WhereTheHellIsJames?
Explorer
The Deal:
There’s a pretty unique issue that I’m having with my 1995 Taco, and I’m a little stumpeded on this one, so I thought I’d throw it out there to see if anyone has any ideas.
The Truck:
1995 Toyota Tacoma, V6, 4WD, no engine mods, 243K on the ticker, well maintained.
The Lowdown:
A week ago today, my truck started choking and burping on the freeway and the check engine light came on. I made it home, hooked up the OBDII reader, and got a P0303- number 3 cylinder misfire. I figured I was due anyways, so I replaced the plugs and wires; while doing so, I also checked the compression, and all 6 cylinders are good, and within a couple PSI of each other. The #3 plug was cracked, and I figured that I had the problem solved.
After installing new plugs and wires, the problem went away for the next couple of days… until I filled up the gas tank again. I’d say about 30 miles from a full tank, the problem started to reoccur, although to a lesser degree than before, and the check engine light never came on. I was on my way to Seattle from Portland, and had to get there that day, so I just drove light and took my chances. The problem occurred intermittently until I got down to about half a tank of gas, and then it went away.
I drove in Seattle for a couple of days after I arrived, and it ran fine. I ran the tank until it was practically dry. For the trip home I filled up the tank, and started heading south. Once again, after about 30 miles the problem came back, and once again it went away after I got down below about half a tank of gas. Like the first time the problem occured after replacing the plugs, the check engine light never came on again.
When I returned home I plugged in the OBDII reader, and there are no DTC’s.
My thoughts:
I’ve ruled out the coil pack since the problem only occurs when the fuel tank is above the halfway mark. I’ve also ruled out a burnt valve or damaged seat, as well as rings, due to the good compression.
Could it be the fuel cap? Maybe it’s not venting right, and there is too much backpressure from the tank for the return to work properly? Once there is a sufficient amount of air in the tank, perhaps the pressure is decreased a bit?
Additional information that might be useful:
1) When the problem happens I have noticed that if I “gun it” (read: floored!), it goes away for that episode, but may return 15 seconds after returning to a normal cruising RPM, or it may return 10 minutes later. Also, if I just let it do its thing, it will go away after between 3 and 15 seconds.
2) The issue is intermittent, and is nondiscriminate to driving conditions/hills/rpm range (except when I floor it, it does not occur and/or goes away).
3) I have now run three full tanks of gas (from “really empty” to full) through the truck since the original occurrence.
4) The problem seems to occur 30 miles or so from a topped off tank, down to about ½ tank, and does not occur below ½ tank of gas.
I have searched high and low for folks having similar problems, but have so far come up empty-handed. So… if anyone has some insights as to what might be going on, I’d be grateful if you could share them with me.
:lurk:
There’s a pretty unique issue that I’m having with my 1995 Taco, and I’m a little stumpeded on this one, so I thought I’d throw it out there to see if anyone has any ideas.
The Truck:
1995 Toyota Tacoma, V6, 4WD, no engine mods, 243K on the ticker, well maintained.
The Lowdown:
A week ago today, my truck started choking and burping on the freeway and the check engine light came on. I made it home, hooked up the OBDII reader, and got a P0303- number 3 cylinder misfire. I figured I was due anyways, so I replaced the plugs and wires; while doing so, I also checked the compression, and all 6 cylinders are good, and within a couple PSI of each other. The #3 plug was cracked, and I figured that I had the problem solved.
After installing new plugs and wires, the problem went away for the next couple of days… until I filled up the gas tank again. I’d say about 30 miles from a full tank, the problem started to reoccur, although to a lesser degree than before, and the check engine light never came on. I was on my way to Seattle from Portland, and had to get there that day, so I just drove light and took my chances. The problem occurred intermittently until I got down to about half a tank of gas, and then it went away.
I drove in Seattle for a couple of days after I arrived, and it ran fine. I ran the tank until it was practically dry. For the trip home I filled up the tank, and started heading south. Once again, after about 30 miles the problem came back, and once again it went away after I got down below about half a tank of gas. Like the first time the problem occured after replacing the plugs, the check engine light never came on again.
When I returned home I plugged in the OBDII reader, and there are no DTC’s.
My thoughts:
I’ve ruled out the coil pack since the problem only occurs when the fuel tank is above the halfway mark. I’ve also ruled out a burnt valve or damaged seat, as well as rings, due to the good compression.
Could it be the fuel cap? Maybe it’s not venting right, and there is too much backpressure from the tank for the return to work properly? Once there is a sufficient amount of air in the tank, perhaps the pressure is decreased a bit?
Additional information that might be useful:
1) When the problem happens I have noticed that if I “gun it” (read: floored!), it goes away for that episode, but may return 15 seconds after returning to a normal cruising RPM, or it may return 10 minutes later. Also, if I just let it do its thing, it will go away after between 3 and 15 seconds.
2) The issue is intermittent, and is nondiscriminate to driving conditions/hills/rpm range (except when I floor it, it does not occur and/or goes away).
3) I have now run three full tanks of gas (from “really empty” to full) through the truck since the original occurrence.
4) The problem seems to occur 30 miles or so from a topped off tank, down to about ½ tank, and does not occur below ½ tank of gas.
I have searched high and low for folks having similar problems, but have so far come up empty-handed. So… if anyone has some insights as to what might be going on, I’d be grateful if you could share them with me.
:lurk:
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