2TR misfire on start up

I have a 2009 2TR with 276xxx km on it. It recently started misfiring on start up for 10-20 seconds and then it would go away and run fine, no codes.

The other day it finally threw a code, my check engine light was blinking. Oddly, this was kind of a relief. I finally have a starting point.

I pulled P0302. I swapped cylinder #1 and #2 coils and waited for the code to come back.

After a couple days (still misfiring randomly on start ups, warm or cold) it threw another code. P0302.

Then I replaced the spark plugs (I had roughly 140km on them so they were due anyhow). They were far from the worst I've seen, excessive gap and some corrosion but nothing serious. I'm still throwing P0302 and misfiring on random start ups.

I was planning on swapping injectors around, and see if my code moves cylinders.

Has anyone else with a 2TR run into similar issues?

 

Wow! I figured it was a coil pack....
Not in a Toyota but in a Kia Minivan I have had this experience
Especially so at red lights, while stopped.

 

So was the plug that came out if #2 a bit white? You mentioned corrosion but coolant can cause this symptom if you have a small crack in the head or the head gasket.

 

It only ever misfires after start up. Once its running and stops misfiring it runs well until the next start up, or the one after that.

The plug that came out of #2 was black around the bottom of the threads because of the misfire. They were all a bit white, but I wouldn't call it white enough to make me think I'm burning coolant.

I'm also not losing coolant at a rate I would call above natural. I'm going to keep and eye on it and I'll do a compression test and see if I can get my dick beaters on a coolant pressure test, just to be sure.

I also don't think its a sticky lifter because when it is misfiring it's not "clapping" or "tapping" like you'd expect to hear.

I'm going to clean the injectors and see what happens after that.

 

Here's a picture of the plugs, they run #1 through #4 top to bottom. Plugs are NGK Iridiums, aprox. 140xxx km

Sorry for the blurry picture, I swear my phone isn't a potato.

 

Any suggestions on injector cleaner?

 

Yup the only ones that actually work require taking your injectors out and sending them away to be cleaned and flow benched. The ones on the rack at the auto store are decent addatives if used monthly but won't correct an existing problem.

 

That's what I figured.

I have access to one of those "professional injector system cleaners" where it runs on just the cleaner. I think I'll try that before I send them away. The less down time with the truck the better. The Supra blew a ring so that's off the road, and now the truck. Need something to get me back and forth to work

 

I'd like to have regular access to one of those. Had my 330cc injectors cleaned before I supercharged my taco. But I'd like to make sure my Land Cruiser one are up to snuff since they're 25 years old now

 

My father works at the trade school so I luck out when it comes to that stuff. The machinist instructor made me a custom BJ cup for pressing in Taco BJ's.

There's a local company that cleans and flow tests injectors here, but where I don't have something else to drive having the Taco down for more than a day would cripple me.

 

I had a VW GTI that had the same type of cold start misfires, I ran Chevron Techron through and it was enough to put a band aid on the injector problem (i.e. keep the code away when cleared), but it always came back after a couple of weeks or so. If you have access to an injector cleaner, though, that's awesome.

 

Berryman's Vitamin B.
In a can at walmart or NAPA.
one full tank of gas and see how it does...
My truck is like new at 104000 miles

 

I guess we'll have to see! I'll report back once I run some cleaner through it. Worst case I'll have to replace the injectors or borrow a car while I'm getting mine cleaned.

 

k hutin valve bad

 

No irregular noises though, I was thinking it may be a sticky lifter, but it's not making any tapping noise during the misfire.

I ran a bottle of Gumout injector cleaner through it, I chose that stuff because the Gumout small engine cleaner worked wonders on my lawn mower.

The misfire has pretty well stopped.. It does happen once and awhile now, but itll only misfire for at most 10 seconds.

I'm going to run another bottle of cleaner through it and see where I'm at then.

 

My 07 starting doing did same thing about 1 month after I bought it. Would miss on start only once in awhile then started doing it pretty regularly on start. I changed all the fluids including the coolant. I noticed slight amount of oil in my overflow. So instead of rebuilding engine or buying another one I figured with 303k miles I would try a gasket sealer temorarily. I did change spark plug gasket and valve cover gasket at same time I put in blue devil head gasket sealer. Thats was 2 months ago and havent had a miss since. Runs and starts perfect. Has 303k on it. Could have been coolant or excess oil leaking into spark plug. I kept getting cylinder 3 missfire also and when I took plug out and looked in it was wet inside. Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

Alright, so after the last little while the truck has started to lose coolant (I'm not sure if its leaking or if it's burning it). Maybe its just coincidence, but when the coolant starts to get low, is when the misfire comes into play. I started over heating in traffic (at idle the water pump wasn't moving fast enough to circulate the coolant) on Friday night. I topped up the coolant on Saturday morning before I left to go about my day, and I haven't had a misfire since.

Now, I can't figure out how they possibly could be connected.

I changed the plugs again, and they all had the same sort of texture, looked to be burning coolant... But it was all 4 plugs (makes me think maybe a throttle body or manifold coolant leak maybe?).

 

I think the throttle body does have coolant lines through it. I don’t think the intake does. Not sure where it might leak out of the throttle body though but you might be able to take it off and inspect it. Or you a coolant pressure tester and take the intake tube off and look down in it to see it leaking or something. Might even take the throttle body off the intake with the coolant lines still hooked up and look at it.
Do you have over 300k on it yet?

 

The truck has 324k km on it, but there were a few km there where the poor old thing got the balls beat off of it

The coolant looks fine, colourwise and there aren't any obvious signs or of combustion gasses coming though when the rad cap is off.

I do plan to pressure test the system, I believe the leak is pretty small, it takes months for the truck to get to the point where it's low on coolant and starts to overheat in traffic. So it might be difficult to find it visually.

There is a guy coming to get my Supra (since June, friggen covid), once that's out of the garage I'll have some room to look at the truck.

 

Hey Mitch, I'm having the same problem with my 2009 2TR-FE with 245k. Only for a short time at start up - usually misfire #4, sometimes #3 and once in awhile random misfire. Would like to hear from you if you get it figured out.