Low spark?

Hi,
I have a 96 2.4 l tacoma stand. trans. Last year it quit suddenly. I changed the mass air flow sensor and it ran perfectly for a year. It just began running rough, stalling, sometimes hard-starting. I ran a diagnostic = P0171 and P0420. I checked the catalytic converter and it had a crack ... changed that and the two O2 sensors. This cleared the codes but didn't help the problem. Also checked all my air filter, lines, etc...didn't see anything. Took it to a mechanic he told me it had low spark. He wants to change the distributor and the coil. I can see the coil but the distributor? Expensive repair ... not sure this will fix things. Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Brien

 

Take it to another mechanic.

 

I am seeing aftermarket / rebuilt units for < $100.

For a less expensive "test" I would replace the cap and rotor with the same brand. The reason I am saying same brand is that a number of years ago the parts store had the cap but no rotor. Went to another parts store for the rotor but it was from a different manufacturer... while it all worked the mpg dropped by 3mpg... I went through my notes and remembered the issue and bought a replacement cap/rotor from the same manufacturer and my mpg came right back... the air gap between the 2 different components apparently was enough to cause an issue.

 

I would go with ^ his route. If that doesn't fix things you can replace the coil pack.

 

I'm not familiar with the 2.7s, but if you're handy I'd recommend cleaning the throttle body and idle air control valve. Cheap solution that may fix it.

I had similar issues with my 3.4 and that solved it. To me it was worth trying over throwing money into new parts.

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if you have a 2.4l then you have a distributor. Not coils. You cannot have both a distributor and coils. You either have one or the other. Try changing the distributor and rotor first. It should be a 5 minute job.

 

The 1998 2.4 usually have 2 coils packs instead of having a distributor. Distributors have a coil pack built in

 

Ah, so very similar to the 3.4L then. You could try swapping the coils around to see if your misfire moves to a new cylinder. That will narrow down which coil has gone bad.