toyota1ton

i am looknig to buy a 1990 4runner V6 auto. i currently have a 1990 4runner with a 22RE in it. Just curious to know how good the V6 engines are for that year becuase i have heard that they have a lot of problems. input would be greatly appreciated.

UncleBob

I have a 1990 SR5 V6 Standard, and personally, have not had any issues with the 3.0. It pulls my boat fine as well. It had low mileage when I got it though (around 80K). I have since put about 30K on it.

Don't know if it's had (or was even eligible for) the HG recall.

It runs quiet, and pulls good.

My '88 has the 3.0 as well, around 150K miles. Runs great. It's a manual, though.

I had a 3.0 in a 1995 Limited, with an Auto. It was horribly slow.

first4runner

i got a 1990 4runner manual and it runs pretty strong. Quiet too. I dont have experience with the 22RE but the v6 is alright.

DCS

Hi, and welcome to the board.

If you spend a few hours surfing this particular forum and using the search function, you will find that the prevailing opinion of the 6 cyl engine is less than worshipful.

It's frequently referreed to as the 3.slow and/or a turd, because even with $4000 worth of cam and pipe and head and intake mods, you only get a $500 worth of incremental horsepower.

Common problems with the 3.slo are:
- it's not "over-powered". It makes barely adequate power in the low rpm range, and nothing to brag about in upper rpm ranges.
- most people get 15mpg, although some claim as high as 18 or 20
- Its cooling fan is prone to catastophic failure
- its intake tract is arduous and not remotely pretty
- its head gasket fails
- it has funny hot spots, perhaps related to proximity of exhaust components (crossover) or high exhaust heat levels, which may contribute to head gasket failure near #6(?) cylinder
- its array of sensors and vac hoses is daunting
- its fan-mounting bracket costs $600 at the dealer
- its coolant passgeways are complex, and easily blocked at certain areas by rtv gasket boogers that flake off into the system after water pump replacement or other similar work
- etc

Market forces are a good indicator of general appreciataion levels for the 3.0:
> many 2nd Gen owners who experience engine failure opt for replacing the 3.0 with the newer 3.4, even though the cost is higher. You get more power, and lose many of the 3.0 headaches.
> 2nd gen runners with the 22re engine typically sell for a higher price than similar runners with 3.0's. Primarily, this is because the 22re engine has much better fuel economy, and although it offers less power than the 3.0, the 3.0 is regarded as so underpowered that who cares?

In conclusion, although the world is full of people who take pride in their ability to make their old 3.0's operate optimally, it is a quite a stretch to call the 3.0 a better engine than the 22RE.

My 3.0 runs nicely. I putt around, and i hope to get a few years service from it before something terrible happens. With perhaps only slighlty higher than average amounts of maintenance time and dollars, you can get a good life from a 3.0.

that's my .02. Good luck!

91ToyTrck

I think it all depends on the previous owner. The 3.0 in my current truck seems to have a hair less power then my '92 I drove for 6 years. I hate to see people compare the 3.0 to the 3.4 motor. You have to figure it's going to have more power and dependability when it's a newer motor.

The 3.0L does a good job for it's size, getting around in traffic, and overall offroad use. It's not a race motor ... so stop omparing it to one for a chage.

Belize Off Road Team

i agree with you completely 91ToyTrck...i hate to see people compare the 3.0 to other vehicles that happen to be newer and there for most likely more powerful. You have to look at back in 1990-1995 with the 3.0 how many V6 engine where close to that powerful. and definitly no 4 cyl...and of course a bigger engine such as the 3.4 will be faster, especially with the available TRD supercharger. And yes the 3.0 does what you want it to thats for sure.

TNRabbit

I would NOT recommend the 3.0 with an automatic tranny. It's a dog.

Mine ran VERY good until 218,000 miles when it blew a HG, probably as a result of overheating it twice within 8 months. I was getting 24 mpg on the interstate before the HG went south, and still got 20 mpg after it started acting up. I got as low as 15 mpg when I was really tearing @$$ with it. I think a lot of the poor mileage problems folks experience is because of the auto tranny, huge tires, and/or vacuum leaks (TONS of vacuum tubing on these puppies!)

Upon teardown, I found the cylinder walls & cam gear to be in EXCELLENT condition; I'll know about the main bearings/bottom end when I get the engine pulled sometime in the coming week (weather permitting). So far, the engine looks to be in excellent condition. I'm doing a complete rebuild (no performance enhancements) while it's apart and plan to get another quarter of a million miles out of the truck before I get rid of it.

The V-6 does not "suck"; it's simply an older, small V-6 engine designed for puttering around and not for drag racing, pushing around a (in my case) 4200 lb vehicle.

Turd Ferguson

I've had a few serious electrical issues with my 3.0 but mechanically it has been sound. There are a few users here as TNRabitt wrote, that have torn their 3.0's down to the block after several hundred thousand miles and found them to be immaculate. The headgasket issues that we are all intimately familiar with are from poor design on Toyota's part, as well as inferior materials in the OEM gasket used at the factory. Toyota, however, has made good on those things. But only once!!

FWIW, everyone has stated the above problems. I'll add something to the mix: general maitenance like changing spark plugs, or repairing starters on them can be rediculously difficult because of the location of said components. Let's just say the easiest way to get at the #2 spark plug is to remove the air intake hoses, and then go at it from an odd angle. For that matter, the starter repairs are nearly impossible to reach with normal sized adult hands. I'm considering hiring Mini-Me to get my starter out.

Power wise, its a pig and a half. Sluggish as all hell, and unable to get out of its own way, its an old design V6 in a vehicle that was put on paper over 20 years ago. Don't expect the kind of performance from a modern EFI 4 or 6cyl motor. Have a good mechanic on speed dial and go from there

cbrsport17

i have a 1990 toyota 4runner ssr-limited and it runs perfectly fine, its only got about 85,000 miles on it, but i havent had to really fix anything that i didnt break myself....sucks on gas tho...

Bumpin' Yota

As far as comparing the 3vze from the 90 model year to others I can tell you 90 (early 90) was a good year. Mine was produced in 10/89 iirc so it still had the asbestos hg's and had no issues until 275,000 miles were on the clock. At that point the HG let go.

In totality I've dumped about 1800 or so in mods to make my truck go from point a to point b faster.

2.25" exhaust
FIPK
High flow cat
PNP heads
1mm larger valves
259* cams
better hardware and gaskets

Was it worth it? You bet your arse it was!! Now if you plan on towing, dont buy the 22re, particularly if you think the 3vze is slow! lol

Working on the 3vze is cake, you just have to work on it more! I can change my plugs in 15 minutes, 20 if hot. Oil and filter is 10.

Comparing the 3vze to the 5vzfe is simply stupid. Thats like comparing a 1990 5.0L small block chevy to a 2001 LS1! Can you make a 302 out run the Gen 3 smallblock ls1? You bet! Will you spend a small fortune doing it? Yes. The exact same can be said for the 3.0 to 3.4 comparison. Does that mean that the 3.0 or the 5.0sbc is a bad engine persay? Absolutely not.

Take care of your 3vze and itll take care of you. Also for maximum fun get one with a manual behind the 3vze.

rdharper

I have both a 22rec and a 3VZE. I like them both... they both run great.

One advantage to the 22rec is that its simpler to work on. Although I've not really had to work on either in any significant way.

The 3VZE is more powerful than the 22rec. However mine is in an '85 pickup, a much lighter vehicle. But the 3VZE holds the hills... its fine.

Because of the HG problems the 3VZE had (because they got caught in a design expecting to use asbestos, but had to switch to another HG design soon after start of production), the reputation for the 3VZE has been poor relative to other Toyota products. However, if you got the HG switched out before any damage was done (under recall), chances are good you will have an excellent motor.

Also, because of these problems, I've learned to be very careful with respect to fluids and temperature. These habits were easy to learn and worth learning.

Making the checks on fluid levels, changing them out at appropriate intervels, and starting with an undamaged engine... I expect to get very long life, consistant with what you should expect with a Toyota.

Give you one example. On all of my vehicles, I know exactly where the coolant level in the overflow reservoir should be, when hot... and when cold. I check these levels everytime I drive the vehicle through the plastic. I make sure I can see the coolant level in the reservoir without opening it. I will know immediately if something has changed. Well worth a 5 minute check, as I also check all other fluids at the same time. This forces awareness.... a good thing.

On my Toyotas, the hot/cold levels are VERY predictable... rock solid predictable.

I've not added coolant to the 3VZE since I changed it out almost a year ago. I've used zero coolant... in all that time. Temp has been dead on where it should be before and after warmup.

pruney81

I think buying a used 3.0 4Runner these days is like a crapshoot. The head gasket may or not blow on you. You really need to make sure if the prevous owner took good care of it.

elripster

I had an '89 with 297,000 on the 3.0. It was the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned. I hope my 94 does that well. I have a 3.0 with the auto and with correct gearing it's fine. I can drive from Mission Valley in San Diego to North San Diego county (up 15) and she'll downshift only once for one hill. If any locals read this, chime in 'cause that's pretty good considering the terrain around here.

I find that 4 cylinder to be painfully slow and miserable to drive so for me the V6 is the only way to go. Day to day drive-ability are important.

Frank

first4runner

I was stationed @ MCRD in San Diego for about 3 years, and some time in oceanside too. I have driven all over cali and the hills and mountains are horrible. Downshifting only once is quite a feat. Try driving a jeep around cali now THAT is a dog.

zbadboy69

I also have the 3VZE with the Auto. I have only owned it for a couple of months. I took it up to Bakersfield pulling a quad trailer to go varment hunting. It had a tough time going through the pass but ran 75 most of the way with no problem. I got 18.5 mpg coming and going. And yes I do know how to acurately check mpg. I always top it all the way off and then do the same on my next fill up. It has a used engine from Japan. Is there any chance the engines manufactured for the Japan market retained the asbestos gaskets?

Jeff