94 Toyota Misses and wants to die at takeoff.

My 1994 4-cyl yota has been giving me fits. At take off, it sputters and wants to die, I almost didn't get it home yesterday. It all started happening after a weekend on the jackstands, I put on my drop spindles and cut, beat, and grinded out anything that would snag the tires when they rub on the inner fenders. I think the timming is just a conincidence however.

The check engine light came on an flashes this code when I check it. 7 times pauses and flashes once more. My book says this is an EGR malfunction for "california models only" (mine is not). I checked the timing, 5-degrees. I checked the compression, 1=160,2=150,3=160,4=165. sparkplug gap is good. Vacume is 18-20lbs. The injectors are all clicking the same when I check them with a stethescope. I reset the check engine light by pulling out the EFI fuse and putting it back in, and it ran fine for about 6 miles then the light came on and it started doing it again.

So, what type of computer problem, or sensor should I be looking at. What is the most common problem. Did this happen to you and how did you fix it. I'm ready to sell this thing for a carburated vehicle.

Thanks for any input or sarcastic comments about Toyota's

mine did something like that but it had set for a real long time......it was just bad gas.. i rand some fuel injector cleaner and filled it up with super.. and after a day or two it was fine and it hasnt done it since.....but yours hasnt set that long so this might not help..... does yours idle like its suppose to??

I ran B-12 chemtool cleaner through it. It has fresh gas. I seems to idle fine. It always kind of missed around 3,000 to 3,500 rpm after I changed the head, but hardly noticable. I just replaced the head like 6 months ago because the old one was eaten up from corosion and it blew (someone ran straight water with an aluminum head, "not me"). I had the engine down to the block and built it back up with all new gaskets and torqued everything down to spec. It was running fine ever since, I even took it to the race track and ran a 16.9 ET after I changed the head.

ive heard that the cat convertors when they start to plug do shit like that...

it could be a cat, or it still could be the EGR valve.

I can bypass the cat and see if it does anything. I'll see if there is any way to bypass or test the EGR. Keep throwing out ideas guys and gals.

It sounds like it could be the EGR valve. Try taking it off and soaking it in some carb cleaner over night to try and remove some of the carbon buildup. I would also try moving the little plunger by hand it should move freely. Also check the Diaphragm sometimes the get a hole.

I gutted the catalytic converter and it doesn't stall, at least it hasn't started yet. It was kind of on and off with the stalling anyways, but we'll see. However, the light didn't go off. I noticed that it smells real rich now, so I am gonna go ahead and spend the $100+ bucks on a new O2 sensor, since the book says it needs to be replaced at regular intervals anyway. I think all the gas could has been loading up the engine causing it to die, and now its not because the cat is gutted and all the extra fumes are just comming out the exhuast, but we'll see.

Check to make sure the EGR is working. Test it with a vacume tester thing. Unplug the vacume line goin to the EGR and hook up the tester. With the motor running give the egr some vacume, if the truck dies then your EGR is good, if it doesnt die replace that biotch.

I checked the EGR like you said. It didn't die, but it was on the verge. So its not the cat, because its gutted. The EGR checks out. I just replaced the O2 sensor with a new one. By the way, right after I changed the O2 sensor, the check engine light was throwing the EGR code and an O2 sensor code... I was pissed. But after I reset the computer and drove it around it only throws the EGR code. But still, I wasted $75 on a new O2 sensor, maybe it'll get better milage or something, but it didn't fix the problem. Any ideas? I'm just trying to find out why the light keeps comming on, even after I reset it. Keep in mind, the book says this code is for California vehicles only, and mine is not.