sc300 died left me stranded, igniter?
07-10-15, 08:59 AM
#31
Tokin is correct where it plugs onto the injector.
on toyota's injector clips and ignition clips are notorious for breaking as soon as you touch them.
so do a visual inspection, maybe even a wiggle test, if you can move it without pressing down the tab, then the connector is shot. its a normal problem on these cars they get brittle and break over time.
it could be related to that or a bad injector or even the ecu still, you will have to keep looking around till you find something.
on toyota's injector clips and ignition clips are notorious for breaking as soon as you touch them.
so do a visual inspection, maybe even a wiggle test, if you can move it without pressing down the tab, then the connector is shot. its a normal problem on these cars they get brittle and break over time.
it could be related to that or a bad injector or even the ecu still, you will have to keep looking around till you find something.
07-12-15, 08:05 AM
#32
Cars running fine now.
So the radiator cap fixed the overheating. After the motor was washed with fuel from the ECU and broken coupler I hadn't changed the oil yet which was why the car was initially smoking after the first start because of all the gas that got mixed into the oil once the cylinders were filled with gas. There was also a broken clip on the IAC valve.
So I changed the oil and as expected lots of gas came out as well in the oil. I then pulled the weather clip for the IAC valve and used contact cleaner to clean it out on both ends.
Then I took it for a drive. No more white smoke. No more fuel smell. It idles at 650-900 depending on what's turned on. No more rough idle. No more overheating. I'm finally free from the hell of my sc300problems as I've affectionately named the car.
Thank you all for your help and patience with me. Without this forum and a little direction from y'all I would be even more lost than I normally am. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
So the radiator cap fixed the overheating. After the motor was washed with fuel from the ECU and broken coupler I hadn't changed the oil yet which was why the car was initially smoking after the first start because of all the gas that got mixed into the oil once the cylinders were filled with gas. There was also a broken clip on the IAC valve.
So I changed the oil and as expected lots of gas came out as well in the oil. I then pulled the weather clip for the IAC valve and used contact cleaner to clean it out on both ends.
Then I took it for a drive. No more white smoke. No more fuel smell. It idles at 650-900 depending on what's turned on. No more rough idle. No more overheating. I'm finally free from the hell of my sc300problems as I've affectionately named the car.
Thank you all for your help and patience with me. Without this forum and a little direction from y'all I would be even more lost than I normally am. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
07-12-15, 12:19 PM
#33
Ignore everything I just said. Went for a quick spin to recycle my oil and its right back to the original problem.i guess the injectors are the only possibility left. So as much as I don't want to do it that's going to be the next thing I check.
Stay tuned. This has been the worst car experience of my life.
Stay tuned. This has been the worst car experience of my life.
04-18-16, 08:38 PM
#34
Update:
So I got the injectors flowed, cleaned, and tested, managed to pull the connectors without breaking them. They were all still tight, so I cleaned them out with contact cleaner and re-installed them with the fresh injectors, and a brand new fuel pressure regulator.
Everything was fine for awhile, and the same problem appears to possibly be re-occurring. There's a noticeably detectable shudder when the car is driving and at times there is what appears to be unburnt fuel getting to the cats and burning as white smoke that smells like gas is coming out of the exhaust.
I'm thinking it's still related to this problem, and I'm starting to think it might be a timing issue. About 1.5 years ago I replaced my distributor myself without a timing light. I'm beginning to think that maybe my timing isn't perfect and that's whats been causing all of my issues.
So recap of what's been addrssed so far.
Distributor - 1/2015
Cap, rotor - 1/2015
Maf cleaned - 3/2015
- Car started smoking and shuddering at idle, so i figured it wasn't getting a complete spark as there was a fuel odor - 8/2014
spark plugs, ignition wires - 8/2014
- car started shuddering and smoking at idle with a fuel smell, stalled on me at idle and would not start up, had to clear the cylinders, the 5th and 6th cylinders had fuel in them. 5/2015
ECU rebuilt - summer/2015
Intake coupler - summer/2015
-rough idle, unburnt fuel, and car stalled and was unable to restart. 8/2015
injectors, fuel pressure regulator - 8/2015
valve cover gaskets - 8/2015
-And now here we are, a rough idle and smoke from the exhaust that smells of fuel, car has not stalled on me yet, but 'm hesitant to take it out to have another tow truck driver pick me up if it does stall. - 4/2016
The car hasn't stalled on me yet recently, but it's doing all of the same things it did before it stalled last time. I've been driving my other car for the time being while I decide how I want to address this. If I got a timing light could I reset the timing myself, or if I bought the timing belt kit, could I just do all of that and reset the timing when I do the timing belt?
I do not know when or if the timing belt has ever been replaced but upon a few different visual inspections it looks fine, so I'm mainly leaning towards it as just some big preventative maintenance to do that might fix my problem, if in fact it's a timing issue.
So is it possible I was slightly off in my timing when re-installing the distributor, or is there possibly another problem causing this?
So I got the injectors flowed, cleaned, and tested, managed to pull the connectors without breaking them. They were all still tight, so I cleaned them out with contact cleaner and re-installed them with the fresh injectors, and a brand new fuel pressure regulator.
Everything was fine for awhile, and the same problem appears to possibly be re-occurring. There's a noticeably detectable shudder when the car is driving and at times there is what appears to be unburnt fuel getting to the cats and burning as white smoke that smells like gas is coming out of the exhaust.
I'm thinking it's still related to this problem, and I'm starting to think it might be a timing issue. About 1.5 years ago I replaced my distributor myself without a timing light. I'm beginning to think that maybe my timing isn't perfect and that's whats been causing all of my issues.
So recap of what's been addrssed so far.
Distributor - 1/2015
Cap, rotor - 1/2015
Maf cleaned - 3/2015
- Car started smoking and shuddering at idle, so i figured it wasn't getting a complete spark as there was a fuel odor - 8/2014
spark plugs, ignition wires - 8/2014
- car started shuddering and smoking at idle with a fuel smell, stalled on me at idle and would not start up, had to clear the cylinders, the 5th and 6th cylinders had fuel in them. 5/2015
ECU rebuilt - summer/2015
Intake coupler - summer/2015
-rough idle, unburnt fuel, and car stalled and was unable to restart. 8/2015
injectors, fuel pressure regulator - 8/2015
valve cover gaskets - 8/2015
-And now here we are, a rough idle and smoke from the exhaust that smells of fuel, car has not stalled on me yet, but 'm hesitant to take it out to have another tow truck driver pick me up if it does stall. - 4/2016
The car hasn't stalled on me yet recently, but it's doing all of the same things it did before it stalled last time. I've been driving my other car for the time being while I decide how I want to address this. If I got a timing light could I reset the timing myself, or if I bought the timing belt kit, could I just do all of that and reset the timing when I do the timing belt?
I do not know when or if the timing belt has ever been replaced but upon a few different visual inspections it looks fine, so I'm mainly leaning towards it as just some big preventative maintenance to do that might fix my problem, if in fact it's a timing issue.
So is it possible I was slightly off in my timing when re-installing the distributor, or is there possibly another problem causing this?
Last edited by eknine9; 04-19-16 at 12:11 AM.
04-19-16, 08:53 AM
#35
out of all the times I have reinstalled a distributor, I have never once got the timing right before adjusting it with the timing light, and I follow the procedure in the book to the T. I would start there, I got the simple timing light off amazon it was like $30-35.
only do the timing belt if its time or needed, Its not the most difficult job on a 2jz but its not as easy as checking the timing either.
Plus when you check timing its actually kind of fun to use the light.
only do the timing belt if its time or needed, Its not the most difficult job on a 2jz but its not as easy as checking the timing either.
Plus when you check timing its actually kind of fun to use the light.
04-19-16, 10:54 AM
#37
yes, loosen the bolt and turn left and right to get it to about 9-10 degrees. If that wont get it in range, then when you inserted the distributor it was off a tooth, which happens all the time.
then you need to start over, put motor to TDC, remove and restab the distributor. sometimes it helps to align the notches then turn it back a click cause sometimes the gear moves as you insert it into the head, just depends on what position its sitting at.
when you put the jumper in TE1 and E1, you should hear the engine change in sound. If you do not hear the engine change in sound at all, then there may be an issue with the tps.
what happens is when you put the jumper in the car goes from regular timing to base timing and the couple degrees you can hear the engine change in sound. if you don't hear it usually that means the tps is not in the right spot or is bad, because the ecu wants to see the "IDL" from the tps is activated to go to base timing, as in you have to be idling to set the base timing, which makes sense if you think about it. so if the ecu does not go into the "set timing mode" due to a bad tps and you adjust it to 10, your base timing will actually be much lower than that and incorrect.
then you need to start over, put motor to TDC, remove and restab the distributor. sometimes it helps to align the notches then turn it back a click cause sometimes the gear moves as you insert it into the head, just depends on what position its sitting at.
when you put the jumper in TE1 and E1, you should hear the engine change in sound. If you do not hear the engine change in sound at all, then there may be an issue with the tps.
what happens is when you put the jumper in the car goes from regular timing to base timing and the couple degrees you can hear the engine change in sound. if you don't hear it usually that means the tps is not in the right spot or is bad, because the ecu wants to see the "IDL" from the tps is activated to go to base timing, as in you have to be idling to set the base timing, which makes sense if you think about it. so if the ecu does not go into the "set timing mode" due to a bad tps and you adjust it to 10, your base timing will actually be much lower than that and incorrect.
04-19-16, 11:15 PM
#38
yes, loosen the bolt and turn left and right to get it to about 9-10 degrees. If that wont get it in range, then when you inserted the distributor it was off a tooth, which happens all the time.
then you need to start over, put motor to TDC, remove and restab the distributor. sometimes it helps to align the notches then turn it back a click cause sometimes the gear moves as you insert it into the head, just depends on what position its sitting at.
when you put the jumper in TE1 and E1, you should hear the engine change in sound. If you do not hear the engine change in sound at all, then there may be an issue with the tps.
what happens is when you put the jumper in the car goes from regular timing to base timing and the couple degrees you can hear the engine change in sound. if you don't hear it usually that means the tps is not in the right spot or is bad, because the ecu wants to see the "IDL" from the tps is activated to go to base timing, as in you have to be idling to set the base timing, which makes sense if you think about it. so if the ecu does not go into the "set timing mode" due to a bad tps and you adjust it to 10, your base timing will actually be much lower than that and incorrect.
then you need to start over, put motor to TDC, remove and restab the distributor. sometimes it helps to align the notches then turn it back a click cause sometimes the gear moves as you insert it into the head, just depends on what position its sitting at.
when you put the jumper in TE1 and E1, you should hear the engine change in sound. If you do not hear the engine change in sound at all, then there may be an issue with the tps.
what happens is when you put the jumper in the car goes from regular timing to base timing and the couple degrees you can hear the engine change in sound. if you don't hear it usually that means the tps is not in the right spot or is bad, because the ecu wants to see the "IDL" from the tps is activated to go to base timing, as in you have to be idling to set the base timing, which makes sense if you think about it. so if the ecu does not go into the "set timing mode" due to a bad tps and you adjust it to 10, your base timing will actually be much lower than that and incorrect.
04-25-16, 08:24 PM
#39
Alright so I did it, I think I did it right too, but I'm too tired to go for a drive tonight and risk having to find a tow at 11pm when I got work tomorrow.
Just a quick question.
When I reset it, I reset it so the little white line on the harmonic balancer was right at 10 degrees. Is that how it's supposed to be set, or is there some other marker I'm supposed to use to set it? The car was running and sounded fine, and there was no more white smoke from the exhaust and it didn't stall out or bog down on me, but I'm always a little apprehensive about this car, whenever I think I've fixed something it always seems to break down the next week.
Also you were right, using the timing light, and adjusting timing was quite fun. It was kind of nice to actually hear the motor change when the port was jumped and when the distributor was twisted just a bit. Some mods and repairs kind of suck and don't offer much satisfaction, but this actually felt like fixing something. I definitely will never pull another distributor without a timing light, and this also makes me feel much more confident about doing the timing belt myself whenever I actually do get around to it.
Just a quick question.
When I reset it, I reset it so the little white line on the harmonic balancer was right at 10 degrees. Is that how it's supposed to be set, or is there some other marker I'm supposed to use to set it? The car was running and sounded fine, and there was no more white smoke from the exhaust and it didn't stall out or bog down on me, but I'm always a little apprehensive about this car, whenever I think I've fixed something it always seems to break down the next week.
Also you were right, using the timing light, and adjusting timing was quite fun. It was kind of nice to actually hear the motor change when the port was jumped and when the distributor was twisted just a bit. Some mods and repairs kind of suck and don't offer much satisfaction, but this actually felt like fixing something. I definitely will never pull another distributor without a timing light, and this also makes me feel much more confident about doing the timing belt myself whenever I actually do get around to it.
04-26-16, 11:48 AM
#41
I just went for a brief drive today and the idle is insanely smooth now, however the CEL flashed on a few times when I was driving, so that'll be a whole nother can of worms to tackle. The car drove fine and felt good though so I have no idea what the CEL could be for or why it didn't stay on. I'll jump the diagnostic port again and see if I can figure out what the code might be for, it could be leftover though. When I did the injectors, I had to reconnect the battery while the rail was off so I could open the gas cap and relieve the pressure. I don't know if it would've stored any codes from that, and I also turned the acc on before I put the intake inlet back on to test to make sure the rail wasn't leaking before I put everything back together.
The first time I did it, I didn't test for leaks, and I had forgotten the crush washer at the back of the fuel rail, so of course it leaked and I had to go all the way back in there just to put the crush washer on. Man did I feel stupid about that.
04-26-16, 01:32 PM
#42
yeah to the left is advanced so it must have been misfiring and knocking and then adding fuel etc.. which makes it drive terribly. I am glad you went ahead and corrected it and its driving well.
give it a couple more drives to sort itself out, I know if it flashes at you then that means something to do with a misfire, and the cat can be hurt from extra fuel but it could also be something else coming in and out or maybe a connector got loose. let us know how it goes, hopefully it sorted itself out.
there is a good chance your plugs were worn cause the advanced motor is hard on plugs as combustion pressure increases with timing. and a worn or faulty plug can cause an occasional misfire that will flash the cel at you. its probably not bad enough to misfire all the time just under certain loads... anyways that is just my best guess cause I read about it before. one of the reasons you have a tuning set of plugs and then you go to a fresh set of plugs (the other is overly rich mixtures fouling out plugs). it might be a good idea to do plugs in the near future unless it clears up, sometimes the plugs can clean themselves off they just need to heatcycle a few times. if its damaged though it will only get worse.
give it a couple more drives to sort itself out, I know if it flashes at you then that means something to do with a misfire, and the cat can be hurt from extra fuel but it could also be something else coming in and out or maybe a connector got loose. let us know how it goes, hopefully it sorted itself out.
there is a good chance your plugs were worn cause the advanced motor is hard on plugs as combustion pressure increases with timing. and a worn or faulty plug can cause an occasional misfire that will flash the cel at you. its probably not bad enough to misfire all the time just under certain loads... anyways that is just my best guess cause I read about it before. one of the reasons you have a tuning set of plugs and then you go to a fresh set of plugs (the other is overly rich mixtures fouling out plugs). it might be a good idea to do plugs in the near future unless it clears up, sometimes the plugs can clean themselves off they just need to heatcycle a few times. if its damaged though it will only get worse.
04-26-16, 03:01 PM
#43
yeah to the left is advanced so it must have been misfiring and knocking and then adding fuel etc.. which makes it drive terribly. I am glad you went ahead and corrected it and its driving well.
give it a couple more drives to sort itself out, I know if it flashes at you then that means something to do with a misfire, and the cat can be hurt from extra fuel but it could also be something else coming in and out or maybe a connector got loose. let us know how it goes, hopefully it sorted itself out.
there is a good chance your plugs were worn cause the advanced motor is hard on plugs as combustion pressure increases with timing. and a worn or faulty plug can cause an occasional misfire that will flash the cel at you. its probably not bad enough to misfire all the time just under certain loads... anyways that is just my best guess cause I read about it before. one of the reasons you have a tuning set of plugs and then you go to a fresh set of plugs (the other is overly rich mixtures fouling out plugs). it might be a good idea to do plugs in the near future unless it clears up, sometimes the plugs can clean themselves off they just need to heatcycle a few times. if its damaged though it will only get worse.
give it a couple more drives to sort itself out, I know if it flashes at you then that means something to do with a misfire, and the cat can be hurt from extra fuel but it could also be something else coming in and out or maybe a connector got loose. let us know how it goes, hopefully it sorted itself out.
there is a good chance your plugs were worn cause the advanced motor is hard on plugs as combustion pressure increases with timing. and a worn or faulty plug can cause an occasional misfire that will flash the cel at you. its probably not bad enough to misfire all the time just under certain loads... anyways that is just my best guess cause I read about it before. one of the reasons you have a tuning set of plugs and then you go to a fresh set of plugs (the other is overly rich mixtures fouling out plugs). it might be a good idea to do plugs in the near future unless it clears up, sometimes the plugs can clean themselves off they just need to heatcycle a few times. if its damaged though it will only get worse.
05-24-16, 07:06 PM
#45
I replaced the spark plugs, and It seems to be a bit smoother. Before I replaced the spark plugs though I noticed that if I tried to start it on an incline it wouldn't start the first time, and I had to start it a second time. It hasn't done that since I replaced the spark plugs, but every now and then the CEL flashes still, but doesn't stay on. Could there be anything else that I could do to get that to stop or fix the CEL, anything else you could think of that may have been affected by driving on it with poor timing? Are there any other general maintenance issues I should be looking at right now after the timing adjustment?
I'm still driving it rather sparingly, and not going further than 10 or so miles away, and only just in the evenings for fun, and not to actually go anywhere.
I'm still driving it rather sparingly, and not going further than 10 or so miles away, and only just in the evenings for fun, and not to actually go anywhere.