3VZE 3.0L pinging, stumbling, won't get up to speed

[vrocrider]

1991Toy W Warrior. 65K miles. Engine stock with EGR. Sat for last 6 years with half tank & Stabil. Prior to park had new ignition components and ran fine from Atlanta to Texas. Has had head gasket replacement under recall.   

The story. New battery. Started after a few tries to my surprise. Ran rough and had the smell of old gas. Extreme pinging. Drained gas tank, new fuel filter. Not much change. No CEL. CEL does work. Drove to Alabama with several bottles of Techron along the way. Only able to reach 45 - 50 MPH on highway. No improvement during drive. Terrible pinging. Engine rocks so bad it cracked lower radiator hose neck.  

Checked for cracks in air tube from MAS to throttle body. Checked for cracked vacuum lines. Checked plugs. All a brownish gold on insulator. Checked cap & rotor button. Checked fuel pressure. Good at idle. Cleaned throttle body. Installed 6 rebuilt Bosch 4 holes fuel injectors. Noticed that 3 of the intake plenum were much cleaner than the other 3. Not sure why. Jumpered CEL terminals. Continuous flashing so I assume that means no codes. Pulled small filters out of each pulled injector & they all were clean.

Result, slight improvement but still same issues. Noticed animal nest under plenum & a little wire insulation damage from critters. Timing seems right as it cranks right up. Engine a little rough at idle. Still pinging & hesitant to get up to speed.  

Next step...initially leaned toward a fuel issue but now thinking more ignition. Based on reading forums about engine ping plan to replace distributor. Will buy a timing light and verify timing. One mechanic suggested I test for fuel pressure at speed where fuel regulator kicks in.    

Suggestions?  

Thanks for any assistance.  

       

Edited February 23, 2017 by vrocrider

[WME]

That engine has a knock sensor thats a PIA to replace, but it SHOULD show as a CEL code

[vrocrider]

Thanks WME. Yea, all the posts I have seen for KS says CEL light comes on & yields code 52. 

Found a test procedure on another forum for pick ups inside distributor. Mine didn't pass so going to order new distributor off ebay for around $60. Anybody have any experience with this?   

Test specification (colors corrected):

Reference: White = G- signal; Red wire = NE signal; Green wire = G1 signal; Yellow wire = G2.

Specs (at ambient temp; i.e. not a hot engine):

G- & G1: 125 - 200 ohms

G- & G2: 125 - 200 ohms

G- & NE: 155 - 250 ohms

I'll update when I hopefully come to a solution.  

Thanks again for any input.  

Edited February 27, 2017 by vrocrider
wrong data

[Maineah]

Fuel filter replaced yet?

[vrocrider]

Yes, fuel filter changed.

New distributor solved problem. Yea!

New $58 ebay distributor helped greatly but still some pinging. Performed ohm test on new ebay distributor & passed only 2 of 3 tests as outlined above. Will return distributor. 

Bought a timing light & checked fire on each wire coming off distributor cap. Erratic at best so 65K mile distributor electrically dead. 

    

 

Edited February 28, 2017 by vrocrider

[vrocrider]

Test drove last night. While greatly improved, no stumbling, still get some pinging which I believe may be related to distributor based on reading forum posts.  

Saw a manual verifying above ohm specs for distributor. Saw a post where Spectra brand ($150) meets specs when tested. Ordered one & plan to install & test.   

Will advise.