Engine shutting off during long trips. (1 Viewer)

[1meancruiser]

I took a long trip a year back through Nevada desert, durring the hotter season or temperatures were above 100°. the car was loaded with around 800lbs. she stalled at a stop sign and i could not get her going again, pulled out a jerry can and filled it up and started right up. Later that day, it stalled again when i was going through a mountain road in route to Lake Tahoe. Again, emptied the jerry can into her and she started up.

I thought it was bad gas, or water in the gas which caused this to happen as it did not happen again till 2 weeks ago. I was driving back from Vegas, going through baker, over 100 deg temp, she was loaded with 900lbs of cargo and after finishing a decent climb up a hill on the 15 south and coming down hill she was not pulling when i tried to speed up. finally i floored it and the rpm completely dropped from 2300rppto 700rpm or so, as if she was going to stall, then she started up, jerked a bit and got up to 2300 rpm and got us home. no problems ever since.

a few notes: she had not overheated. The temp gauge was right was it was supposed to be. I did not smell gas. My mechanic thought it may be an overheated fuel pump and asked me to bring it in for a lookover.

Any thoughts?

 

[ENGINE er]

when it shuts off do you smell gas?

 

[Trunk Monkey]

How about some more details?

 

[1meancruiser]

i tried to post from my iphone and it didn't work, i edited the post...

How about some more details?

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Charcoal canister, fuel pump, fuel filter is where I'd start looking.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Hi, I agree fuel pump or its filter. Mike

 

[1meancruiser]

I think so too, I can't think of anything else it may be...

Hi, I agree fuel pump or its filter. Mike

 

[PIPO]

Vapor lock?

 

[marshotel]

Check for obstructed exhaust system.
Catalytic converters in particular.

It sounds like your catalytic converters are rotten and they restrict exhaust flow when they heat up. Buildup of exhaust backpressure causes the engine to stall when you run it fast and hot. The temperature gauge on the dashboard looks fine. Sometimes you can floor it and force a little more exhaust through there. The problem only manifests itself when you run the truck for extended periods in warm weather.

When you stop to add a jerrycan, the built-up pressure escapes from the exhaust system. After you let it rest for a while it runs fine until the next long hot trip.

You (or somebody else) will need to take the exhaust system apart to check the cats. As a preliminary examination, you can tap the cats with a hammer and listen. I guess you could also measure pressure in the exhaust in front of the cats (or vacuum at the intake) for some indication of exhaust system performance- but remember that it will be very dependent on the temperature of the exhaust system. The problem only happens when the exhaust system is hot, right?

The cats can be all clogged-up, but will still catalyze oxidation of the unburned fuel that passes through them so you won't get a check engine light.

Just because you don't have a check engine light doesn't mean your catalytic converters are not clogged.

I have not heard of "an overheated fuel pump" on the 100-series, but I bet your mechanic knows a lot of things that I don't, so that's worth a shot.

More info on your truck would help us help you.


has it been used for mostly short trips?
in extreme conditions?
do you use any fuel additives?
any rust underneath?
do you drive through water much, especially saltwater?
Any chance you got some saltwater in the exhaust system?

Is there any chance the insides of your catalytic converters are corroded and this is restricting the flow of exhaust?



Hope this helps.
Let us know what you find out.

 

[1meancruiser]

Check for obstructed exhaust system.
Catalytic converters in particular.

It sounds like your catalytic converters are rotten and they restrict exhaust flow when they heat up. Buildup of exhaust backpressure causes the engine to stall when you run it fast and hot. The temperature gauge on the dashboard looks fine. Sometimes you can floor it and force a little more exhaust through there. The problem only manifests itself when you run the truck for extended periods in warm weather.

When you stop to add a jerrycan, the built-up pressure escapes from the exhaust system. After you let it rest for a while it runs fine until the next long hot trip.

You (or somebody else) will need to take the exhaust system apart to check the cats. As a preliminary examination, you can tap the cats with a hammer and listen. I guess you could also measure pressure in the exhaust in front of the cats (or vacuum at the intake) for some indication of exhaust system performance- but remember that it will be very dependent on the temperature of the exhaust system. The problem only happens when the exhaust system is hot, right?

The cats can be all clogged-up, but will still catalyze oxidation of the unburned fuel that passes through them so you won't get a check engine light.

Just because you don't have a check engine light doesn't mean your catalytic converters are not clogged.

I have not heard of "an overheated fuel pump" on the 100-series, but I bet your mechanic knows a lot of things that I don't, so that's worth a shot.

More info on your truck would help us help you.

has it been used for mostly short trips? I Bought the car last year with 18,000 original miles. It averaged 3000 miles per year for the first six years. I now have 39,000 miles on it.
in extreme conditions? The previous owner used it to get groceries, I've had it on a couple of trails, very light offloading.
do you use any fuel additives? No
any rust underneath? No
do you drive through water much, especially saltwater? No, Not that I am aware of.
Any chance you got some saltwater in the exhaust system? No, not that I'm aware of.

Is there any chance the insides of your catalytic converters are corroded and this is restricting the flow of exhaust?



Hope this helps.
Let us know what you find out.

Great advise, ver knowledgable. Please see above for my answers.

Given the owner had put so few miles on it, it is likely that rust had built up inside the cats. You might have hit the nail on the head.

 

[1meancruiser]

One more item I forgot to mention, my LC tends to get bad gas mileage. I usually at Rich around 12 miles per gallon, on long trips up to 12 1/2 to 13.

 

[1meancruiser]

One more item I forgot to mention, my LC tends to get bad gas mileage. I usually average around 11.5 miles per gallon around the city and, on long trips up to 12 1/2 to 13.

I reposted the above, again working from the iPhone and having problems editing.

 

[consalvochris]

I agree on with the fuel pump issue, maybe it isn't strong enough to draw fuel from the tank when it gets below a certain level, especially with 800 lbs extra, what the heck are you lugging around?

 

[marshotel]

Given the owner had put so few miles on it, it is likely that rust had built up inside the cats. You might have hit the nail on the head.

Catalytic converters are expensive and there are not many (if any) reported failures for the 100 series Land Cruisers; I would check the inexpensive stuff first- fuel filter, fuel pump.

But also do check the exhaust system for obstructions. The poor mileage suggests you might be running rich (fuel : air ratio too high), which could contribute to degradation of the cats.

It would be strange to have to replace the cats on a 2006 w only 39,000 miles. However, I once had a very bad experience with a clogged catalytic converter- and the initial symptoms were exactly as described in the original post.

Hope this helps, and please do report back with your findings.

 

[1meancruiser]

Lugging around lots of people and luggage, not difficult to get over 800 pounds.

I will probably start with the fuel pump and fuel filter and take it from there.

 

[kklaus121]

Hey 1meancruiser
your stalling issue sounds very similiar to the issue I have had with my 2006 LX as well. In addition similiar to the one here:
http://www.clublexus.com/forums/lx470-and-lx450/652944-stalling-in-hot-weather.html#post7468291

Last summer when temperatures were very hot here in Colorado Springs, 95+, I had similiar issues to what you are having. Vehicle would stall out or not restart until it cooled for anywhere between 5 and 30 minutes depending on what was going on. My mechanic measured the fuel pressure when hot and it was 38psi, and 42psi when cooled down. He replaced the fuel pump with filter and since then I did not have the stalling problem, but when hot I still occasionally have the hard or no start condition so my problem is not solved 100%. I have put a fuel pressure gauge on the fuel rail so I can monitor fuel pressure under varying conditions.
It is starting to get hot here so I am tuned in to watching for the problem again. I am suspicious of the charcoal canister, but now based on this thread I will add the Cats to the list.
I would be interested to know if replacing the fuel pump and filter solve your issue 100%.
Subscribed!

 

[1meancruiser]

Very interesting. The problem seems to be unique to 2006 LC's.

the motor changed from 05 to 06. also, in 2006 the cats have o2 sensors built into them versus before and after the cats on the older models.

It seems like there are a lot of postings on this but I have yet to find a specific answer for this. Everyone says a new fuel pump helps but does not solve the problem.

 

[Bloomer]

Catalytic converters are expensive and there are not many (if any) reported failures for the 100 series Land Cruisers; I would check the inexpensive stuff first- fuel filter, fuel pump.

But also do check the exhaust system for obstructions. The poor mileage suggests you might be running rich (fuel : air ratio too high), which could contribute to degradation of the cats.

It would be strange to have to replace the cats on a 2006 w only 39,000 miles. However, I once had a very bad experience with a clogged catalytic converter- and the initial symptoms were exactly as described in the original post.

Hope this helps, and please do report back with your findings.

Agree it's odd to have to change the cats with mileage so low, but I just changed the 1st bank on my 2006 with 43,000 miles about a month ago. Rare, yes. But it happens. Check your in service date. Toyota has an 8 year 80,000 mile warranty on their factory cats. Mine was replaced under this warranty but just made the 8 year cut off due to in service date.

 

[1meancruiser]

Agree it's odd to have to change the cats with mileage so low, but I just changed the 1st bank on my 2006 with 43,000 miles about a month ago. Rare, yes. But it happens. Check your in service date. Toyota has an 8 year 80,000 mile warranty on their factory cats. Mine was replaced under this warranty but just made the 8 year cut off due to in service date.

what caused you to change them? any symptoms like the ones we are talking about?

 

[Bloomer]

what caused you to change them? any symptoms like the ones we are talking about?

CEL came on