Truck won't exceed 3K RPM

New to the board , my name is Jonathan, first Toyota I have owned. I live in the Florida panhandle and I have 5 boys and a wife ..

I have a 1997 Tacoma 4x4 3.4L. Truck won't rev past 3,000 RPMs. Manual transmission. If you shift before 3k you would never know a thing was wrong. Ruled out cat , cleaned MAF sensor, changed fuel filter.. can't figure out the issue. Ran perfect before this started. It's like it hits a rev limiter. Currently have cat pulled out , so I can't try anything as of right now , but I did notice 4x4 shifter was in 4L. But hubs aren't locked in ... could that be the issue ?? Need all the help I can get. Thanks ahead of time.

 

I don't know a thing about 1st Gens, but could it be the throttle/gas pedal cable (if they have one)? I had a similar issue with my Mercedes once where it did the same thing.

 

I'll give it a look , but it seems to be fine. I have even tried to rev it up from the actual motor itself manually.

 

I think you are on to something with your transfer case in 4L- put it in 2H- I expect it will resolve your problem.

 

I hope it is. I just noticed it tonight , and it's too loud to try it until tomorrow. I just don't know if that would affect it in neutral also .. I'm hoping someone who's had the issue will check it out and let me know. It's driving me up the wall !!

 

I've definitely revv'ed higher than 3k in my truck though even in 4low, but I have ADD not manual hubs. I'm not familiar with manual hubs but I'd be curious to see if that solves the issue (putting the 4x4 lever back into 2H), despite the hubs not being locked it might solve the problem?

 

let's hope

 

Here's a thread where some Toyota service people throw out some ideas for the same issue you're having...

https://www.justanswer.com/toyota/5zkzj-toyota-tacoma-4x4-99-toyota-tacoma-3-4-engine-cuts.html

 

Well it wasn't the 4WDrive shifter being in 4L. How hard is the crankshaft sensor to get to ??

 

Any codes throwing? Next time it won't rev, push the pedal all the way down and see if the CEL flashed or anything. I had one that wouldn't rev over 2800 and was a bad crank sensor. You can get to it if you take the skid plate off and crawl underneath. I belive it's just 1 10mm bolt holding it down. Have to kinda twist it to get it out of it's hole and probablyh has a bunch of mud and crap on it. Pretty easy though.

 

I had a very similar issue with mine. Started out with a bad miss above 2 grand. Then it wouldn't rev over 2200. Like it hit a rev limiter. It would pop back if you got on it and act crazy. Under 2 grand it ran smooth and normal. My cat was clogged up they said so I replaced it. It ran better but still had a miss and cut out at 3 grand. I put in new plugs and a set of wires and it fixed my issue. Also had cleaned the maf. I was sold on the crank sensor as well but I had no codes. Even with the cat plugged it wouldn't throw any codes. Hope this helps

 

It sounds like you've got a few more solutions to look into, but if none of them pan out, the next obvious questions would be:

• When did this start?
• Did this show up after any event, trip, or maintenance routine, or did it just happen all of a sudden?

 

Mine has never had the miss, it's smooth as a sewing machine .. until you get to 3,000 RPMs going to change crank sensor and then fuel pump if that doesn't resolve the issue.

 

Should do the fuel filter while you're at it, it's really easy to do on the 3.4l (just inside the frame rail behind the driver's seat)

 

Ok so here's the answer...crankshaft sensor fixed the issue 100%. Although I'm sure it was bad , it had a grease haze and was dirty on the end That read the crank. I replaced it anyways since I had the new one and I didn't want to put it all back after cleaning it and it still not work. Never got a CEL. It seemed like the previous owner (I've only had it for a month or so) replaced the thermostat and it had a very slow drip that I think may have caused the problem all together. But it's back together and running like a brand new one. Hope this post helps someone in the future. Thanks for everyone's advice .

 

Great news. I had a water pump leak at the same time. I wondered if some of the coolant residue got on mine. That entire area was covered in a white powder from dried coolant. I never got a cel either.

 

Same issue 97 Tacoma . Crank position sensor was same, greasy glaze. Changed it out problem solved. No cel ever.

 

My '96 SR5 4x4 3.4 is doing same thing have just replaced crank sensor it had coolant on it crusted but did not fix the issue, I've replaced fuel filter and tried new ign. coil, no cel or codes????

 

Thumbs up,
BTW I think your 1997 reg cab v6 is a close cousin to my 1997 reg cab v6

 

, whenever my old taco is in this rpm range i am usually breaking laws