SOLVED! Post 2853 Leaking Injectors, Dealer Techs Rock! Extended Cranking after Engine Swap 3.4L 5vz

OMG!! Guys!!! Neighbor's friend is going to look at Taco!! He wants us to bring it to his house because, get this:

HE HAS A FUEL PRESSURE GAUGE!! AND A FANCY SCAN TOOL!! AND SOME KIND OF SPARK TOOL THING THAT SOUNDS REALLY EXPENSIVE!!

Canceled dealer appt for now, will take Taco to this guy's house tonight, who conveniently happens to be just a few miles from home, and he's going to try to look at it tonight or tomorrow morning!!!

Most hopeful I've been since hard starts began, based on the stuff my neighbor described that this guy has diagnosed and fixed for others - wiring/sensor/electrical stuff, fuel stuff, a whole bunch of stuff that sounds right up our alley!

OK, edit my last post - now cross all fingers, toes, arms, legs that THIS guy is a genius, as I'm sure his price tag is much lower than the dealer's!!!!

 

Support from afar coming at ya! Good luck and let us know what is found.

 

Thanks Koditten!!! You rock man!

 

Let us know what happens. As from the start, kigmob still says fuel pump

 

Thanks for stopping in Kigmob. Yep, you are certainly not alone in that belief. I'm damn near convinced, yet want to get as much proof as I can before whipping out the plastic again. And sounds like neighbor's buddy just might be able to get us that proof for free, which would be seriously awesome.

Then, it will be time to ask all of my fabulous Taco World buddies who has a spare fuel tank (should we find rust), and who's been overcome with a sudden urge to travel to Portland and help swap a fuel pump? C'mon, you guys know it sounds super fun! I can just picture all of you out there arguing over whether to drop the bed or the tank! All you can eat truck cookies and beer, let's get this fuel party started!!

 

Just dropped Taco off at the guy's house, he seems super nice and is a Master Mechanic! He's gonna call tomorrow to tell us what he finds.......seemed like he really listened to what we told him, and of course, Miss Details handed him a 2 page single spaced history - wonder how loony he thinks I am now?

Could it be that we might actually be nearing the end of this sad saga? Cross those fingers and toes guys!

 

that would suck !

just boring normal everyday stuff and nothing wrong with the truck to worry about how sad would that be?

can you imagine nothing to do but hop in, drive, and enjoy your taco

 

Holy cow Keakar! Missed ya man, you disappeared! Glad you're back, you add a nice touch of humor to this often depressing thread.

Guess what? We smelled a fuel odor in the cab tonight (husband thought it was a different smell, but my money's on a fuel smell), AND my old buddy from Illinois that works at Caterpillar and knows a fair amount about car stuff (before I told him about fuel smell) called me tonight and said he's thinking leaky injector! You are one of the few (or maybe even the only one) that put your money on that early on.

Will hopefully hear from guy tomorrow. While there's no way in hell we should have that problem, how crazy would it be if that was it? I would be seriously not happy about it if that's it though. I asked engine swap mechanic very early on in process about putting in the injectors you recommended, just replacing all of them, and he basically said no, because he wasn't familiar with them. So if it winds up being that, when we spent $300+ to have all cleaned/tested and 2 replaced with identical ones, I will be just a teensy weensy bit annoyed about that. End rant.

Wait, not quite. Also not excited about what my buddy said, and what I've read, about what that could mean regarding new engine. Fuel leaking into special bearing oil? Even I know that doesn't sound good. All still speculation for now though, so we'll see......

 

NO MATTER WHAT IT TURNS OUT TO BE, DONT BE HARD ON THE MECHANIC, STUFF HAPPENS, NEW GASKETS FAIL, NEW SEALS LEAK, EVEN BRAND NEW PARTS LIKE INJECTORS FAIL OR DONT WORK AND MOST PEOPLE HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL TO GET THE MECHANIC TRAINING YOU GOT HERE FOR FREE


perhaps he was a good engine builder but maybe not the best diagnostic troubleshooter?

I've been running all around trying to get some bucket seats for my truck (from a 4runner) to replace my 60/40 split bench seat and fixing/upgrading a computer for my sister (drama ) so I have just been popping in now and then to see whats going on but you are in good hands so I got out the popcorn and have watched your endeavors unfold lol.

 

Having a color coded wiring schematic can be nice. I posted my diagram because it provided the basic information to help the OP understand how their fuel pump was operated. I didn't want to overload her with all the extra wiring for the injectors and other components not related to the fuel pump operation.

 

OK guys, final votes. If this guy actually is as good as our neighbor thinks, my diagnostic nightmare may end very soon. No more guesses, no more crappy malfunctioning Harbor Freight tools in a rainy gravel driveway, no more tears of hope that instantly turn to tears of frustration. NO MORE SPECULATION!

FINAL VOTE TIME.

WHAT'S CAUSING THE HARD STARTS?

SPECIFIC ANSWERS ONLY PLEASE. An example of what doesn't win: "There's a problem with this chic's Taco!"

WINNER GETS TRUCK COOKIES SHIPPED TO YOUR HOME!!!!!!

 

Voting for my buddy Matt in Illinois - he said leaky injectors.

He's not a Taco World member, since he doesn't have a Taco - but he told me tonight he's thinking about getting one. Told him I knew of really nice one that was in mint condition, low miles, no diagnostic issues, no bad wheel bearings, no rack & pinion problems, and nice new shocks & struts, for $7K. He said he'd think about it.

 

I'm addicted to this thread like I was to the show Dexter.

You could have your own show. Call it CIS Tacoma!

 

Great idea Koditten! Actually, last night we were brainstorming a Tacoma video game, wouldn't that be awesome? You could have different levels - like, level 1 is correctly changing the oil, picking the right place to pour the wiper fluid (oops, poured it in the coolant and it exploded in my face!), etc. Then more advanced levels would be you're working in a dealer service center, and someone with my situation comes in, and you compete against other players to diagnose the quickest. Wouldn't that be cool? Then when you win, you earn stuff for your garage. Every player starts out w/a basic set of Harbor Freight tools (poor HF, they get ripped on so much!) and a crappy gravel driveway. But when you win, you get to choose from a selection of Snap On tools, fancy diagnostic equipment, etc, or add on to your garage (heat, lights, more storage/workbenches). Then bonus rounds could be earning stuff for your own truck, like going from some crap aftermarket shocks to Bilstein 5100s, etc.

You guys would play it, right? I sure as hell would! Would be a great learning tool and tons of fun! Wish I knew how to design video games, we could earn enough to pay off the Taco debt in no time! Anybody know how to get this idea off the ground and make us millionaires? I'll share the profits AND truck cookies!

OK, serious time for a sec - wanting to be prepared w/a plan in case the guy finds fuel pump is the culprit, and everything near it is totally f'ed. Would get $90 Denso pump/strainer kit & gasket on Rock Auto, but where can I find the sender gauge, lead wire, bracket, and a tank for less than dealer prices without compromising quality? Seems like a tank could be aftermarket, right? Just a container, isn't it? Can I slap a really nice tupperware on there? Kidding, don't worry. But the other 3, I'd want the brand new OEM (is the OEM Denso on those 3?) for less than dealer prices. Anyone have ideas on where to look for that stuff? Rock Auto didn't have those 3 in Denso. In fact, I don't remember seeing those 3 in ANY brand on R.A. I realize we don't even know if that's it yet, but I have a good feeling about this guy, I honestly think he's gonna have an answer before the end of the day, and want to have as much of a plan in place for all the likely culprits as I can, so we can wrap things up ASAP, FINALLY! And there's the tracking down parts process, THEN the real fun - adding them up and deciding if it's worth spending that much more if the worst is found. We had tacos last night for good luck (and a margarita or two or ten).

And if he finds leaky injector(s), obviously I would not fart around w/cleaning the old ones again. Favorite injectors guys? Keakar, remind what you'd said before on this? Bosch 4 line, right? Would that still be your top pick?

I did call dealer parts yesterday to get some worst case scenario pricing.
Tank $727
ECU $1074
Wiring Harness - $1200

At first I thought the dude said the wiring harness was $200, and said, "DID YOU SAY $200?!??!!" He got a pretty good laugh outta that! Thinking things like wiring harness/ECU can't really be aftermarket blah blah brand. But not gonna go there quite yet....from what I'm gathering, it's not likely that either is truly completely destroyed, so not worth hardcore parts shopping on those yet. Although of course, now that I said that.....

Oh yeah, my husband's vote is vacuum leak. I think. He was also saying something blocking an EVAP line (that'd be vapor lock, right?) - which was my very first thing. That would be the ultimate irony if it was that, when my reason for thinking that is cuz it was #2 on Haynes list, 2nd only to dirty air filter. The odds of the correct final outcome being what I guessed (based solely off the Haynes manual) are about as good as a Harbor Freight tool actually not breaking through an entire project!

HOLY CRAP. JUST HAD THIS CRAZY IDEA ABOUT WHAT IT COULD BE. Don't know if this is even possible, but you guys will. Remember the MIA spark plug electrode? The one that was never found? Could it be plugged up in an EVAP lines somewhere? Or some other hose/line thingy?

 

I already have that damn game and I'm on a loosing streak.

You guys smelled(or smell) fuel?. Check the fuel filter connections. They replaced that, and they may have fooled around with it in the shop again as they tested. The soft copper washers that seal the line to filter are usually a one shot deal,,if they get reused they could leak.

 

Oh good grief Mod, I remember you saying that. How tarded would it be if it was that simple? Wait, actually, I remember husband saying he looked at it (I told him you mentioned it) and he said it appeared tight/correct. Although pretty sure we did go back to engine mechanic after husband looked at it.......

Mod, what's your vote? Also, is my theory about the electrode ???

 

Did you guys locate the fuel pump circuit opening relay and replace/check that?. We were headed there at one point and don't remember seeing a resolution. Might have missed that posting.

The old engine probably gobbled/chewed up that center electrode and turned it to dust, or very small bits. That piston was nibbled on with something very hard, before it torched thru it looks like. I doubt highly that it's stuck in the Evap system.

 

No need to replace the sender, housing etc.
Just doing the pump and strainer should fix it.
If theres some broken wires just solder and splice.

 

Damn. Thought I was onto some crazy thing there. The engine mechanic DID say when I was last there that they found dirt in a line to the charcoal canister and blew it out, so I pictured that thing getting chewed up and pieces of it being in there. Sounds like it's not really possible based on how things are connected to each other, huh?

We did sort of check the fuel pump relay, I think just half assed though. Husband listened to it w/stethescope (a real mechanic one from HF that cost $3!) while I turned key to 'on' position - he heard it click 2x when turned to on, then click 1x when turned off. Repeated that 3x, same results all 3x. Also, we'd read that if CEL lights up when turned to 'on', it means relay is good. I think. I've read so much crap though, I honestly don't remember if I actually did read that, and certainly don't remember how credible the source was if I did.

 

Knuckle and Mod, you guys haven't officially voted yet! Dontcha want your chance at truck cookies?

Knuckle, guessing fuel pump is your FINAL FINAL FINAL vote?
Mod? Fuel filter? Relay? FINAL FINAL answer time!

Still waiting to hear FINAL FINAL FINAL votes from Bama (fuel pump?), Keakar (leaky injector?), Koditten (corroded/incorrectly attached wire?), and DP (circuit stuff?).

I know Kigmob's going w/fuel pump.

Hypox and hetkind, you guys wanna take a stab? By the way hetkind, you ever get your 4 runner all figured out?