Was just thinking on this issue (smell the smoke), would an air leak around the EGR cause this issue. The gasket I got from the parts store looked like it was about 600 years old and covered with dust.

I did check the EGR and passageways. They seemed to be clear. I ran a flexible nylon handle (stovepipe flex rod) into the EGR passages. EGR valve had some carbon in it but it wasn't a large volume.

heed locjaw's suggestion, it sounds like the dreaded keyway problem.

Fuel Pressure |removethispart|@ the rail is 30 psi |removethispart|@ idle. Low side of spec's but still within spec's. Guess I have no choice but to pull the front apart again and detail check the keyway. I looked at it before and it seemed okay. This time it gets checked better.

IF keyway checks out good could an EGR air leak cause this problem?

IF keyway checks out good could an EGR air leak cause this problem?

Probably not.  If you are worried about it, pull the EGR valve off and put a thin layer of silicone/RTV/gasket maker (whatever) on it (either with or without the gasket) and put it back on.

Could be a weak or partially clogged fuel pump causing the issue.  Or maybe a partially clogged fuel filter.  Have you changed the fuel filter recently?

When you replaced the timing belt, did you remove the big center bolt in the crank pulley?  It doesn't have to be removed, to do the timing belt, BTW.  If you did, did you torque it back to 95ft. lbs?

When I initially had the problem I changed the filter. Problem solved for about an hour. So I figured maybe there was alot of crap in the tank so I changed the filter again ($OUCH$) but still had the same problem.

If I unhook the Fuel Pressure Regulator from the vacuum the pressure shoots up to about 42 psi but the engine runs the same. I am thinking maybe I need to noid light all the injectors for one(this thing did sit for about 4 years but ran great for 4k miles until now) and replace the O2 sensor.

Is the keyway behind the bolt or on the gear? I am flustered to the point of nearly permanent blonde moments right now LOL.

(this thing did sit for about 4 years but ran great for 4k miles until now)

I'd say there is a good chance there is crap in the tank and/or the fuel pump is starting to go bad.

Is the keyway behind the bolt or on the gear? I am flustered to the point of nearly permanent blonde moments right now LOL.

Kinda both.  You have to remove the bolt to get the gear off, so you can check the key/keyway.

If there is a bunch of crap in the tank, the "sock" that the
pump draws fuel might be plugged, but your pressure should
remain the same, I thought 43 was the standard fuel pressure
on the MPI systems, 30 is a bit low, what does the book say it
is supposed to be?

If there is a bunch of crap in the tank, the "sock" that the
pump draws fuel might be plugged, but your pressure should
remain the same, I thought 43 was the standard fuel pressure
on the MPI systems, 30 is a bit low, what does the book say it
is supposed to be?

The pressure won't remain the same, if the pump sock is clogged/restricted and it isn't getting enough fuel flow to keep the pressure up. 
I had an EFI samurai that had a restricted sock.  It would run great for a few minutes, but then it would start sputtering and would run like crap, as the fuel flow/pressure decreased.  Eventually it would die.  But I could turn the key on and off a few times, to get the pressure and flow built back up and it would run fine again for a few minutes.

I am checking the keyway tomorrow. I had a blonde moment and thought the line-up tooth was the keyway.

As far as fuel pressure goes it holds 30 psi |removethispart|@ idle. FSM says 30-39 |removethispart|@ idle. On the low side but still within spec. I was expecting to see a pressure drop when it started running rough but the pressure held |removethispart|@ 30.

Quote from: wildgoody on July 30, 2011, 12:36:33 PM

If there is a bunch of crap in the tank, the "sock" that the
pump draws fuel might be plugged, but your pressure should
remain the same, I thought 43 was the standard fuel pressure
on the MPI systems, 30 is a bit low, what does the book say it
is supposed to be?

The pressure won't remain the same, if the pump sock is clogged/restricted and it isn't getting enough fuel flow to keep the pressure up. 
I had an EFI samurai that had a restricted sock.  It would run great for a few minutes, but then it would start sputtering and would run like crap, as the fuel flow/pressure decreased.  Eventually it would die.  But I could turn the key on and off a few times, to get the pressure and flow built back up and it would run fine again for a few minutes.

Ya, that's what I meant, the restriction would be causing the rough running, if the pressure remains the same
the sock isn't plugged, kind of a check before dropping the tank is where I was going with this

Yeah the fuel pressure stayed pretty consistent, maybe a pound or two difference the entire time. I agree with you on the fact that a pressure test is far better than dropping the tank just to take a look.

Timing belt is in plain view. I was looking at the keyway you could see for the timing gear NOT the keyway INSIDE the timing gear.  What freakin genius thought up that design?!?!?!?  BUT on a side note when I checked the crank/cam timing they were still set where they were supposed to be. I find it hard to believe that if the keyway was bad that everytime I shut the motor off everything jumps back into position. Call me lazy but I don't really want to un-torque that bolt just to take a look if I don't have too. Or is it a better safe than sorry deal |removethispart||removethispart|@ this point?

Guess I should also let you folks know how I know #4 is TDC. Plug #4 is out and a nylon rod is inserted into the #4 plug hole. TDC IS verified along with the crank/cam timing.