High RPM Sputter - Post for a friend

[RunnerUp]

Hey guys, just posting this for a friend over on TTORA. He has been having this problem for a week or two now and has replaced his plugs/wires and fuel filter to no avail. Here is a direct quote from his thread on TTORA-

"Alrighty, a few times in the past week, as I am accelerating, once I hit high RPMs the Engine sputters big time. I don't have a tach so I can't say exactly when, but with 3.91 gears, 31's, 3.4L and a 5 speed, It starts at 23ish miles per hour in first gear (25ish should be redline per my calculations)- and 44 miles per hour in 2nd gear, and sometime around 65 in 3rd gear. I rarely venture into that rev range, but when I have in the past, it's been fine.

It is on my 99 Tacoma, with 125k miles. Just had the timing belt and pumps changed ~1k miles ago. Been through at least 2 different tanks of gas while this problem has occured, which should rule possibility of bad gas out.

It sounds and feels as though it is bouncing off the rev limiter, though I know I'm not. I've read of others having sputtering problems, though all I've seen have occurred at idle/ low RPMs. The solutions I've seen for them have been new plug wires and/ or fuel filter. Both of which are original on my truck, and I've been wanting to replace. Plugs are relatively new, though I will try to check them tomorrow. MAF, throttle body, intake and Air Filter are all cleaned religiously. The only aftermarket part that could even possibly be related is a Flowmaster 40 muffler, though its been on for probably 10k miles.

Truck is throwing no CEL, or having any other symptoms except possibly my clutch going bad. With even the slightest pressure on the clutch pedal, a whirring noise occurs. Maybe it is going bad and the higher torque at the high RPMs is causing it to slip and allow the engine to redline at a lower miles per hour? Any help or ideas are appreciated.

EDIT: Oh yea, I will try to rev the engine by hand in neutral (duh) tomorrow to see if I can rule out the clutch/ tranny. It's nearly 1230 in the morning here and the neighbors wouldnt be happy if I tried now.


CLIFFS:
-High RPMs truck seems to bounce prematurely off rev limiter.
-Nothing else notably wrong except possibly clutch (see last paragraph)

Thanks guys,

-Chris"

[RunnerUp]

Alrighty, I changed the fuel filter, and nothing changed. Next I will go get some plug wires. PepBoys said something like 41 bucks for 50,000 mile warranty wires, and 50 for lifetime warranty. For S's and G's I pulled one of the plugs from each cylinder bank to see what they looked like. They have about 20k miles on em, and I seafoamed the engine through the PCV valve about 500 miles ago.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s154/gatortaco/Phonepics132.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s154/gatortaco/Phonepics131.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s154/gatortaco/Phonepics133.jpg

[RunnerUp]

I'm going to be ordering new plug wires and plugs probably today, and change them out hopefully sometime this week if I get a chance between work and the school starting. Thanks to DentedTaco (i think that's right) I was able to swap out my gauge cluster, and have found that the sputtering occurs right after I hit 4,250 RPMs, both in neutral and in gear, ruling out the possibility of clutch slippage. I'll keep updating until this is fixed, for other's future reference, and to hear anybody elses suggestions.

My neighbor tossed the idea out there that possibly during my last wheeling trip something kicked up and hit the fuel line, causing it to kink and not allow enough fuel at higher RPMs. I'm gonna just eyeball that possibility as well when I get a chance.


I just finished installing all new plugs, as well replaced the wires. The engine sounded better through the exhaust (not that it ever sounded bad) and it was a bit more responsive through the throttle as well. but it is still sputtering out at the same RPM :mad:

If I took video of it happening with sound, do you think it would help? I guess it wouldn't hurt, so I'll probably be back in a little while with an A/V clip. As Scoot said, I still haven't done anything with the Cat- Is there anyway I can rule that out, short of cutting it out?

Open to more ideas again, and I'll be back with some video and sound.

Lets see if this works

From inside the cab
http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s154/gatortaco/?action=view&current=CIMG0006.flv (http://"http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s154/gatortaco/?action=view&current=CIMG0006.flv")

Camera placed just behind truck, on the ground.
http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s154/gatortaco/?action=view&current=CIMG0007.flv (http://"http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s154/gatortaco/?action=view&current=CIMG0007.flv")

[RunnerUp]

oh, and here is the original thread over on TTORA for reference

http://ttora.com/forum/showthread.ph...36#post1340636

[4runnerchevy]

Check your fuel pressure ?

[GatorTaco]

Check your fuel pressure ?


I haven't, no. How would I even go about doing that? I'll be searching for the answer meantime.

[4runnerchevy]

You will need a fuel pressure guage, and an adapter to fit the toy. I have never worked that close with a 3.4, so where the port is I dont know. This stinks like bad pressure (maybe pump, maybe regulator, maybe pulse dampener), or an injector.

[GatorTaco]

hm, that doesn't sound like fun. I'll definitely look more into it, and hopefully find a way to remedy the problem, or at least rule out another possibility. I'm hoping to try all the free or cheap solutions first (obviously) but am obviously open to try anything :hillbill:

Thanks 4RunnerChevy!

[04 Rocko Taco]

I just had this same exactproblem on my carb'd 84 22R.

I thought it was something wet, and I was right. I changed plugs and wires and got nothing.... changed disty cap and rotor button, again, nothing. I tested the coil and igniter per FSM specs, again nothing...

I left it sitting in the sun with the hood up for 8 days.... Fixed. :)
I still have no idea what was wet, I thought I had cleaned every connecter and sensor, and looked everywhere, but apparently wet it was.


Good luck.

[GatorTaco]

interesting. It's been going on for a few weeks now (probably a month or more) and being in Florida, I would think the heat alone everyday would keep it from happening. It wouldn't hurt to try though. Thanks for the idea!

[YotaFun]

I am in florida now and you may have a lot of heat, but the humidity is killer.

4RunnerChevy seems to be on the right track with checking those fuel system parts.

I will ponder on this while I am at seaworld and such :-)

[GatorTaco]

Haha very true YotaFun. I guess being here for 21 years, i dont even notice the humidity anymore.


While keeping the hood open, did you open up anything else?

Have fun at SeaWorld- It's been a while since Ive been.

If not something involving moisture, I'm really kinda thinking the timing could be involved. I should call the mechanic that did the timing belt recently ...

[04 Rocko Taco]

interesting. It's been going on for a few weeks now (probably a month or more) and being in Florida, I would think the heat alone everyday would keep it from happening. It wouldn't hurt to try though. Thanks for the idea!


You would think so, but mine got wet in KY, and I brought it home to Georgia (basically same weather as FL) and it took mine like 11 days to dry enough to stop sputtering...

But if he cant think of anywhere he has been recently with a lot of water, then I also agree, I would start looking at fuel pressures and such.

[RunnerUp]

you ever figure this out man?

[GatorTaco]

Not yet. I'm fairly certain it's Timing Belt related, since it started right after I had it done. I'm taking it back to the guy whenever I get a chance to get back to that end of the state. Currently I'm battling bad rear seals and bearings. oh boy! :hillbill:

[MTL_4runner]

If this happened right after a timing belt then checking the alignment marks should be your very first step. The next step is to make sure your the balancer bolt is tight and hasn't come loose and caused your balancer to wobble (can definitely cause those type of symptoms).

[GatorTaco]

I tried to look at the alignment marks, but was unsure what to look for. I saw to marks on, I believe, the plate behind the belt, but didnt see any on the belt.. if that's what im supposed to look for. I know there are two marks on the pulleys, Should those be lined up with the aforementioned marks? Also- how do I turn (rotate) the pulleys in order to see if they line up?

Aaaaand- Balancer bolt, eh? Never even heard of such a thing to be completely honest. Looks like ive got some research to do.

Thanks MTL!

[GatorTaco]

alrighty, so I found the problem. There is a pulley in front of the engine, attaching all the accessory belts, and a 19mm bolt holding it on. Apparently the bolt wasn't tightened correctly by the genius who did my timing belt. (not me) I found this out when the other night my power steering went out and my battery light came on, signaling an error in the alternator. I immediately got home and popped the hood- started the engine, and heard a horrible tapping coming from the pulley, which was also wobbling like crazy. I just tightened the pulley back down and all the problems went away lol.

Thanks to everybody who gave me ideas to help! I REALLY appreciate it!

-Chris

[MTL_4runner]

You can send my check to me at.........j/k

Glad your problem is solved, but make sure that bolt is torqued to 217 ft-lbs minimum.