Most reliable engine??

[Jhangles]

Hello everyone,

I was just wondering what everyone thought of the 3.0 litre found in the early 90's 4x4's in the US? I've heard that they weren't reliable, and I was wondering if that was true or not? Is the 4-cylinder engines around that year the better choice? Or was the person I was talking to full of crap?

Any help would be awesome,

Thanks!
-Beau

[MenaceSQL]

There was a head gasket recall on most of those 3.0L V6 engines. I have heard of some people saying that their head gasket did go out including a cousin of mine. My truck, however, was not part of the recall and it got over 280,000 miles before it needed to be replaced. My cousin's truck has been running just fine after the local Toyota dealer took care of the problem.

[reb]

My '94 T100 3.0 liter has been in the shop only for the recalled head gaskets and two other times for routine timing belt replacements. The last time an idler pulley was replaced with the belt. The engine has nearly 130,000 miles with absolutely no problems. That surprises me because, with the automatic transmission, it regularly sees in excess of 4000 rpm on mountain highways. I have heard no complaints about the reliability of the engine. However, people (me included) have complained about its lack of power at highway speeds for something as heavy as the T100.

[Jhangles]

Awesome,

Thanks for the replies, they'll help alot. Do you know which years the recall was for on the headgasket?

Thanks again,
-Beau

[4x4yota]

reliability is a very touchy subject, but i don't want to get into it. My father had a 5speed 2wd '89 pickup with 270,xxx miles before we sold it. We only changed the clutch and timing chain with all the other wear items. The truck never had a problem. I have a 5 speed '93 4x4 with the infamously unreliable v6 with 206,xxx miles, i never had a problem with it. only changed wear items and had the headgasket replaced under warranty (there wasn't a problem with the gasket at the time). On the other had my cousin has a 5 speed 2wd '95 pickup with 193,xxx miles on his 22-re... and he blew a headgasket! We all live in the same city, we don't use these trucks for anything they're not intended for. We care for our cars, I have a complete tool set and am a very competent weekend mechanic. I own the repair manual and keep maintenence on the cars, and do the repairs. reliability is hard to measure, there are too many unforseen factors, such as parts quality control, mechanic skill etc... remember, if it's made by man, it will fail.

[packfan]

FYI.... The real thing!!!

Mine falls under this recall but I have not had an issue yet... I got 248,000 on it now... I am saving it for motor failure

[Nimbly]

My girlfriend has a 22R in her 4Runner and it has 220,000 miles on it, and her mom has a 3L in hers and the thing is a lump! Hardly 130,000 and the thing is sooo gutless. It may be just because the people who work on it + who drives it. All I know is the 4Runner thats 6 years older and has 2 less cylinders wins my vote. I like most Toyotas and this, I am sure is an isolated case but I wouldn't drive that gas chugging crap wagen further than I could walk in a day, cuz I would be worried I'd have to. On another note her dad has a pickup with a 3L but it don't have 200,000. When it comes around I may have to sing a differant tune.

[chronoti]

i have a 22r 4 runner with a manual ... it a very good, strong engine, but it's slow, so all i'm saying is as long as you dont want some thing with alot of blending speed on the high way or coast around going 80 the 4 might not have the stock power you need

[bdking618]

Hi, IM Bob, I have read alot about the high milage people are getting on their cars and trucks, I am a preventative maintainace guy. I have a 96 tacoma auto, 4x4 3.4 with 140000 m on it I change oil every 2-3 k miles. I use castrol high mile. oil. at this rate aprox. how long can the engine last. Thanks Bob

[Bakemono]

I would say that for durability the 22R is probably the best.
However, I think that with any Toyota engine you could expect it to last 300,000 miles with regular maintenance.
Cap'n

[Mushroom_Toy]

Originally Posted by bdking618

Hi, IM Bob, I have read alot about the high milage people are getting on their cars and trucks, I am a preventative maintainace guy. I have a 96 tacoma auto, 4x4 3.4 with 140000 m on it I change oil every 2-3 k miles. I use castrol high mile. oil. at this rate aprox. how long can the engine last. Thanks Bob

Should last at least for another 100000 miles. My truck is a 91' with 212000 miles on it, and still running strong. As long as you take care of the engine and replace parts if they fail it could last forever. There is a guy at the Toyota dealership in Gainesville with 546,000 miles on his truck , and it's still running like a champ!

[Bakemono]

There is a Toyota dealership about 12 miles south of where I live (Janesville, WI) and they have a late '80s 2wd regular cab Toyota pickup that they use as a "go-fer" truck (parts runner, ect) and it has over 400,000 miles on it.
All they have done for maintenance is spark plugs/wires/cap/rotor, brakes, tires and clutches.
There is an old saying about Toyotas, "200,000 miles is just broke-in".
Cap'n

[EnolaGaia]

I've got the infamous 3.0L V6 in my '93 2WD XtraCab. 150K-miles on it, and it's just fine. Compression is uniform across all cylinders, and it's never failed me.

My head gasket was (pre-emptively) replaced under warranty by my preferred dealer shop. it was fine - they just said they wanted to go ahead and do it to be safe...

The only thing I've had replaced on it was the water pump (at somewhere between 90K and 110K miles).

The 3.0 V6 is criticized for not having a lot of power, but it's definitely got more oomph than the 4-cylinders. I think the criticism is caused by its not having a huge amount of its power available right off the line. Where it really shines is over-the-road cruising - it's one of the smoothest mills I've ever driven, and once in motion it can surge however you want it to...

Still, the 2RZ and 3RZ 4-cylinders are the long-term reliability champions. If you don't need much in the way of power, get a 4-cylinder.

[Bakemono]

Originally Posted by EnolaGaia

The 3.0 V6 is criticized for not having a lot of power, but it's definitely got more oomph than the 4-cylinders. I think the criticism is caused by its not having a huge amount of its power available right off the line. Where it really shines is over-the-road cruising - it's one of the smoothest mills I've ever driven, and once in motion it can surge however you want it to...

Still, the 2RZ and 3RZ 4-cylinders are the long-term reliability champions. If you don't need much in the way of power, get a 4-cylinder.

The 2.7L DOHC I-4 made just as much power as the 3.0L SOHC V6 does. Ive driven trucks with either engine and I prefer the I-4. It feels like it has more low-rpm torque.
Cap'n

[Sidney]

Originally Posted by Mushroom_Toy

Should last at least for another 100000 miles. My truck is a 91' with 212000 miles on it, and still running strong. As long as you take care of the engine and replace parts if they fail it could last forever. There is a guy at the Toyota dealership in Gainesville with 546,000 miles on his truck , and it's still running like a champ!

Mushroom_Toy, do you mind getting a hold of the owner of that 546 000 mile truck and tell him to post his info on his rig at:

http://www.t4x4pickup.com/dgroup/index.html

as there is a fellow poster named Paul Cherubini from Placerviller (80 miles west or east of Sacramento),California who has a 1992 white 2wd p5 speed pickup truck with almost 500 000 miles and loves to meet other with high mileage rigs.

Sidney® ™
Repairs tv's,vcr's,home/car audio out of my home
E-mail:sidneybek@yahoo.com
Dartmouth,Nova Scotia
Canada
1985 Toyota 4-Runner,solid front straight axle,factory cruise control,sunroof,22R-E,W56,RN60LV-MSEK,rusted rear step/towing chrome bumper with 244 000 KM