New Owner - 2000 4.7L Limited

Hi All,
I recently acquired a 2000 Limited 4.7L! Its in fairly decent shape, but, it had some front end damage to grill & radiator (as best I can tell a branch limb pierced the radiator, and, the car hadn't been started in 5-6 months).

Suffice to say I got the car cheap, and it ran well prior to the accident and started and ran well after the accident (for very short periods so as to not overheat since it was very low on coolant - broken rad LOL).

Oil looks great, ATF looks great, no oil/coolant mix as far as I can tell...

So I'm trying to get this one to run... I've taken apart the front end (currently has no radiator) and I want to confirm the engine runs OK for 10 seconds or so prior to sinking any more money into it.

Current info:
-Cranks over well.
-Air filter looks OK
-MAF looks OK
-No check engine light.
-Has Fuel (added 5 gallons)
-I can hear the Fuel pump turn on (checked this by wiring the pump directly from the relay)
-Haven't checked spark....

I don't have much knowledge of these trucks, but, I've been working on cars for a long time (most euro stuff) so my skill level is average.

What is the best troubleshooting path here? Is something in ECU stopping the car from firing up? Will an ODB scan tell me anything?

Any guidance would help here

Thanks in advance,
Mike

 

Welcome from Colorado

 

Clarifying: truck has the grill and radiator out and now wont start? But it did before for short periods?

 

Yes - I've removed the radiator as its damage was blocking the fan.
I also removed the A/C Condenser, the bumper & fog lights, and, the headlights.

 

I cant think of anything there that would stop it from starting. Somebody smarter than me might be able to point you in the right direction.

 

Ok, a bit of a disappointing update. I took off the timing covers and found this:

Looks like the engine is out of timing - maybe the belt skipped a bunch of teeth.

Is this engine junk?

 

The belt appears correct.

Below is from another timing belt thread.

"We don't care about the T anymore. We don't care about Lcam Rcam or any other paint marks on the belt. All we care about now is damper at "0" TDC (make sure woodruff key on crank did not fall out) and hash mark on passenger cam gear under "I" and dimple on driver cam gear under "I" . If belt didn't jump all will align. Rotate a bunch more times to make sure then reassemble."

 

Welcome from AZ.

 

Really? That would be awesome if the timing is OK...
Can you share a link of what the timing needs to be?

This was the picture I was using: https://www.toyoheadquarters.com/threads/toyota-2uz-fe-timing-belt-marks-4-7l.335/

 

Howdy from DFW ....

 

Those are my comments from this thread.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/2003-tundra-4-7-timing-belt-gone-wrong.40477/#post-1029885

1. You got a truck on the cheap because of a busted radiator. Not sure why the previous owner unloaded and entire truck for the cost of a radiator and grill, but who knows what goes on in peoples brains.
2. You started the engine and it ran for 10 seconds before you bought it.
3. Now you're wanted to make sure the engine is truly "good" before investing more money, which I can understand, but since it already started I think that question is answered.

When it started if it didn't sound like this engine, I think you're ok. That being said, I'd look at the spark plugs, do a compression test, and some other investigating before I put much money into it. I'd also be concerned about the condition of the timing belt if you don't know or can trust when it was last changed. My belt was original at 165k when changed and it still looked virtually new. The cracks in your belt have me worried.



https://www.tundras.com/threads/help-with-tapping-noise.46259/#post-1193965

 

Thanks Remington351,
Apologies for not being clear - I never started the engine and I never witnessed it running. This is the PO at their word...
Timing belt looks to be in terrible shape and definetly needs to be replaced.

 

Oh man, that's a new can of worms entirely.

I'd start by confirming the timing marks align to ensure the belt has not jumped. If you feel it binding when rotating the motor, you know you have a problem right there. Wish I could be more help on diagnosing the no start, but it could be so many things. Do an OBD Scan in case it's a dead cam or crank sensor.

 

Thanks,
From the photos I shared in my earlier post, it looks like the timing marks do not align... what are the chances of bent valves? Should I re-time the engine and then give it a try?

 

Welcome from NY.

 

They are completely bent, the pistons have holes punched in the top of them, the motor is junk. Call the wrecker tomorrow and be done with it.

Or...

Since you said you have no experience with this engine, you could confirm for certain, instead of "it looks like", and rotate the crank until the white mark is at "0", then post a pic of the left cam and post a pic of the right cam. Then we will know if the crank and cam are timed correctly. How would you "re-time" the motor if you don't know if the crank and cams are in alignment?