86 22re (4 runner) won't start.... any ideas?

[toyotaspeed90]

little background on myself (to show i'm not a complete moron).... i have a 90 corolla sr5 that i've done quite a bit of suspension and a motorswap from a 4afe to a 4age.... i also have an 87 mr2 that i swapped in a 4agze (supercharged) engine in with a s/c mr2 trans and hand built a megasquirt ecu and have that car running on that....

the truck..... 86 toyota 4 runner sr5, 4wd with a slushbox

Has spark..... has fuel (not sure how much pressure is in the rail, however)..... timing might be off a bit, but i checked between the distributor rotor location and tdc (did it for #3... couldn't get the #1 plug out yet) so it's pretty close...... cap looks fine, rotor looks fine, i've seen spark coming from the coil, so it's all working.

when i got it, the owner couldn't figure out what was wrong. he tried changing the afm, coil/ignitor, and it seems he tried to fix some leaks at the injectors.

first try at starting, it cranked over, but fuel sprayed out the #4 injector. Today i replaced all injector seals. It still wouldn't start. The cold start injector coolant temp switch was broken off, but i was using a 12V constant and negative on the terminals to keep it open for trying to start.

Lastly, the tps is broken.... however, all toyotas should be able to at least start without one (in fact, my corolla doesn't have one whatsoever)

any ideas?

[qsd-dan]

Wow, what a mess. I'm not sure if I understand what you mean by the "cold start injector coolant temp switch." There is a cold start injector time switch and to the right of that sensor is the coolant temperature sensor (water thermo sensor according to the factory service manual). Are they both broken? I can see the cold start injector functioning if you applied 12 volts directly to it (from the battery, ect.) but I don't think applying voltage to the cold start injector time switch sensor (especially if it's broken) will operate the cold start injector. If the cold start injector is plugged (common), then all of the above efforts won't help at all. Check resistance of the coolant temp sensor while you're at it. If this sensor is not functioning correctly the motor won't run very well or at all. I can give you the specs for it if you don't have the factory service manual. Also, the AFM must be hooked up electrically as well as physically!! This is often overlooked!! There must be no vacuum leaks between the AFM and the throttle body whatsoever or the motor will not run.... period! As for the TPS sensor, it depends on what style sensor you have, which will determine if the motor will start and run or not. If you have the "on/off" style like my 84 does (and possibly like your corolla since the TPS on my truck cross references to corollas from the early 90's), the TPS doesn't need to be hooked up to run. However, if you have the linear style (85+ models), which you have on your truck, it needs to be hooked up, properly adjusted, and functioning correctly for the motor to run. Also check the signal generator off the distributor as these go bad after a while. The resistance should be around 140-180 ohms or something around there. I remember mine was 156 ohms when I checked it. If it's bad, don't go to Toyota and ask them for the part. They will tell you that you need to buy a whole new dist. assembly. That's a load of bullshit, I have the entire microfiche slides that the dealers used to find parts and you can still buy the signal generator separately. Also check the EGR valve. It's common for the popet to get stuck open and cause the motor not to run. To bypass the EGR, loosen the big nut on the EGR and remove the 2 screws and leading to the plenum and push back the metal tube that connects to the plenum. Use a thick gasket of some kind and completely block the passage between the plenum and EGR and reinstall the 2 screws and retighten the nut on the EGR. The diaphragm in the EGR are known to go bad in them as well so check that either with a vacuum pump or just suck on the hose leading between the EGR valve and the EGR modulator and make sure it holds vacuum.

One trick I would do to determine if it is a fuel problem or an electrical is to spray some starting fluid (ether, whatever) into the throttle body. Make sure to reconnect the hose to the throttle body! If the motors runs and immediately dies, then you know for sure it is fuel related.

Try these suggestions out and see if you find the problem. If not, write back and I'll think of a few more things to check out. Good luck!!!

[toyotaspeed90]

cold start injector is turned on directly by the green coolant temp switch. The resistance may be off, however the CSI is merely an on or off injector unlike a normal injector which uses pulsewidths....... i can hear it running when i directlly hook it up (i've had to do this on my aw11 before)

it's a potentiometer style tps (4 prong, not a switch style). yes, the corolla has a switch style, however many mr2's and ae86's (4ages) have been to known to run (not well, but run) with the lack of a tps..... i'm not concerned too much about that.

i was thinking of removing the egr stuff anyways, as where i live has no emissions tests.

i'll check for vacuum leaks...... although most engines will still start up even if there are some (generally it will start and slowly rise in rpm's......) but i'm not sure if 22re's are that sensitive.....

this thing is a mess.......

[toyotaspeed90]

i got it started........ no tps, csi was turned off (we had a little ether in it), and it needed some new spark plugs...... seems to run alright