'88 4Runner Stalling

[mike_d]

I'm trying to diagnose a friend's truck over the phone (since he lives 800 miles away) and I need a little help. The truck is an '88 4Runner with a 3.0 with just a little over 220K miles. The truck starts and idles just fine. When he steps on the gas, it revs up smoothly without hesitation. However when he puts it in first gear and lets out the clutch it stalls. He says that he has to really rev it high and let the clutch out slowly to get it not to stall. He's not a n00b with standard transmissions, so I know it's not that he doesn't know how to drive it, so there's something else wrong. I asked him if the ebrake was off (or at least if it wasn't stuck on) and he checked that and the truck will roll easily when pushed, so there's no binding in the driveline anywhere. I don't know what else to check. I'm kinda confused as to what's happening (and it's hard to diagnose on the phone). Does anyone have any ideas of what to check next?

Thanks!
Mike

[dcg9381]

Pull the codes.. and report back. That's where I'd start.

[fustercluck]

Sounds like a vacuum leak to me. Get a can of ether (starting fluid spray) and while the truck is at idle, spray around the vacuum hoses and intake. If you shoot at a region, and the idle changes, you've found your leak. Typically, when there is an engine running problem, it's related to fuel (and it's various systems/requirements), spark (and timing) and/or compression. Good luck and keep us posted...