Toyota Hilux engine sputtering, can I make it another 500km? (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
May 27, 2015
Threads
10
Messages
41
Location
Tanzania
Located in Tanzania. I've got a 2007 Hilux with a 5L engine. Drove it to my destination yesterday and for the first hour there were no problems. After the first hour I noticed it was sputtering in gears 4 and 5 and when climbing hills or pushing the power even in gear 3. Drove another 7 hours (400km) to my destination and there were no issues though I kept telling myself the engine was sounding a little louder than usual.

I'm unfortunately on a work trip and don't have time to get under the hood myself. Mechanics here are unreliable to put it lightly. I would start with swapping out the fuel filter but I'm worried it's something with either the fuel pump. Of course with air and fuel issues this could be any number of issues.

My question is, and I know I haven't provided a ton of info, can I drive the return 500km to a trusted mechanic later this week? There is one pretty steep hill, otherwise the drive is on tarmac and uneventful. Please advise, thank you !
 
It could be you got some poor quality or contaminated fuel? You could try draining the water separator at the bottom of the filter? If you have a new fuel filter, I would change it before continuing. Also inspect the injection system for diesel leaks (would mean air could be drawn into the system). Check engine oil also. The sound you were hearing could also be related to poor fuel quality and not an actual injection system problem.

The advantage to these old IDI engines is they can handle poor fuel quality much better than the newer common rail diesel engines.

If you do head 500km and don't make it, what is the outcome? Maybe not worth the risk if you'll end up abandoned in the middle of no where.
 
can I drive the return 500km to a trusted mechanic later this week?


No one can honestly promise you that. Change the fuel filter and get some good fuel.
 
It could be you got some poor quality or contaminated fuel?

If you do head 500km and don't make it, what is the outcome? Maybe not worth the risk if you'll end up abandoned in the middle of no where.

Thanks for this advice, most certainly contaminated fuel is at the very least a contributing factor. We have constant problems with dirty fuel. If we don't make it we wouldn't necessarily have to abandon in the middle of nowhere but it'd be inconvenient for sure. I guess my biggest question is if there would be any risk to longer term or more serious damage to the engine?
 
No one can honestly promise you that. Change the fuel filter and get some good fuel.

Absolutely, I understand it's impossible to diagnose from a computer screen. Just trying to understand my odds and most importantly if long term more serious damage is a risk. Thank you for your response.
 
I guess my biggest question is if there would be any risk to longer term or more serious damage to the engine?

I dont think a blocked fuel filter would damage the injection pump. But water in fuel that sits in the lower part of the feed pump end can cause pitting if left too long.
Do you have a prefilter on the Hilux?
 
I dont think a blocked fuel filter would damage the injection pump. But water in fuel that sits in the lower part of the feed pump end can cause pitting if left too long.
Do you have a prefilter on the Hilux?

We do not have a prefilter. I was embarrassingly not aware of them but after cursory research it looks like we should install these in all our vehicles given our challenges with dirty fuel.

I have changed the fuel filter and we'll chance it on Saturday. I've driven the vehicle a bit but the issue doesn't seem to be there when the vehicle is cold.
 
The prefilters can save you money as they are much cheaper to replace than the primary filter. The prefilter stops the big stuff.
You can also get water traps with alarms.
 
Swap filters, check oil and coolant. Maybe try and refill tank with better fuel.

even if you could pull filters and shake the crap out of them and reinstall you might be better.

you probably also have a filter sock in the tank that could be getting plugged up.

if changing or swapping filters makes a difference you’ll probably be fine till you get home, just take it easy, some pumps don’t like being starved of fuel too much
 
Hi all- just following up, I made it home just fine. I swapped out the fuel filter and put in new fuel but the problem persisted after about an hour. It was OK until we hit 10km stretch of incline. It did well on the hill but afterwards the engine was extremely loud in 3 and 4th gear but this eventually returned to normal. I will get the vehicle checked this week.
 
Hi all- just following up, I made it home just fine. I swapped out the fuel filter and put in new fuel but the problem persisted after about an hour. It was OK until we hit 10km stretch of incline. It did well on the hill but afterwards the engine was extremely loud in 3 and 4th gear but this eventually returned to normal. I will get the vehicle checked this week.
Great to hear! Keep us posted on what you find out.
 
maybe add injector cleaner and drive it redhot: Justice Brothers Diesel fuel treatment
Is airfilter clean and oil not swapped with salad oil or some sabotage to save shillings...
 
It did well on the hill but afterwards the engine was extremely loud in 3 and 4th gear but this eventually returned to normal.

Was the engine still making a normal sound, just louder, or was it making a new sound?
You might need to blow air backwards through your fuel lines and check the gauze filter on the fuel pick up if it has one.
 
Was the engine still making a normal sound, just louder, or was it making a new sound?
You might need to blow air backwards through your fuel lines and check the gauze filter on the fuel pick up if it has one.

It was a normal sound, just really loud.

Great to hear! Keep us posted on what you find out.

I unfortunately was not able to stay at the garage to check what they were doing but I was told they, "cleaned the injector pump" and the vehicle's performance has returned to normal. There were no parts that were replaced, aside from the fuel filter, and we're looking into options to reduce the chances that are vehicles are affected by dirty fuel. Thank you everyone for your advice on this.
 
"cleaned the injector pump"

Im not sure what you mean. The only way to clean a fuel injection pump is to dismantle it and this is both time consuming and expensive.
 
Im not sure what you mean. The only way to clean a fuel injection pump is to dismantle it and this is both time consuming and expensive.

The electronic L series diesels have a filter under the spill control valve. Maybe they cleaned that. I've also heard that debris can settle in the bottom of these pump and screw up the timing control valve functionality (it uses small hydraulic passages to actively control timing).

Here is a picture of the filter under the spill vavle:

SAM_0104.JPG


And here is a picture of the timing valve location that can fill with debris:

SAM_0098.JPG
 
Yes, Ive seen and cleaned the filter in the 1HZ pump. I think all rotary pumps have a mesh filter like this somewhere. Debris inside the pump would probably kill it. If anything gets inside the pump it is more likely something that dissolves in diesel but separates when not in use. I found some slimy oil sitting on top of the mesh filter
 
Last edited:
Has anyone used those funnels that have a good filter built into them to stop solids going into the tank?
 
Im not sure what you mean. The only way to clean a fuel injection pump is to dismantle it and this is both time consuming and expensive.

Indeed this is why it is unfortunate that I was not there. Much is lost in translation. I am assuming it is what someone said about just dissembling what is possible and cleaning up around it.
 
Is this a manual transmission? Any chance the clutch is slipping in the higher gears and the engine is working harder to keep the truck going at the same speed?
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom