[SloMoJo]

So I'm driving outta the parking lot this morn from an appt ... car just dies.
Start her up ...fine ..put in gear ..dies. Repeat 3X.

Had her towed to the shop ...thank you AAA ... missed 2 meetings this morn.
She's at the shop and I'm back working from home.

Ole 99 4Runner I have squeaked out 190K on ..looking forward to the 200k mark.
Only hint was ..temp gauge went off the chart, but it's not actually overheated...plenty fluid.

Here's the 2 questions I pose to this group of smarty pantie people:

1. What do you think the problem is?

2. What do you guess this is gonna cost me?

 

[IH8Rice]

the temp gauge went off the chart but it didnt overheat??

 

[jimmydean]

Hope it's not a head gasket. I would have checked the dip stick for chocolate milk.

 

[Westy]

Try it later.

 

[JetTeach]

Check the positive battery cable. If it loses contact momentarily it will kill the fuel pump. Had a Chevy truck that did this for years until I figured it out. The cable may seem tight but check it anyway.

 

[jonKranked]

i had a '98 tacoma that i had a few odd, but minor, issues with that may have been similar to your situation

-starter died. had to replace the starter cylinder in the platty parking lot

-i had overheat issues. twice. bad radiator block both times. dunno how the f that happened.

-misfire cylinder #2. apparently this was a known issue for the vehicle. truck got "warrantied" and bought back by toyota before this got properly diagnosed and repaired. i think i dodged a big expensive bullet here tho

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

the temp gauge went off the chart but it didnt overheat??

?????????????????

 

[eaterofdog]

Thermostat?

 

[sstalder5]

Check the positive battery cable. If it loses contact momentarily it will kill the fuel pump. Had a Chevy truck that did this for years until I figured it out. The cable may seem tight but check it anyway.

This happened to my buddy's 98 4runner. They ended up replacing the alt before they figured it out. Don't know about the temp gauge though..

 

[ICEBALL585]

Kick the car, curse at it, then drink a beer. Repeat if necessary.

 

[IH8Rice]

?????????????????

sorry, did that not make sense? cause i dont know how a temp gauge can spike and not be overheating. unless its a bad temp gauge of course

 

[JetTeach]

The guage spike could just be an anomoly from the momentary loss of power.

 

[CBJ]

You need a new car and you need to only consult the monkey about what to buy.

John you had Tacoma - who knew

 

[kazlx]

My money is on electrical. I'm with JetTeach, the temp gauge is just a byproduct of an electrical issue. Something interfering/shorting with the ignition or fuel pump.

 

[C.P.]

a car this age could have a plugged up radiator (internally), tons of guesses as to why it could have stalled...both of the problems may or may not be related

 

[IH8Rice]

if it was an electrical issue, his other gauges would go haywire too. not just his temp gauge.

 

[kazlx]

Did it just cut out or did it sputter and die?

 

[kazlx]

if it was an electrical issue, his other gauges would go haywire too. not just his temp gauge.

Depends on what it is.

 

[jonKranked]

John you had Tacoma - who knew

how'd you miss that thread? it was way over 300 posts.

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/f2/rip-derp-truck-245924/

 

[kazlx]

In all honesty, I don't think whatever it is will be expensive...the hard part may just be finding the cause since it could be quite a few different things. Depends on how good the shop is.

 

[C.P.]

another guess...

Does this engine have one serpentine belt doing the cooling fan & alternator? No belt, equals no cooling fan - possible hot engine if in slow/stop traffic, and with no alternator, well now your running off just the battery. It's possible it stalled b/c you had drained the batt low enough so the coil couldn't produce spark...

edit - nope, you couldn't have tried to start it 3X if batt was dead...bad guess

 

[Scrub]

Flux Capacitor needs more plutonium.
One million dollars
2 weeks
Trade it in for another Taco

 

[berkshire_rider]

What do you guess this is gonna cost me?

$796.34

 

[Pesqueeb]

I'm with electrical issue or possible wire harness issue, assuming the car didn't actually over heat.

 

[Jim Mac]

Thermostat?

That happened to me in my 98 subie: needed a new thermostat. Didn't die, though.

 

[kazlx]

Thermostat won't cause a car not to run.

 

[ultraNoob]

4runner

check/clean throttle bore for excess carbon
check/clean idle air control valve for excess carbon

stalling and temp gauge symptoms may not be related
temp gauge input on 98 toyota is by a separate temp sensor
temp input for ECU is from coolant temp sensor

 

[SloMoJo]

That was me this morn.
Fortunately ...Mark at the shop is a smarter monkey.

Just called me ... He asked ..
"Have you used you remote car starter lately?"

I had not even thought of that ... Duh.
He said a shorted wired by the brakes was causing the security feature of the remote starter thingie to trip.
I have to press the brakes to put in gear ..that was tripping it.

The temp thing is still a mystery ...maybe electrical weirdness. He has cut the problem wire and going to take it for a drive and report back.

This may not be so bad after all.

 

[ultraNoob]

I hate remote start features.

 

[IH8Rice]

hopefully he knows what he is doing with remote starters. "cutting the problem wire" can/could be a bigger cluster F then it currently is...ive seen plenty of these "solutions" in my shop

 

[SloMoJo]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

hopefully he knows what he is doing with remote starters. "cutting the problem wire" can/could be a bigger cluster F then it currently is...ive seen plenty of these "solutions" in my shop

Good point man ...I called the place that installed it. Down the road from the shop.
They said bring it in after the shop is done and they will sort it out.

200k is still in sight.

 

[kazlx]

I swear....every damn electrical problem I've had on a used car leads back to some dip**** that installed/fixed an alarm.

 

[Pesqueeb]

I hate remote start features.

hopefully he knows what he is doing with remote starters. "cutting the problem wire" can/could be a bigger cluster F then it currently is...ive seen plenty of these "solutions" in my shop

The stupid remote start harness someone left in the Subie was the problem I had with all my lights way back when. Is it really that effing hard to just walk out and start your car when its cold you pvssies?

 

[jdcamb]

EMD from the Sun. Randomly fire a gun in the air until you out of bullets. Thats what I would do.....

 

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

the temp gauge went off the chart but it didnt overheat??

Thermostat?

this is my guess.

 

[SkaredShtles]

The stupid remote start harness someone left in the Subie was the problem I had with all my lights way back when. Is it really that effing hard to just walk out and start your car when its cold you pvssies?

While we're ranting I'd like to rant about the remote lock/unlock/alarm feature. When that system goes to $hit it causes no end of fvcking problems. Is it really so difficult to just press the "lock" button when you get out of the car? And who the FVCK worries about their car getting stolen? 'Specially when it's a goddam 15 year old Subaru??

 

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

While we're ranting I'd like to rant about the remote lock/unlock/alarm feature. When that system goes to $hit it causes no end of fvcking problems. Is it really so difficult to just press the "lock" button when you get out of the car? And who the FVCK worries about their car getting stolen? 'Specially when it's a goddam 15 year old Subaru??

I <3 my Jeep for this very reason.....didn't even come with key fobs.

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

sorry, did that not make sense? cause i dont know how a temp gauge can spike and not be overheating. unless its a bad temp gauge of course

i mean i have the same question.

if the water temp went thru the roof, and the engine starts stalling after that, besides whatever issue (thermostat/electrical/dirty throttle/idle body) it had in the first place, there is a good chance the head gasket is gone and head might be warped.

 

[Pesqueeb]

I <3 my Jeep for this very reason.....didn't even come with key fobs.

I've never locked my doors on my jeep in 10+ years.

 

[IH8Rice]

i mean i have the same question.

if the water temp went thru the roof, and the engine starts stalling after that, besides whatever issue (thermostat/electrical/dirty throttle/idle body) it had in the first place, there is a good chance the head gasket is gone and head might be warped.

agreed