1st Gen Won’t Start

Purchased a decent looking 06 4dr 4wd previous owner claimed motor was damaged.
Towed it home and jumped the battery and got it to only fire briefly and died. Sounded terrible and stunk. Now all I can get is the starter barely turning motor over. The dipstick oil is still up and no metal or H2O foam and coolant is up and Pink. It did kick OBD; all 8 misfire cylinder codes which cleared
Humor me, it unlocks the doors when trying to start and the starter is very slowly turning the engine counter clockwise.
Is this what caused the problem or anybody else seen this before?
Any response greatly appreciated
Hary Gahtoe

 

Pull a timing cover and check to be sure timing belt didn’t break. Then read the megathread.

 

As bfunke stated, take a peek at the timing belt and start with the mega thread.
Here's the link:
https://www.tundras.com/threads/so-you-wanna-buy-just-bought-a-1st-gen-tundra-eh.115928/

 

Before you go any farther, seriously, check the timing belt and timing.

This thread will help you figure out if your timing is correct: https://www.toyoheadquarters.com/threads/toyota-2uz-fe-timing-belt-marks-4-7l.335/

I really need to add that timing validation link into the community megathread.

 

Thanks for sharing the link and your advice G_unit & bfunke
I bought full set of Tundra service manuals and I’m pouring thru them trying to figure the noise it made and why it just stopped running. I've heard bad cam bearings, mains, timing chain, not like that.

 

Post a pick of your engine compartment showing battery and wiring

 

Nothing appears to be out of place. Power (+)cable from the main fuse box is on the correct terminal and ground is connected to the body.
The backwards starter direction and the doors unlocking when cycling the key to start leads me to believe something might be wrong in the dash/ key start mechanism

 

Engine bay wiring appears to be normal

 

Positive side

 

Dude. Battery maintenance.

• No hold-down for the battery.
• Those terminals are rotten as fuck and need to be cleaned up temporarily and/or replaced.
• You should also be checking for corrosion in the cables, since it's a known problem.

What's up with all the tape//bulge where the positive cable goes into the fusebox, did someone splice anything?

But again, I cannot reiterate enough after the many times we've seen it here, since our V8s *are* interference engines and *can* be killed if the timing belt goes or timing is way off, this being the most-recent case, where the poster took 3 pages to finally listen:

• Verify timing.
• While in there, assess condition of the timing belt - any hairline cracks, any fraying, are the markings intact signalling it's not too old or is the belt old and shiny? Toyota calls for 9yr/90k miles *if* you use OEM (Aisin/Toyota) brand parts; you should make a point of doing it before 100k/10yr.
• Make sure the crank position sensor is correctly routed and harness not cut into (proper routing info here)
• Ensure the cam position sensor wiring (thru driver side cam cover) is intact, not frayed, typical misrouting damage looks like this, correct routing info here
• With timing covers, be careful not to lose the steel inserts slid into the plastic cover, they will fall out with age.
• If all that looks good, button things back up, then do a compression test on the engine.

THEN and ONLY THEN would I be attempting to turn the truck over, start it, etc.

You need to understand, again, interference engine here. Don't fuck around if the previous owner flat-out told you "motor is damaged" but provided no other details. If he said "motor is damaged", and you find a brand new belt in there, it's possible it threw the belt, and he's not lying.

NOTE: Compression test throwing bad numbers on a single cylinder or one entire bank does not always equal "catastrophic failure". Other things will (and we've seen it!) cause that:

• Timing is off by 1-2 teeth.
• Valve is stuck, which can be salvageable without major surgery

 

1: That’s not the battery that was in the truck. I threw in an old battery I had leftover just to get it started
2: Battery tie down is in my garage. Truck hasn’t started since it was dropped off so it’s not an issue.
3: timing belt(s) are in sync and good shape

 

Incorrect starter?

Edit: wait. Which way is your fan spinning? It should spin counterclockwise. How do you know the starter is spinning backwards?

2nd edit: also, the above members aren't incorrect about their strong recommendations.

 

Pull all the plugs & see if any of the cylinders are juicy. If the starter speeds up, maybe the cats are clogged.

then compression test.

 

No - but again:

• This is an interference engine for which you have no clear history on, per what you've stated.
• If the timing is off, or the timing belt snaps under load, you no longer have a starting problem, you may've upgraded to a YOUR-ENGINE-IS-FUCKED problem.
• The truck may turn over, but won't start if the timing isn't correct.

VERIFY THE TIMING AND TIMING BELT.

Get past whatever you believe to be wrong with the starter itself, or reinstall the starter you pulled out, unless you had it bench tested. But before you do that, refer all-caps-all-bold statement on the line above this.

Don't be the guy in that other thread, or any of the other loads of people we help on here year in and year out, who want to think this is something OK to skip. If you're not familiar with these trucks and the timing idiosyncracies, just get it out of the way now.

 

I see where under different circumstances they’d (^) be right. This isn’t.

Stater? Highly unlikely. Previous owner never mentioned any repairs or maintenance issues prior to the motor going sideways.
Throwing out the baby with the bath water in this case is not going to work.
I have to pull out the service manuals and find out what the electrical problem is. A timing belt isn’t going to unlock the power door locks on startup

 

Yes, I just wonder how you know the starter is operating backward?

Diagnosing electrical/wiring issues is never fun, but, they are the most reliable and least-expensive way of resolving the issues. If it were me, I would at least take a peak at the belt as a precautionary measure, then go through manual and follow the ignition circuit with a meter to determine where things are going wrong. If that didn't show anything, I'd move to the starting circuit. But that's me. Definitely interested in hearing what you discover.

Someone mentioned above what appears to be electrical tape wrapped around a harness coming out of the underhood fusebox. I'd be curious why tape was there if that's what it is.

 

I'd also be curious about all the grounds in the respective circuits seeing as how you're experiencing multiple cylinder misfires and doors unlocking when trying to start. That's very unusual and screams grounds to me.

Edit: correlation doesn't equal causation. I admit I could be incorrect.

 

Your preaching to a 68 yr old Toyota gearhead
Please don’t misunderstand.
This isn’t my first rodeo
I’ve owned 4- 4ag’s 2- 1UZ’s, a 1jz , 3- 7m’s, 1- 1ur 2- Beams 3sg and lastly a 2gr
I appreciate the replies it’s just that I know about 2uz timing belt carnage but was looking for something more about my specific similar issues.
Yeah, Tundra 2UZ is pretty decent and I know all about VVti interference design.
Thank you

 

You are aware of the fusebox/water-entry problem these trucks have, right? Water chasing down looms from windshield trim, a-pillar, or windshield cracks and getting into the fusebox, right? Or is that something a 68-year Toyota builder hasn't hasn't encountered yet?

There's lots of quirks with 1st gen Tundras in particular. No attitude here, just trying to help. But if you can't check off some basic boxes which nearly 7 decades of working on Toyotas should be able to accomplish in under 30 minutes, how are we supposed to help? Throw out random ass suggestions?

Occasionally, water leaks can send water down into the ECM behind the glovebox (pics), or into the fusebox inside the cab/dash (pics & pics & pics, it happens a LOT). It typically exhibits as two or more circuits having inexplicble/buggy issues.

But before helping, on an unknown vehicle, I want a baseline: Is the timing belt intact? Is the timing correct?

We've helped a lot of people fix a lot of weird shit on these trucks, and those links to pics take you to threads where the author probably thought we were nucking futs. Only to find we were right. EDIT: I helped solve the 2nd and 3rd link in the fusebox issues, it's just "one of those things" you start to look for. Not saying I am here, but ... entertain us. Let's walk thru this together, eh?

 

Not trying to preach, just help with possibilities.

 

Let's not forget that there could well be more than one thing wrong. The last owner may not have given you ALL info. So just checking the timing is worthwhile anyway on an unknown 'damaged engine'.
Also, the -ve battery terminal connector itself looks pretty corroded. That's could well give you a dodgy ground for the electrics, ECM's etc. Slow crank included.

 

Not only that, but no legitimate way to know how long it sat.

And knowing how much rodents love nesting up on top of the tank, under the manifold (which he's I guess already been in, given the starter), and sometimes getting into the dash via the cowl and munching on the ECU. Corrosion on the starter ground will cause slow starts, at least I've seen it in the earlier models. Bad/shit grounds, corrosion in the cables will cause all the symptoms above in more and is also extremely common. I remember one guy on here two years ago who couldn't find his quick-dying/battery charging issue with other electrical gremlins until we had him trace the fat (+) cable from battery to alternator, only to find a previous owner spliced it poorly, corrosion inside the cable caused added load that melted the splice, and it was shorting to the frame.

Then there was that other guy who hd corrosion inside his positive cables, and it shorted the contacts on the 140A fuse in the under-hood fusebox where it's tied to the little battery lead I was commenting on earlier, with all the tape/lumpiness where it enters the fusebox.

So many boxes to check. So many bizarre ass issues we've seen on here. But that one dude having issues with the truck he just bought turning over, only to find the timing belt snapped on page 5 after I asked on page 1 late last month, that was my favorite

(Then the horror of hearing him mention the "crunch" sounds when he was manually turning things over AFTER seeing the timing belt snapped...!)

 

I've also got a Bluesteel Mica(8J7) DC SR5 4x4 so I am looking forward to you getting your truck up and running. I'm a "YouTube" mechanic DIYer so I don't have much of anything to add to your situation here. It sounds like you've got a lot of experience and you're going to figure this out. I've learned a lot from all the guys posting here. I'll be watching how this turns out

 

I appreciate any and all background I can get. Your advice’s about general 1st Tundra are sound and helpful. Although every situation is unique, generalities are not checking the boxes in this case.
Turns out Timing belt is old but intact and I checked the dirty and ragged electrical connections passed with a multimeter.

 

Sorry, too early for humor but maybe later

Perhaps one of the previous owners changed the RS3200 factory setting for the Ignition auto door lock/unlock to Unlock doors instead of Lock.

 

Thanks for sharing. Humor is a good trait we all need.

Good point about the factory DL settings also.

I have several OBD readers but none with Techstream modern capabilities. I have a cheap old Toyota program setup I used on our 3rd gen 4Runner but it’s just for basic error codes. Odd how the Tundra didn’t show any errors at all.
Next mission is plug removal and the borescope camera to check for coolant and damage

 

Well, Thank you for all the replies regarding.
To note; The timing belt was not suspect. As I previously suspected, checked the timing (gears & crank ) marks. They all matched exactly.

The death blow here was previous owner(s) continuous use while not checking the very longterm head gasket leaks.
This lead to water in the oil and the final strike, annihilation of the main bearings and # 5 connecting rod breaking.
There was signs of water in several bores. It could've been avoided

 

​

 

Are you going to save it and drop in a used engine?

 

Valid question.
I need clarity after finding multiple poorly done repairs, bent frame ear, wrinkled inner fender, questionable electric problems/connections, frozen/stuck brake pads to name a few.
I need to decide if this particular truck is worth my time or do I sell it and find a better candidate for the replacement motor I already have?
Am I putting lipstick on a pig because of many existing serious issues and wasting money while even more importantly my precious time ?
The number of 1st Gen trucks in the area are low and generally rode hard and put away wet.
There's A lot of Gen 2 trucks in decent shape in my area but I would need to sell everything and start over.
I need to think about this