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Small Cabin Forum / General Forum / The Spring Move
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Nobadays
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2021 10:37
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Dang! We were all set to take off today for the cabin, but got a text from the caretakers last Wednesday telling us there was still 20" of snow on 75% of our road. Slushy snow as the temps have been in the 50's and 60's the last week or so and barely freezing at night... spring has sprung! They recommended waiting another week so here we sit.

Going next Sunday regardless as even if there is still snow on the road we might be able to drive it, if it is hard packed from our snowmobile trail. Hopefully I can get the Tracker running (it wouldn't start the day before we left in February. ) If I knew it would run we would be on the road now. It goes on snow, mud and rocks! Unfortunately with +25% of our mile of road bare of snow, it just isn't conducive to running the snowmobile up and down it. Really, really rocky.

A friend here who is WAY into Trackers/Sidekicks believes from my description of the problem.... fires once then floods out, yeah and I didn't think to hold my foot to the floor.... that it is the fuel pressure regulator. He has a spare he will sell me for a good price so if I'm lucky that will be the problem. I'm also taking a new coil... had fire but seemed weak... new cap, rotor and plugs though I just put new ones of these in, but that doesn't mean they are good! New parts seem to be hit and miss these days. My friend didn't think it would be the ECU/ECM as computer fails usually mean no fuel and mine is definitely flooding out.

Anyway, 80's here in N, Central AZ last week... supposed to drop to the mid 70's this week but that signals time to head back to Colorado! Place here all set, automatic watering system tuned up and flowers are just starting to bloom... do miss not seeing our gardens in bloom but dont miss the hot weather!

toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 4 Apr 2021 11:52
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Nobadays, from prior explanation, its a flooded condition. This happens on cold days if you just barely start it and move it short distance and shut it back off.

Just floor it, hopefully battery is good and hot, but I doubt it, so bring a charger and your honda genny or a new battery.

Also, a flooded engine can loosen carbon deposits from combustion chamber and they end up on the valve seats, so it may sound like the plugs are out of it during cranking (cranks real easily) just ignore it, moving valves and air will clear it, just hold to floor and crank, the excess fuel will start to move out, it will blubber and chug and finally start to run, keep it to floor till it isnt blubbering and then back off to avoid overspeed as it smootths out and then she will be silky smooth. Let it warm up. Geo Tracker uses lots of ND or Nippon-Denso parts, now just called Denso and they are top notch, superior over engineered stuff, so doubt the pressure regulator is bad or coil.

Nobadays
Member
# Posted: 4 Apr 2021 12:18
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Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech
Just floor it, hopefully battery is good and hot, but I doubt it, so bring a charger and your honda genny or a new battery.


Thanks Toyota! I have a solar battery maintainer on it so battery should be up.... not a tiny one but a 20w with a charge controller. I'm just trying to cover all my bases. I pulled the plugs and burned out the cylinders multiple times but every time I put the plugs back in, same thing... one sputter then flooded. Hopefully it was just the cold. I'll let you know!

I'm hoping I can get the tracks off it right after we get up there. Supposed to meet family in southern Utah around the third week of April for a week of hiking and exploring in Capitol Reef, would love to tow the Tracker over there!

toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 4 Apr 2021 15:27
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Just remember, all the way to the floor, anything short, the ECU will command fuel, wide open during cranking, the injectors will not inject fuel.

Nobadays
Member
# Posted: 4 Apr 2021 15:49
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jsahara24
Member
# Posted: 5 Apr 2021 07:16
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Good luck with the tracker and sounds like you need to add a 4 wheeler to the collection! haha....

rpe
Member
# Posted: 5 Apr 2021 08:31
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Good info from Toyota there for un-flooding. I would go one step further, and pull the fuel pump fuse out, then crank with throttle to the floor. This is just in case something is wonky with pedal/cable/TPS such that it doesn't send the correct signal to the computer regarding wide open throttle position. If computer thinks it's 75% throttle, it'll happily hose more fuel in while you're cranking, just making the situation worse. If you pull the fuel pump fuse out while unflooding, the injectors can fire away, but there will be no fuel pressure to inject fuel, and you can unflood with confidence. Then pop the fuse back in, and re-start.

Nobadays
Member
# Posted: 5 Apr 2021 09:11
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Quoting: jsahara24
sounds like you need to add a 4 wheeler to the collection! haha....


Nooooo! Not something else with a motor! You are probably right

Quoting: rpe
I would go one step further, and pull the fuel pump fuse out, then crank with throttle to the floor


Good idea! It's been setting for 2 months now so it ought to be dry I'd think.... It was around 10* - 15* F when it wouldn't start... more li,e 5* - 6* overnight so Toyota is likely right, no parts needed just cold and flooded. I sure hope so!

We are moving back up next Sunday come hell or high water! It's going to mean a lot of walking up and down our road until the slushy snow is gone if the Tracker won't start. Just heard from a neighbor yesterday, they tried to drive up, made it about a 1/4 mile before being stopped by deep, 18"-20" mushy snow. Giving it another week should help... upper 50's to mid 60's is forecast this week.

jsahara24
Member
# Posted: 5 Apr 2021 10:39
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Quoting: Nobadays
Nooooo! Not something else with a motor! You are probably right


I hear you....I was counting the number of motors I have the other day, I think I have a problem......haha...

Nobadays
Member
# Posted: 5 Apr 2021 17:54
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Just got back from my Trackick friend's place. He sold me a fuel pressure regulator for $20 way good price. While we were standing there he handed me some other sensor/relay said they go out once in awhile. Next thing I know he gives me a spare alternator... said he has 4 more! He had told me he was trying to get away from them... apparently he is. He only had 4 in the yard, well and 2 Dihatsu Rockys, oh and 1-2 Samurai and that's not counting the 2 Grand Vitaras!

He still thinks it sounds like the fuel pressure regulator but concedes it could have been just from the cold... once flooded they can be hard to clear and get going I guess. We will find out next weekend!

Nobadays
Member
# Posted: 10 Apr 2021 07:47
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This time tomorrow we will be on the road! Yay! The neighbors checked our road yesterday afternoon and were able to drive up to the cabin. Still 2 pretty good stretches of snow on the road but pretty well packed from us using it last winter. This whole week it has been in the 60's daytime and upper 20's at night. I see the forecast is for low 50's/upper 20's with a chance of rain/snow each day through next Saturday... but says mostly sunny each day, hmmm......

If nothing else we will be able to haul water early mornings when the snow is frozen up. Taking some "wooden gold" up with us to raise the greenhouse beds up another 6".... 2x6x10' - $21.00 each, 2x6x8" $16.00 each. Definitely putting the deck and equipment shed builds on hold this year! We will check with the Amish mill and maybe we can go ahead on one or both builds if they have kept the prices down. I won't need permits for either so don't need graded lumber. Hey... more fishing, hiking and exploring, I think that's why we bought the cabin in the first place!

gcrank1
Member
# Posted: 10 Apr 2021 13:13
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Best wishes for safe travels and may all be well!
We have been into ours several times already, far earlier than we expected. It has been Sweet

Nobadays
Member
# Posted: 10 Apr 2021 13:25
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Thanks! We were up there nearly a full year 2020... Covid and all. Pretty well all loaded up except refrigerator goods, that won't fit in the RV fridge, and frozen foods. Get up there and open things up, get water tanks full and the greenhouse/cold frames planted. The last week of April we will be off to south central Utah for some hiking with family. It's a good life!

This year probably come back in November for awhile then go back up for some good winter living. That is yet to be determined... but we do indeed love living up there in the winter.

Aklogcabin
Member
# Posted: 11 Apr 2021 10:30
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I would suspect the fuel regulator also. But since it was below zero that so water can freeze up. Maybe just had some ice blocking flow ? Were the plugs wet ?
Good luck. Glad for you all by getting back into cabin life.

Nobadays
Member
# Posted: 11 Apr 2021 19:48
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Made it. Took nearly 11 hours today, we stopped an extra time for a potty break and gas. We are pretty tired... got up at 2:10am and on the road at 4am. The cats are glad to be out of their carriers and in their "jungle gym!" They love sitting up on the open beams.

We were able to drive to the cabin, the guys up here said last Sunday no way. A lot of melt last week. Still a bit of hard pack here and there but easy to drive through. Took a try to start the Tracker, battery is dead! I spent good money to put a 20w solar panel with a charge controller to maintain the battery. My guess is the charge controller somehow died. The panel was in the sun but the controller wasn't lighting up. Crap! Always something! Battery only had 4.75v so possibly too dead to bring back... we'll see... tomorrow.

Nobadays
Member
# Posted: 18 Apr 2021 13:23
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Well finally a new battery in the Tracker...

Held gas pedal to the floor, pushed the clutch in and cranked it. First thing it backfired then started to rhythmically pop kind of like it wanted to fire... but just over and over no love. Checked new wires to be sure they were correctly installed, yep. New rotor was right. So tried again same steps. Same results.

Tomorrow I will try to get my wife to bump it over until the timing mark's are aligned. Of course I don't have a timing light.... but should be able to see well enough if maybe the timing belt has broken... yes belt not chain on this year. If it isn't even close when #1 is tdc then I probably have a timing belt issue. Just have to figure out how to tell when #1 is tdc. Plugs are way down in there but I'm thinking a long screw driver on top of the piston.

My Tracker buddy wants me to check spark again and if that is good, try a dribble of gas alongside the injector... (single injector.) He thinks if the ECU is bad, and the failure rate on these early models is 100%, not if but when.... it could be the problem.

I'm leaning toward dragging it out of the shed, removing the tracks and towbaring it to town. Of course woke this morning to 8" of snow, clear blue skies and 4*F brrrr!

paulz
Member
# Posted: 18 Apr 2021 13:52 - Edited by: paulz
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Quoting: Nobadays
Just have to figure out how to tell when #1 is tdc. Plugs are way down in there but I'm thinking a long screw driver on top of the piston.


Here's what I do: knock the center out of an old plug, stick a finger off a neoprene glove over it. Inflates fully at TDC. Deflates quickly before and after.

Course if your plug holes are dead center in the top of the head you can just 'poke a spoke' as we say in the motorcycle world.
plug.jpg
plug.jpg


Nobadays
Member
# Posted: 18 Apr 2021 14:50
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Neat idea! Now if I just had a neoprene glove.... sometimes living an hour and a half from town, 22 miles of which is nasty dirt road has disadvantages.

Plugs are on the side'ish but I think I can stick something in there, maybe a piece of electrical wire as I don't have a spoke either.

I've been stressing over this to the point my stomach is in a knot... I don't like troubleshooting vehicles, I'm not good at it. We'll play around with it tomorrow and if I can't figure it out.... it's going to town.

paulz
Member
# Posted: 18 Apr 2021 18:25 - Edited by: paulz
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A condom works.

The few timing belts I've done, the crank pulley has location marks, no need to find TDC. The cam pulley mark will either be in it's required spot or 180 degrees out, in which case turn the crank one turn and it should be correct. Cam turns at half crank speed.

toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 18 Apr 2021 23:04
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nobadays, an old timing belt, shutting it off, as the engine winds down and also comes to a stop, the crank can chug backwards a bit and this can take the teeth off the belt around the crank.

If the timing had jumped, it will crank like its low on compression in all or maybe one cylinder. If the cam isn't turning, may sound like one plug is out (compression low on a single cylinder) while jumped will mean even, but low on all cylinders. Will turn over real easy.

Nobadays
Member
# Posted: 19 Apr 2021 08:42
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Toyota... thanks! We are going to look at it again today and try to figure out what is going on.... this will help!

Nobadays
Member
# Posted: 19 Apr 2021 14:37
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Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech
If the cam isn't turning, may sound like one plug is out (compression low on a single cylinder)


^^ This... timing is messed up and this is exactly, to my ear anyway what I'm hearing. It didn't even backfire this morning but just did the rhythmic puff,puff,puff. I thought it was trying to fire yesterday but it was obvious this morning no fire just puffing.

Tracks are off, not a tough job with the help of a couple of friends. Took longer to jack/block it up than to take the tracks and adapters off using a 1/2" drive impact wrench.

My regular mechanic up here has quit wrenching other than brakes and oil changes.... he has a tow business too and that keeps him very busy, had to decide between towing and wrenching and towing won out. He recommended another shop, as well as cautioning about others. So now to get an appointment to get it in and fixed... I'm just not going to tackle it myself.

Nobadays
Member
# Posted: 23 Apr 2021 13:37
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Just heard from the mechanic.... timing belt teeth were stripped, said it wasn't turning at all. I needed other work done.... going to have a new water pump put on while they have the timing cover off.... new radiator/hoses (was running warm last winter) and a new muffler... I had to bungee the old muffler/tailpipe in place as it broke completely off on the way into town.

Hopefully she will be back mid next week and ready to work! I use it like a tractor around here!

paulz
Member
# Posted: 23 Apr 2021 17:27
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Must not be an interference engine. Lucky.

Local friend's car broke the belt, Nissan as I recall. He had it towed to my place. Said it made some banging, interference engine. He wanted to try a new belt anyway. Pain the butt, sideways mounted engine, worked through the fenderwell. Fired it up and it clacked for a bit then quieted down and smoothed out! Apparently some will knock the valve stems back straight enough.

Nobadays
Member
# Posted: 23 Apr 2021 18:13
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Yeah... non interference engine, whew!

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