Engine Missing

2002, 197K, 2.7L, 4x4. Maine, cold climate.

I bought this truck a few years back with 9X,xxx on the clock. Since that time I have done nothing to the engine other than change the oil, filters, etc. No "tune ups" or dealer recommended services. Typical maintenance only. I noticed a slight hesitation at low rpms (1500-2200) about a week ago. As of last night it was starting to get worse. Yesterday I had the oil changed. After the oil change I was driving to my office with verly little gas in the tank (light was on) and it started to miss pretty bad. Filled it up with regular, no change, still missing. This morning i drove it over 200 miles, still acting about the same. Once the tank got down to about 2/3 full i put in some techron and topped up with 6+ gallons of Super (which is 91 around here). So far i don't notice much difference, if any at all. I realize I need to let the full tank run through, but just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on injectors being dirty? should i change the plugs?? etc. Thought it might be bad gas, but not sure now...

On the highway at 70mph it misses intermittenly, maybe once or twice a minute. It is definetly a lot less frequent up at highway cruising speed, especailly if the road isn't real hilly. Accelerating from a stop it is really bad, feels like the whole thing is going to die right there, but i keep the revs up and it seems to kinda power through it, still missing, but not as bad. Seems to miss worse at 2000-2750, not as bad at 3000 plus (not that i get up over 3100 for lengthy periods).

Anothe note, the gas/air sensor at the front of the exhaust has tripped the CEL for about 5 years, never goes off. Currently when the missing is bad (accelerating from a stop) the CEL will blink.......not sure what that is indicating, other than "hey moron, there is a problem"

Thanks in advance

 

***Cylinder Misfire Guaranteed

If the CEL starts blinking. STOP and turn it off. When it blinks it means that the cylinder has stopped firing altogether. This is really bad on the heads and could burn them out.

Hook it up to a OBD and get the code. Sounds like a Cylinder misfire. I had the same exact symptoms with mine misfiring just a couple months ago. It was a misfire in Cyl #4. I changed the plug but didnt fix. Talked to some people and they said try changing the plug wires. Problem solved. When the plug wires get old, the electricity wont run through them properly and you wont get a spark.

 

Fuel filter?? I have no idea. Could be original for all i know. I have not changed it, so the current filter likely has 100K+ on it.

I can probably get the code pulled, I had it pulled before, used to know it. Possible that it is pulling more codes now. I will see what I can do.

 

sorry i had to...

 

hmm interesting... subd for the outcome



lol i literally thought your engine was missing cause from the home page there was a picture with a empty engine bay haha.

 

This^^^

 

So it would seem that the general consensus is that you should really try to stop driving it until you get this fixed and the 3 fixes that people have provided are extremely easy to do. Replace spark plugs replace wires (if you have a cap and rotor you should replace them too) and replace the fuel filter.All of which can be done yourself for prolly $60 to $70.

 

Most CERTAINLY.

 

To check to see if your getting spark to the plugs for your 2002 2.7L:

1) Take out your coil for each cylinder:
-by removing screw and disconnecting wire connection.

2) Stick screw driver in coil and lay coil with screwdriver in it on valve cover

3) Have some one turn the ignition and see if spark comes out.

 

yep
Code 300 (twice) misfire?
Code 302 (twice) misfire on 2?
Code 1135, said its a dealer code, guessing its the air/gas PIA

its parked

 

Start by changing a spark plug. If that doesnt fix the misfire, then replace the plug wires.

 

So, it sounds like you've never done the plugs. And, this has burnt up your o2 sensor. So, go get some plugs and wires. I recommend you get what toyota puts in your truck, either from toyota or aftermarket place selling same brand (Bosch, champion, etc.) then I recommend replacing the sensor. Denzo is the OEM brand used. Get it cheaper online and I'd stay with denzo as my 04 didn't like a diff brand I used on my o2 sensor so I got denzo after that. I'd do this before you wreck the catalytic converter which is huge bucks. And, it sounds like you're minimally caring for the truck so plugs and wires should be done anyhow.

 

And, a flashing CEL truly IS saying "hey moron, there is a PROBLEM!!".... That o2 sensor also has a heated element in it that burns off excess gasses in the exhaust before you damage the catalyst. I'd be willing to bet after 5 yrs of it being on throwing codes and your lack of routine maintenance you might find codes tripping after these repairs for your catalytic converter going bad. The o2 sensor tells your ecu how much gas/ air to increase by reading the lean/rich status of your exhaust. If it's not working right, you may be putting too much gas into the cylinders, fouling the plugs and then arcing the wires and the excess gasses are going into the exhaust. Since the sensor is failing and it doesn't burn off these gasses, they end up in the catalytic converter doing internal damage to it. And this cycle continues over and over again.

 

I thought there was a difference between the air/fuel sensor and the o2 sensor? isn't the o2 sensor further back? What is the differnece between the two sensors? Do they both trip the same code or do they have their own codes? I know there are two of them. The 1135 code has been tripping for years, its not new. Truck is going to a mechanic....I don't have time to fiddle around trying to learn something in the middle of the winter. But by nature i like to have a general understanding of what is or might be going.

Thanks guys....

 

There are two oxygen sensors on your truck. There's an upstream and a downstream sensor. The sensor before the catalyst measures the air/fuel mix and burns off excess gasses before they enter the cat and damage the substrate. Rockauto.com is where I got my O2 sensor when it went bad, and again, I suggest denzo as that is what toyota uses. Sometimes vehicles don't like other brands and you will waste time and money. Be prepared to possibly have to replace the 2nd o2 sensor later down the road after you do the bad one. Sometimes the 2nd one goes shortly after.

 

Yep I bought a 2000 celica a month ago and it was throwing a p0420 code. I first changed the up stream O2 sensor using "Bosh" I was a little worried about there being a brand conflict. After 50 miles I threw the same code again. Unfortunately it wasn't the brand I chose. The cat had already gone bad. So I had to pay someone to cut out and weld in a new cat. After 300+ miles I'm cell free but I was told that there is a 10-20% chance that than evil won't accept the aftermarket cat and then you have to buy one from the stealer.