HELP! Blinking CEL on '03.

I am on my third Toyota PU (1985, 1994, 2003) and first Tacoma. In the '03 I have the bigger 4 cylinder and about 140k miles on a 4x4 extra cab.

This morning, after the one mile drive to the highway on-ramp, it threw a blinking CEL. It was running rough, like on 3 cylinders, with no power. I immediately pulled into the breakdown lane, and limped to the next exit (one mile) then back home. The CEL stopped blinking a few times, but stayed on.

I believe that I have misfires being detected. Last week, i got a solid CEL for O2 sensor and found that my O2 sensor nuts had come loose and my O2 sensor was flopping around in the exhaust pipe. Until this morning, when I replaced the nuts, I had it held in place with metal baling wire. No codes had occurred after a couple of days with the wire in place.

I am trying to borrow an OBD2 code reader, but I hesitate to drive it the five miles to a garage or parts store for a free code read.

Any tips to get me started before I get some code info?

 

All i can say is do the things that you need to have done first,starting with the cheaper and easier things. Clean out the air filter,change out spark plugs and oil change and any other tune ups. I would also run a half bottle of seafoam in the gas tank and then on half on the next tank. I had the same problem you had a few months ago,and it turned out to be the spark plug,even though i had just replaced them 6 months prior with the factory brand. Get the code and we can help more.

 

code: cylinder #3 misfire

I assume check plug and coil stack?

 

yeah get new spark plugs first and then possibly a new ignition coil..is the shaking all the time or just sometimes?

 

So far, it's all the time. But I have only driven it a couple of miles since it happened.

 

I changed the plugs (Toyota OEM NGK). I now throw C0300 (random), C0303 (cyl #3) and C0304 (cyl #4) misfire codes.

I have photos of the old plugs - really bad looking. #3 looks a little whitish, am I correct or imagining a possible head-gasket leak?

I have the 4 cylinder, not the 6 cyl. I'm hoping for a lesser problem.

 

I swapped coil packs among the cylinders. The problem followed the coil pack originally in cylinder #3. I replaced that coil pack, it runs like a top.

 

Nice. It wasn't so bad of a problem then and not too expensive either. I've noticed coil packs are a common problem in Toyota vehicles,otherwise they are solid performers. Good job OP. Still consider running a half bottle of seafoam and premium fuel to burn off more of that carbon build up.