is if I went to check all the electrical on the tank. I dropped it so I could clean it real well. If that is the case, that the pump needs more fuel to prime, then my caveman disconnect the fuel filter and crank it to see if gas squirts out may not be effective. I wish I could drive it to the gas station.

 

Sorry, I've never had a car with the 3.4 in it but I'm sure some others can chime in. Maybe look at some Youtube videos on how to remove the injectors so that you can see how hard it is to access the connectors.

Note that you don't have to remove the injectors to use the noid light. When i was troubleshooting my Jeep with some I just removed the fuel pump relay and unclipped each injector plug one by one and checked the signal with the light.

 

5 gallons in the tank would probably do if that is the issue. Do you have a can for your mower?

Also it the battery fully charged? You have been working on this for a while, I have had some newer cars that would seem to roll over fine but not start with a low battery.
The safety police may me -- I don't see an unreasonable amount of hazard in disconnecting the filter, cranking it and seeing what comes out, use a hose to direct the fuel to a safe container. Providing that you aren't in a wood floor building with a wood stove burning near by you should be fine.

A bit more seriously: The 3 ingredients - fuel, air, spark - are needed to run the engine. You need answer the question "is the fuel pump running?" Followed by "is it moving fuel?"

A fuel pressure test kit isn't all that expensive, you might be able to rent one from Auto Zone, etc.. I have read some folks posting about needing a special fitting, if it is a matter of $20 I would consider it a good investment.

I worked on cars back in the dark ages of carburetors and am not up on more modern stuff however if you spritz a bit of carburetor cleaner into the throttle body while cranking the engine it should run for a second or two, this would eliminate air and spark. (don't spray any sensors)
Don't use starting fluid! A bit of plain old carburetor cleaner is fine.

 

I wouldn’t spend any money on any parts until I check fuel, injector signal and spark.
No way I’d even touch the actual injectors until I verified the above.

Generally if you have pulse on 1, you’ll likely have it on the others in a situation like yours.

 

Have you determined if you have spark? Does the engine sound normal when cranking it or does it seem to spin over faster and more freely? Timing belt? Pull a spark plug on drivers side of engine. Slip spark plug back into spark plug wire and lay against valve cover or metal surface and have someone crank engine. Watch for spark. If timing belt is broke you wont get fuel pressure, injector signal or spark. Rent a compression tester from AutoZone or Qreilys and check cylinder compression. Air, Fuel, adequate compression and spark it will run.

 

x2

 

@DWero
Any progress to report?

 

I went out of town, and have taken a few days off trying to get this Taco running. Thank God it's not a daily driver! My next steps, which may come tomorrow, is to disconnect a line from the fuel filter, turn the engine over and see if the fuel pump is actually pumping gas. Then I'm going to pull one spark plug, plug it back in outside of its cavity, turn over the truck to see if I get spark. And then, for funsies, I may also shoot some starter spray in the intake to see if that allows it to fire, albeit only for a second or two. I am still tempted to cut open the old fuel filter to see if there is damage to the medium. Depending on my findings will dictate my next step(s). That's for the inquiry, and I'll definitely update you when I take the next couple steps. Cheers!

 

Better to use plain old carburetor cleaner rather than starting fluid - that stuff can damage engines.

 

Good advice, thanks! I've got some of that, so that's what I'll use.

 

@DWero

Any progress on the project?

 

Ha ha, no, I've been slammed with work, and temporarily put this on the back burner. I'll probably dig into again this weekend, but now the 4Runner needs the oil changed and front rotors and pads replaced, so I might jump on that. Regardless, this isn't dead, and I'm going to figure it out eventually! I appreciate your help, and for checking in. I'll post an update as soon as I have something to report. Cheers!

 

Okay, here is a mini update. RustyGreen motivated me to get rolling again. I cut open the fuel filter, and the media was soggy, but didn't look real bad Or, should the media, which looks like cardboard, be a bit more rigid? However, what gas was still in there looked like crap!


Next, I put a few more gallons of fresh gas in it, and when I unscrewed the gas cap there appeared to be pressure, which I took as a good sign that the new fuel pump was working. Next, I went to disconnect the new fuel filter, and right as I started loosening the first nut gas started dripping out. That, to me, was also a sign that the fuel pump is working, as the tank was bone dry when I removed the old filter. So, since I don't think gravity would push fuel from the tank to the filter, I took that as another sign that the new fuel pump is working correctly.

Next test, which I'll probably do tomorrow, is to pull a spark plug and see if I'm getting spark. If so, then I will spray come carburetor cleaner into the intake and see if it fires that way. If it does, then I have to think the fuel injectors could be the culprit. Do any of you agree that hearing the little pressure relief when I removed the gas cap, and the fact that gas was leaking from the fuel filter (again, bone dry gas tank and filter when I started this repair journey) when I started to loosen the nut, are signs that the fuel pump is working?

Any other tips or tricks I should try in addition to checking a spark plug for spark, and squirting carburetor cleaner in the intake? Thanks again for all of the advice!

 

My media was soft also, wouldn't worry about it. Also I noticed that the gas that came out of my filter was also a bit cloudy but nowhere near as bad as yours. If you let that sit do you get any sediment settling on the bottom or anything separating on top?

As I recall you cleaned the tank so probably your pump is OK. I would assume the sock would prevent any grit from getting to the pump and destroying it.

 

I already dumped it and cleaned the glass. I put the rubber plugs that came on the new filter on the old one when I removed it, so I know nothing would have gotten in it.

 

I think its probably worth trying to start at this point, can't really hurt IMO. What concerns me though is that the contaminated fuel in the fuel lines will end up back in the tank via the low pressure return. I suppose we can hope that it will be so diluted at this point it won't matter. Fingers crossed!

I was thinking what a mechanic would do in this situation because this type of thing happens and I think the answer is its big $$$$. Probably most people would use insurance (if the insurance agreed its vandalism) but I don't use my insurance for relatively minor issues either.