Real-time Help Needed: Mid-roadtrip starting issues

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Foreigner

Foreigner

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Oct 1, 2007
Threads
26
Messages
308
Location
The Ozarks
Hey fellers

I have recently had a few instances where my 3vze has not been starting right. I live on a hill and am usually parked sideways, with the gas tank uphill. Twice now, it wouldn't start from that position. It cranks fine. Both times I've had less than a half-tank of gas, so I thought maybe it wasn't getting fuel. On a whim, I have rolled it down the hill and roll-started it, which has worked wonderfully.

I am now in the middle of a 1500 mile roadtrip from MO to MT. I just stopped in Podunkville, Iowa to fuel up, and it did it again--sitting flat, with a full tank of gas. I pushed it a bit and it would catch, but not enough to start up. The back is full of stuff and I'm pulling a 15' boat full of stuff, so I can't get much momentum. :grinpimp: I happened to have a can of ether along, so I gave it a shot and it fired right up. It has been running beautifully on the trip so far. . .no problems whatsoever.

Any ideas on what the problem might be?
 
sounds like it turns over fine. right?

you can unsnap the air filter box, reach your hand in there and open the flapper. and with the ignition on, it will turn on the fuel pump. perhaps the flap is sticking. verify proper operation of this.

the fuel filter could be clogged, too.
 
"I pushed it a bit and it would catch, but not enough to start up."


Is the engine still turning over right away, or are you getting clicks/nothing? Usually if you need to move the vehicle a few feet to "catch", it's a few teeth missing on the starter, but if you're turning over right away...? If you're not turning over all the time, try hitting the starter gently with a hammer or a wooden broom handle.

If not the starter, you may have a clogged fuel filter. Did you get lower than normal (closer to empty) recently, and maybe sucked up enough gunk to finish off the filter?

If not the filter, I'm afraid you may need to look at the fuel pump. There's a pretty simple diagnostic for the pump, by shorting out two pins on the diagnostic input (paper clip) and turning key to "on"...Wristpin or KLF helped me with that one, but then again that was for a 22re (but I think it's a similar diagnostic tool for the 3.0.

I've been through Podunkville while on a trip and had problems...I don't envy you, bro. Best of luck.
 
Try the paperclip trick in the diagnostic connector, jumper across the Fp and B+ pins, this will force the fuel pump to turn on whenever the key is in the ON position. This works on any pre-OBDII Toyota, even the '93 Corolla that I just bought for my daughter.
 
Thanks guys. I'll definitely check the flapper, Wristy. Seems like a good place to start anyway.

It is cranking fine, no problems there. Leftcoast, what I meant by catching was that it would fire once, not that the starter was missing. My old '79 F150 had a missing tooth on the flywheel. . .not my problem anymore. :D

I thought about the fuel pump and filter. . .I guess I don't understand why starter fluid or a push start is any different than cranking in this case.
 
Update: I had this same thing happen to me twice over the summer. Both times were in the middle of a roadtrip, after adding oil (I lose a quart every 1000 or so). Thinking back on the previous occurrence, I had just added oil that time as well. Each time, a shot of ether did the trick. So it seems to me that opening the oil fill or adding oil is the common denominator, perhaps.

BTW, I learned two days ago that if your wife is sitting in the front seat, you should make sure the A/C isn't going full blast when you shoot the ether in. :doh:
 
WristPin said:
sounds like it turns over fine. right?

you can unsnap the air filter box, reach your hand in there and open the flapper. and with the ignition on, it will turn on the fuel pump. perhaps the flap is sticking. verify proper operation of this.

the fuel filter could be clogged, too.
Click to expand...

X2, the flapper can be defeated easily by small vacuum leaks. Last year I had two leaks hiding from me. At random times the truck just would not start (hills, angles, fuel tank level seemed to have no effect). I found broken vacuum connections at my power steering pump and at the TVV (thermal vacuum valve ?). The air volume drawn at startup was low enough that my leaks fed it all the air (thus no flapper movement at AFM).

I'm a broken record about checking vacuum leaks but those damn things cause me problems :hillbilly: (plenty of hoses in there to fail).

FSM doesn't include the PS pump idle up vacuum lines in it's vacuum layout for emissions but they are there (PS section of FSM). Hope this helps, not fun having issues on the road.
EMS.webp
EM2.webp
 
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