3Fe diagnosed, camshaft messed up? (2 Viewers)

[Phillip K]

Hello landcruiser family, I am a 19 year old from Washougal Washington, right next to Portland Oregon. New to ih8mud as someone suggested I post my problem here and I would love some input on my baby 1991 Toyota Land Cruiser with the 3fe engine. Long story short, I took it to the sand dunes, and while I was driving, the car gave out on me. It sounded like it misfired a few times and just gave out. The truck will now crank, but won’t start. I stayed a few extra nights at the dunes and checked fuel lines, replaced the fuel pump, checked the maf sensor, checked relays, checked the fuse link, and after 2 days of almost ripping my hair out I decided to just tow it back home. I had a mechanic take a look at it and he tested it, the codes came up as airflow meter and manifold pressure sensor. But he said these codes won’t stop a car from starting so those can’t be the problem. He basically told me the cam shaft is cooked. He didn’t tell me much other than that. Now I’m in a pickle and I have no idea what next steps to make. I bought the truck because I heard the engine is bullet proof… and 2 weeks into owning it it gave out on me. It was driving perfectly fine like a charm and then just broke down. It’s at 199500 miles, original engine and everything. If anyone can provide any help at all or just give me advice I would greatly greatly appreciate it. I’m not at all in the financial place to completely rebuild the engine, and I have zero experience with engines so replacing the camshaft would be a fun project, but how can I even know that’s for sure the problem before I go taking apart my 3fe? I appreciate yall in advance.

 

[lumbee1]

Welcome. You will get much more informative answers here than reddit.

I don't know what contributes to crank no start on a 3fe. I wouldn't throw any more parts at it. Check electrical. Could be a relay or fuse. Repla e any questionable fuses instantly.

 

[Fj80oregon]

Hopefully you didn’t pay for that diagnosis!
Start here and follow the steps from @jonheld he is the guru on 3fe. Download the diagnostic from the resources section and start reading.
Learn to fix this thing yourself. You can do it this forum is here to help. Ask questions after you have tried it once or twice. https://forum.ih8mud.com/resources/3fe-efi-diagnostics.89/reviews

 

[ajax1]

Got spark? Did the ignitor lead come off? Bad afm will just crank when I had that, engine would not really catch

 

[Godwin]

The 3FE camshaft gear is a fiber composite and being 30+ years old may have deteriorated to the point it's no longer solidly connected to the camshaft.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

I would start by asking the mechanic how he determined the camshaft was "cooked".

 

[AussieHJCruza]

Basic questions/checks:
1) is the check engine light illuminated with the ignition in the 'on' position?
2) easy way to see if the cam is doing remotely what it should: remove the rocker cover and turn the engine over. If all the valves open and close in what looks like a logical sequence given the firing order, it's probably good enough for it to run.
3) Pull the oil filter and cut it open, if it's full of shavings something has gone south internally.
4) Do you have a factory service manual? If not you can download one for free in the 'resources' section of this website. This will have some troubleshooting sequences to go through