Newdad

When I was running a trail last weekend, I kept killing the engine while I was trying to idle over obstacles. At times I had to slip the clutch a little to keep my revs high enough but my speed low enough. Short of putting in a second transfer case, what can I do to avoid this problem? Is my idle set to low? Do I just need to learn to drive?
Vehicle is a 2nd gen V6 4Runner.
-Michael

rimpainter.com

Well, judging by your avitar you may need to slip the clutch. That's a pretty good angle, and if you are doing "obstacles" like that, even 4.88's with 33's are going to cause the rig to bog.

You may also need to work the throttle better. As you feel it start to bog, feather in a bit more power.

Are these obstacles you are describing places you have wheeled in the past without any stalling?

crawler#976

One option is to put in a heavier flywheel- more mass, more stored rotational energy. The engine won't spool up as fast, but will lug harder.

Even w/ dual cases, I slip the clutch to start over larger obsticals. I plan on adding a 4:1 gear set to give me deeper gearing than the 109:1 final ratio I've got now.

00Runner

You can also get on the brake to keep your speed down while you are on the gas to keep your revs up. This takes some practice but it gives a little more controle than slipping the clutch.

EDIT:
This works better if you're already moving and find that idle speed is too fast. If you are starting over an obstacle then slipping the clutch like crawler said is easier than trying to work all three pedals at once.

toy283

It was kind of a hassle wasn't it? FWIW, I have a "fast idle switch" on mine. I'm not too familiar with the 3.0 but on mine I am able to manually engage the fast idle solenoid (usually used in conjunction with the choke or air conditioning) and raise the idle to 1500rpm or so. Combined with the low gearing available, I never have to touch the go pedal at all on most obstacles.

Newdad

Haha, I bet it was kind of a hassle for you since you were following me! I'm going to look into a fast idle switch for the 3.0. Maybe someone will chime in here.
I seemed to have the most trouble while idling over medium sized rocks. They looked small enough to idle over but every now and then the engine would die when the tire made contact and the vehicle slowed down. Steep decents is a different story. I know I don't have low enough gearing to idle down those so I have to ride the brake. I think I just need to learn how my vehicle reacts in all situations, too.
-Michael

jimbo74

yup learning how your vehicle works/reacts is essential to offroad driving

toy283

I was in no hurry. Gave me plenty of opportunity for scenery photos.

I don't know if the 3VZE has any form of easy-to-bypass solenoid but it might be worth looking into. Then it's just a simple matter of running a bypass to the solenoid to a simple switch in the dash. With computer controls, it might be a tricky operation. Mine has none of those silly computers (at least very few of them )

toy283

You could also rig up a hand throttle using a bicycle gear selector. There are quite a few writeups available on the web to do this.