Questions and Answers

Toyota Pickup Is A Dog Q. Hi. I have a 1982 Toyota pickup 4x4 with a 2.4 liter (22R) 4 cylinder carbureted. I got the truck two years ago and it used to die on me when I would pull up to a stop light. I took it in and had a dealership fix the problem. It needed the carburetor rebuilt. I got the truck back and it had a real bad hesitation problem. I took it back to the dealer 7 times to try to fix this problem.

When I took it back the 8th time they told me that I needed a coil and igniter. So I had them put it on. It didn't help the truck out at all. So I was hoping maybe you could help me with my problem, and tell me what you think needs to be replaced.

The hesitation problem gets bad once you shut the engine off and let it sit for about 20 minutes or so, and go to start it back up again and its real hard starting also. I also don't have power on the interstate. Its a real dog on the interstate sometimes. Sometimes it also wants to diesel on me.

I also had one more question about this truck, when I sit and idle I use a little bit of oil, but when I get on the highway I won't use a drop. I was told this was probably my valve seals. Is that what you think could be causing me that problem. The tachometer also used to jump around when I would push on the gas. I changed the spark plugs and now it doesn't jump anymore. I still have the same problems though.

Thank you for your time...

A. It sounds to me like all of your running problems can be traced to a bad carburetor. The fact of the matter is that no matter how good a mechanic is, rebuilding a carburetor doesn't always work. In fact when I told a customer he had a bad carburetor I would give him the options and warn him that there is a chance the rebuild will not work in about 20% of the time.

I assume they adjusted the valves and checked compression before they sold you the carburetor rebuild. No sense putting a good carburetor on a bad engine.

I think you will have to replace the carburetor with a factory rebuilt or any one that comes with a good warranty.

As for the oil, if you see the smoke at idle and seems to get heavier the longer it idles, then yes, I would say you have bad valve seals.