A mechanic in Spokane who knows older 4runners....

[TeranR]

Hey, does anyone know of a good shop in the Spokane, Washington area who know the 2nd gen 4runner pretty well?
Mine is cranking, but won't fire. This is my first project, and I am a little over my depth here.

 

[Smileyshaun]

Hey, does anyone know of a good shop in the Spokane, Washington area who know the 2nd gen 4runner pretty well?
Mine is cranking, but won't fire. This is my first project, and I am a little over my depth here.

Check all the ground wires on the rig , there should be two on the battery cable , one on the block and one body to frame if those are all good and there look in the main relay box and check all the big fuses. If those are all OK get online and look up relay box wiring issue. Some of the 2nd gens developed a problem where one of the grounds became weaker or loose overtime and it burns up one of the wires going into the ECu.

 

[shortbus4x4]

I'm over in Post Falls and have worked on 80s and 90s Toyota rigs quite a bit. As said check your grounds and also your power connections. Does your 4runner have a tach? Is it showing any RPM when cranking? Have you checked spark?

 

[Smileyshaun]

If I had to take a wild guess you’re probably missing the ground strap from the back of the head to the firewall, I’ve known a guy that’s forgot to put that back on on three or four different motors because it was late at night and got super frustrated and acted like a complete jack ass....... not me of corse but some guy I know

 

[Offroadnutz]

You might check over at yotatech.com

 

[TeranR]

Check all the ground wires on the rig , there should be two on the battery cable , one on the block and one body to frame if those are all good and there look in the main relay box and check all the big fuses. If those are all OK get online and look up relay box wiring issue. Some of the 2nd gens developed a problem where one of the grounds became weaker or loose overtime and it burns up one of the wires going into the ECu.

Sure enough, when I was turning it over, the battery to frame ground wire was smoking just a little bit, and also the body to block wire. I took them out, scrubbed them off and installed them back in, but now either the battery is dead from trying to start it so much, or I killed my starter…
Charging it up, and I guess I'll find out in a few hours.

 

[M Rose]

There are several Toyota only shops in Spokane that do some awesome stuff with older 4runners and LCs. @Sandpoint Steve do you have those shops handy? Torfab » The NW destination for Land Cruisers parts and service, including complete one-off custom built Cruisers, maintenance, suspension, and expedition builds
Also @Dilldog might be able to help out.

 

[Sandpoint Steve]

I do not.

 

[Smileyshaun]

Sure enough, when I was turning it over, the battery to frame ground wire was smoking just a little bit, and also the body to block wire. I took them out, scrubbed them off and installed them back in, but now either the battery is dead from trying to start it so much, or I killed my starter…
Charging it up, and I guess I'll find out in a few hours.

Also check the one on the back of the block that it’s not loose , that’s the one that has drive me crazy after putting a motor in because it would do the same thing just crank and crank with no fire

 

[Dilldog]

I'll send you a message with my phone number.

 

[TeranR]

Also check the one on the back of the block that it’s not loose , that’s the one that has drive me crazy after putting a motor in because it would do the same thing just crank and crank with no fire

Back of top of block to frame?

 

[TeranR]

I'm over in Post Falls and have worked on 80s and 90s Toyota rigs quite a bit. As said check your grounds and also your power connections. Does your 4runner have a tach? Is it showing any RPM when cranking? Have you checked spark?

No RPM... what does that mean?
Spark is good, checked it by checking the wires with a dummy plug. The plugs are brand new, that should be fine and I am leery to take them out because that was the first thing we replaced and busted the threads out of plug six... go figure. Re-tapped and drilled out for a jury fix.

 

[Dilldog]

If you aren't reading any RPM could be an issue with the crank position sensor. It could also simply be because the voltage is dropping too low during cranking for the ECM to run.If the ECM isn't getting an RPM signal or at least 10volts it will not fire the injectors. If you have an auto parts store close by that does tool rental you can go get a noid light set to see if the injectors are getting a signal. I would also have someone hold a volt meter to the battery terminals while cranking and see what the reading is.

 

[Smileyshaun]

Back of top of block to frame?

Back of the block to the firewall

 

[TeranR]

Hey everybody, thanks for the help. I got it running. It turned out to be crankshaft timing year. Kind of a crazy problem, the key that sits between the gear and main timing belt pulley had worn the groove in the keyway of the gear until it was about 40 degrees off.
No mechanic needed. Just a socket set, and a $50 part.

 

[shortbus4x4]

I've seen that before but it's been awhile.