My Tacoma Started Shaking Yesterday

My guess is it's time to change the plugs and wires, but I wanted to get some smarter input first.

The easy way to describe it is shaking. When idling the whole truck has a bit of a sway. The Stick shift is almost jerky going back and forth. Everything drives correctly, and if I get above 3kRPMs it's so fast as to be almost unnoticeable. There's also a bit of a spitting sound with it now.

It just happened out of the blue, once it started it hasn't stopped or even changed. I'm going to go read the How to change your plugs sticky but wanted to be confident I was addressing the real issue.

Also if changing the plugs I once heard, "You might as well replace X while you're at it (distributor cap maybe)." What was X?

 

Check engine lights? If not, maybe clean mass air sensor and drop in new air filter. Next could be plugs if they're due. Wires while you're at it. Dist. cap depending on your year. Sea foam your gas. Give it a run. Don't go throwing parts but these are your cheapest parts to start at.

 

No check engine light but I don't think it works as I've never seen it and when I first bought it back in 05 I failed emissions with it and had to replace an O2 sensor.

 

you should see CEL when you turn the key. If not, borrow a scanner at Advance or Autozone. They lend them out here. Could be catalytic converter, O2 sensor again or the others I mentioned. Pretty smooth engines other than those parts.

 

did you wrap it in a blanket and tell it everything will be okay?

 

Plugs would be a good start.

 

Ok I'm back. CEL must be broken I don't ever see it. I took it to Advance and their computer said I had a cylinder 4 misfire, and the first o2 sensor had a problem. $150-ish out the door for new plugs and wires, plus O2 sensor, replaced all of that same issue.

Went back and the computer wouldn't connect to my truck (maybe the guy who has to work on Sunday doesn't know how to work it as well as the regular guys), but just guessing I replaced the distrubutor cap and button. It got a little better. But under 2,000 there's still a noticable shake that wasn't their before.

I checked the air filter it's still pretty good. 2 suggestions I haven't taken are "seafom your gas", and "clean mass air sensor" which of those should I do next and does anyone have a link to a thread discussing it so I know what it means and how to do it.

Thanks.

 

I guess you should do both since they only cost about $10 and can only improve the situation.
There are tons of threads and videos for every vehicle on the planet on how to use seafoam.
1/3 in your gas, 1/3 in oil (about 100 miles before an oil change), and 1/3 directly into your intake via vacuum tube.

MAF clean: again, Google is your friend.
Unscrew MAF (CAREFULLY, the screws are extremely easy to round). Unplug it. Spray MAF cleaner on the wires. Let it sit for 30 mins. Reinstall.

 

Back to post the answer, cause I hate finding a thread with the exact problem as mine but no resolution.

After all the above listed, I gave up and took it to the mechanic. Compression test was good so he pulled the fuel injector and it was dead. Replaced that and the truck is now (after everything done to it) running smoother than ever.

 

Get a compression check. I bet the #4 cylinder is a little low compared to the rest. It is probably the head gasket. Is your coolant a little low too?

Nevermind I didn't see that ^^^^^^

In the future you can check the injector by putting a long screwdriver against it and listening for a clicking sound. No click = bad injector.