Any owners of 89 trucks? How are they?

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I'm looking at possibly getting an 89 V-6 Toyota truck. I heard there might be issues with those engines. Any input on this and any other possible issues?

Thanks
 
The v6's from 88-95 had head gasket issues. Other than that they are fine.
 
Truth is any engine with an iron block and aluminum head will blow a gasket if you over heat it. 22re's will do the same if you run them hot. I have a 3.0 that I sent to the machine shop for a going thru because I had heard all the same things you are and had some concerns, I stopped in yesterday and the crank was sitting on the floor, only washed and it looked brand new. The machinist said the crank, block and bearings all looked new and this motor had 215,000 miles on it when I pulled it. He said the heads looked pretty good but he will let me know if he has to deck them and how much. He said he could tell it had been well cared for.

My $.02: the 3.0 was rushed into production to compete with the new v6's that were coming onto the market. The major problem I see with it is that you you see only minor HP gains for the extra displacement and the gas mileage goes with that, about 19 - 20 mpg. It also got ****'d by all the emissions BS that the US market required because when you pop the hood all you see is the maze of vacuum hoses and EGR crap that is all crammed into such a small area. This also makes them not the most user friendly for basic maintenance, but I am pretty sure that is the story for most anything these days.

From all I can tell the early motors were pretty good, the problem is the middle run when Toyota changed the material that they were making the HG out of and it took them a few years to get it right.

Also for what it's worth, the motor must have been decent since it ran from 88 until 95 when it was replaced by the 3.4, which was the same year the tried and true 22r was also replaced.

Given the choice, yes I would take the 22r over the 3.0, but I would not pass up a good deal on a nice truck just because it had the v6 in it. It is a much quieter motor and as long as it is taken care of it will return the favor.

Sorry for the semi-rant, but it gets old how everyone is always baggin on these motors when they are decent motors, no it will never be a v8 or a 22r, but wasn't meant to be, there are thousands of them still plugging along today with hundreds of thousands of miles on them.
 
Truth is any engine with an iron block and aluminum head will blow a gasket if you over heat it. 22re's will do the same if you run them hot. I have a 3.0 that I sent to the machine shop for a going thru because I had heard all the same things you are and had some concerns, I stopped in yesterday and the crank was sitting on the floor, only washed and it looked brand new. The machinist said the crank, block and bearings all looked new and this motor had 215,000 miles on it when I pulled it. He said the heads looked pretty good but he will let me know if he has to deck them and how much. He said he could tell it had been well cared for.

My $.02: the 3.0 was rushed into production to compete with the new v6's that were coming onto the market. The major problem I see with it is that you you see only minor HP gains for the extra displacement and the gas mileage goes with that, about 19 - 20 mpg. It also got ****'d by all the emissions BS that the US market required because when you pop the hood all you see is the maze of vacuum hoses and EGR crap that is all crammed into such a small area. This also makes them not the most user friendly for basic maintenance, but I am pretty sure that is the story for most anything these days.

From all I can tell the early motors were pretty good, the problem is the middle run when Toyota changed the material that they were making the HG out of and it took them a few years to get it right.

Also for what it's worth, the motor must have been decent since it ran from 88 until 95 when it was replaced by the 3.4, which was the same year the tried and true 22r was also replaced.

Given the choice, yes I would take the 22r over the 3.0, but I would not pass up a good deal on a nice truck just because it had the v6 in it. It is a much quieter motor and as long as it is taken care of it will return the favor.

Sorry for the semi-rant, but it gets old how everyone is always baggin on these motors when they are decent motors, no it will never be a v8 or a 22r, but wasn't meant to be, there are thousands of them still plugging along today with hundreds of thousands of miles on them.


Thanks for this great info...:cheers:
 
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