Tonkamans little Cracka

[Tonkaman]

I suppose its time to start a thread documenting the new rig. Here is a current picture.


Specs:
2004 Toyota Double Cab TRD Supercharged 3.4 V6
3" Bilstein lift
285/75/16 Cooper Discovery ATP
Addicted offroad Plate Winch Bumper
Addicted offroad Sliders

I took a long drive out to Windsor, Colorado last weekend and picked up this gem from Scott with Addicted Offroad. On the drive home I noticed the odometer needs to be adjusted for the larger tires but I was able to download a GPS speedometer on the iPhone to make it past the local police safely. I also quickly realized the first modification needed for this truck at the first gas stop I pulled into. The entrance to the parking lot was enough to make my tires rub the fenders pretty bad and actually gouged the tire a little. Yesterday I broke out the dremel and hammer to give those tires the clearance they need. I was able to cut off the excess metal at the bottom of the pinch weld and hammer over the rest to sit flat against the fender well. I also trimmed the bottom of the fender back to sit flush with the inside of the fender well, that way the tire cant catch the outer fender at all. The whole project only took about 1 hour and gave me as much clearance as possible without tubbing the whole thing out.
Today I decided I needed to test out the clearance of the tires so I took the family on a trip up soldier pass. I am so impressed with where these little trucks can go with such little effort! The number 1 reason for trading off the Duramax was getting to a point in the trail that I couldn't fit thru so i found some narrow trails and headed up to the top. 3/4 the way to the top of the mountain top the trans temp light came on so we stopped off for a quick hike to let the truck cool down. We continued up the mountain for a mile or two when the trail got too narrow to continue so we had to turn around. Suprisingly this was the highlight of the trip for me because in the Duramax this would mean going in reverse for thousands of feet to find a big enough place for a u-turn. The taco was able to flip a 180 on the trail! Did I mention I love this rig? A simple 3 point turn had us pointing the right direction out but as I put it into reverse to straighten up the truck died. I could turn the motor over and everything looked normal under the hood but I'm so new to these that I wouldn't even know what look out of place! After stressing out for a bit, calling a friend for tech support, and looking over every inch of the truck for a bad connection or fuel loss, I turned the key over again and I fired right up. I noticed that when it started the trans temp light was on momentarily and I know it wasn't on when it stalled so it seemed strange It also turned on the CEL. We continued down the mountain and the truck stalled again about 1/2 way out. This time it fired right back up without hesitation but the trans temp light was on for a few seconds again, there has to be a correlation here that I dont understand. Luckily the truck ran fine after that and we were able to enjoy a little campfire before heading home for the night.

Obviously there are 2 issues here that need addressed:
1. The transmission is getting too hot too easily so an Auxilary cooler will be needed. I had planned on doing this anyway when i installed a slimmer manual trans radiator for better clearance upfront but I had no Idea how poor the stock cooling was.
2. I need to have the CEL read to help identify why the truck was stalling

Can anyone offer their input for either of these two topics?

 

[Troop92]

Dude, love the truck. Excited to see it this Saturday at Five Mile.

2) Hit up an AutoZone, they'll pull CEL codes for free and print out a report for you. If memory serves, their system also lists common ways to fix the issue in order of lost likely to least.

 

[Caleb]

I'd get the trans checked out. I never had a problem with my trans overheating on my 03 Double Cab. Unless you were really pushing it hard, that's not normal. Should be a fun truck though, my 03 was one of my favorite vehicles ever, I still regret getting rid of it.

 

[Tonkaman]

That's on my to do list for tomorrow. I've been so spoiled with EFI Live in the Duramax I just keep a laptop linked up to it.

I'm excited to meet some new people out at 5 mile Saturday as well. It will be good to see you there

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Post up what you find out from the CEL. A trans cooler is always helpful but it still shouldn't be getting hot on a climb up Soldier Pass unless you were really working it... I had the trans temp light come on in my Tacoma 2-3 times, always in 4-High, off-road and climbing steep stuff and in one case towing my off-road trailer. I would switch it to low, get the rev's up and it immediately cooled off and killed the light. Sadly the Tacoma OBDII system doesn't spit out a trans temp signal for use with a Scan-gauge or similar.

 

[Tonkaman]

Well I certainly wouldn't say I was pushing it just crawling around up there. That's too bad about the scan gauge I was already thinking about getting one just for this reason. I'll update once I get it scanned

 

[Kevin B.]

The reason you're getting the temp light when you first turn it on is because the trans is hot when you turned it off or it died, and with the motor off the pump isn't running to circulate fluid and cool it off, so the fluid temp goes up for a bit as it absorbs residual heat from the trans. When you get that light, the fastest way to cool it down is to leave the truck idling.

Hard to say if the trans overheating and the stalling are the same issue, the motor wasn't overheating too was it? These auto trans are known for the dreaded pink milkshake, when the trans cooler in the radiator fails, and coolant and ATF mix. Normally it's a drastic failure that kills the trans right away, but I'd still check on that before you turn the key again. It's pretty common to install an aftermarket oil cooler and bypass the radiator entirely for this reason.

Also read up on the lower ball joints. They're suspect.

 

[Tonkaman]

The reason you're getting the temp light when you first turn it on is because the trans is hot when you turned it off or it died, and with the motor off the pump isn't running to circulate fluid and cool it off, so the fluid temp goes up for a bit as it absorbs residual heat from the trans. When you get that light, the fastest way to cool it down is to leave the truck idling.

Hard to say if the trans overheating and the stalling are the same issue, the motor wasn't overheating too was it? These auto trans are known for the dreaded pink milkshake, when the trans cooler in the radiator fails, and coolant and ATF mix. Normally it's a drastic failure that kills the trans right away, but I'd still check on that before you turn the key again. It's pretty common to install an aftermarket oil cooler and bypass the radiator entirely for this reason.

Also read up on the lower ball joints. They're suspect.

That makes sense about the light coming on momentarily I suppose. Neither the engine or transmission was hot before it stalled either time though. As far as the pink milkshake failure, isn't that a failed radiator? This in entire front end has been replaced in the last 1k miles so it isn't likely but I'll still check. Thanks for the tip on lower ball joints I'll read up on that as well

 

[lewis]

I had Trans issues on mine only when I had the ect button pushed in. I had a valve body job done on it though from ipt Trans

 

[Kevin B.]

As far as the pink milkshake failure, isn't that a failed radiator?

The trans cooler pipes in the radiator, yeah. I agree that if Scotty replaced the radiator then it's probably not the trouble - I don't know how else to explain stalling, hard starting, and weird trans temp issues all at the same time though. Maybe they're not related.

 

[sixstringsteve]

That's pretty weird, your truck shouldn't be stalling like that. My truck has never stalled, and I've never had the trans temp light come on. I'd spend $10-15 for a bluetooth OBD2 reader that you can connect to your car and scan with your phone.

Got any pics of the fender trimming?

 

[Tonkaman]

I checked the trans fluid this morning and it looks brand new as I'm sure it is. So I drove to work dropped off some tools and went to another job site to grab some stuff. Now I'm dead in the parking lot with the same symptoms. While I've been sitting here I found a few threads about EFI wiring and relays being a common culprit when hot so I'll have to look at that closer

 

[sixstringsteve]

Did addicted offroad mention any similar problems they ran into?

 

[Tonkaman]

No he didn't mention having any mechanical issues whatsoever.
I'll get some pics of the fender trimming later today if you would like, it was fairly basic.

I just scanned the truck at autozone.
Code P0351 "ignition coil A" failure or disruption in ignition system. I'll have to check out the connections

 

[rholbrook]

Coil Pack gone bad, simple fix, just money.

 

[Rot Box]

Sweet truck!

I'd swap out the spark plugs while you're tracking down misfires. I've found that if I didn't run the exact plug that those engines call for I'd get misfires fairly often even with a Denso plug. The parts stores will tell you they have the oem style plug but they don't--get them through the dealer.

 

[sixstringsteve]

x2. The cheap oem NGK spark plugs are the best plugs for these trucks.

 

[Kevin B.]

Both my 22REs have been partial to OEM plugs too. NGKs or copper Densos. The platinum Densos don't work, and forget about Bosch or Autolite.

 

[Tonkaman]

Well I checked all the connections to the coil packs and everything looks good. The CEL turned off earlier today so I'll see if it continues to act up. How do I know which coil is "A"?

 

[Tonkaman]

How do I know which coil is "A"?

Can anyone help me answer this? I can't seem to find an answer