2.7 not firing on all 4 cylinders

[Gideonvanzyl]

As luck would have it. My wife used my hilux today while her car was in for a cambelt service, not a cheap service.

Well, long story short, she broke my hilux. It's not running on all 4 cylinders tonight when I started it up to park it in the garage. I checked and the last cylinder, the one against the firewall is dead. Will it be a correct diagnoses if I say the plug is dead? What is the chances that it can be the coil?

How do I test if its the coil? Do I have to change the plugs?

thanks

[FJCruiser-ZN]

Gideon, I had a similar problem not too long ago turned out to be a faulty injector.

The only way to find out for sure is a process of elimination.

Start with the plug, then test the plug leads and coils. The specs / test procedure can be download under "Workshop Manuals "

There is a water temperature sensor at the back of the cylinder head that feeds information to the ECU. This sensor also causes poor engine performance.

I battled for almost 5 weeks, because my Hilux ran fine and then suddenly limp. I even removed the fuel tank to check for water. Believe me the way the tank/pickup is constructed, there needs to be a fair amount of water in the tank before the fuel pump will suck it up.

I hope you find the problem soon, keep us posted.

T

[Hoppy]

Swop the spark plug leads at the coil that fires no 1 & 4, if the problem shifts to no 1, it can be the coil, but it is unlikely.

[Gideonvanzyl]

Swop the spark plug leads at the coil that fires no 1 & 4, if the problem shifts to no 1, it can be the coil, but it is unlikely.

Thanks for the tip Allen, I'll check tomorrow.

[truckin]

Nee Wat Gideon ek dink sy's nou te stukkend om reg te maak, jy moet haar maar aan my verkooop...

[Tokkie]

Myne het ook so gemis fire toe is dit n gekraakde head. Sterkte ek hoop dit net die plugs.

[Gideonvanzyl]

Nee Wat Gideon ek dink sy's nou te stukkend om reg te maak, jy moet haar maar aan my verkooop...

en wat sal jy nogal wil betaal vir hierdie wille perd?

[Gideonvanzyl]

Ek gooi toe 'n draai vandag na werk by my swaertjie want die wil ook gou kyk of hy die fout kan optel. So maak hy die injectors los om bietjie daar te kyk. Ons check toe sommer die plugs ook, die lyk nog spliternuut. Nou ja, sit toe maar weer terug en met die start pis die petrol by die nr 4 silinder se o ring verby. Met die afhaal en terugsit van die injectors moes die o ring versteur geword het nou lek hy so erg dat my hilux net daar op die driveway moes bly staan vir die nag. Hoop my tires en rims oorleef die nag. Gaan seker maar min slaap vanaand met my wa op iemand anders se werf.

Ek gaan maar more nuwe o rings koop en insit, sommer al 4. Dan moet ek my hilux by die huis kry en die injectors weer afhaal en laat toets.

Dankie almal vir die raad en advise, ek sal julle 'n update gee as ek hom weer aan die loop het.

[Gideonvanzyl]

My hilux don't have a miss fire, number 4 is completely dead, run on only 3 cylinders.

What I have done so far is to check the plugs, changed number 4 with number 1, still no 4 cylinder is dead confirmation its not the plug. I then checked the plug lead for a spark and it sparks when I put a plug in the lead and touch it against the engine. Lead ruled out. I then checked the coil, changed no 1 with no 4 and number 4 cylinder is still dead. Not the coil, when I pull the plug leads from the coil while running, I see plenty spark on both 1 and 4.

I have no idea what else it can be. If an injector is faulty, will it still send petrol to the cylinder? When the injector seal got damaged on no 4, petrol came out with a force. I fitted a new seal at a price of R114 for piece and that was resolved. Only the stealers could help me, no one else have these seals. I think its a rip off to pay that much for a small piece of rubber.

What else must I look for? Could it be an electric issue? I am going to phone around tomorrow to have the injectors tested. Hopefully its not going to cost me an arm and a leg.

Any advise will be appreciated.

[Thabogrobler]

Logic tells me if it has spark and fuel, it must run?

You have fuel outside the injector, but not on the inside?

[FJCruiser-ZN]

Swop no 4 injector with no 2 and see if the problem shifts to no 2. If so the injector is toast. R1300 for a new injector.

The faulty injector on my 2.7i was intermittent, so the truck rode fine for a couple of days and then all of a sudden with a miss.

T

[Gideonvanzyl]

You have fuel outside the injector, but not on the inside?[/quote]

No, the fuel did came past the seal when the seal was damaged due to the removal and refitting of the injector rail. That's why I say the injector is letting through fuel by the manner it was pumping fuel past the seal. I replaced the seal so no more fuel is leaking past the seal.

[Gideonvanzyl]

Swop no 4 injector with no 2 and see if the problem shifts to no 2. If so the injector is toast. R1300 for a new injector.

The faulty injector on my 2.7i was intermittent, so the truck rode fine for a couple of days and then all of a sudden with a miss.

T

Thanks, I'll try it but it will have to wait until I get time one evening to strip it out. My 2.7 is not running intermittent, its permanent on 3 cylinders now. I drove it on short distances to test. When I start her up she is immediately on 3 cylinders.
I hope it is easy to remove the injectors off the rail so I can swop them. Would not want to break one in the process. Any advise on how to remove them from the rail? Where did you pay R1300 for the injector? Toyota quoted me over R2000.

[Family_Dog]

Had the same after we washed the engines. Replacing the plug cables solved the problem. Look carefully for any sign of moisture in the rubber insulator, the one that fits on the spark plug. In my case, it was also cylinder #4. Spraying it with WD40 provided a temporary cure, replacing the plug harness produced a permanent cure.


-F_D

[Hiluxfan_111]

It sounds like you have eliminated any problems on the HT side.
If you don’t find a fault on the injector etc. the next step has to be a compression test. :|

[LouisZ]

Is the 2 wires on the plug of the injector still on? Another way of doing it is to put separate 12v on the injector, polarity do not matter. Hear if the injector clicks, if it does it is fine. If not it will be the faulty injector.

[FJCruiser-ZN]

Sorry mate, just checked the invoice. R2194.83 for an injector.

Swop no 4 injector with no 2 and see if the problem shifts to no 2. If so the injector is toast. R1300 for a new injector.

The faulty injector on my 2.7i was intermittent, so the truck rode fine for a couple of days and then all of a sudden with a miss.

T

Where did you pay R1300 for the injector? Toyota quoted me over R2000.

[ForYota]

Sticky Valve perhaps, seeing that you have fuel and spark??

I'd go for a compression test..

[Gideonvanzyl]

Sticky Valve perhaps, seeing that you have fuel and spark??

I'd go for a compression test..

Yes, I am going to take it for a compression test after I tested the injector. I can only do it Saturday so will give feedback then.

[Gideonvanzyl]

Is the 2 wires on the plug of the injector still on? Another way of doing it is to put separate 12v on the injector, polarity do not matter. Hear if the injector clicks, if it does it is fine. If not it will be the faulty injector.

Yes, I checked it. Both wires are fine. I am going to try the separate 12v test before I take it for the compression test on Saturday. Thanks for the tip.

[Hiluxfan_111]

You can do a crude compression test yourself.
Remove three of the four sparkplugs then turn the motor over a few times on the starter. Start with one on the cylinders that you know is good. Then remove that plug and put it into no 4 cylinder and turn the engine again. If there is a serious loss in compression you will immediately see and hear a difference.
You can also get a cheapy tester from a spares shop. They should not be very expensive and good enough for home use.

[Gideonvanzyl]

Okay, the injector is faulty. I did the 12v battery test and nothing happened. I then checked for power on the coil wires that plugs into the injector, all fine. I then changed number 3 injector with number 4. After start up I then removed the plug lead from cylinder number 3 and the motor idled without any change, still running on 3 cylinders. Number 4 was running now again but number 3 was not.

I called Toyota Parts this morning and they don't have any in stock, have to order it from Toyota SA. Somerset West might have x1 available, but I will only know by Monday.

Have anyone of you used fuel line cleaner before? I was advised to put a bottle in the tank so it can clean out the fuel line and injectors. Is it a good idea? I don't want the other injectors failing on me. Will the vehicle smoke?

Thanks everyone for the advise.

[FJCruiser-ZN]

Hi Gideon, before replacing the injector on my 2.7i, Toyota did a high pressure chemical flush on the fuel system. The chemical flush is supposed the clean the fuel line and injectors. The process cost me R500.00 + 1 hour labour + VAT, about R1000.00 in total. The machine they use does a diagnostic of the fuel system at the same time. Anyhow, the diagnostic didn't pick up the faulty injector, as the report showed all the injectors were within spec. A week later I replaced a faulty injector. Don't waste your money on a flush, rather replace the fuel filter. Petrol these days have built in additives to keep things clean.
T

[Gideonvanzyl]

Hi Gideon, before replacing the injector on my 2.7i, Toyota did a high pressure chemical flush on the fuel system. The chemical flush is supposed the clean the fuel line and injectors. The process cost me R500.00 + 1 hour labour + VAT, about R1000.00 in total. The machine they use does a diagnostic of the fuel system at the same time. Anyhow, the diagnostic didn't pick up the faulty injector, as the report showed all the injectors were within spec. A week later I replaced a faulty injector. Don't waste your money on a flush, rather replace the fuel filter. Petrol these days have built in additives to keep things clean.
T

Thanks Tony. I also don't feel comfortable with the fuel line cleaners. My feeling are, it might just do damage to the rubber pipes and rubber seals. My plan is to replace the fuel filter.

[LouisZ]

Glad you found the Culprit.

[Gideonvanzyl]

Update: I went to Toyota in Cape Town Monday to go pick up the injector they ordered from the Somerset West branch x1 of 2 available in the Western Cape. On arrival the injector looked somewhat different to mine. I did not take a sample, for Toyota order the parts according to the vin number. It's almost impossible that the part won't be the correct part, according to them. I took the sample in today and they admitted it's not the correct injector they ordered. Now they have to order it from the factory, which apparently is busy with a strike. I have no idea how long this is going to take to get the part. Hopefully I will have it by Friday.

Meanwhile I bought a new fuel filter from Toyota today and with a 20% discount I paid R425 for it, hell but it's expensive. I wanted the genuine part, don't want to mess around with the other injectors. Toyota charged me R2157 for x1 injector. Expensive is not the correct word. This exercise is already costing me R3000

[LouisZ]

Some 3RZ models in the years has diff shape injectors. Sometimes also lengths.

[Gideonvanzyl]

Got the correct new injector from Toyota Culemborg today. R2037 I paid for it, managed to get some discount on it. Got home fitted the new seals, I replaced all 4 seals. Fitted the new injector, fitted the rail and 20 min later she was running like a new 2.7 again.

Thanks guys for all the support and advise, I learnt a lot in the process. I guess I saved myself some bucks by doing the work myself.
I could not have done it without you guys. I hope the hilux is going to give me a trouble free ride later this month to Baviaanskloof and back. Can't wait.

[Samurai]

[FJCruiser-ZN]

Got the correct new injector from Toyota Culemborg today. R2037 I paid for it, managed to get some discount on it. Got home fitted the new seals, I replaced all 4 seals. Fitted the new injector, fitted the rail and 20 min later she was running like a new 2.7 again.

Thanks guys for all the support and advise, I learnt a lot in the process. I guess I saved myself some bucks by doing the work myself.
I could not have done it without you guys. I hope the hilux is going to give me a trouble free ride later this month to Baviaanskloof and back. Can't wait.

Glad you're sorted.
So you've also got an injector on the mantelpiece
T