1. Welcome to Tacoma World!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Tacoma discussion topics
    • Communicate privately with other Tacoma owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site

2.4L performance issues...

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by deadazleep, Apr 21, 2009.

  1. Apr 21, 2009 at 6:52 PM
    #1
    deadazleep

    deadazleep [OP] Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2009
    Member:
    #15792
    Messages:
    16
    Gender:
    Male
    NC
    Vehicle:
    97 2wd
    bone stock, gona be my DD truck nothing wild
    So i bought my first truck the other week, 97 standard tacoma 2.4L. Everything was fine and good till i'm bringing it home and realize that it doesnt like going 70mph. Where i got the truck there are no roads above 55mph so i'm guessing its never been this fast. It seems to struggle to go the 70mph speed limit and the other night on the highway the check engine light came on and the code said it was the 2nd o2 sensor. I'm guessing it could be the cat, being clogged with the higher speeds and more airflow. Motor has 120k and appears to be well taken care of. Anyone agree on the catalytic converter being the culprit and do any other 2.4l have trouble going on 70mph highways, any help would be apreciated
     
  2. Apr 21, 2009 at 6:56 PM
    #2
    -TRDMAN-

    -TRDMAN- ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

    Joined:
    Dec 18, 2006
    Member:
    #514
    Messages:
    2,191
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Greg
    Clarion Pa
    Vehicle:
    F-150
    Somthing is not right 70mph should be easy.... there will be plenty of help for you on here!
     
  3. Apr 21, 2009 at 6:58 PM
    #3
    deadazleep

    deadazleep [OP] Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2009
    Member:
    #15792
    Messages:
    16
    Gender:
    Male
    NC
    Vehicle:
    97 2wd
    bone stock, gona be my DD truck nothing wild
    yeah i thought it was a little odd, anything under 55 is great, and gas mileage appears decent too
     
  4. Apr 23, 2009 at 5:05 PM
    #4
    deadazleep

    deadazleep [OP] Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2009
    Member:
    #15792
    Messages:
    16
    Gender:
    Male
    NC
    Vehicle:
    97 2wd
    bone stock, gona be my DD truck nothing wild
    Well cutting off the cat bolts Saturday since they absolutly won't budge. Priced a direct fit magnaflow and it wasn't too bad, and to top it off I noticed a crack on the exhaust manifold today hmmm...
     
  5. Apr 23, 2009 at 5:06 PM
    #5
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

    Joined:
    May 8, 2008
    Member:
    #6497
    Messages:
    112,751,503
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    FlimFlubberJAM
    Tenoe, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2019 Rubicon 4 Door,
    4.10 gears, sliders, and lots of buttons.
    Address the cracked manifold, then the o2, then the cat.
     
  6. Apr 23, 2009 at 5:40 PM
    #6
    deadazleep

    deadazleep [OP] Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2009
    Member:
    #15792
    Messages:
    16
    Gender:
    Male
    NC
    Vehicle:
    97 2wd
    bone stock, gona be my DD truck nothing wild
    it appears to be a hairline crack about 4 inches long on the manifold. Whats a decent replacement header for the 2.4, i saw the pacesetter full length header and though it looked decent for the price. And i'm crossing my fingers on the o2 sensor being triggered by a clogged cat but wont know for sure till this weekend. Also are the bolts on the exhaust manifold as bad as on the catalytic converter, i've noticed its a common thing to have seized bolts on the cat
     
  7. Apr 23, 2009 at 5:42 PM
    #7
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

    Joined:
    May 8, 2008
    Member:
    #6497
    Messages:
    112,751,503
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    FlimFlubberJAM
    Tenoe, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2019 Rubicon 4 Door,
    4.10 gears, sliders, and lots of buttons.
    Pacesetter sucks. BAD. DO NOT BUY. that being said, spray the header studs the night before with some PB Blaster, and the bolts should come off. its an easy install.
     
  8. Apr 23, 2009 at 5:47 PM
    #8
    deadazleep

    deadazleep [OP] Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2009
    Member:
    #15792
    Messages:
    16
    Gender:
    Male
    NC
    Vehicle:
    97 2wd
    bone stock, gona be my DD truck nothing wild
    What is a good replacement manifold to go with then? I take it the pacesetter has poor fitment issues
     
  9. Apr 23, 2009 at 6:14 PM
    #9
    dually

    dually Low and slow

    Joined:
    Jul 29, 2008
    Member:
    #8205
    Messages:
    3,299
    Gender:
    Male
    Interstate underpass
    Vehicle:
    '16 Inferno SR5 DCLB
    ^I have a stocker with collector I would sell you for cheap. PM me if interested.
     
  10. Apr 23, 2009 at 7:03 PM
    #10
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

    Joined:
    May 8, 2008
    Member:
    #6497
    Messages:
    112,751,503
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    FlimFlubberJAM
    Tenoe, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2019 Rubicon 4 Door,
    4.10 gears, sliders, and lots of buttons.
    Check out North West Off Road. As your gonna have to replace it, you may as well get some h.p. out of the deal. :)
     
  11. Apr 23, 2009 at 7:10 PM
    #11
    deadazleep

    deadazleep [OP] Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2009
    Member:
    #15792
    Messages:
    16
    Gender:
    Male
    NC
    Vehicle:
    97 2wd
    bone stock, gona be my DD truck nothing wild
    Yeah i saw that site earlier while searching for a replacement. Didnt see any prices and they look high end and i'm not trying to spend alot on a replacement. Hp isnt even on my mind with this truck, with the little 2.4 theres nothin i could add other than FI to keep my civic from runnin circles around it. Any thoughts on a dorman replacement manifold?
     
  12. Apr 23, 2009 at 7:12 PM
    #12
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

    Joined:
    May 8, 2008
    Member:
    #6497
    Messages:
    112,751,503
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    FlimFlubberJAM
    Tenoe, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2019 Rubicon 4 Door,
    4.10 gears, sliders, and lots of buttons.
    I dont have any knowlege on the Dorman manifold.
     
  13. Apr 24, 2009 at 5:48 AM
    #13
    Bryan 93 ?

    Bryan 93 ? Member

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2009
    Member:
    #15630
    Messages:
    9
    Gender:
    Male
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Vehicle:
    04 2.4L
    3/4 drop
    A slight crack in the manifold normally isn't that big of a deal. When's the last time you changed the air filter?
     
  14. Apr 24, 2009 at 6:00 AM
    #14
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

    Joined:
    May 8, 2008
    Member:
    #6497
    Messages:
    112,751,503
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    FlimFlubberJAM
    Tenoe, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2019 Rubicon 4 Door,
    4.10 gears, sliders, and lots of buttons.
    In many cases, it can be enough to trigger a CEL.
     
  15. Apr 24, 2009 at 7:18 AM
    #15
    deadazleep

    deadazleep [OP] Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2009
    Member:
    #15792
    Messages:
    16
    Gender:
    Male
    NC
    Vehicle:
    97 2wd
    bone stock, gona be my DD truck nothing wild
    well the truck came with a very clean looking carquest filter so i'm confident that isnt causing a problem. The CEL is saying the 2nd o2 is throwing the code so i would think if the crack was REAL bad it would cause the 1st o2 to throw a code. but i wouldnt think a hairline crack or a faulty o2 sensor would make the car struggle at 65
     
  16. Apr 24, 2009 at 1:26 PM
    #16
    Bryan 93 ?

    Bryan 93 ? Member

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2009
    Member:
    #15630
    Messages:
    9
    Gender:
    Male
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Vehicle:
    04 2.4L
    3/4 drop
    I would agree. Only reason I mentioned the air filter is because that will definitely make your truck fall flat at higher speeds, don't ask how I know :)

    Sounds like the cat is the thing to check. I also think a severe timing issue could cause such a problem. Probably couldn't hurt to take a timing light to the thing.

     
  17. Apr 30, 2009 at 7:46 AM
    #17
    deadazleep

    deadazleep [OP] Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2009
    Member:
    #15792
    Messages:
    16
    Gender:
    Male
    NC
    Vehicle:
    97 2wd
    bone stock, gona be my DD truck nothing wild
    well got the cat off with the help of a grinder and tourch, but to mysurprise everything seemed clear flowing. Ran it back to the parts store to see if there was any type of temporary fix for the crack in the manifold. Also had another scan to double check what was throwing the code. Now its the upstream o2 sensor and after 2 days the temporary "metal" compond to fix the crack has cracked itself...so now waiting on gettin a oem replica replacement manifold, if that doesnt work then a new sensor. And i still got 30 day tags haha
     

Products Discussed in

To Top