jjrowe

Hello,

I am facing a dilemma. I have an 1986 Toyota pickup 2wd with stock carburated 22R engine, 121k miles. The truck has been great, very reliable, driven it all over the west coast. Lifted slightly with larger that stock tires as well. I now have a ski boat that I need to tow (3k lbs or so). The truck pulls it fine on the freeway and most hills. Today however I got stuck on a very steep incline (20+ % grade) towing the boat, the truck just stopped. Same day I had a very hard time pulling the boat out of the water on a steep ramp.

Here is my question: with $2-$3000 to spend can I get the necessary mods to make this truck something that can tow the boat safely and reliably? What would those mods be?

Am I dreaming and I just need to step up to a bigger engine/truck?

ideas, recommendations?.

Thanks,
Jesse

Elton

welcome to yotatech ..... i would swap it over to efi that should help and do a header and full exhaust and maybe a little head work with a cam

bigtrucknwheels

talk to engnbldr about rebuild kits and weasy2k for cams. never personally dealt with these guys, but i have heard absolutely nothing bad about them. If i would ever need to rebuild, i would def. talk to these guys.

do a forum search, lots and lots of answers here!


Clint

dcg9381

Need to figure out if your engine has a problem.. If it's in good shape, maybe you can avoid those 20% grades - they've got to be rare..

On 20% grade, had I stopped, I would have dropped it into 4low (don't lock the hubs) - same thing I do on the boat ramp. Huge mechanical advantage and much easier on the clutch coming out of the water.

She'll never be a great tow vehicle on anything other than flat and level.

If you really need her to tow, the best upgrade would a 4.3L or more modern truck.. :-)

Island_Yota

Id look at some new gearing(lower ratio's), You could always swap in some heavy duty rear springs too.. I doubt you would need to spend anything over $1000 to be able to tow the boat, In my opinion its not very safe to be towing 3k + with stock springs/gearing though, probably pretty hard on the truck.

bigtrucknwheels

i wouldnt be afraid to tow with my truck, but the frame rail is buggered up so, yeah i dont have a bumper or hitch. Of course, i have a V6 Xtra Cab, so i have a little more truck to work with.

Yeah, the 4Low idea is a good one, but he has a 2wd truck.

And finally, whats the 4.3 Liter swap? or did you mean the 3.4?

jjrowe

thank you all for responding. Yes 4 low would have been GREAT but I don't have 4wd. Unfortunately the 20% grade is the entrance to the local reservoir :-) so hard to avoid. Gearing changes and springs would be good, I'm just not sure if its worth it. It is definitely hard on the truck right now. I am just trying to figure out if I should upgrade the truck or get a different one. If I need to get another toyota for under 10k what is a good reliable model/year for my use?

Jesse

misterzee

You were simply asking too much of your mini-pickup, specially with oversize tires. If you're into mechanical tinkering, you could put a (3.4) V6 in it, or a second gearcase to get a low range for pulling a plow, otherwise, you're just going to need a bigger truck. Sell it and get a Yota with a 3.4 V6 in it, or newer, depending on your budget.

curtiswyant

Do you have a manual or auto tranny? If it's an auto, I'd get a bigger radiator with tranny cooler. If it's a manual, I wouldn't tow very much with it. Carbs can have problems running on inclines. I would invest in a good carb rebuild/tune-up and maybe even install an inline electric fuel pump that you could switch on/off when needed to make sure you're getting fuel to the carb on those steep hills.

ShortyzKustomz

My 22r was alot more low end and pull after my rebuild. Mine has shaved head, cam, port and polish, header and K&N etc etc

notanymore

the 4.3 is a chevy v6. i belive it is a cheaper swap because they are much more common than the 3.4. a search would be able to tell you more than i know about it though

CyMoN

buy a different truck
you could dump loads of money into th truck you have and still not get what you wanted for the price you have to spend you could get a decent truck to pull with.

Robrt32

Look around and for a couple grand you can find a pretty good full size Ford or Chevy truck , hook it to the boat and leave it hooked up.. Use your Toy for daily driver or you could just give it to me.....J/K

gilby4runner

That would be your best bet... you could do a lot to that truck... then you would have a lot of money tied up in it and you would not get the MPG's out of it. Get a fullsize and use it for towing and keep the yota for DD

jjrowe

I think I have talked the lady of the house into getting a 4runner with V6 and 4WD and selling her convertible. Looking at a getting something between a 95-2000 model. I will do a search here to see what issues those might have. I have heard the 3.4L v6 had head gasket issues. I agree that my truck just isn't going to foot the bill here. Thank you all for the replies.

Jesse

Jay351

the 3.0L v6 had headgasket issues but the 3.4 is a very good engine, it is miles ahead of the 22re and 3vze.

I would recomend getting the 3rd gen 4runner with the 3.4L
Add weasy2k's 5vze cams and you are set!

shugashaft

sell it or keep it and upgrade to a....say 97+ 3.4 taco that has more power... no better yet get a tundra, problem solved!

deserttoy84

Good old san vicenete reservoir. Just to clearify for the rest of you guys, the hill getting into this lake is pretty short but VERY STEEP!! It is a pretty scary hill to go up and down. barley wide enough for 2 vehicles to pass each other going up or down and its pretty much a cliff if you fell off the edge, people have killed there vehicles getting up this hill, if you have to back down you got like one chance. The boat ramp isnt that bad though, its pretty long and has some nice grooves to help you get up. Ive seen a chick one time in a toyota pickup 4x4 with a manual tranny try pulling a v-8 jet boat out, her clutch started smoking , it was awsome, pretty much a 4k slip then dump. Where do u live in san diego? I would imagine pulling the lakeside hill would be a lot worse. DEFINANTLY get gearing, give your engine a tune up. youll notice a big difference from regearing your rear end.

jjrowe

I live over by mission bay so I took 8 east over to the 67. Haven't had much trouble with any hills so far just that one. The main thing was I didn't have any momentum before I started going up. Truck stopped halfway up and nearly slid backwards down the hill. The ranger came and towed me all the way up. Then pulling the boat out of the water, I smoked the clutch a bit to get the boat started. Not doing that again! Too much drama and choppy water to boot.

jjrowe

One more quick question..

3rd gen 4 runners are 98 and newer (5vze for the 6s?)?
The 97 still has a 3.0? (3vze?)