2006 4.0L died, now cranks but won't start, no codes - any ideas?

Hi folks, I'm new to Tacoma's having swapped my 2003 Highlander for a 2006 Tacoma 4.0L V6 TRD manual transmission for the summer. The truck has about 110,000 miles on it.
Just got home with it when it died: after a 2hr highway drive at modest speeds I was in town, and accelerating downhill when the truck lost power. As I coasted to a stop the engine died. T ried cranking it, but it sputtered a bit but would not restart. I plugged in my code reader, but no codes! I tried starting again and it turned over on for a few seconds, very rough, backfired and died again. After that when I crank it now it cranks but won't fire, not one bit. Neitehr hot nor about 40 min later when cooled down. Still no codes.

Any thoughts? I read up and first came across the Throttle Position Sensor idea until I realized the 4.0L V6 does not have that as a replaceable part. I have not tried recalibrating it. Now I'm wondering maybe fuel - as in fuel pump or relay. Will check fuses and relay next.

Any other ideas? Cam shaft position sensor? Fuel pump? Does the Tacoma 4.0 have a fuel filter?

The funny part of the story is that it died at the post office where I just picked up the parts to fix my 2013 MINI Cooper S that had limped home. New sparkplugs and 4 new coild fixed that, but at least she had indicated misfire in cylinder 1, so I had an idea of what the problem was, and read up on the notoriously fail-prone delphi coils - and yes, she had teh delphi instead of bosch coils.

Ok, that's it, thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 

Damnit dude. I don’t have any valuable info other than what you figured out and wrote here, but wanted to give the thread a bump. Good luck!

 

Definitely start with the easy stuff and check relays, fuses, fuel pump safety shutoff, fuel filter, etc. Then start looking into other issues. My guess based on this would be something to do with fuel (fuel pump?). I doubt you would have lost spark or compression so suddenly to the point of shutting off with no other indicators before that.

Edit: I should add I had a relay blow on me once on an old car which triggered the fuel pump safety cutoff while I was on the highway in an ice storm. It lost power similar to how you described.

 

Since you have a code reader, try erasing codes. Even though it brought up none, it’s the same as disconnecting the battery so it has to relearn.

Don’t take this wrong, you didn’t run out of gas?

 

Begin with the basics.

Fuel delivered to the injectors?
Spark at the plugs?
Air through the intake?

Its likely a simple item. Don't go bonkers to assume the worst most difficult repair. Work the diagnostics.

 

How’s the ground from the battery to the frame? Tight?

 

Fuel pump failures will not trigger engine lights, there is no monitor for fuel pressure.

 

Find your fuel pump resistor, try bypassing it. It definitely sounds like a fuel issue.

 

Gut feeling is fuel pump, when you cycle the key on (to run, without starting) you should hear the pump run for a couple seconds. If the truck chimes make it hard to hear, having a helper listen/cycle the key can make it easier.

Can try banging on the fuel tank with a mallet while cranking, sometimes it can kick a fuel pump back to life. If it started with this trick then replace the pump

To be fair, I never saw a toyota fuel pump go bad at my shop, mostly chevy pumps. But anything can break

 

You can also pull a fuel hose and aim it into a bottle, and cycle the key on to see if it spits gas. Just be ready to shut it off quickly if it does

 

A line from Sling Blade. Is there gas in the tank?

 

Couldn't tell you how many tow-ins were just out of gas lol

 

Oh wow, thanks folks for the quick replies! And some good ideas! Definitely fuel in tank, I topped off before trip, gauge shows the expected about 3/4 full. Good tip to try erase codes anyway, and will check for sparks to make sure, and will do fuses and relays, etc.. Will try to check for fuel flow.
Good thought also not to go bonkers and go through the basiscs. These are really robust engines and this one shoudl have a ton more miles left in it. And very nicely, it is longitudinally mounted, so all 6 plugs and coils are easily accessible - soooo nice. My Highlander 3.0L V6 is transveres, and I was only able ot access the 3 forward plugs/coils, and os far have ben unable to get the manifold off to get to the rear ones. That is definitely one of the darker sides of a transverse engine!!

 

I've never been a fan of doing turnips on those 3.0s, especially in the camrys, ESPECIALLY in the engines with aluminum intakes rather than plastic. Getting to those back two bolts on the intake cut up my hands more often than not.

Only thing more stress inducing is doing valve cover gaskets on these, praying that the rear cover doesn't leak!

 

All signs points to likely a failing fuel pump. Check your fuel pressure:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-check-fuel-pressure-w-pics.445975/

 

Awesome, thanks for the link!!

 

Agree,check fuel pressure.

 

Personally, removing the bed to access the pump located on top of the tank would be easier than dropping the tank.(if there's another set of hands available)

 

Easier yet, a friend with a 4 post lift

 

Keep us updated!