Yeah, unfortunately what you've read is what I'll tell you too. If I was facing the decision to buy my truck again, knowing what I know now, I wouldn't buy it. The 3VZE really is a very badly designed engine that for many owners is trouble-plagued and a money pit. This seems to be true especially of the 92-95 engines - many of them have had 2, 3 or even more than 3 head gasket failures. Those of us with the 88-91 3VZEs seem to make out a little better, but even so I've had to replace the head gaskets on mine.
If you like the 4runner, go with the 22re. You do have to watch the timing chain guides on it, and replace the guides/chain when they're up to 100k - 120k, but aside from that, it's the kind of motor you expect from Toyota. The V6 unfortunately isn't.
Another option for a similar type vehicle is the RAV4. Every RAV4 owner I've talked to, without exception, just "raves" about how great they are. When I see one I always ask the owner if they would sell it and they always laugh me off with a "yeah, right!" They get far better gas mileage than the 3VZE and are much more reliable.
Their resale is high, I guess cause no one wants to sell them, but if you look in craigslist you might find a bargain. You know the Toyota drill - you have to keep an eagle eye on the listings and when a good one comes up you have to be ready to jump on it.
I find the msn auto pages to be pretty helpful when I'm shopping for a car or helping friend/family do so:
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/default.aspx?make=Toyota&model=RAV4#used
Anyhow, good luck. Sorry to give you bad news about the 4runner you were interested in, but better now than later(!)
If you like the 4runner, go with the 22re. You do have to watch the timing chain guides on it, and replace the guides/chain when they're up to 100k - 120k, but aside from that, it's the kind of motor you expect from Toyota. The V6 unfortunately isn't.
Another option for a similar type vehicle is the RAV4. Every RAV4 owner I've talked to, without exception, just "raves" about how great they are. When I see one I always ask the owner if they would sell it and they always laugh me off with a "yeah, right!" They get far better gas mileage than the 3VZE and are much more reliable.
Their resale is high, I guess cause no one wants to sell them, but if you look in craigslist you might find a bargain. You know the Toyota drill - you have to keep an eagle eye on the listings and when a good one comes up you have to be ready to jump on it.
I find the msn auto pages to be pretty helpful when I'm shopping for a car or helping friend/family do so:
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/default.aspx?make=Toyota&model=RAV4#used
Anyhow, good luck. Sorry to give you bad news about the 4runner you were interested in, but better now than later(!)
