The Toyota Landcruiser Owners Club

[budgey]

Hi there.

I have recently encountered a few problems with my 2004 Land Cruiser 120 LC4 3.0 D4D.
The vehicle has covered 95,000 miles, and has been with me for the last 5 years and 20,000 miles.
Recently the car took a little longer to start, that usual. I didn't read too much into it, as it was the first night she had spent outside for 2 years. However, the next day, while driving, I noticed that the check engine light was illuminated. I pulled over, switched off, re-started, and all was fine. 2 days later, I started the car, and the check engine light was illuminated again. When I left my parking area, I found the car would not accelerate past about 15-20mph. (perhaps this is some sort of limp home mode?) Anyway, I crawled along for around five minutes, when after a few surges, she started running fine. I pulled over, switched off, started again and the check engine light was gone.
Later, I checked the blink codes and retrieved 78 and 99 error codes. These are:

P0093 (78) - Fuel system leak (Large leak)
P0627 (78) - Fuel pump control circuit (open/short/failure)
P1229 (78) - Fuel pump fail.

B2799 (99) - Engine immobiliser malfunction.

Not being sure how these two errors could be connected, I proceeded to clear the blink codes by disconnecting the batteries for the night (during this time I ensured that they were fully charged).

The next day the old girl took 12 seconds to start, which seemed like a really long time - certainly compared to what I'm used to. Again the check engine light illuminated, and the limp home mode engaged for a few minutes until warm, after which I restarted and all was fine. After rechecking the blink codes by by shorting out pin 4 and 13 on the DLC3 connector, I retrieved the same error of 78 & 99.

In summary, I haven't noticed any smoke on start-up, or during driving. The problem seems to go away when the car is warm. The vehicle is parked in a basement, and never really experiences temperatures less that 10 degrees centigrade. I recently filled up with standard diesel for the first time (my last fill-up), after normally only ever using a 'super' or 'premium' product. The car and I are from the UK, but currently live in Bulgaria, so fuel quality could be an issue. In addition, I have always thought the engine was quite agricultural sounding - certainly when cold, but does improve when warmed up. I can't tell whether it's gotten louder over time though. Perhaps it has?? She is regularly serviced in terms of oils and filters every 5000 miles, and I fitted an new timing belt at 90, 000 miles (5000 miles ago).

Would you guys think this problem is injector related? I know this is a bit of an issue with the D4Ds, and I have no idea if they were ever replaced under warranty (is there any way to tell?). I am quite some distance from a Toyota main dealer (about a 3 hour drive) so would really like to troubleshoot this issue as much as I can first. Are there any tests I can do, or maybe even some kind of  fuel system cleaner that I can try? I've read about adding a little 2 stroke oil at every fuel fill-up, but this is something I've never done. Is it too late to try that now?

Any advice, or tips you guys could give me would be much appreciated.

Best regards, Terry...  

[Google]

[budgey]

So, since clearing the ECM codes again, I'm now only getting code 78:

P0093 (78) - Fuel system leak (Large leak)
P0627 (78) - Fuel pump control circuit (open/short/failure)
P1229 (78) - Fuel pump fail.

I have no visible leaks. I've checked all the connections for the injectors and suction control valves on the pump. Yesterday, I swapped out the fuel filter. When drained, the contents of the old one were completely clean with no water or other contaminants. From what I could see from looking inside the filter it was in completely clean, dare I say mint condition. I ran the car after fitting, and I also ran in this morning with no error codes or check engine light illuminated. I can't see how the filter change would have fixed the problem, so I'll try again from a cold start tomorrow morning. My last diesel fill up was with Shell V Power, and I added a bottle of STP fuel system and injector cleaner. I have to say the performance of the vehicle seems great - very responsive - and I took her up to 100mph a few times today with no problems at all. Surely the fuel pump can't be at fault since I have no loss of power? I have zero smoke on start-up, when running, or under load. This problem has me baffled.

[budgey]

Well, I'll do a final update here just in case anyone's interested. The car now is fine. She starts perfectly, and the check engine light no longer illuminates. As I mentioned before, I used a fuel system/injector cleaner in 60 litres of fuel, but I don't think that was what made the difference - although, with the Shell V Power (compared to whatever Russian *beep* I put in the time before) performance and responsiveness seemed markedly better.

The problem, I think, was air in the fuel delivery system. This was resolved once I removed and refitted the OEM fuel filter assembly and pipework. While reattaching one of the pipes I noticed that there was some tension on it, and possibly the vibration from the engine has unseated it very slightly. I obviously resolved this.

I will not clear the codes as I have a Toyota Intelligent Tester II on order, so I'll read the ECM to confirm what the DTC was when it arrives. The reason that I've ordered the tester is that I'm not going to put myself in the same position where I'm practically forced to take a 9 year-old vehicle to the Main dealer to get ripped off. In future I will be able to diagnose and resolve my own problems following the proper pathways contained in the Toyota Service manual. The first jobs on my list are dropping the sump to check the oil pick-up pipe, and testing - and probably replacing - the injectors for Denso DLC ones. I've read one too many horror stories about injector failure, so although, the car is not smoking in any way, it's definitely louder than it should be, and I'm not going to get caught out with that...

[budgey]

Sorry, there's actually 3 jobs - I'm going to fit a secondary fuel filter/water seperator before the OEM Filter as a matter of urgency...

[welshskinflint]

[budgey]

[welshskinflint]

Hello, budgey. Yes you may well be correct, if it gives you piece of mind why not! Have you tried using ATF as a mix with your fuel? This could help your noisey injector issues that you appear to have, may well save having to spend that wad of cash not to mention the work and time involved changing all your injectors. Take a look on U Tube at KILLING A TOYOTA on Top Gear, should give you confidence boost as well as a laugh  

[Scotspea]

Is disconnecting the battery the only way to clear the fault codes?

Thanks

[Jet2work]

Budget, have you tried adding two stroke oil to your russian junk fuel? It may just make it burn cleaner to avoid the problem in future. Just my Monday morning thought!

[Jet2work]

Sorry ipad didn't  recognise Budgey as a word!

[Jet2work]

Welshskinflint sorry I didn't see your post, just wonder about the cost of ATF compared to two stroke? I guess it should all be of a similar composition , never heard of adding ATF before

[Pragueprado]

Hi from Prague - I am having exactly (as in 100%) the same problem; reread your original post, and that's me. Toyota dealership is useless - wants me to replace the injectors, pump and (for good measure) the turbo. Finally checked the code myself and got 78 (again, precisely the same symptoms). Will change the fuel filter and see if this cures it. Just curious - did your issues ever resurface?
Thanks
Clive

[Scotspea]

Not sure if this was meant to come to me but hope I can help. My LC4 was losing power, never stalling but would be ok until the throttle was depressed and then the revs would drop and power lost. Would then be ok sometimes for days but always come back. I did all the usual, fuel filter, additive etc but nothing worked. Was on holiday in France and in frustration took it to the Toyota garage in Annecy. Actually wanted to buy another filter but the service manager had seen it all before! In consideration of my feelings he put it on the tester and told me, what he had known all along, that the RED and GREEN valves on the injector pump were faulty. They come as a kit and cost about £200. They were changed in 15 minutes and the car was as new! This had been degrading the performance for some time but as it was gradual was not really noticed until cured. These valves called solenoids in a previous post are a recognised problem and have been modified by Toyota.

Hope this helps.

[Pragueprado]

Actually it was directed to Budgey, but I appreciate the response. Those valves were replaced on my vehicle about 40k km ago, so unless some crud worked its way in there, I would hope it's not those. Actually, while we're on the subject, it turns out the valves didn't need to be replaced - it was the MAF sensor but toyota couldn't figure it out. Hope to hear from Budgey that all is still ok with his LC. I'll certainly post if changing the filter helps, or if I find another leak. Hoping it's not really the pump....

[budgey]

Hey Pragueprado!

Sorry to hear you're having probs! I can tell you that my issues never returned and everything - including starting - is now great. I don't really have any concrete reason for the cause, but I definitely think that checking the fuel system for air leaks, fuel filter change, the fill-up with Shell V Power (or other premium fuel) and a fuel system/injector cleaner is certainly the best initial port of call prior to going the main dealer route.  
Shortly after my last post on this subject - and while I was still doubtful whether the car was actually fixed or not - I had a reason to use the LC for an emergency non-stop 7 hour, rather high-speed drive to the other side of the country to get an badly injured tortoise of all things to emergency surgery. I literally thought the LC probably wasn't going to make it, but the tortoise was going to die so I had no option but to try it. Well, I'm happy to report that not only did both the car and the tortoise survive the ordeal, they have both been thriving ever since! I think that giving the car a proper clear out with 2 tanks of quality fuel helped matters along with the high-speed nature of the journey... and possibly perhaps a little bit of karma!!!

Appologies for the low-tech nature of this post, but that's exactly how it panned out. I have never used anything other than V Power since as I'm just confident that the quality is consistent - which is a rarity here in such an inconsistent country!

Had the problem continued, like Scotspea said, the next thing I would've tried would have been the red and green fuel pump valves.

I hope you get as lucky as I did with this strange problem.

Regards, Terry...

P.S. I did order a Toyota Intelligent Tester (one of the cheap Chinese copies), and it was faulty, so I eventually managed to return it for a refund.