Started the cruiser today - first time in 5 yrs.

[fjoakley]

Ok I got the FJ40 started for the first time in 5 years. It has a 1997 vortec in it and is running very rough. It also cuts out as soon as it his 1500 RPMs. Who has the best way to diagnos what is going on?

Greg

 

[Poser]

Is it trying to run on five year old fuel?

 

[fjoakley]

come on now - no - it is fresh premium fuel which is what I was told to run after having the computer re-burned for performance. It actually runs much much better now after shutting it down and waiting a half an hour and starting it again. I did this three times and it runs better each time so I am guessing the computer is making adjustments. It is still cutting out at exactly 1500 RPMs. If I floor it it revs up to 1500 cuts out and starts to rev again until it hits 1500.

 

[Pin_Head]

Plug in your OBD-II reader and see what error codes it is throwing. Then report back.

 

[fjoakley]

I don't have a reader so I guess I will have to get one. Pinhead - the check engine light is not on will it still give error codes? I tested the check engine light by unplugging the map sensor while it was running and it came on. After plugging it back in and turning it off for a while it must have resetn because the light is out.

 

[Pin_Head]

There may be error codes set w/o the check engine light on. On the ones I am familiar with, you need to complete 3 "drive cycles" with the same error for the MIL light to be on. It is hard to work on OBD-II engines w/o a reader. The ones that allow you to monitor the sensors in real time can be more useful for trouble shooting.

 

[fjoakley]

Pinhead - where do I get one of the readers?

 

[CruisinGA]

ebay, any parts supplier.

 

[Pin_Head]

I use this one with my lap top because it has a lot of features that you don't get with the cheaper hand held units:

http://www.obdscan.net/obdscan.html

 

[1973Guppie]

your injectors are plugged, pull them and clean them or have them professionally cleaned, same thing happended to me....

noah

 

[Pin_Head]

your injectors are plugged, pull them and clean them or have them professionally cleaned, same thing happended to me....

noah

This is a good possibility. It should also cause an error code for misfire on one of more cylinders, but If I was guessing this would be high on the list, especially if it has sat around for a long time.

 

[fjoakley]

Maybe I will try that before I get the reader. How do you clean an injector? or Who cleans them professionally?

 

[drohweder]

Autozone, Checker, whatever your parts store is should be able to loan you one for free. Start there.

 

[Colorado Boy-74-FJ40]

Throttle position sensor may also be the culprit

 

[1973Guppie]

mine didn't ever throw a fault code when my injectors were clogged, don't know why? the computer codes seem to work well for everything else. Anyhow, I am guessing 99% sure it is your injectors, ESPECIALLY if it has been sitting 5 years. You gotta pull em. Even if it is not all of your problem, this will definetly be part of it. The vortecs from what I am told are meant to be daily driver engines and are very finicky about fuel pressure and clean non gummed fuel. Mine sat for 2.5 years during a build up and it was enough that I had to pull all the injectors and clean them. You could also just buy new ones as well, but they are expensive. Have heard of others finding them on ebay. I got mine cleaned at a place here in san diego that deals mainly with carbs but also listed injector cleaning in their yellow pages ads. Probably need to just call around. I have heard you can do it yourself too, with some compressed air and carb cleaner. I would think if you did it yourself you would need to get the injector poppet to open to clean the outlet sprays, etc. HTH,

Noah

 

[1973Guppie]

also when mine were clogged it was like night and day after I pulled them, reinstalled, the engine fired up nicely. Clean em.

 

[FJ40fiji]

Maybe I will try that before I get the reader. How do you clean an injector? or Who cleans them professionally?

I get them done at NAPA. Good experiances so far, at least here. There is a distribution center where they do them and the guy that actually cleans them test them first and then tells me how they were individually and how much each should improve. He also did the cold start injector on my 22RE, it leaked cause it was stuck open. Got back almost 2mpg that time.
Worth the money to get it done as opposed to trying any kind of home opperation on them IMO.
Get the reader too if you can afford it. If it doesn't pay for it self this time, it will soon enough. Good thing to have in general.