Jim Grant's Tech Tips

'92 Toyota 4x4 22RE, No Idle and Stalling

Q: I have a ‘92 Toyota pickup w/ 145k miles. I have been having idle problems for about 3 months now. I have replaced the plugs, wires...set timing (which was difficult as the car was idling from 650 - 900 RPM). All in all, the car starts fine and the tachometer goes straight to 1400 RPM. It stays there until I engage and start driving off. As the car approaches normal operating temperature and I depress the clutch, the engine quickly dies. It is as if it is either low on fuel or getting way too much air...What else can I check and how?

A: Your vehicle seems to have all the symptoms of a vacuum leak. With the age and mileage on your vehicle it would not be out of the norm for a problem like this to occur. There are a variety of ways to check for vacuum leaks. Some of these procedures have been known for their quick and affective hair removal. On more than one occasion I’ve experienced remarkable eyebrow hair reduction that can occur with the use of these procedures. In our shop we have this little machine that is connected to the intake manifold and pressurizes the manifold with smoke. This great little smoke machine has allowed my eyebrows to grow to their full potential and is really affective at locating vacuum leaks caused by broken vacuum hoses or failed gaskets. As for using the other procedures to find vacuum leaks? I suppose you could call it fun to watch as long as you’re not the one banging your head on the hood and slapping away at what hair is remaining.