woaitsj3ff

Now this isn't something that has been recent but has been happening the past month.

A month or so ago, my car every now and then would have a long crank (but would always turn over), and the long crank usually lasts at least a full 3-4 seconds before turning over, sometimes even 5-6 full seconds.
At first I was thinking it was fuel pump, so I replaced that, then I found out I had a rough idle, so I changed the plugs after replacing it, the rough idle went away, later.. I even ran the car under the OBII scanner, and NO codes popped up. Doubt it's injectors since I had them replaced a little while ago.. I have NO CEL, and then later on, the long crank, came up and now it's EVERY time I start the car.

EXCEPT - when the engine is warm (after driving it), it will start up right away like it's supposed to.

I checked in with many mechanics and with people at my shop, even they are dumbfounded. can't seem to find out what's wrong, most people think that it's got to be a sensor or something? possibly in the ignition? Intermittently, every once in a while when I start it up with a long crank, I get a light faint smell of fuel, (it's not the smell with my test pipe/cat delete, it's like raw fuel that isn't burnt).. no clue.. it used to be worse (the smell) but once I changed the plugs, it went away for the most part - only happens once in a blue moon (the smell).



__Sidenote__
This weekend I'm changing my water pump, thermostat, timing belt, coolant flush, and all the works and stuff..

maybe I can think of other ideas then.



--
Again, the car does start up everytime, but hrmm I don't know.
The battery IS pretty new, just got it this March/April, and the connections/clamps are clean and tight.















sorry for the long story, hope it makes some sense, I'm just writing all that comes to my mind at the moment. All jumbled up

Brian231

I think you need to perform and ohms test on the injectors and see where the readings are. Most tests need a special electrical device any shop should have. The car should be warm when testing. I had this issue with a Baretta in high school.

woaitsj3ff

i will try that.
anybody else with more ideas??
Thank you Brian!

5sp_jzz30

iTrader: (2)

a common issue with the toyota v6 engines is the crank position sensor that is on the front of the motor. when you did the water pump and timing belt most likely you unplugged it. sometimes that connection can go bad. i had a few cars that i worked on have that intermittent problem. on one the sensor was not plugged in all the way and the other one the connector had dirt and grime in it causing poor continuity.

check all the fuses as well as the efi relay. it may be going bad.

Deception

iTrader: (1)

i doubt its injectors. try some fuel injector cleanr. jeff what kind of engine oil do you use. 5w30?? have you changed fuel filter???

5w30 you can use down to below -30 degreeserand have no problrm starting because of the viscosity weight of the oil. now if you use 10w30 you might have touugher time dtarting in the cold. anywho it isnt that much cold yet.

i would check if your battery has good charge and if the positive wire to the starter is getting good connection. even if battery is new still double check like buringnthe battery to murray to get tested. batteries do come defective sometimes.

woaitsj3ff

^David,
I use 5w30, and yes I already used fuel injector cleaner.

I'll check the battery again and all that on saturday.

Thanks a bunch guys, keep it coming!

dont want the baby to die on me in the winter!

Brian231

Jeff,

5sp_jzz30 has a good idea about that crank sensor. I still would not discount doing an ohms test if all else fails.

woaitsj3ff

Alright, I will check that out this saturday with ohms tester. hopefully we'll see how the rpms flucuate and if signal runs through.

Brian231

I forgot to mention, obtain the OEM Ohms range per good operational specs. For example, older GM cars were above 8 ohms which performed good.

woaitsj3ff

Worked on the car, got the new timing belt in along with new w. pump, thermo, and the misc. stuff,

found out though that my driver side outer front outer tie rod is starting to go bad, time to fix that too!

But, my long crank issue has gone away, when I was doing the maintenance and such I found out that there was corrosion or something that was causing it to not function right, cleaned it off real good and cleaned the CPS off, and it fired right up ever since.

5sp_jzz30

iTrader: (2)

told ya

it usually is the CPS when those intermittent problems occur

woaitsj3ff

never mind.
Problem came back again today.

Mechanic suggested I upgrade back to premium gas, right now I use 87 octane (for the past 4-5 months-ish because of gas prices),

do you think going back up to 91/93 octane will cure this stupid issue?