Praufet

I have seen many people on here say the that the 3.o is an under powered gas guzzler, and seeing as I drive on, I'd have to agree. Has any figured out why it sucks though? I know we have some very smart people on this board who could probably figure out something like this. What did the change in the 3.4 to make it better?

distortedman

the 3.4L 5vz engine has a double overhead cam
the gas milage is 19/23 with a 5speed...I suppose that
by 95 when it came out the fuel injection design
was much better that it was in 88 when the 3.0 3vz
came out, which by the way is a single overhead cam.
3vz is rated something like 14/18 mpg.
Also because the 5vz is DOHC it has 24 valves
Im not sure but I assume that the 3vz SOHC has
12 valves.

Ive had my 94 4runner for about 4 days, and though I knew what I was getting into with the 3vz Im thinking my aunts 4.0 inline 6 cherokee is more efficient.

My old runner has a 22re, that was pretty good on gas even though it had no balls. Im not quite sure tho that the 3vz is anything spectacular compared to 22re. actually I think that the 22re was just as quick on the 0 to 60. if not faster...or am I insane?

either one tho were both slugs...

L33T35T 4Runner

i dont know what they did, but they did something wrong when designing the 3.0

i hope that engineer got fired

who wants to help with a 3.4 swap?

hell.. who wants to buy my 95 so can buy a 96?

jimrockford

The 3.0 definitely isn't a very efficient engine. My wife's Chrysler Concorde weighs 4700 pounds (about 1000 more than my 4Runner). Her 3.5 liter V6 gets 24mpg and stomps all over my 3.0.

Praufet

With the whole DOHC thing. I read on the board once that the 3.0 in the camry had dohc. Does anyone know if it'd be possible to use those heads? I tried to find information on that engine, but I could find the engine code which made it hard to find specifics about the engine, any help?

UKMyers

Okay so the 3.0 is a little underpowered and get's crummy gas mileage. First off spend some money on it. For you with stock un's you'd be blown away what a good tune up, intake, and exhaust will do. With the addition of my latest mods I am quite happy with my power. Granted I spent a bunch of money on it. Also before you dog her too much I have seen at least 3 trucks personally with that engine with 300K plus miles on them and not ticking nor buring a drop of oil. How many domestic V-6's have you seen with that.. sure there are some but not nearly as many as the Yota's!!

EOD30

My wifes 01 Corolla with the 4 cyl makes my 4Runner feel like a tank! That thing is quick. Its an auto too.

Bumpin' Yota

I AGREE 100%! If you are getting bad gas milage and no power and still have everything including tires stock, something is VERY wrong. Change the fuel filter, check your O2 sensor, then do the ISR mod and air box mod, then loosen up the exhaust. With a DEAD O2 sensor and running STUPID rich, I'm still getting 17 on the highway. Prior to this I was getting 21-24 on the highway and that WAS total stock. With a new O2 sensor I shoulld be right back to the mid 20s in gas milage. Also I can accellerate uphill in O/D, well most of the hills here in FL....lol

ps - Oh yeah I'm up to 224860 miles on my 3.0L.

fsudave

I have a 94 4runner with the 3.0 engine. Yes, it get bad gas mileage (around 15 mpg) and has virtually no power, but 195,000 miles and still going strong.

fsudave

I have a 94 4runner with the 3.0 engine. Yes, it get bad gas mileage (around 15 mpg) and has virtually no power, but 195,000 miles and still going strong.

gwhayduke

I get 17-21 in city-highway. Over the past 5 years this is what I've done:

Swapped in synthetic oil for gear lube and engine oil.
Installed Bosche platinum plugs.
Tried the K&N filter but took it out because of filtration concerns.
Installed 2.25 cat-back with Magnaflow.
Installed new timing belt, idler pulleys, and waterpump.
Put about a 100,000 miles on it.

It's not a sportscar by any standards, but it does the job. What's the hurry anyway? Get it off the pavement and you'll enjoy it more.

1Runner

I agree w/ Joey. I'm not thrilled w/ my gas mileage... but I'm trying to improve it. The 4Runner IS doing better than when I bought it. I was getting 16 MPG. 2 Days ago we went visiting out of town. I averaged 18.5 MPG BEFORE adding in my 10% that my odometer is off.
Want better MPG'S?
Get manual hubs, air intake tube mod, exhaust and TUNE HER UP!! Get rid of the 200# of tools in the back and slow down a little. Next mod for me is the flex-a-lite swap.

az4x4runner

I know someone who has 202k miles on their 3.0 and it's still running great, they haven't had any problems with it either.

Oh yeah, mine with 95k miles gets around 21mpg highway.

Bumpin' Yota

Agreed 1Runner, the 3.0L in a stock 4runner should get 19-21 on the highway if the engine is in running order. (No gunning the engine and 70mph only, drop it to 65 and watch the mpg soar!)

Id bet dollars to donuts that the stock 3.0s that are getting horrible gas milage need a new O2 sensor and new fuel filter.

doink

i am getting about 13 miles per gallon on my yota..is whats the deal with that?

livelarg

I have had my 3.0 88" 4runner for about 2 months now. I was depressed by how bad my milage was when I first got it. I was getting 12-14 in the city.
two things:
First was my driving. I was trying to accelerate quickly all of the time, then trying to drive too fast. when I just relaxed a bit, I started getting about 16-17 mpg.

Second, my truck was owned for the past ten years by a middle aged woman that did not anything about cars. Needless to say, she did not always keep the car in tune, though she swears that she changed the oil religiously.
I already did the ISR mod a couple of days ago, and I am happy with that. I am ordering an Amsoil filter. And this week I am going to do a tune up with NGK V-power plugs and new wires and change the fuel filter.
In a couple of weeks, I am going to change the trans, transfer, and differentials with synthetics. Mobile 1 I think unless someone knows a better synthetic.
Hopefully this will help out some with the power and MPG. I will post the results of all of this when I am done.

BTW, I bought the truck with 226,000 miles on it, and it runns perfect, and looks great! I drove it once and decided I had to have it. I sold my 2000 Nissan Frontier crewcab to get this 4Runner. My wife thought I was crazy, but I love my new truck!

Praufet

The dohc camry engine that I have been musing about is known as the 1mzfe. It has the same 87.5mm bore that the 3vz does. Does this sound like a head swap would be possible? I know the newer 1mz's use vvt, so that would require some more work, but they even have a supercharger for the 1mz. So this may be an option for the more budget minded of us. A head swap would be a lot cheaper and easier than and engine swap. Any feedback about suggestions or concerns you guys have would be great.

edit: The 92-93 Toyota camry had the 3vzfe which is a dohc version of the 3vz-e. Sounds to me like that would work. I found a place that sells new 3vzfe heads for 475. If you guys could look around for better deals that'd be great, once I get some money I think I'm gonna head to the junk yard.

oly884

O.K. every one knows that the 3.0 L engine isn't that great, the same with the ford 3.0L V-6's, they arn't great either. BUT why? I know it's not just the fact that it has a single over head cam. I can't really figure it out. My friend has a ranger with the 3.0 L V-6 in it and it too is gutless.

L33T35T 4Runner

my mom has a 3.0 in her 2000 sienna and its a power house, 196hp

also, the highlanders also have a 3.0 with 220hp
I'm guessing both are DOHC

rimpainter.com

Honda had a VTEC 3.0 V-6 in something back in the early 90's, and it wasn't gutless.