Hello. I'm new here. I have a 1987 2wd Toyota Pickup that always starts and is reliable but sometimes takes a long time to start the first time I go to start it. After the engine warms up and I stop and start it again it will fire right up no problem. And when I say that it won't start when it's cold I don't mean when it's cold outside. I mean when the engine itself is not warmed up it has trouble starting.

When I do get it to start after 15 or 20 seconds or so of trying it will idle very low and run rather rough and be practically stalling out unless I rev the engine. If I rev the engine and warm it up it will idle almost fine and at the rpm that it should be at. If I start it and do not rev it or drive immediately it will undoubtedly stall out.

The final part of the problem is that after all of this has happened and the truck is started it will hesitate when I drive it, like as if it is not getting enough gas. I will have the pedal pushed down far but the truck lags and quickly kicks way back in it's power only to lurch back forward seconds later with restored power.

This only lasts for a little while and after a couple minutes on the road at most the truck is basically fine. At this point I can turn off the truck and stop and start it and it is ok for the most part. It just seems to be starting it for the first time after it has cooled down when I run into problems.

It doesn't really seem like an engine problem because the engine really sounds and runs quite well and the truck is still quite peppy. It seems more like something else is preventing the still-good engine from performing how it wants to.

Any ideas? Thanks!

So it seems that there aren't a lot of people on this forum. That's ok though, maybe someone will get some convo going. In the meantime I'll just talk to myself here. lol

So I just replaced the fuel filter and it looked pretty old. I'm pretty sure I just got rid of part of my problem, which was the hesitation that it had during acceleration. The rest of the problem still remains though. Any thoughts?

I notice that my PCV valve seems awfully loose. Should it be tight and not able to wiggle around? Could this have something to do with my idling and starting problems?

Hello, has been a long time since you had a tune up? If it has you may want to try that, even if it's not the problem your truck will run better and get better gas mileage when the issue is fixed. Good luck and please let us know what the fix was.

I replaced the PCV valve today and no difference.

I got three letter for ya. MAS (Mass Airflow Sensor). If this is playing up, you will get all the symptoms you mention. If it gets worse, you will not be able to keep it running for more than a few seconds after starting. Basically the MAS detects the engine's air intake and sends a message to the ECU to now turn on the fuel pump. Without that signal, you will only have enough gas for a second or two of running before it dies on you. Be warned though, these suckers are expensive to replace, but they are around if you look hard enough. Good luck!

Thanks so much for the response.

Well my truck has the 22r, which I should have stated. Wouldn't only the 22re have a MAS? Or does the 22r have it as well?

The spark plugs and wires and distributor cap look fairly new, but they are next on my list of things to replace in order to try to remedy my truck's illness.

So far I have replaced the PCV valve and fuel filter. The fuel filter looked very old and the new one seemed to help some, but the majority of my problem remains.

I just replaced my spark plugs (not wires or distributor) and there is very little to no difference. A couple of the old plugs had a pretty good buildup of grime on them, so I was excited to see the difference but was frustrated and disappointed to see that my rough, low idle, trouble starting, hesitation and easy stalling out upon first starting the truck were all still present.

Just another thought, could it be a blockage in the catalitic converter? When the cat gets hot it allows enough flow and the engine runs better. I don't know just another guess. I hope it get's sorted out for you soon.

Nope. Good thought though. There is actually a good sized hole in my exhaust right in front of the catalytic converter, so my exhaust is definitely breathing well right now. lol

I'm having the same problem on my 2002 Sienna, 75k miles.

Just last week, it suddenly has difficulty starting. it dies immediately after start, unless I press down the accelerator. The idle is extremely low and quiet. Even if it doesn't die, I could hardly hear the engine sound.

It's definitely not the battery problem, as I tried it with a massive Mercedes-battery, everything the same.

I also replace the dirty air filter, still the same. Have yet to figure out what's exactly wrong. I hate going to a dealership without an overall idea what's wrong, as my saving swine will shrink very quickly. They can tell me whatever they want, and charge me accordingly if not much more.