From Great To Bad!! (1 Viewer)

[TOYOTADRUNK]

This is the skinny on my new to me 1997 fzj80 w/ 115,000 (2 months).The truck ran great even though the CEL light was on when I bought the truck, egr insufficent flow. Fixed that with new egr modulator,vacum lines and vsv. Also cleaned throttle body and egr temp sensor while it was removed with STP throttle body cleaner, new toyota plugs gaped properly,new toyota air filter,oil change. Truck still ran great after these repairs until about 2 weeks from time of these repairs.
Truck begain to lag or flat spot from a dead stop, not dive on its nose, just not respond to the amount of throttle I was applying, no jumping or bucking. If I held my skinny pedal in the same spot for varying increments of time, the truck will pick up and performe like someone threw a switch but as soon as it changed gears the same problem is there, big flat spots.
While driving at say 50mph just cruising along and try to accelerate, the very same flat spot exist until I press the skinny pedal far enough to change gears and by then the skinny pedal is 3/4 of the way to the floor and were off to the races close to redline, kinda like the feeling you get when you leave the parking brake on while driving and let it off and down the road you go.(the brakes are not sticking for sure). In my experience it feels like a clogged fuel filter, but replaced it and still have the same problem, however it was very dirty and looked as if there were mud in the element when I opened it up with the sawsall.
I also had just added redline fuel treatment just before the problem accured??
This truck is very clean and has been well cared for(not a piece of s***) not yet!!
Still thinking it was fuel system related( dirty or clogged injector) I added seafoam to a 1/4 tank of fuel then added about 8 gallons of gas for a concentrated mixture. I also have no knowledge when it comes to fuel injection.
Please forgive me for my grammer and the manner in which I have presented my problem, I have no communication skills via a computer.

Thanks for trying to read and understand my mumbojumbo.

Jarrod

 

[Lothar80]

Had something similar happen to one of my other cars. Turned out to be a loose plug wire, I had not seated it correctly and it poped off. At high RPMs it ran great but studered at low speed.

Hope this helps
Lothar

 

[TOYOTADRUNK]

Thanks for the reply, It is very smooth with out a studder, it just dosent go, The problem will come and go from moment to moment. but I will check the wires this weekend just to be sure( resistence and connection) agian, thank you!

 

[Montana Cruiser]

I was also going to guess maybe plug wires, but from what you indicated about the fuel filter being completely plugged, I would check that route first. I know when I added fuel system cleaner and a new fuel pump on my FJ60, I had to replace the filter 2 or 3 times to get everything out of the system and the filter to have a normal life cycle. I think with your heavy cleaning of the system you could have knocked loose some sludge or whatever and its still working its way out of the system. Not very familiar with my FZJ80 tranny, but on some there is a shift linkage that can get gummed up?

Best of luck!

 

[Pskhaat]

Sounds like classic plug wire problem, but I might be wrong. Replace 'em and the cap/rotor while you're at it.

 

[e9999]

go for a rough ride and then drain the tank?

 

[nyk438]

Anyone have any pics, I have this same problem.

 

[TOYOTADRUNK]

Ok, I forgot to mention that I had also replaced the cap and rotor with toyota parts at the same time as the plugs. The wires do appear to be factory installed. I will eliminate the question of the wires this weekend.

 

[RavenTai]

Wouldn’t a plugged fuel filter be consistent? Not on and off like he is describing?

Sounds like fuel pump relay to me, myself and several others have had problems with it. It switches between high and low voltage to the pump based on throttle position. I had problems on the high voltage side (starting and high throttle) others have had problems on the low voltage side ( low throttle settings )

It is located on the drives side fender take it out, take it apart and clean it with contact cleaner and see if that fixes it, since it is the low side could also be the fuel pump resistor on the passenger side fender.

 

[fzj80kidpen]

When you hit the flat spot does it feel similar to when you have bad gas or water in the gas? Just no power but shifts well otherwise?
When you hit the flat spot have you tried shifting down (turn the O/D off).
When was the transmission fluid changed last?
Just trying to rule it out.

 

[TOYOTADRUNK]

linkage looks good and clean. but thanks for the reply. You guys are a big help.

 

[TOYOTADRUNK]

Transmission was serviced the first week I purchased the truck. shifting is delayed unless I press the skinny pedal almost to the floor, Then the truck takes of without hesitation, but after shifting the problem persist If I bring the throttle back to say 1/4 throttle, if not it will accelerate hard sometimes with slight surges in power.
I drove it at lunch( wifes vehicle) and the problem is coming and going( running ok to running bad)not great like before. When the truck is cold the problem is worse , like it just dosent wont to go. When I shift it myself without adjusting the skinny pedal, say leaving it at 1/4 throttle and cruising, the truck just slows down or stays at the same rate of speed like it dosent know the throttle is being pushed and then as if a button was pushed it takes of like a bat out of hell.

Keep thinking were getting somewhere. Thanks JCR

 

[TOYOTADRUNK]

I will also check into the relay for sure. any pics or good descreption of the parts you speek of and a way to check the resistor. No I dont have fsm, but I will order one when I order the wires.

You guys are helping, keep it up. I am greatfull.

JCR

 

[Andrewsreef]

Check the wire harness near the EGR tube and make sure all is well and none of the wires are exposed/burnt. What you are describing is not really like the symptoms I had but its worth checking to be sure.

Andrew

 

[TOYOTADRUNK]

Yea, I was aware of that being a trouble spot, but there is a sheild or heat wrap there completly intact. I whould hate to ruin it by removing, but if I cant track it down anywhere elese, I will gently remove it and look for some hard or melted wires. Being that the wrap is in good shape makes me believe the wires are in good shape to.

Thanks for your response. JCR

 

[Andrewsreef]

If it is tied up away from the tube you should be ok and I would not disturb the heat shield material. Mine the strap was broken and the bundle of wires was resting on the tube. It was obvious that it was not good. If yours looks ok I would not disturb it. I was able to climb under the hood and with a flash light get to see the exposed wires without disturbing the remaining heat shield material.

My truck would drive fine and then at different times under acceleration it would buck and spit. Drove me nuts until I found this website. I guess depending on which wires are affected, the symptoms could be different.

Good luck.

Andrew

 

[TOYOTADRUNK]

Ok, This is what I did.
Checked plugged wires (ok)
Removed fuel pump relay and discovered that the contact point which is closed or touching the lower contact while unit is removed from vehicle had black spots like burnt points. Cleaned with 800 grit sandpaper and contact cleaner, Now the truck runs great most of the time now, with some poor performance like before. I am thinking that using sand paper may have roughed up the contact points , Making it sticky. The high side contact was clean,smooth and bright like new, So I didnt touch it.
Now I am going to look here for the relay bypass trick to determine if ths is my problem, Any tips on this procedure.

 

[Scamper]

FWIW, this doesn't sound right to me. If you have fuel delivery problems, it will show itself while running AT high RPM or high speeds. It should not really show up when you just give it a little gas--there's not enough of a demand to cause the problem. Even a dirty filter or bad FPR will usually not show itself right when you press the pedal.

I'm more inclinded to thing you have a linkage problem with your TB. When you cleaned your TB...did you remove it? If so, did you ensure that the linkage was set correctly when you reinstalled it? Check and adjust it per the FSM.

 

[landtank]

It's funny that I did a search for the post where I talked about cleaning the relay and it's GONE!! WTF over

 

[Beowulf]

It's funny that I did a search for the post where I talked about cleaning the relay and it's GONE!! WTF over

Rick,

I did a few searches over the weekend and I believe the search function has developed some new problem. I located specific posts so I knew exactly what words were in the post; then did a search. If the author was cruiserdan the search would NOT find the post.

I suspect a database re-index is needed.

-B-