Hey guys, I just picked up a 1997 Minicab 4wd and live in west tokyo, Japan. I know it seems odd for me to be here but it's very hard finding english information about the truck so I'm hoping to learn a lot here. My truck was dirt cheap ($1500) but is completely road worthy and even came with a fresh inspection done. However I have an issue, it struggles to start most of the time. The engine will just turn over and over and over, and it usually takes 2 or 3 attempts to get it started. After it starts, which it always eventualy does, it runs like a peach, a very slow peach. As its an older truck I intend to replace the cap, rotor, and spark plugs and hope that makes an improvement. If you guys know of any common causes of this, I'd love to hear them.
standard auto troubleshooting applies. is that fuel injected? If so, does it start easier if you key on a couple times before trying to start it to let the fuel pump run? weak fuel pump is one of the most common causes of that sort of symptom
I tried that today, i don't hear a fuel pump running like I do on other cars ive tinkered with...and i believe this is not a fuel injected model.
Take a look at the engine. Carburetor vs throttle body is pretty easy to see. If it's carbureted and has cold start issues, could be a choke issue (or a starting technique issue if you're not used to a carb; pump the gas pedal a few times before cranking), or – less likely – the bowl could be leaking down.
