experiance w/3.0 V6? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

wittom · 03-07-2005, 09:05 PM

Hello all. I'm new to this board but I'm familliar with this message boards thing. I'm a member at www.f150online.com. I know how helpful these boards can be.

My F150 is my primary driver, but I've modded it a bit and it doesn't go all that great in the winter. I picked up a '90 4X4 Toyota pick-up to get me around this winter. This truck has 216,XXX miles on it and still runs, well, strong? I think it runs pretty good considering that it's probably severed several owners over the years. It's served my purpose. I haven't been stuck in the snow!

Well, I've turned the wrenches a few times on the F150, and think it's fun and though that perhaps a good learning experiance would be to rebuild the 3.0 in the Toyota. I was looking around on these boards yesterday and saw the link, www.engnbldr.com and though, this is something I can do.

What I'm kind of hopeing to hear from you folks is what kind of experiance you've had with the 3.0. How has it run for you, what are some common issues. Also for thoes of you who have rebuilt this motor, what are some things to look out for.

Hopefully this is just a start on a cool journy with this handy Toyota Pick-up. I look forward to hearing what you might have to say.

Thanks!

alltrac165 · 03-08-2005, 01:30 AM

The only known weak link in the 3.0 besides not having a lot of power is the head gasket. This appears to be only with some vehicles and I'm told is related to the material used by some manufacturing plants. Otherwise it is a good reliable engine with a solid bottom end. Should you want more power, I understand it responds well to exhaust and cams, as well as port work if you have the money. Buy yourself a factory manual, nothing else comes close. If you don't want to spend the money for one, go to techinfo.toyota.com and join for a day and download the entire thing onto your harddrive. Lots cheaper that way.
engnbldr is a great source for parts. Very helpful and knowledgeable guy too.

wittom · 03-08-2005, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alltrac165

"not having a lot of power" "good reliable engine with a solid bottom end".

I wonder if with a good set of head gaskets, if the bottom end is solid enough to handle 3-4 lbs. of boost. Then there would be the fueling issues....

I've supercharged the F150. Since then there has been a tendency to want to force feed every motor I come across. I guess it's not practicle fo all vehicles.

Thanks for the info!

EnolaGaia · 03-08-2005, 08:52 AM

Take some time and do some research over at YotaTech. A number of folks there have attempted to tweak the 3.0L V6. There are differences of opinion about this engine and whether or not it's a great candidate for serious performance modifications.

I have one in my '93 preTaco, and it's been a good solid mill for almost 12 years now. As mentioned earlier, the head gasket issue is the main complaint. Mine was replaced under warranty back around 40K miles (it's got over 145K on it now).

2tacomas · 03-08-2005, 09:44 AM

I had the 3.0L v6 in my 1988 Toyota- when I totalled the truck in January 2004 the engine had just under 190,000 miles on it and was still going strong. I bought the truck in 1996 with 85,000 miles on it and never had any major problems with it at all (and I drove the hell out of it!!) Here is a pic of that truck:

Paul H. · 03-08-2005, 01:32 PM

I have the 3.slow in my 92 4Runner and am a member at Yotatech. If you want more performance from the 3.slow, then headers and a catback exhaust are your best bet. It cannot be supercharged, powertrain will not hold up. Some people have done a 3.4 engine swap as well as the Ford 5.0 engine swap. Hope this helps ya.

martymcfly · 03-08-2005, 03:49 PM

i am currently doing the head gaskets on my 3.0 and the only problem i had was with the cam sprocket bolts but all you need is a big chain wrench and a long breaker bar with a good 17mm socket and of course the man power i locked the chain wrench aginst the other cam sprocket just FYI

alltrac165 · 03-09-2005, 01:40 AM

I don't know, if the drive train can hold up to the 3.4 swap then it ought to hold up to a few lbs of boost. Don't go for 300 hp or anything and it should be ok. 3 or 4 lbs is only going to be around 20 to 30 hp boost over stock. Throw in some headers and exhaust and you should be able to get to around 200hp at about 5 or 6 lbs. maybe?
That would be on par with the 3.4 swap which seems to survive nicely. I have no idea how the computer will respond to that, so you'll have to research that thoroughly. Check out yotatech and 4x4wire for some more info.

wittom · 03-10-2005, 08:33 PM

Thanks for the replies!

I don't think I will end up hopping up this truck. I would cost me more than I paid for the truck to supercharger it. That's with out rebuilding the engine. No, this truck is pretty rough. It's all, there. Not rotted out. But it's been through many winters here in New England and would need a lot of attention (re. $$$$) to get it back to what it was in 1990.

I hadn't really though of the 3.0 as slow. Most of the vehicles that I drive feel slow compared to my force fed F150. I felt more like the 3.0 in this truck was just tired. So, I wonder what a rebuild would do, other than prolong the life of this truck. Would just a rebuild wake it up a bit?

I like this little truck. Yah, maybe it's two shades of red with a bit of primer showing, and the bench seat has settled a bit on the drivers side (must have been someone much larger than I driving). It's not fast by any stretch of the imagination, not that it needs to be. It rattles and may make some unusual noises on occation. I like this truck though. I would like to prolong it's useful life and also gain some important knowlege by freshening up the engine, and perhaps some other componants. So, hopefully you folks will respond when I begin the search for the information I need to get this job done. I couldn't have done up my other truck without the help of other enthusiasts. I get the feeling that you all can be just as helpful.

I will check out YodaTech also.

Thanks

2tacomas · 03-11-2005, 09:11 AM

On my 1988 Toyota:I had all of the belts (including the timing) and water cooler changed out at 145,000 miles. I also had a trusted mechanic give it a good tune-up (he also took apart the top end of the engine and cleaned it out) and when I got the truck back......man what a difference. That engine ran way better after that!!