New to me Tacoma, dies in first (Manual)

Hi all, first Taco and brand new to the forums. My name is Mark.

So I just got a broken down Tacoma. I know she she ran a couple months ago.

Suddenly she started not running correctly and at one point it was on one cylinder. I got her and have been trying to figure the issue out. It seems fuel related, like the engine is stalling with any gas. I drained the tank and it was definitely water logged. Put new gas in and she idles and revs just fine.

When I took her for the first test drive she started just fine but within 5 seconds in first she wanted to die. I was already on a hill at this point so I just reversed up the hill so I could roll down back into my driveway. The engine was fine and I got up to 15ish mph uphill. But even downhill as soon as I put the trans into first the engine wanted to die, even with the clutch all the way in. In the driveway I tried just putting it in first with the clutch in and the engine died twice. Put it back in reverse and no issues was able to drive around backwards haha.

Is there anyone who knows what might be going on with this? I've never had a manual that would kill the engine with the clutch in if you put it in gear. I'm sure I could probably drain the tank again and put more new gas in, there's probably some stuff still in the tank.

My next step is probably to take the injectors out and run the fuel system to make sure there's no clogging before the injectors and then toss those injectors into some carb cleaner for a bit to soak.

 

Welcome to TW!

Any ideas, @Taco critter?

 

Just so we’re all on the same page, when you say “with the clutch in,” you’re referring to the pedal is pressed all the way in, correct? Just want to make sure to clarify since when you press the pedal you are disengaging the clutch, and if you mean the clutch is all the way in mechanically that changes how we interpret the problem.

What about putting the transmission in any other gears, does the engine shut off when you put it into second, third, fifth, or only first?

Do you know if the car is originally a manual or a swap?

I’m probably too focused on the transmission part of this but the fact that you can drive in reverse just fine is really bizarre to me. Really curious about this one.

 

This one has me quite curious as well.

As a guess not really being in the correct gear.

Poor clutch adjustment not really disengaging the clutch .

Interesting wiring tangled in the clutch linkage or behind the pedal causing a open circuit killing the truck.

 

Wow, tons of replies, thank you!

1996 2.4L

I just got the fuel filter off. I think I called it too early as there's still tons of chunky yellow coming out behind the filter. Before that I removed the fuel pressure regulator to see how much pressure was coming from the fuel rail (guestimate, rather) and not only was it still yellow as hell, but it was dribbling out. With the fuel injectors I know I should be getting some real pressure / flow out of that rail, and even if it was carbureted I'd expect more flow than I saw.

I can only assume it was just coincidence that the engine would die every time I put it in first.

 

Yep, depressing the clutch pedal to the floor. Sorry for any confusion. I made sure to emphasize that because to me there should be almost no load on the engine with the clutch all the way in. I know the clutch could be bad, but it does not pull at all in gear, so I doubt theres anything to that one.

Unfortunately I didn't test any other gears. I was too nervous about getting back into the driveway and at that point I just started tearing back into it to get at the fuel filter and soon to be pump.

As far as I know it was always a manual. If it wasn't whoever did the job was meticulous. Not too sure what specific taco things I would be looking for, but I haven't seen any open bolt holes or brackets for a TCU.

Oh, and yes, it's bizarre to me as well, hence asking here. I've seen autos with issues stalling once in gear, but never a manual. As per my reply above, I'm pretty sure I called it done too early. I'm still getting very yellow, bad smelling gas out of the lines with some debris.

Thank you for the reply!

 

This could be a culprit, I'd say more likely than not being in the right gear.

I would also argue against bad clutch adjustment as there's no pull in gear. If it was dragging that bad I'd probably hear the gears grinding, not go into gear easily, and there should be at least some pull foreword or backwards depending on the gear. I've noticed none of those.

I noticed the gas wasn't clean as I thought, so I'm probably at least in for another fuel flush and new filter. Hopefully the pump is salvageable but I haven't had a second person with me to see how much pressure is coming directly from the pump.

Thank you for the reply!

 

I'd put on a new filter and put some gas dry in the tank.

You're clear enough to idle and rev in neutral, so I'd guess the fuel supply is almost water free.

I'd also clean and gap the plugs, then see what happens.

Does this vehicle have a combined clutch / brake master cyl? Or are they two different pieces? Is the appropriate master full?

 

Update: seems the PO changed the fuel pump, buy neglected to take a look inside the tank. That thing is rusted bad on the inside. Going to take tomorrow to look through ways to get rid of the rust, hopefully I don't need a new tank....

 

Many times at small airports the people that work on planes have tank cleaning solutions .

You could also try searching online. In any case the tank needs to be removed to slosh the fluid around and drain a few times.

When your 5,000' in the air a stalling engine is somewhat more critical .

Good luck!!

 

Thanks for the tips! Yeah the tank is off as of last night, I think I've settled on electrolysis as the cheapest method to get all the rust out. Then a quick vinegar + bb Shake to make sure.

I'll probably need the luck, thanks!

 

A bag of marbles in the tank will help the cleaning process while you agitate the tank.

Just count how many go in so you know they all come out.

 

https://i.imgur.com/UzFF1q5.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/IYgS5cS.jpeg

Doin the electrolysis, seems to be working decently. Snapped a picture of the fuel pump's sock, it was so packed with rust it wasn't letting the pump flow gas. New sock + a half minute run in clean water and the pump seems to be okay. Now to just get the rest of this rust out and seal the tank

 

Welcome to TW

 

Another update: she's running now. Got everything back together and filled her up to the top. Reused the old fuel filler neck gasket and that was a mistake... Those poor gas station employees

But she is running, went for a little test drive and didn't notice anything crazy going on... Only problem is I did discover the truck doesn't want to start when warm. All good, seems like I'll start with cleaning the MAF, if that's not it then I'll try a new coolant sensor. There's a leak coming from the u joint side of the rear diff too, gotta get a new seal for that. Valve cover gasket is leaking oil, can't tell if anything else is for now. Gotta degrease the engine bay. There's a couple vacuum lines with no home I've found, but really I'm thinking about just replacing most of them anyways as they're so brittle it doesn't take much to snap the lines.

I also temporarily relocated the fuel filter. It's just sitting besides the intake for now, but I know a couple places that make custom lines and might have to see if I can get some longer ones to permanently move the filter to the side of the engine bay by the fuse box. Whoever decided the fuel filter needed to go there specifically really hates mechanics ...

Well that's all for now, thank you all for the help! Seems like a great community here.

 

look around a few threads on relocating the fuel filter.

When vehicles are being built on line seldom is replacing parts in the future given a thought.

You might want to check the injectors for leaking if your warm starts are taking long crank times.

it takes time to clean the wet plugs.

All the fuel system contamination did not help.

Good luck!