So Ted... what you are saying is yank the 22re and shoehorn a supercharged V8 in there? Power problem solved and I wouldn't suffer much in the mpg arena. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> If only it were that easy.

Compression test was redone this afternoon with a squirt of oil down each spark plug hole. Readings as follows....

#1 180+ just a hair over
#2 165
#3 180- just a hair under
#4 160

After each test, the guage would drop a bit of pressure if I waited a minute or so before releasing it from the guage. When I fired up the engine after the test, it ran so buttery smooth!!! A few minutes of perfect idling and it was back to it's rough, missing, weirdo self.

Do the new numbers immediately point to piston/ring/cylinder problems or could something else cause this? I'm not doing the wrenching on this motor so I really don't want to have to do a lobotomy on the motor.

I don't know what to expect on the dyno. Any time I've had my bikes done, all changes were made through an aftermarket EFI add on or through jetting and smog was never an issue. I don't know what the dyno guys can do for tuning or if I should even expect anything other than a few pulls.

>>>*K...first remember that all rings leak, they are supposed to, it's actually a controlled leak though. Plus every engine I ever wet tested ran smooth after oiling her down, the oil just slicks things up and seals her tight for a bit is all.

The proper way to run a wet test is to shoot a squirt of oil in there, then lock the throttle wide open, spin her over a dozen times, then test the compression. Otherwise oil can displace volume and give a false reading.

The readings suggest a couple of cylinders leaking a bit, not terrible though.

I got the pics you sent me, (Made breakfast, ate it, then had some coffee and watched the news while it was loading...dialup here...*LOL**)

The engine looks lean to me. Quite a bit lean, too from the looks of the plugs. The red coloration could be the type of fuel used, also note that iron oxide (rust) can do that...perfectly normal, all engines have trace amounts of rust inside of them.

The dab of spackles on the one plug appear to be specks of aluminum, also suggesting lean or cylinder running hotter than she should (Lean, too much advance, EGR messed up, lots of possibles). That is the one skipping on you from time to time, plus note the rounding of the center electrode?? That means the plug is running way too hot. Maybe the heat range is too high? Or maybe not snug enough, but replace that one for sure.

No sign of any real oil usage or we would see a large amount of buildup.

Basically she looks to be a reasonably normal powerplant that is on the lean side.

Maybe some injectors need to be cleaned, poor spray pattern could account.

Dyno run will be interesting, or you can pull her out and send her to me.

*I will wash it and sell it and give you half the money, <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> about half the guys and gals will trade with you, too...The plugs actually look pretty close to normal to me, except for the one running hot.......*EB

Sorry about the pictures. I thought I shrunk them down enough to make them managable.

If it's running lean, why is my mileage in the toilet?

Should I replace the plugs with a step or two colder-say a BPR7xx or so (in NGK nomenclature)?

EGR is brand spankin' new from Toyota at rebuild time. Injectors cleaned at rebuild time.

I am so frustrated I can't even spit. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" />

I'm not pulling the motor out myself. The landlord would remove vital parts of my anatomy and feed them to her cats. If the motor were to head your way, so would the rest of the truck-and myself too if I can swing it. I could use a trip out of Sacramento.

The wrench that put it together is getting married this weekend so he's obviously not available to horse around with this right now. Once he gets back, I'll have some diagnostic info for him that will hopefully help solve these problems.

I just hate it when my vehicles aren't just right. I hate it even more when I don't know what the problem is. I know just enough to know that I don't know much yet still be dangerous with a wrench. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/zombie.gif" alt="" />

>>>*Lots of possibles why poor mileage, but I would need to see your rig. Tires affect that, gearing, loading, wind resistance, right foot, etc. But I thought you said 16-17? That's off maybe 10% from typical although I hear reports of way better. Lean/rich can affect but if she has a hot cylinder or two then mileage will suffer either way.

One gentleman even reported 28 MPG, I figure he lives on top of a big hill....gas station at the bottom... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Not two stages cooler on the plugs, maybe one step at most. Looks to be a little tuning issue, find it and she will sweeten right up. The plug running warm explains the ping you report, too....*EB

I know my tires aren't helping, but 16-17mpg just stinks. I can live with lesser MGP if I can have a bit more power back. When I get on the freeway, I have to plan WAY ahead! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

I have a friend with the tires/lift on his 4 cylinder truck getting 21mpg on the highway.

I just don't get it. I'll hoof it over to the auto parts place to get my claws on some colder plugs. I'll give the funky ones to the dyno guys so that they can have some ammo.

Ted, if you wanted to come to Sacramento, that would save me an awful lot of trouble. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/nana.gif" alt="" />

Paradise racing (www.paradiseracing.com) will clean injectors for $10 each (if you are a member on customtacos.com).

>>>*Good tip, thanks! That's a neat price, too. The injectors get overlooked a lot and can often be the real source of tuning issues and poorer than normal mileage.

*Hey, Jeep! I remember taking my 1961 Corvette to the drag strip, it had a 16 gallon tank. Of course I had..well...modified the engine, it had angle plug heads and some other things, nice X-C8 crossram intake, little things like that. 4.88 butt gears, too.

She actually would lift the left front wheel off the ground launching, nice 12.65/114 mph, fast at the time.

I filled her up at Toledo, then again at Philomath, 55 miles. 4 MPG is all she would do if I babied it.

I had to use the spare two gallons I had in the trunk to make Woodburn. Same thing on the way home.

*Now THAT is poor mileage!..Couldn't hardly afford to drive it, not with gas 29.9 cents a gallon...*LOL**...*EB

That's a heck of a price to clean the injectors. Fortunately, I had mine done when the motor was pulled and rebuilt. I can't imagine 10k miles clogging up the program-especially since I've been chasing these problems since day one.

Could the fuel pressure be low? Maybe the pump is on it's last legs? Once in a great while it takes some effort to get it started, but it's not very often.

4mpg is pretty grim. But, you didn't have to worry about merging on to the freeway!

The guy that put my motor together has a 92 just like mine-sort of. He shoehorned a 4.7 Tundra motor under the hood, adapted a 6 speed Tacoma tranny to it somehow, put some 80 series Land Cruiser axles underneath-complete with e lockers and a fancy pants coil over setup, fabbed up cross member, bumpers, rock sliders etc... It's a monster. I've been trying to get him to trade me straight across. Lousy mpg but plenty of snort. I'd LOVE to have that rig.

Only 18.5 hours to dyno time! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />

Got 8 on a smoked up 302 57 chevy business coupe with 4.56's and a single Holley double pumper. Only weighed 2650 though.

Dyno results emailed to Ted. I've never been able to figure out how to post pictures on 4x4wire. If anyone wants to do it on my behalf, I'll be happy to email the results to you. Perhaps it would help someone else down the road that finds this thread while searching for similar problems.

Dyno guys say the idle issue is because of the cam. That doesn't explain (to me) why it fluctuates so much though. They say it's running lean and that tuning through the computer is the way to go. Anything more than that and my eyes were spinning like pinwheels. I don't think the computer can be fooled with, but I know the AFM can be adjusted. I'm wondering if I'd be better off with a different cam for my application/needs. Maybe the 268 perhaps?

Ted, oh masterful professor of the internal combustion engine, what say you? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />