Truck stall

I’m needing some help with direction on my Tacoma. For the past two weeks I have been having an issue with my truck (1996 Tacoma 3.4) stalling out.

No warning no check engine lights before or after. It happens while idle but in while in drive and not while in park. I noticed it twice now while waiting at a light. I put it in park and it starts right up. I tried to reproduce it on the driveway but was unable.

I have noticed the occasional sputter while driving but no obvious reason or able to reproduce the sputter on command.

I have done a ton of work on the truck with replacement of the engine, starter, battery vaccume hoses, spark plugs and wires

Any recommendations or direction on how to diagnose this would be super super helpful

 

The frist thing I would check is the throttle body to see if it is gummed up.

 

Had that same issue on my 3.4 in the past—ended up being my spark plugs. Definitely make sure you’ve got quality ones and watch out for counterfeits (RockAuto’s your friend). Also double-check the gap on ’em—if they’re off even a little, it can cause weird idle/stalling issues.

Another common culprit is the IACV (Idle Air Control Valve)—it sits right under the throttle body. They get carboned up over time and can make the truck stall or idle like crap. Worth pulling it off and giving it a good clean, or replacing it if it’s crusty.

Wouldn’t hurt to check the MAF sensor either. The 3.4 adjusts fueling based on MAF readings, so if it’s dirty or the connector’s sketchy, that can cause random stalling or sputters too.

Hope that helps, brother—these old Tacos always throw curveballs, but we get ’em sorted