metsno1

About three weeks ago, I noticed a bit of hesitation at startup on my 2000 LS400. I gave it a little gas, started driving, and all was well. Drove fine. No problems.

About a week ago, my wife told me she noticed a bit of similar hesitation.

Then today, she called me and said she was having real trouble with it, like it wanted to stall every time she stopped. It *didn't* stall, but came close. She got it home.

After I got home (after the car had been in the driveway for about an hour), I went out to start it, and it cranked right over but would not reach proper idle RPM. Just barely stayed running. Touched the gas pedal, and it died. Tried this several more times, and now it won't start at all.

Noticing that the fuel pump seems to be doing something unusual: Typically, when I turn the key, I hear the pump run and then click off after the lines are filled and it's ready to start. But now, it never clicks off. I hear the pump run continuously-even if I sit there with the key in the run position for a minute or two.

Yes, the CE light is on, but I have no way of checking the code in my driveway. Will get a code reader tomorrow.

Just thought I'd throw this out there to see if anyone had any thoughts so I don't lose my mind waiting tonight to get the code read.

Bad fuel pump? Bad relay? Dirty MAF?

Thanks!

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

no troubleshooting can be done without the diagnostic code. not even going to try to be a car psychic.

dicer

If memory serves, there has to be a tach or rpm signal to tell the pump to run. It is either something to do with the ecu or a relay is sticking.

metsno1

Huh......went out this afternoon and it started and drove perfectly. No issues at all. CE light is on. Haven't gotten over to Autozone to borrow the code reader yet, though. Hopefully, it will run OK so I can get over there after work. Weird.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

get the code read and get back to us.

Yamae

I suspect the SAE code P17X or TCCS code 25 would apear.

metsno1

So I've just let her sit in the garage this week. Been busy, but went to go move it and discovered something that's completely different!

She sputtered at first, but turned right over. Hunted for the right rpm and settled in as normal. No unusual noises. Everything seemed fine. Quite a bit of smoke out the back though. Hit the gas, and a ton of smoke came out.

Went under the hood to find that oil was leaking onto the manifold (?) right behind the transmission dispstick. I checked the oil, and she's dead empty. Until last week, I hadn't noticed a darn thing wrong. No smells. Nothing to indicate a problem. Now it starts, but I obviously won't let her run without any oil and with a leak.

Could all of these issues have come from a bad gasket/oil leak?

bgalarpe

What kind (color) of smoke? The leak into the manifold is part of the oil loss but if the smoke is blue I would think you have bad valve seals to have that kind of smoke when starting up from sitting for that amount of time.

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

What is the code for the CEL? Have you gotten up under the car to see if there are any obvious oil leaks?

metsno1

So it's been a couple months, and with family visiting for the holidays, I just left the car tucked away in the garage.

I finally got the code reader, and it's just throwing a single P0171, which leads me to believe that it's a bad MAF.

Would that make sense given the symptoms:

Starts OK (I'd call it a normal start) after sitting for extended period.
Stalls often-but not always-after starting.
Hesitates and bucks when under load.
After it stalls, it won't restart for a while.
Not noticing the fuel pump doing anything odd, but I haven't taken it out for a longer drive yet.
Quite a bit of white smoke at startup and under load.

There *was* an oil leak, which I'm pretty sure I identified and rectified.

Planning on pulling and cleaning the maf, clearing the code, and see what happens. Make sense?

metsno1

Hmmmm.......

Am I right in thinking that this kind of MAF can't be cleaned?

Toyota Part # 22204-20010?

metsno1

OK, "cleaned" it with canned compressed air and reinstalled. Huge performance improvement. Only some minor hesitation when accelerating from a full stop. And the CE light went away.

Disconnecting the battery for a while now to reset the computer and see what happens.

Still thinking I might just replace the MAF given that I can get a brand new one for less than $50.

metsno1

And......now it doesn't want to start at all.

First time after reconnecting the battery, it started right up, but the idle was rough and hunted from about 250 rpm to about 1500 rpm-back and forth, until it finally just kicked out.

Then as I tried to start it a few more times, it turned over but died immediately.

Then it just wouldn't start at all.

Battery running down, pretty much dead.

Ugh.....I ordered a new MAF just to start the process. Seem like a reasonable place to start given the P0171?

Thanks for any ideas.

dicer

Check for vacuum leaks, PCV valve and hose, and other cracked or broken vacuum hoses, loose throttle body.
If your not checking the signal the MAF is putting out then its just expensive guess work.

Here something that may help just found it.

metsno1

I figured for $45, I might as well go ahead and put in a new MAF regardless. That'll be here Saturday.

It's only about 8* outside today, so I only did a couple minutes work. Checked out the air filter, and it was pretty nasty. Will replace that right away. I checked the throttle body, and didn't notice any looseness, but I think perhaps I'll go ahead and clean it tomorrow when the temps go up. I'll also use that time to inspect the hoses and look for vac leaks.

Thanks for the ideas!