So I’m halfway thru changing my 2001 4.7 starter and have some issues

BFunke - Couldn’t sleep this morning so I double checked every plug and injector connection. They appear to be all going to their corresponding connection and all are seated well and clicked in. They cannot be pulled off so none have obvious broken connectors. Checked all the wires going to each connector and I found no signs of damage, cuts, bare wire, etc. the only assumption I’m making is the connectors are all denso as they are all the originals. How to check if one of those is bad, I do not know how to do so.

 

I looked at your engine pics and everything looks to be properly connected except the wire holder on the MAF wire is not connected to the square box on the air intake but that's minor. After disconnecting the battery our trucks will often run rough for about 10 minutes while the ECU recalibrates.

 

Ok. I’ll let it run for awhile and if it doesn’t smooth out, looks like I’ll have to take it to the mechanic. I do appreciate the help.

 

Let it run for 13 minutes, nothing has changed. I’m out of options it seems so I’ll be taking it to my mechanic on Thursday morning. Not sure if it’s safe to drive so my local towing company said they’d take it over for $70. Thanks for everyone’s help and suggestions. Great forum and very willing to help.

 

Please follow-up with what you find.

 

Will do.

 

Hopefully it's not something silly like this.

​

 

Did you ever trace that pop sound? Could it have been a fuse?

 

Oh yeah, had a Good laugh with the wife about that. I had her start the truck as I was standing on the passenger side of the engine bay……….and the power side mirror popped when it closed. It’s official, I’m an idiot.

 

I will check that for sure.

 

One more update before the rig goes to the mechanic. I went back again and removed every connection and looked very closely at each connection and thought I found the problem. The front right coil connector (if facing the engine from the front of the vehicle) has coolant in the bottom. It wasn't a lot but I assume some splashed in there when I was removing one of the coolant lines. I hoped it would solve the issue so I used some q tips and dried it out, cleaned it out and then did the same thing with a q tip to each coil connection. I ensured I left no "fuzz" from the q tips and then used my handheld leaf blower to ensure each connection was dry and debris/dust free before reconnecting. I fired up the sequoia and it runs rough still. I drove it around the yard a bit and when in gear and motionless, it's pretty rough. It smoothes out when I accelerate but I'm not confidant it would make it to the mechanic so I'll wait until tomorrow. That needed to be fixed regardless of whether it solved the P1300 or not so thanks to Bfunke for mentioning the coils a few times, it made me zero in on them again and take care of a maintenance item. I did clear the code but it came back instantly, still P1300.

I tried to get clear pics up close but it didn't work as well as I had hoped. In the connector pic, you can kind of see some pink in the top right of the pic and thats the toyota specific coolant.

 

Figured I'd update everyone on the final resolution. My mechanic called me and told me I had one coil that was shot. He said it looked old and worn out, not damaged. So I can only assume the timing of its demise was just bad. Regardless, it's fixed. It wasn't the one that had coolant in it, surprisingly, but the one next to it. They are the originals from what I can gather so 280,000 is pretty good. He swapped it out for an O'Riellys one and I also got an alignment which was long overdue. It runs great now and I'm a happy man. I think in the coming months I should consider replacing all of the coils with new Denso ones due to age but this should work for the time being.

On a related and personal note, I really want to thank all of you that helped me with this process over the past month. I tackled a project that if I'm honest, was a slight stretch for my abilities, but the cash just wasn't there to just take it to a mechanic and pay who knows how much for all that work. I won't go into details but my oldest sons medical bills the past 17 years have taken a financial toll which is why I am doing my best to make a 23 year old vehicle still run. He's doing well and is a solid young man but medical bills and his health take priority over fancy rides. I've done my best to take care of this vehicle and really love driving it. I hope that I can now continue on for another 280,000. It's always risky to start naming names for fear of leaving someone out, but special thanks to Bfunke, Shifty, ToyotaDude, FrenchToasty, DT325IC, BMF4069, 87warrior and anyone else I may have missed that threw advice out in this thread, a heartfelt thank you. You took the time to help a total stranger for a month, just because. Thats speaks to the quality of this forum and of you as men. (Yeah, I assumed your gender haha) My sons were out there with me a lot as we worked on this project together and they learned some new, colorful words which I know will come back to haunt me. They also learned some new skills and we got to spend time together. So gentlemen, thank you and God bless.

And now, I'm going for a drive!

 

Enjoy the ride!

 

Sorry to hear about your son and glad to hear he is doing well now. Sounds like you performed a successful repair that you and your sons can be proud of. Nice work.

 

That O’Reilly Chinesium coil will likely not last more than a year. I’d buy a new Denso from Rock Auto and then keep the other one as a spare. One trick I learned is with the engine running disconnecting one coil at a time. The idle should drop slightly and become a little rough. If it doesn’t that’s a bad coil. Usually a bad coil will give you a CEL and a misfire code on that particular cylinder but not always. Over the years I ended up replacing 4 bad coils. The first one took me a while to figure out as my CEL was flashing and the truck was bucking like a bronco when I stepped on the gas. I used a crap coil from one of the flaps and it lasted a year before I learned Denso is the way. After the fourth coil was replaced I replaced the remaining four with new ones.

 

That’s good knowledge to diagnosis future problems. I had quit using rock auto a while back as their shipping prices kept going up and they sent me the wrong part half the time. I ordered rotors one time and they send me an alternator, stuff like that. Maybe I should revisit them as OEM coils are approx $160 each. Thanks for the reply.

 

Denso Coils $51/ea at the rock
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=2140934

 

I saw that. Much better. I’ll go that route before years end.