Honest feedback on the 3.0

[93yotasr5]

i love my 3.0 198000 miles factory HG. there is a ton of spaghetti hahah.
gets around 15mpg
but has been reliable as hell. made some long ass trips and done some pretty high revs. i just take care of her and she takes care of me.

 

[jynx]

I just finished rebuilding one for a pick-up that I sold to my father-in-law, and I must agree that they are a Royal PITA to work on, but I pulled it, replaced all the gaskets and seals that I could without pulling the heads. I had never fooled with one before, but I got everything back together and into the truck and she fired up on the very first try. It is soo much quieter than my 22RE.

If you have the patience, they aren't that bad, just a lot of hoses in hard to reach areas, and I did cut several because I either couldn't reach the clamps or they wouldn't come loose, but other than that and the vacuum hose routing it is doable. Make sure the HG has been done, check the timing belt and water pump and you should be good to go.

I actually have another one sitting in the garage that I am going to be rebuilding soon to go into my 88 4Runner with a blown motor. I did some reading and alot of folks would tell me to do a 3.4 swap, but for my part, I don't want the headache of having to fool with the wiring and such, so I will just stick with the 3.0.

Just my $.02

Tucker

 

[AK RIG]

I am the original owner of an '88 long bed with a 3.0. The only problem I have ever had was a burned exhaust valve. That was the result of waiting too long to have the valves adjusted (thanks to some bad advise from the dealer where I bought the truck). It now after 23 years and 230,000 miles still runs like new. I always changed the oil at 3000ish miles and did all the scheduled maintenance. It is a little bit of a "hard starter" when it is cold (maybe the cold start injector), but it has always been that way. The only drawback is they stuffed it into the 2nd generation design, so it is a little difficult to work on.

I have really liked mine, not as much power and worse mpg than the new V6's, but it was a good upgrade power-wise from the 22re back in 1988.

 

[vipergrhd]

still going n going

I'm the original owner 93 truck bought it in 94 with 5k miles and now at 226k the dealer replaced head gasket at 80k no other problems after that.not sure when i should get the valves adjusted but i checked it when i replaced the valve cover gasket still w/in specs. replaced the timing belt 3x and water pump once still running strong.i really don't care if it is slow i'm happy with it and thats what matters.

John

 

[AK RIG]

I'm the original owner 93 truck bought it in 94 with 5k miles and now at 226k the dealer replaced head gasket at 80k no other problems after that.not sure when i should get the valves adjusted but i checked it when i replaced the valve cover gasket still w/in specs. replaced the timing belt 3x and water pump once still running strong.i really don't care if it is slow i'm happy with it and thats what matters.

John

The Toyota guru that did my valves said they should be checked about every 100k. The dealer told me that they wouldn't (ever) need to be adjusted, I should have known that wasn't right but it was a new engine back then... Mine went 200k before one exhaust valve burned.

 

[meigsrock]

So for someone looking for a truck to use on very light trails, deep snow, dog carrier, bring the kids home from school, grocery getting truck, would you still take a 3.0 5speed, or would you be happy with a 22re 5speed (both with AC)?

I love my 22RE engines! I guess I am just a fan of the the ease to work on the inline engines as I have had FJ60's for years. I have owned my 1986 22RE camper for a couple of years and it is great. Not the fastest motorhome out there but it will do good speeds and gets 20+mpg on highway driving. I have only seen one other one like it on the internet. (lots of 1970's versions called Chinook campers but only ever seen one other 1980's version). I will try to put up a picture tomarrow.

I also bought a 1992 22RE pickup about 6 months ago for a daily driver to replace my 1990 toyota carolla all trac 4wd wagon (also a inline or I should say horizontal 4cyl-1.8L) and I love it. Mine has AC but the belt is off of it so I do not know how much power that robs. I can not say how it would do with 33' tires, I run 235/75/15 in winter (29") and 31" in summer. It might need re-geared but if you do then I think it would do fine. I get around 15mpg in 4wd around town, 17mpg in 2wd in town, and 20mpg in 2wd on highway.

IF you are looking for one I would try to get a extended cab. Mine is a reg cab and I wish I had the extended cab. The front seat fills up with stuff fast and groceries have to go in the bed sometimes.

All I can say about the v-6 is what a pain in the to work on. My cousin had a 1998 4 runner with the 6 in it and I could not even get to the oil filter to change the oil. I told her tough , take it to the shop for a oil change. I still wonder if they ever changed her filter or just left the old one on. haha.

Just my thoughts.