I recently got my late brother's 97 Land Cruiser with 288k miles which he bought new. I've driven it on a couple 100+ mile trips and around town; it drives great and engine idles smoothly and is very responsive. I had one disconcerting experience; while coasting up to an intersection at 15-20 mph the engine died. Luckly there was an empty parking lot I could pull into with much steering effort ; I think it took me over a hundred feet to stop with no power brakes. Any suggestions on what I might check? I've been a shade tree mechanic for 50 years. Thanks much.
New to me 80 series (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter richw99
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Did the engine quickly restart?
Any recent service?
Did the air conditioner kick on, causing the idle to drop?
Is the oil cap still installed?
There are many possibilities here, ad we need more info about how it died, sputter, suddenly like you shut it off, bigger then died, shuddered, I could go on.
- Thread starter
- #3
There has been no recent service and the oil cap is installed. The engine died like the key had been turned off and started right up after I got the car stopped. The air conditioner is a possibility; I believe it was on. Does the compressor cycle when the a/c is on? Thanks for your reply.
The compressor is supposed to cycle when the AC is on.
However, the idle is supposed to INCREASE when it cycles.
If you have vacuum leaks or something else is going on, it could die when it cycles due to the extra load.
Has the truck sat for an extended period of time? Indoors or outdoors? Possible rodent damage to wiring.
Check the intake hose between the air filter and throttle body. It's old enough it may have cracked. Usually on the bottom. You may have to remove it to confirm.
Tachycardic
SILVER Star
First thing I would do is check and fix any vacuum leaks. That may include buying a new oil cap. Condolences about your brother.
- Thread starter
- #6
The car was stored over the winter, but I've been driving it daily for over a month. I'll take the air intake hose off and inspect and start replacing vacuum hoses as they look old. What is the issue with the oil cap? Thanks
If the seal on the oil cap is hard as a rock (and it probably is) it allows a vacuum leak on the engine.
Start the engine and let it idle.
Remove the Oil cap (or the 710 cap if you're in Australia)
The engine should sputtter hard and may die. This is because you've introduced a HUGE vacuum leak and you now have a ton of unmetered air entering the engine and the O2 sensors and injectors have to overcome the sudden change in air:fuel ratios in order for the engine to run.
After you change vacuum hoses, PCV hose and valve, the valve cover hose to throttle body, and possibly the intake hose, piull the EFI fuse in the fuse block for 2 miuntes, then reinstall. This will clear the codes and allow the engine to re-learn based on YOUR driving style and with a better vacuum.
Otherwise, the ECU learns a set of parameters to follow based on driving style and trips, so it adjusts fuel trim accordingly.
Before I take my truck on a 300 mile trip, I usually pull the fuse to clear all settings because I can improve my gas mileage on the trip by 1.5 MPG which is around 10%. This is because as I drive around the city at low speed and more in open loop, the ECU thinks I'm still on one of those trips so it keeps measuring things thinking that way. It may not be until after I shut it off after 3 hours of driving that it finally figures out that it needs to adjust because of temps, RPM, gear selection, all that.
- Thread starter
- #8
Thanks, I will replace the oil cap; it has no seal. Does the iac give trouble or require cleaning?
The IAC valve is the idle air control valve. If it's having issues, it will idle very rough or not at all or at 1200 RPM.
If you want to replace it while you're there, you can. It's a bit expensive if I recall correctly.
If you're replacing everything under the intake manifold, then remove the upper half and do the fuel filter at the same time as well as all vacuum hoses.
While you're at it, replace the gas cap with a Toyota part. These need to be replaced every 5 years or so anyway to keep the vents clear and seals soft.
www.partsouq.com
Find McGeorge Toyota online parts
Those are the two primary places I get my parts. Not all dealerships are equal on pricing.
