Follow on to "My truck is running like crap"

[Edgeman]

I posted about a month ago that my truck was running like crap. My truck is a 94 Toyota 4x2 truck with a 22RE engine. It has 87K miles, and never has required any maintenance other than the routine stuff (oil, valve adjustments, brakes, etc.).

Prior to this condition, (or over the last 2-3 years) I had already replaced the O2 sensor, cat, and fuel filter. I had also checked for vaccum leaks (there were none).

My trouble-shooting started with going through the ignition system, replacing the cap, rotor, plug wires, plugs, and testing the coil (checked good).

I tried checking the cat and exhaust, just to see if either were clogged. They were clear and operating properly.

The fuel system was my next step. I couldn't find a fuel test gauge that works on a Toyota, thanks to their stinking banjo fitting. On a hunch, I replaced the fuel pressure regulator - it did not fix it.

One thing that puzzled me was the inability to read the timing. The gauge was jumping around too much to get a reading. That led me to guess the timing chain had streatched, and probably jumped a tooth.

The culpret was a timing chain cog that was missing 3 teeth. That allowed it to jump a tooth. Has anyone ever seen this before? I'm guessing there was a material flaw in the cog when it was manufactured.

I installed one of the "dual roller" conversion kits by LC Engineering. This makes the 22RE timing gears as dependable as the 20Rs, by using a lot of the same components.

Watch out for this condition. I think the erratic timing was the clue something out of the ordinary had happened (broken).

Good luck!