STUMPED

2001 Tundra been running great. Started right up this morning around noon. It's now 5:30 went to go to the store and it will just turn over. tried it 3 times and stopped since I know this is not normal. Something is wrong just don't know what. First thing comes to mind is fuel delivery, next possibly plugs fouled out somehow, next maybe crankshaft sensor, and I'm sure there's other possible reasons that's why I'm on here. Has anybody ran into this problem? If not does anyone have any suggestions? The truck has 252,000 miles on it. Bought it new in 01 and have kept on top of all scheduled maintenance with OEM parts where necessary. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated

 

Buy or borrow a code reader. Check engine light come on? Engine cranking fast & smooth? Buy gas at your regular gas station? Any recent work performed?

 

I am having a similar problem. The truck starts... but stuggles at time.

2000 Tundra V8.
Had a new Denso starter put in 2022.
Has new Denso spark plugs from last week.
Has 1 new Ignition coil I put in yesterday, and I checked the rest and they were all good.
Has a battery that is about 2-3 years old. I had the batter and alternator checked at the local shop, both are good.

Could it be something fuel related? I'm going to buy a Stethescope today and listen for clicking on the fuel injectors and go from there.

Another interesting bit is the Timing Belt. Could that be it?
The previous owner did the timing belt in 2022 (only has 40k on it). I read that its possible the timing might be slightly off, which is causing a delay in starting? Or perhaps a tooth broke off the belt broke? Would this cause a difficult start? Any signs I can look for to see if its the timing belt?

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Plug in a code reader

 

Dumb question, doesn’t the code reader only work if the vehicle is running? My scan gauge only works when it’s running

 

Did you check all your fuses, including the EFI1/EFI2 fuses under the hood?

Did you check for power at the Fuel Pump Relay socket?

Have you tried spraying starting fluid into the intake manifold to see if it turns over, so you know if it's a fuel delivery problem or not?

Did you try slapping the gas tank a few times to see if it'll catch and turn over? (percussion on the gas tank will often jolt a failing fuel pump to work another time, similar to tappign a starter solenoid)

Did you look for rodents nesting on top of the tank, potentially chewing wires up?

Timing belt must be changed every 100k miles or 10yr, whichever comes first, did you verify it's still intact and your engine isn't fucked?

Either way ... startup problems is kinda covered in the hey, you should read this first megathread. Specifically these two points:

• Starting problems: If your truck won't start, or stutters, it's VIRTUALLY NEVER the fuel filter, as mentioned above. It's also typically NOT the starter, and also typically NOT the fuel pump. There's a wild array of other potential causes. If you recently had the timing belt done, check your crankshaft position sensor wiring harness - it's common for the loom to be reinstalled wrong, so it flops out and gets cut by the serpentine belt. Don't use aftermarket or "universal" relays. Make a new thread, honestly. We see 'no start' issues often. If the truck won't turn over, start by checking your cables for tightness and corrosion, check the starter relay (jumper power to the starter at the socket!), look for an aftermarket alarm, and if you have a double cab or sequoia, make sure there are no immobilizer codes. If the truck does turn over, best next-step is to figure out if it's an ignition/spark problem or a fuel delivery/electrical problem. You can do that by getting a can of starter fluid ("ether") from the parts store and shooting it into the throttle body. If the truck starts, you have either an electrical problem or a fuel delivery problem - and it's important to say: It's rarely the fuel pump!! (unless you previously installed a store brand pump) Instead, it's more likely an issue with the crank position sensor, fuel resistor, ECU, or similar. Start a new thread on the 1st gen forum and someone will try to help you narrow it down.

• These trucks usually don't have a ton of other electrical issues. Hidden corrosion inside the battery/alt cables happens. Sometimes, a couple thousand miles after timing belt changes, people will have startup issues because the crank position sensor wasn't properly tucked away and gets rubbed by a belt (pic), correct routing info here. There's also a similar problem with camshaft position sensor under the cam cover, where the belt will rub through (pics). There's the rodent issues mentioned earlier. 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). Many drain/vampire issues trace back to aftermarket add-ons whether the owner knows they exist or not - alarms as mentioned earlier, brake controllers, poorly installed trailer receptacles, those are some big ones.

Pay special attention to that "CRANK POSITION SENSOR ROUTING" in the 2nd bullet point.

If the timing belt has been changed recently, you need to verify that. The ECU shuts down the fuel pump if the crank position sensor isn't sending feedback. If the engine isn't running, for safety's sake, you don't want the fuel pump to continue dumping fuel.

 

Corroded battery ground cable?

 

Nope, you can read codes even with the truck simply in "ON" position.

 

ecu only need teh powa!

So long as the battery isn't shit, you'll get a read out.

it circumvents all the internet guessing.

 

Sooooo what your saying is your not a fan of the guessing game?
IRL I love the speculation game

 

Read all of the posts and many things mentioned make sense. To answer some questions asked: No rodent issue-battery connections all good tight no corrosion-just filled gas tank Monday at a Kroger store gas station-4 months ago I replaced timing the belt actually I purchased the kit from Rock Auto. Having never done this I knew it would be a challenge. So over a 5 day period, yes 5 days, lol only working on it 2 to 3 hours a night I completed the job. I took my sweet time with everything I did. Plenty of pics during teardown and as things were going back on. The moment of truth, turned key over and it started first turn of the engine. Heck I could swear it started before I even got the key in the ignition...Lol truck has been running perfect. I just put in a new all aluminum 3 core radiator a month ago, no issues so far. Should have done it when I was working on timing belt but I'm 66 years old and sometimes I don't plan things very well. Anyway fuel filter was replaced 2 years ago I believe, all coil packs replaced about 6 years ago, plugs changed about 2 years ago as matter of I just ordered new Denso plugs and coil packs yesterday to replace this weekend. Some other maintenance performed but I don't think any of it is relevant to this issue. I will check fuses as mentioned and other suggestions that were made. Thanks for all the response I will keep you posted on what I find. Later

 

I would try starting fluid to see if it'll fire without gas.

And you are 100% sure you routed the crank position sensor wire correctly when you did the timing belt? Specifically, the span between the blue lines here is critical it be mounted behind the A/C and fan pulley brackets, else it'll get clipped by those pulleys and *poof* no more gas delivery.

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I prefer to just get the answer lol

but that doesn't mean the hamster upstairs doesn't start a fucking running on the wheel (at a million mph due to my anxiety) while I'm plugging in the scanner lol

 

i enjoy the parts cannon. Theres so much room for “while i’m in there” mods.

 

I just ordered some while your in there’s

 

Hopefully you got some round tuits for when they get there. It'd be a shame if you can't get that.

 

I hate I had to say this out loud

 

When i get home, i’ll see if they work.

 

Well let me try this again, I decided to pull a plug and see what it looked like. Didn't like what I saw, soaked with oil gas antifreeze maybe not three but possibly all three. Bottom line it was soaked. Pull plug from right side of engine, dry as a bone!! SO my question is it a head gasket or something worse. I was planning on getting another 250,000 miles out of this truck if I live. Any and all comments/advice welcomed. Thank you

 

Would the truck try to start with starting fluid? Does the coil of the wet cylinder spark a plug? If not the wet plug, then try another. A compression test wouldnt hurt.
If you suspect a leaky injector, i was able to trigger a jeep 4.0 injector with a 9v battery and mostly seal the straw from a can of carb cleaner enough to tell me the injectors werent leaking, but the whole situation was messy & sketchy at best.

 

Next step: Compression and leakdown test.

But I'm going to ask you one more time to go along with the gaggle of questions I asked before but you didn't bother to answer:

DID YOU MAKE SURE THE TIMING BELT IS STILL INTACT?!

Just checking. It only takes a couple of 10mm fasteners loosened on either timing belt cover to allow you to take a peek and check.

If you have the V8, it's a low interference engine - but an interference engine all the same - and if you're one of those people who don't know you need to change rubber timing belts on time (9yr or 90k miles per Toyota), and the belt snapped, the engine may be toast, and you should REALLY stop trying to turn it over.

If the cams aren't spinning but you're dumping gas into the cylinders, it would absolutely appear in the way you've described: Fluid (fuel) in cylinders of one bank, but not on the other.

 

Yes timing belt is still intact. I did however find liquid possibly antifreeze and a bit of oil in cylinder #3. The remaining 7 were dry as normal.

 

Compression/leakdown test time.

Understand, we just had a new owner on here a couple weeks ago who couldn't get his new truck to start, and despite asking multiple times for him to check the timing belt is intact (and ideally check timing, which you should do also), he didn't check it. Only to find out, 3 pages in, that the timing belt was snapped.

 

sounds like a head gasket to me.

and that's coming from a guy who has over heated his engine coming back from a 2.5hr road trip.

so that's odd to me that that would happen.