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New guy- 2003 V8 is cutting out, thoughts?

Discussion in '4th Gen 4Runners (2003-2009)' started by Seuss, Aug 14, 2017.

  1. Aug 14, 2017 at 7:30 AM
    #1
    Seuss

    Seuss [OP] New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2017
    Member:
    #4574
    Messages:
    2
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    SamIM
    S Central PA
    Vehicle:
    '97 4Runner, '03 4Runner
    1st post! My 2003 4Runner sat for ~6 months, long story, but my son was trying his hand repairing it (brakes) and got "stuck"........
    I just finished the delayed repairs, fired it up, started no problem, drove it around the block and in a 1 mile drive the engine cut out 3 times, makes it interesting with no power steering or brakes.
    It sat w over 3/4's of a tank of gas. A friend has speculated that the gas is bad.
    The truck has ~180k miles, I'm the original owner, it's been flawless from day 1, best vehicle I've ever had.
    Any thoughts??
    Thanks all!!
     
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2017
  2. Aug 14, 2017 at 8:27 AM
    #2
    thefatkid

    thefatkid New Member

    Joined:
    May 24, 2017
    Member:
    #4089
    Messages:
    43
    Gender:
    Male
    Vehicle:
    OldManTan
    4th Gen 4Runner life
    Sat for 6 months? The battery die/removed? My guess is the throttle body needs a cleaning. Once the vehicle looses voltage all the learned values in the ECU are lost, including the throttle angle for base idle speed. As the vehicle ages and carbon/dirt builds up around the throttle plate. The ECU corrects for this by learning a further open throttle angle for idle speed. If the ECU gets set back to defaults there will no longer be enough airflow for correct idle speed.
     
    k1ng_Snoopy likes this.
  3. Aug 14, 2017 at 8:55 AM
    #3
    Seuss

    Seuss [OP] New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2017
    Member:
    #4574
    Messages:
    2
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    SamIM
    S Central PA
    Vehicle:
    '97 4Runner, '03 4Runner
    yes, battery died during the down time.
    how difficult is cleaning the throttle body?
    thank you for the help!

    Sam
     
  4. Aug 14, 2017 at 12:56 PM
    #4
    thefatkid

    thefatkid New Member

    Joined:
    May 24, 2017
    Member:
    #4089
    Messages:
    43
    Gender:
    Male
    Vehicle:
    OldManTan
    4th Gen 4Runner life
    Take the throttle body cover off (the thing that says Iforce). Remove intake tube. Get carb/throttle body cleaner. Spray red rag liberally with cleaner. Move throttle plate open by hand and wiper down dirty surfaces with rag. Assembly in reverse order
     
  5. Mar 21, 2021 at 7:57 PM
    #5
    k1ng_Snoopy

    k1ng_Snoopy New Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2020
    Member:
    #14327
    Messages:
    2
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Paul
    Vehicle:
    2004 4Runner SR5
    I’m having a similar issue in my 04 SR5. Was in the body shop for about 2 months. Got it back and battery had went out. Replaced battery but been experiencing same symptoms. I just recently read on a forum about throttle body reset. Maybe that can help. Didn’t help me so I’m going with mine is bad.
     

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