High RPM's above 18 MPH after cleaning engine bay - cannot get above 20 MPH!!

2002 Prerunner Tacoma V6 2WD automatic - Just cleaned my engine bay the other day with a garden hose, ordinary soap diluted with water and a soft scrubber. I covered the alternator, battery, fuse box, and the air filter compartment with plastic bags before I started. The engine was cold when I did the cleaning and I just used the mist setting to rinse everything off.

I drove the truck around after cleaning for about 10 minutes and it was behaving just fine. However, today I jump in and its "lobing" while idling and when I try to go above 18 MPH the RPM just climbs and it never feels like its going to switch gears.

What have I possible done to my poor truck to cause this?

I've done the following already:

• I took out the passenger side spark plugs to check for water in the spark plug tubs and there was none.

• I used compressed air on a bunch of electrical connectors to get any debris or water out of them but didn't notice any water.
• I cleaned the MAF sensor which was clearly dirty and that seems to have helped the lobing issue while idling, but its still there and I still have the above 18MPH RPM issue.
• Checked all the hoses I could see with a piece of tubing to my ear to listen for a whistling sound, but didn't hear any.
• I pulled all of the fuses and they were OK. Didn't pull any of the large relays.

I'm not 100% sure but I think the PCV valve is shot, I didn't remove for fear of having to break it to do so. I wanted to do the rattle test and a vacuum check with the engine running. Could this be the culprit?

What else should I check to fix this?

 

Take the wires off the coil packs and air spray them off.

 

are you sure this isn't a transmission issue? check fluid color and levels

 

The transmission is electronically controlled? Have you tried shifting manually?

 

if its electronic maybe try disconnecting the battery for 10 Min and give it a shot.. cant hurt and it will reset the computer. Other than that check to make sure that the coilpacks dont have any tears in them or the wires, may be shorting out and causing issues. Also is it throwing any codes? if no codes there may be a code hidden that isnt throwing a check engine light. If you can go to autozone or advance, ect. check if they can see it. If i have a Vacuum hose disconnected my ultragauge catches it but doesnt throw and check engine light. GL

 

Thanks, tried all of the suggestions and nothing helped, it actually got a lot worse. No errors codes thrown, no engine check light, tranny fluid level OK. At this point the truck wouldn't idle correctly and died repeatedly just after starting.

The TPS sensor appeared to be bad based on an OHM test so I replaced that but the truck still would die or just not start at all. I then re-cleaned the MAF once again but this time with CRC Air Flow Cleaner and bam, the truck came back to life! Appears all issues are resolved now.

The first time I cleaned the MAF with rubbing alcohol and a q-tip because its all I had available. Unknown to me during the first cleaning there are two wires hidden down in the tube of the MAF that can only be cleaned with a spray can of proper cleaner (warning: never attempt to clean those wires with manual friction). I'm making it a point to clean the MAF at least once a year now.

We think that the first day this issue started was caused by water interfering with a connector somewhere. Then I cleaned the MAF incorrectly and this caused a new sensor issue because the rubbing alcohol likely left behind residue. By the following day the water had evap'd from the connectors resolving the first issue and I was left with just the MAF being the problem. Re-cleaning the MAF with the correct cleaner solved it.

 

I had good success using those little fuzzy pipe cleaners and MAF cleaner, it lets you get to the back side and gently clean the part you cant get with the spray. got a good bit extra crud off mine after I "thought" it was totally clean. bend the end so it hooks a little then soak it and brush off the back side of the sensors.