[Cactus_Sam]

I did a fair bit of searching throughout the forum and couldn't find any related threads to the problem I'm experiencing.

I bought a '94 22RE in late August to early September and it ran absolutely superbly! However, over the last 3 weeks (plus or minus a few days) I've begun to notice a serious lack of power. I will say that it seems like my MPG has decreased as well, though it wasn't great to start out with (I think somewhere around 15 MPG recently). The funny thing is that it all seemed to happen right after I replaced the air filter (which had been pretty gross...). (I also replaced all the tires at the same time) Right after I replaced the air filter, I could notice more power for about 2 days. Ever since then, it feels like it really just drags ass! Sometimes when it's pretty cold out, it'll be super slow up until I get to around 3500 rpm and then suddenly there will be a surge of power.

I'm pretty dumbfounded as to what could be going on. After some consultations with some friends and family, we've come up with several possibilities:

1) Dirty fuel filter
2) The truck is just in general need of a good tune up (I've really no idea how long it's been since it was last tuned up so this is more what I'm leaning towards)
3) Possibly the oxygen sensor has gone bad

I'm hoping for anyone and everyone's input on the subject, as I plan on going to the Toyota Dealer soon and having them check it out. I'm hoping not only to keep from getting hosed by their service department, but also to save some coin if at all possible.


Thanks a ton,
Cactus

 

[animatronic]

15 mpg is really bad for a 22re unless you have some huge tires and/or have added lots of weight. I would do a full tune up including fuel filter ... make sure to clean out the throttle body before anything becasue it only costs a old toothbrush and some tb cleaner. check all vaccum hoses for leaks, check out the plugs cap and rotor. try using seafoam before changing oxygen sensors because they are expensive but depending on how many miles you have I think most 89-94 toyota trucks are due for a oxygen sensor.

 

[nytwolf]

The funny thing is that it all seemed to happen right after I replaced the air filter

Perhaps you damaged the mass airflow sensor.

 

[knowltondata]

Perhaps you damaged the mass airflow sensor.

Or forgot to plug it back in!

 

[animatronic]

truck wont work with without the air flow meter hooked up

 

[Cactus_Sam]

So, it dawned on me that one of the problems that I'm probably having was dirty fuel injectors, so I got myself a good cleaner, and I've already started to notice a huge increase in the power. I don't really know about the fuel economy though, it looks like it may have improved a little bit. I still plan on taking it in to get a tune up and a little side work done, so I'll be sure to post anything that the mechanic/s come up with that could have contributed to my problems.


Thanks to everyone for their ideas.


-Cactus

 

[Cactus_Sam]

Follow ups

So I took it in to have it looked at, and the first thing they found was that I had a pretty bad leak in both the oil pump and the pan. I had those corrected and immediately saw a lot of improvement in performance and acceleration.

Sadly, my fuel economy was pretty much unaffected.... They also noted that one of the major issues contributing to lack of power and fuel economy was the fact that I have bigger tires on it then "recommended." I don't think it makes much of a difference cause one of my good friends has pretty much the exact same truck as me, just an earlier version by a couple years, and he gets 25-30 mpg on average. I've been seeing 15 mpg plus or minus.

It also recently occurred to me that my front hubs were in constant lock. Even after freeing the hubs with the little turn knobs, they were still locked. I figure this is probably another HUGE reason why my fuel economy is so crappy. Took it into the mechanics today to get that sorted out, so I'll post later on to let everyone know whether or not my problems have been solved. If for no other reason, I hope this helps someone, somewhere diagnose problems with their vehicles.