rafael

I just needs to get abused then I guess....All i gotta say is my was done at 60k on recall, I just did it again about 2 months ago at 198k I bought it with 178k in October 2004 I did it my self and spent about 350 bucks if that, imo, it's not that hard if you go to the library to get a book and have the tools, I've put 2k in it and it's running fine. Now some people are more lucky than others but one thing is for sure, these engines do blow head gaskets.

pruney81

My 95 3.0 has 149k on the original engine and headgastket and it's still running strong. I make sure not to let it get hot though.

suprathepeg

300,000 miles is a lot and there are a lot of 3.0 engines coming close to that these days. The 3.0 is old technology for toyota even in 95, they used it to learn about v6 design and they learned rather quick. The 3.4 is a good engine most of the problems were fixed although they still blew HGs and had valve problems till the late 90s when they redesigned the exhaust system and went to a MLS hg. I would put the 3.0 against almost any of its peers of the time with confidence.

Many of the engines of the 3.0 era from Japan have HG problems all the way up till steel core and MLS gaskets came out. You have a decient mill I'd even say among some of the better available in NA.

The major issue with the 3.0 as I can see is the exhaust design both in the heads and manifold system. Fix that and use a steel core HG and you have a real winner.

As for the 22r I can sell one in a day with any milage, why? For some reason I see a ton of spun bearings and knocking bottom ends. They aren't very good in the performance or milage department either, however it is 40 year old tech.

1UZ is probably the worlds best gasoline engine designed to date as far as reliability. The R&D that Toy put into it was unreal. Too bad they were never really available to the masses.

minty89

Sorry for this
I have owned a number of Toyota's all with 22r/re's, never a 3.0. Just got an 89/Auto that has had a lot of maintenance done, but I don't know if the HG recall was done. How can I find out if it has and if it hasn't been done can I get it done? The mileage is 141k and the trucks mint so I hope the 3.0 holds out. Thanks for humoring a noob, after reading this thread it's got me

TNRabbit

I bought my '94 xtracab 4x4 5spd 3.0 in 2000 with 92k on the ODO. It had just had the HG redone and I now have almost 201k without a hint of a problem. in all that time I've only recently done a TPS adjustment & throttle body cleaning, as well as replaced the ORIGINAL water pump (!). I anticipate a starter fix in the next year and an O2 sensor, but it's pretty darned bulletproof so far. I plan on at least 500k befoe I even THINK about getting rid of it.

I dont' know what all the fuss about HG's is about; I've even overheated mine pretty badly when the water pump went out but she still runs like a champ and all is good. And everyone complains about the lack of power and how it won't do 60 mph uphill...I've never had any issues with the power. I pulled a 2,000 lb trailer 700 miles @ 80 mph and got 18 mpg doing it! You won't win any races with this motor, but for Gosh Sake, it's a small TRUCK engine! With a 4x4 or towing, torque = good!! STOP ALL THE BITCHIN' & DRIVE!

gohawks

Your Runner has been blessed then, and you must run holy water in the gas tank and crank case.

You have the 3.0 with auto transmission and you get 18 mpg towing? You are a lucky sonofagun.

I love my 3.0, but I don't get those numbers without towing.

Bumpin' Yota

18mpg towing? towing what helium balloons? (LOL sorry i had to ) The best ive ever gotten towing was 15mpg....

I dont think I posted on this, but I have a 90 4runner with the 3vze and the slushomatic. OEM HG on #6 popped 3 weeks ago at 275,000 miles. (Keep in mind that 215,000 of those miles were me driving it like it was stolen - everyday it would see at least 4500rpm...I was just uber anal about oil changes. ) Up until then it was the most dependable vehicle my family has ever had. (And it was still capable of running depsite the blown HG too - albeit somewhat weakly running!)

minty89

Steve, I see that you are in G'ville, I'm down in Ocala. What's goin' on neighbor?

TNRabbit

Sorry, didn't think I said that in here anywhere, but I have the 5 spd, not auto tranny.

Wait 'til you hear how many miles I have on my ORIGINAL rear brake shoes: 201k! (they just began to squeak last week)

I also have 109k on the last fuel filter I put in it (in 2000) and 103k on the Bilstein shocks I put on in 2000.

I don't ˟˟˟˟˟foot around, either. I take it easy half the time but I let 'er rip frequently as well. She's seen 109 mph many times. The only issue I've ever had is a miss between 1100 & 3000 rpms. I believe it's either TPS adjustment or bad O2 sensor. Just in case, I'm going to do a complete going over all the vacuum lines (man, these things have a BOATLOAD of 'em!) before I replace anything.

All the drivetrain is in great condition. I've replace CV boots one time, but othe than that, nothing but routine greasing & front brake pads underneath (to include packing front wheel bearings twice). I DID have to replace the ADD chunk on the diff when I bought it (wasn't working).

Unfortunately, her body has been ravaged down the right side; in an attempt to avoid a deer, I cleaned out a ditch & sideswiped a road sign, caving in all body panels from the passenger mirror to the taillights and taking out my door handle in the process. Looks good from the LEFT! Check it out: http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=5/12220145994.jpg&s=x402

gohawks

My bad. Still impressive

Tigerstripe40

Toyota Designed the 3VZ-E to replace the turbo charged 22RTE.
The 3VZ-E is a pretty good design, but has very restrictive heads.
The bottom end of the 3VZ-E, 3VZ-FE and 5VZ-FE motors is nearly identical.

My take on the headgasket issue is that the headgaskets were designed before the ban on asbestos.

Asbestos is one of the best materials to make a head gasket out of. And I think that alot of the negative thigns about asbestos are greatly exagerated. Asbestos can resist a great deal of heat before breaking down. I feel that asbestos, used in automotive applications, is no worse than the oils and other lubricants that are used. (inhale some oil and see how long you live...)

The problem is, the ban on asbestos wsas done, and toyota didn't take the time (or more likely, didn't have the time) to properly reengineer the head gaskets before the 3VZ_E hit the market. Thus we have problems with them.

A truck with the head gasket recall applied will probably be just as reliable as any other toyota engine.

The 3VZ-E is not a 500,000 mile motor, but I believe that properly maintained, a 3VZ-E should last at least 300,000 miles.

Anyhow, thats my 1/50th of a dollar.

rdharper

[QUOTE=Tigerstripe40]
My take on the headgasket issue is that the headgaskets were designed before the ban on asbestos.

Asbestos is one of the best materials to make a head gasket out of. And I think that alot of the negative thigns about asbestos are greatly exagerated. Asbestos can resist a great deal of heat before breaking down. I feel that asbestos, used in automotive applications, is no worse than the oils and other lubricants that are used. (inhale some oil and see how long you live...)
[QUOTE]

After reading just about everything available on this subject for the last couple of months (since I bought a '94 4Runner 3VZE in early May) your take on the cause of the problem is pretty much identical to my own, for what its worth.

Since this subject keeps coming up, I'm thinking about a pole that would be aimed at all those that had the factory recall done, and the subsequent number of trouble free miles on the 3VZE.

I suspect some of the subsequent complaints arise from not having it done well, or for whatever reason, letting the original situation go long enough to cause additional problems that weren't caught early enough.. Not to ascribe blame, the whole thing was a real snafu, uncharacteristic of Toyota. People expect reliability from Toyota's based on their long history. Near as I can tell, Toyota has done their best to fix it.

Tigerstripe40

When toyota does osmething they do it for a reason.

The original (faulty)head gaskets did fine for 100,000 miles on almost all cases. toyota didn't feel that this was good enough for their standards. So they redesigned the gaskets and did the recall.
There are ALOT of rigs out there that never had the recalled head gaskets applied.
I would venture to say that the recalled headgaskets that blew was due to the person waiting too long before the head gasket was redone.

My 1991 4Runner had the headgaskets done at 118,000 miles. It's got 222,000 miles on it now. No problems with the head gaskets. But it's got no compression on cyl 3 and low compresson all accross the board, and a bad rod knock.

I would say that this engine will probably run anothe 2 yea5rs before it goes totally bad.

When I rebuild this motor, It's going to get ported, polished, and possibly boosted, and I won't worry about it.

Try a Chevrolet 350 with 100,000 miles on it, and you will have replaced the head gaskets AT LEAST once.
Once a Chev 350 develops a rod knock, they generally last about 5,000 miles then it goes bad.

What I am saying is that EVEN WITH the faulty head gaskets, the 3VZ_E is still a more reliable motor than most domestic motors are.

gonzo

I bought my 95 with 154k on it and a slight skip. figured tune up but come to find out it was #4 low comp. Ran it like this for almost 2 years and 50k. Was still running the same but the headgasket was starting to leak into the cyl. Recall had been done before I bought it. No go again with Toyota replacing it so I found a motor out of a 94 pu with 136k on it. saving my old one for a rainy day when I'm bored for a rebuild.
I agree with tigerstripe40. Like the energizer bunny, " keeps going and going". lol

masterwacker

I have a 93 p/u with 258,000 miles on it and I have no problems whatsoever. the head gasket shows to have been replaced at 75k. I have driven it on multi day trips with it stock, ifs lifted, and now sas swaped. i have no worries about it. one day it will go then i will do the 3.4 swap until then it is good for me.