The Journey

The Journey




Purchased this 2002 Tundra 4.7 SR5 4x4 AC 265K on the clock, non running. PO claimed one day he went to drive it to work and it wouldn’t start, Cranks but won’t Start!


The truck needs a new paint job but most everything else is in good shape. Interior is good, Tires are good, only two oil leaks, (possible rear main), and out put shaft seal on the transfer case. Some frame rust but nothing that a little cleanup won’t fix (no welding needed).


It needs a bit of maintenance, but over all the truck is in decent condition for how old it is

PO said he went out to start it and it would Crank but no Start.

PO said the fuel pump, filter, Timing belt, water pump and battery have all been changed within the last 8 months.


This is my second Toyota, the first was a car. I have done my own wrenching for years, don’t claim to be a mechanic, but I manage.


This will be documentation of the troubleshooting to get this truck back on the road.

No CEL codes at all!!!

Fuses

First off, I pulled and tested every fuse on the truck, crossing my fingers this was going to be a simple fix, no luck. All the fuses under the hood and in the kick panel passed visual and continuity tests.


Spark

Next I wanted to test for spark, pulled one plug and coil, had my son crank the truck while grounding the end of the plug. Crank crank crank and no spark. By the way I alway wear leather gloves when testing spark and I’m glad did. The back side of the coil pack had a split down the side of it. After pulling all the coils, every one had varying cracks in the coil tube. There was no way this truck would run with coil packs that look like this. Ordered 8 new Denso coils and plugs. After new coils and plugs I’m getting spark on all 8.





Grounds

While I was waiting for the parts, I took time to find and clean all electrical grounds in the truck, each ground had paint removed if necessary, wire brushed, and then cleaned with alcohol. Then a slight film of dielectric grease to prevent corrosion.

more to come..

 

RODENT INSPECTION


Thanks to the soy based wire insulation, these trucks are know for the squirrels and mice causing mischief. After close inspection of what is visible with a high powered flashlight, I found no evidence of unwanted critters.



FUEL PRESSURE


At first, having the spark plugs out, and cranking it over, I’m getting fuel spray out of the spark plug ports, I took that as a good sign. further down the testing road I decided to get actual numbers, rented a fuel pressure gauge and I’m getting 45 psi at the fuel rail. Range 38-44

Fuel pump resister ohms out at .75. Range .70-.76


CAM SHAFT SENSOR


Unplugged the Camshaft position sensor, ohm test on it is 1,065. Range 835-1,400

I unplugged the E7 plug on the ECM and tested the ohms 1,070.

Again unplugged the sensor and bridged the connector and performed a continuity test, test was GOOD .

Tested both plug wires against a ground and there was no continuity.

Conclusion= Cam Shaft sensor is good ✅


CRANKSHAFT SENSOR


Sorry this will be a little redundant.

Unplugged the Crankshaft position sensor, ohm test on it is 1,999. Range 1,630-2,740

I unplugged the E7 plug on the ECM and tested the ohms 2,015.

Again unplugged the sensor and bridged the connector and performed a continuity test, test was GOOD .

Tested both plug wires against a ground and there was no continuity.

Conclusion= CrankShaft sensor is good ✅



LIVE DATA ODBII TEST


Plugging all the sensors back in, and reconnecting the ECM and battery it was time for a cranking test to see live data.


From the limitations of my Amazon special ODBII tool, both sensors get the green light



COOLANT SENSOR

And finally the coolant temperature sensor was tested in the exact same way as the crank and cam sensors. Ohms out at 3.2. I could find the range for this sensor.
I did remove the sensor, clean it and check the ohms as I heated the sensor up with a heat gun and the resistance went down as the heat increased. Also with the above pic, the live data shows 32* which should be accurate, as that was the temp in my garage

 

TIMING and TIMING BELT


Time to get a look at the timing belt and timing marks. Unbolted the timing covers and moved things around to take pics, but that driver side cover has a few thing blocking the way, I just didn’t feel like taking off, so sorry about the pics.


The good news is the timing belt looks good and the timing marks line up. ✅






TESTING VOLTAGES


I found these pages online so I went to testing.

So I grounded the black lead on my multi meter and stole a medium sewing needle from my wife . Using a small alligator clip and the needle I was able to probe each of the connections.





Every test (excluding the test that requires the truck to be running) all fell within spec.

 

GROUND TESTING from ECU WIRING


Ok, now comes the part I don’t enjoy, following electrical schematics


So I’m starting at the ECU, battery is disconnected. I disconnect all the connectors out of the ECU. Ground out the negative side of my multimeter and again utilize the stolen sewing needle . Pin by pin I checked each one for continuity, the below pic shows which pins are grounded.


Unfortunately, as far as I can tell all of them should be ‍.


Maybe someone more knowledgeable could look it over to see if I missed something.

 

MAF Sensor

Going through all my notes I forgot to post the MAF ohm results 2.38. Range 2.19-2.67

Kind of at a loss what to do next except replace the ECU.

Any recommendations on where to purchase one besides stealerships?

 

If you have fuel/spark/timing and crank how would ecu stop gas from exploding? Something is off here. I'm not saying you don't have an ecu issue, but gas and spark makes boom regardless of the ecu condition right?

EDIT: Is the liquid shooting out the spark holes actually combustible fuel? Did someone put diesel in the tank? Other Non gasoline fluid?

 

I share the same confusion there should be ignition of some type, regardless of the ECU.

Maybe it is time to investigate the fuel itself,no assumptions here, I don’t know the person I bought it from but he did say he was going through a divorce. May be time to drop and clean the tank, inspect the fuel pump and screen.

 

I wouldn't drop the tank before just cracking a connector and collecting a sample. See if it burns.

 

I will be dropping the tank regardless for some rust prevention, I have already started removing the bed

 

Exactly

 

Clogged exhaust. No air out = no air in. No air in = no boom.

If I knew how to add an Axel Foley banana in the tailpipe image I would do so here.

 

I have not checked the exhaust yet, I will put that on my list for tomorrow

 

This thread probably would have got more traction in the regular 1st gen section hence the lack of replies here.

I second your checking of the fuel in some way but what's stopping you from spraying starting fluid in it and see if it lights off at all like that?

As far as your frame rust I see you have early 1st gen that should be covered by frame replacement recall if the spare tire crossmember has enough rust in it. May want to look into that before doing work on the frame in case you are eligible for a replacement. Put your VIN in on toyota.com/owners and see if the recall is active. If PO didn't have the junk undercoating put on you should be good if the truck was registered in the right state.
Link to thread about frame recall. LINK

 

I did spray some starting fluid in the intake and nothing resembling any type combustion was happening.

the rust on the truck isn’t what I would consider bad, but it does need addressed. This truck has lived in Idaho it’s whole life, and when that recall took place, we didn’t salt the roads, now unfortunately the state does

 

I see you did post in 1st gen section, didn't make the connection before.

The recall is still active. If your spare tire crossmember has enough rust in it, you may be good enough for replacement. If you have a dealer close by once you get the truck running it'd be worth looking into.

 

Truck is now running, the timing was off, if you would like to see the pics and the process go here. https://www.tundras.com/threads/looking-like-new-ecu-time-fixed.119573/page-2


Since I got the truck running it was time to test everything out.

Issues found
Squeaky front brakes, mostly stopping while in reverse.

Removed brakes, with some difficulty, rusted slide pins took some work to get out. Brake pads look almost new, so whom ever performed the last brake job did not grease and clean the slide pins. Applied some CRC disc brake quiet to both sides of the metal shims, cleaned and greased the slide pins and now the brakes are quiet. Will check the rear brakes when we take the bed off.

Heat shields rattle

yet to tackle this one


4wd shifts no problem, but rolling and turning produces clunking and grinding noises.

First with all the issues with corrosion in the actuators, I decided to remove inspect and re-grease. Both actuators looked good, no corrosion, but the lithium grease was crusted over. Clean all the grease out, re-greased them and tested. Both are works as they should.

While doing the brakes I put the truck on jack stands to test the 4wd. Looks like all the noise and clunks are coming from the front right CV joint, it has move movement and noise that the driver side. Looks like I get to replace an axle.

When refilling the antifreeze from the timing belt adjustment, the thermostat never opened even after truck engine temp got up to 190* so thermostat will also need to be purchased and installed.

 

You can get reman Toyota axles for a good price. Let me see if I can come up with a part number if no one else does first.

Edit: 43430-0C010-84

Post LINK

What kind of coolant are you using and what kind came out of it?

 

@NickB_01TRD forgot to mention I called the local dealer to see about frame replacement just out of curiosity, NO go, the truck has been in Idaho since new so they won’t even look at it. Besides, I don’t see any metal thinning anywhere on the truck so we will pull the bed and give it some wire wheel love.

Thanks for the link,

I put in Napa extended life, I will eventually flush the system

 

If you used anything but pink Asian vehicle coolant you may want to flush sooner than later. If it has both types mixed you're gonna be in for a crust/sludge festival sooner than later.

Yeah that's what I was wondering about. Only certain states were eligible. I have a list somewhere but I don't remember where.

 

Idaho didn’t use to salt their roads, now they pre-salt them before the storms

ya it will be fully flushed

 

Bed, bumper and hitch removed.

Rust Removal in process

Rear main seal also in progress.

 

Doesn't look too bad all things considered. You should be able to buy that spare tire carrier OEM and replace. Doesn't look like its got a lot of life left in it.

 

Truck updates

CV axle installed, one broken LBJ bolt, so had to wait for Toyota Dealer for replacements.

Rear Main Seal and o-ring finished. Broke one bolt between the transfer case and the transmission. Ended up putting a heli coil to fix this one.

Broke one bolt on the frame cross member for the transmission mount.

Unfortunately waiting for parts has been the name of the game.

Rust removal is a big time eater but the process is moving along. Frame is complete, and curing then it’s time to put everything back together.

My son has decided to buy the truck since he has been doing some of the work on it. He is getting anxious to drive it, so we will be removing more rust on the rear axle and diff at a later time.

here are some updated pics

 

Update:
Bed installed, truck washed, new wheels installed, bed rails and rear bumper plastic painted with Rustolium Bed Liner.
Receiver hitch wire wheeled, primed and painted( waiting to cure).
New shocks ordered.