Did you allow the ecu to do its relearn after connecting the battery?

Edit : the reset should be about 30 mins to an hour. Not a few minutes. Since you bought injectors from eBay, they are likely fake injectors. This is why you noticed the car run normal when you reinstalled the originals.

Your issue is a vacuum leak, not fuel. If it were a fuel issue, your engine would stall.

 

Thanks for the reply. I did try and let the ecu relearn with the new injectors but it sounded awful because it was dipping below 500 rpm and the rpm needle was bouncing around. I didnt want to do any engine damage so after about a couple of minutes of that I shut it off. The second time i installed the other set I even took it for a short test drive. Sounded great when I was moving but when I came to complete stop the car started to sounded like it was going to stall and the rpm needle was jumping all over the place....

This issue is isolated to when I only come to a complete stop and the car is under a load (drive or reverse). However, when I installed the new fuel injectors the issue was occurring slightly even when I was in park or neutral.

I will have to look into vacuum leak. No codes are being tripped, that's the issue. No misfire codes or anything. But I can hear it and I know something is off.

Also, the new injectors are identical to my old ones, they say denso, and were packaged in the Toyota/Lexus red and white box when they arrived. I will contact the seller and see what he says. I attached a photo of the old injectors and new injectors. The part number is suppose to be interchangeable. The old one is the obviously the one that's all dirty.

I should mention that I had two mechanics look at this prior and they couldn't figure it out and couldnt find any misfires. I know something is wrong though because I've had this car for 13 years and the problem just came out of nowhere. When it first heard it, the temperatures where negative degrees farenheit. I'm not sure if this can help pin point the problem.

Also, all the engine mounts are good. Had the two mechanics look at them and they both said they were good.

 

Update

Tried changing the PCV valve (cheap enough) thinking maybe it was clogged. The old one was pretty gunked up but still rattled. Put the new one in and the vibration/rattle at stop continues....sigh...

Really don't want to dish out $400 for new injectors if it just gives me same problem the TWO sets from ebay gave me.

This one has me stumped. I reached out to ebay seller and asked directly if these are remanufactured or something.

I can't find any vacum leak anywhere. All hoses appear good.

 

I understand the injectors are supposedly rebuilt but have you tried cleaning them? Or the old ones?

 

How old are your motor mounts?

 

What I’m confused is why did you suspect the injectors in the first place?

Anytime the idle surges or hunts, this is a key indicator of the vacuum leak.

Here’s the next step. With old set of injectors in, let engine reach operating temp. Then open the hood and start spraying soapy water around the intake manifold gasket first. If you hear change in idle, the leak is there. If not, proceed to the next vacuum line and repeat. You’re trying to isolate the culprit.

Mounts are a possibility to have failed and is causing vibration. But it does not explain why the idle is hunting.

 

The idle was only jumping with the new injectors.

The old ones it doesn't jump, it just vibrates at stop while in drive. When I put the car in park or neutral it's completly silent and smooth.

I brought this to two mechanics (I wanted a second opinion) who both said engine mounts were good. They couldn't figure it out but also didnt seem to think it was a big deal. The car has 200k miles on it so it isn't perfect.

Also, muffler and down pipe were recently replaced by mechanic. Perhaps the seal isn't good? But it sounds like it's coming from underneath hood not underneath the car.

I will try the soapy water spray and let you know how it goes.

 

I would only buy critical parts from the dealer even though they are more expensive. There are so many counterfeit products online, they fake even the package and numbers to make you think it's oem. In the end you pay more when you buy 2 or 3 times. (learned this myself)

 

True. I'm currently running some Lucas fuel injection cleaner through it to see if clears it up a bit.

I usually only buy OEM but that's pretty bad if they are straight up faking the packaging and part.

 

EBay etc are notorious for crappy fake oem injectors…it’s a common theme with a huge number of people having this same issue. Look at the price difference between actual Toyota and the cheap ones online - sometimes things aren’t always as they seem, many sellers have no conscience and will go to great lengths to make a fake substandard product appear legit, because they can. You have to think, maybe there’s a reason there’s such a big price difference.
As for the vibration, have you run over anything that might have damaged the subframe? I had that happen in my old Camry and it was loading one of the mounts, causing a super annoying engine vibration at idle.

 

I agree injectors seem unlikely issue. Your issue sounds like iac valve to be honest just be careful removing it those screws are very soft and strip easily give it a good cleaning and I bet that solves it.

 

I was looking at that and your right those screws are VERY soft. Not even sure how I would go about getting them off since the profile is nonexistent on both screws.

 

The true way to see if it’s the mounts, is to position the camera at the engine. Or have someone rev the engine in neutral to see if it’s rocking. There should be some rock, but not a lot.

Are the mounts original or were changed prior to your ownership?

 

Mounts are original I believe. I got the car 10 years ago at 40k and I never changed them. Engine mounts were my first thoughts as well. I brought it to a mechanic just for this reason and he put it up on a lift and said they were fine. I told him I would pay him to change them out if they were bad but he said they were fine.

When I put the car in drive or reverse there is no jump in the engine or too much movement, it seems stable.

The noise starts near the air filter box/brake booster and then slowly makes it's way to my dash depending on how long I'm stopped for while in drive. I know there is an engine mount undernearneath that air filter box but I'm just taking the mechanics word.

 

The important mount is the passenger and trans mounts. Since it’s not jumping, then I say it is the passenger mount. To see it, you have to remove it. Since the insulator is not visible from the top.

 

K.I.S.S.
Unless you are throwing codes, there really should be no reason why injectors need replacing. Work with the computers onboard rather then separately, thats why its there.


The vibration is motor mounts (in drive, at low rpms like stop signs etc it sounds like metal vibration but not tinny like a heat shield rattling), but even then at this age increasing vibrations are something you need to adjust to, as NVH material is probably no longer going to be up to snuff.

Motor mounts are pita as job, and you only one to do it once. If you believe in doing the job once, then prepare to shell out close to $400 on just parts and then factor in labor.

$400 accounts for 4 new OE mounts. Yes, you can get way cheaper mounts but theyre going to do no favors in improving isolating NVH from the engine in to the cabin. They will however reduce any uncontrolled movements that the powertrain was inducing when accelerating in any direction.

 

This is why I'm confused and tried fuel injectors in first place. I brought this car to TWO mechanics asking them to check the engine mounts and I would pay them to replace them if they were bad. The first mechanic said they were good and then I brought it to a second mechanic (for a second opinion) who said they were also good. I told them about the vibration and so maybe they didnt want to risk replacing them only to find out it didnt work.

Get this, yesterday I had over 350 lbs in the car with me recently distributed through front and back of car and the noise completely stopped!

Almost like the weight was acting as a dampener.

They did replace the muffler and down pipe about 3 weeks before this started to happen. The 2nd mechanic I brought it to told me it was most likely from the new pipe and muffler because it's not the original. But again, he told me he had the car on a lift and the engine mounts were fine.

Really wanted to get this car to 250k miles seeing now how the used car market has lost it's mind

 

Here’s what you can do. Raise the front wheels and put it on jack stands. Then hit the bottom of the wheels. After each hit of the tire, take a listen.

Alternatively, run to home depot and buy a piece of 2x4. Loosen the torque on the passenger mount. Then use the wood and a floor jack. Place the wood diagonally on the oil pan and jack it up. Do a bit at a time as you loosen the bolts to the passenger mount. Once it’s loose and raised from the frame, then remove the mount for inspection.

 

With the old fuel injectors-
Does the car have trouble starting? Does it have trouble accelerating? Does the whole car vibrate when stopped? Does the car sound like it's going to stall when stopped. In general, does the car run poorly? If the answer is no to all of those questions, then there's simply something loose, and I'll bet it's a clamp or heat shield on the exhaust. That's where the rattle came from on my '01 Corolla.

 

Definitely not the heat shield for the exhaust. I ripped half that thing off when it started to fall off and clang around at around 150k 😂😂.

I'm almost positive it's the motor mounts now. It's enough vibration to feel it on your body. Not sure why the two mechanics said they were good. I hear a slight "thud" now when I drop it into drive sometimes.

Car had 200k on it. Debating if spending 1k on motor mounts and labor is even worth it.

 

What's the answer to my other questions? Because if it runs fine, why not spend the money on it? That car can run for a long time.

 

Yea the car runs fine. I do have to constantly stay on top of the oil because of the whole oil burning issue with this generation. I maintain the engine very well. Overly extreme about fluid maintenance.

The thing is this car spent most of its life in front of the ocean (northeast) and I mean like directly in front of ocean. Now it's in an even more extreme environment (cold temps) but no longer next to ocean.

Salt absolutely destroys vehicles and the body of this vehicle has aged prematurely imo. I just don't want to get into an endless loop where I'm constantly fixing something.