Why is my 1994 4runner randomly misfiring

65

Asked by Austin Nov 13, 2017 at 03:01 PM about the 1994 Toyota 4Runner 4 Dr SR5 V6 4WD SUV

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I bought a 4runner a month ago and ever since ive had it its been randomly misfiring. Cold or hot it still misfires every so often. Under a load like a steep hill it misfires like crazy. What could be the problem?

10 Answers

22,215

Check the plug wires. If the wires are old, they may be arching instead of firing the spark plug. Take a peek under the hood at night (or in a dark garage) to see if you can see or hear any arcing.

1 people found this helpful.
65

I looked at all the cables and didn't see anything wear or cracks. When it was running I didn't hear or see any sparking.

22,215

Next thing to check would be the cap & rotor and also pull the spark plugs and check for buildup, wear, and gap.

1 people found this helpful.
65

How would I check the cap and rotor? Just look to see if anything is different? I'm 17 and trying to learn more about mechanics. I did take one spark plug out and it looked good. Should I check them all? Pretty hard to get to

22,215

A misfire normally means the spark is not getting to the spark plug. You are looking for carbon build up on the contacts. Here is a YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoZcDY3kCdg

3 people found this helpful.
22,215

Here is another video of how to diagnose an intermittent misfire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXWWPjRr3oY

1 people found this helpful.
40,015

when I was 17 there was no internet , I'd go to the library to read the chilton manual , education is free , certification costs money ,

1 people found this helpful.
65

Those videos helped a lot. So I took the cap and rotor off and they looked good. The rotor did look a little dirty. It wasn't shiny. So should I start with changing the cap and rotor?

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