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check engine light

Discussion in 'Technical Chat' started by roehoe72, Jan 4, 2009.

  1. Jan 4, 2009 at 9:13 PM
    #1
    roehoe72

    roehoe72 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Dan
    Vacaville, CA
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    04 dc prerunner v6 trd
    ok, so im new to the forum so a big shout out to everyone. HI!!!! im dan, a california native, whose dumbass decided to transplant to anchorage, ak. and yes my taco came all the way with me. and she functioned beautifully. now here is my reason for posting. i have had this truck since 04, when she only had 2700 miles on her. now she is up to 104xxx, and i have never had any major problems. every now and then i would have a little starting issue, as in it wouldnt fire up right away, it would kind of try, but not quite make it. but that was far and few between. i took the truck to minnesota for the winter of 05/06, and never had a problem. she even drove great in the snow and ice with only being two wheel drive. never had cold weather problems... now im in anchorage, and for the past week it has been -20's. nothing new to this truck. but two or three days ago she wouldnt start, period. so i put a new battery in her, and tried again. nothing, just cranked and cranked and cranked. i tried starting fluid, and nothing. finally i tried thre old stand on the gas til she fired, and she did. i let he warm up for about a half an hour, took her down to the gas station to get a little oil (mind you i am not anal, but i treat her very well. always change the oil on time, do the work my self, and she also has new plugs, k&n, wires, oil, fuel/oil filter) and to top of the antifreeze. i noticed half way to the gas station the check engine light came on. this has NEVER happened in four years. so i got her back to the house, disconnected the battery, hooked it back up, and still the check engine light is on. she idles fine, though it was a rough idle when she first fired up. not horrible, but noticable. i also noticed that "milky" oil pn the inside of the oil cap. so my question to you is all this due to the sub negative temps for an entire week, or what. also i dont have a block warmer, but i do plan to install one SOON. so any help is appreciated. and thanks for reading this long diatribe. Dan Hughes.
     
  2. Jan 4, 2009 at 9:23 PM
    #2
    TSUNAMI*22

    TSUNAMI*22 Obama can suck-it

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    Stockton, CA
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    ScanGuage 2 equipped. Toyota DIY aftermarket Cruise Control mod
    "Milky" oil in my 1995 Z-28 proved to be caused from moisture getting into the oil. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a leak in the head gasket.

    Same symptoms that you described, too. :(
     
  3. Jan 4, 2009 at 9:27 PM
    #3
    Toy4Life

    Toy4Life 668: The Neighbor of the Beast

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    Chad
    Slippery Rock, PA
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    92 4Runner SR5 3.0v6 4x4(sold) 02 Tacoma SR5 TRD Offroad 4x4 (sold)
    I think your 1st order of business should be to get the code on that check engine light.

    Welcome to TW!
     
  4. Jan 4, 2009 at 9:29 PM
    #4
    roehoe72

    roehoe72 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    thanks, not what i wanted to hear though. i checked the dipstick, and the oil is clean, and i checked the antifreeze, and no oil there. also i cant smell the exhaust in the antifreeze either. and the heater seems to be fine, no over/under heating.
     
  5. Jan 4, 2009 at 9:30 PM
    #5
    Toy4Life

    Toy4Life 668: The Neighbor of the Beast

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    There are a lot of possibillities. Could be the Throttle Position Sensor.
     
  6. Jan 4, 2009 at 9:41 PM
    #6
    TSUNAMI*22

    TSUNAMI*22 Obama can suck-it

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    ....and neither could I. I smelled nothing, and no water residue in the oil. It drove fine mainly because I drove 160 miles per day on the freeway on cruise. One day I took it in to be smogged and my buddy saw the anti-freeze residue on the outside of the block.

    If it significantly leaks water into a cylinder while the car is off, you might have experienced a small form of hydro-lock. In extreme cases of hydro-lock the engine won't even turn over.

    I'd give hydro-lock about a 2% chance of what happened to you, but like the guy above said - get the engine code checked first.

    Drive it easy until you find out what it was. If you can, pre-heat the engine block and/or use 5/30 or 5/20 if cold weather is the suspected culprit. You might have had water in the fuel line and it froze....who knows?

    Ask your neighbors what they do to adjust the car to the cold.
     
  7. Jan 4, 2009 at 10:00 PM
    #7
    roehoe72

    roehoe72 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    04 dc prerunner v6 trd
    thanks for the ideas. when i called the auto part store, they said that A LOT of people have been having this problem, which is to be expected in -20 for a week. im suspecting frozen fuel lines, cause it was turning over. i plan to put in a block warmer to heat the antifreeze, and maybe one of those magnetic blankets for the oil pan... i do plan to have the light checked.
     

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