I personally feel that the 3.0 is a 50/50 shot at a decent motor. My first truck was an 89 and I never had any problems at all with it. My current 94 model has been one thing after another. It's on it's 3rd set of head gaskets, and leaks from damn near everywhere. I can't wait to put the 4.3L Chevy motor I have in it when I get through with the rebuild.

 

My first Yota was an 89 with 3.0 and 5speed. It was my Dads and he handed it down to me. Ran the heck out of it. I sold it off at 236K miles only because i needed a rig to tow with. But i flat towed the jeep with the truck and it did fine. Not a powerhouse but it always did the job.

 

Well for you the maintenance history is critical.

If the 3.4 was done well I'd say go for it as long as the tranny was well taken care of. Both will probably serve you well.

Frank

 

I have a 3.0 with 160k on it and it runs great. I've had it for almost 6 years now and the only thing I've done to it besides change the oil is replace the waterpump and belts.

I plan on keeping it forever.

I forgot to mention the head gasket recall was done once in 1999.

 

yeah i have 2 4runner than have them and one is on second rebuilt hg and i found out on carfax that mine has had all 6cylinders replaced so when mine dies i will swap in a supercharged 4.3chevy

 

did you do it properly? it seems that most problems that people blame on the 3.0 are actually caused by poor mechanical habits of the people who do the work.

 

Perhaps there is a difference in the ones that are made in Japan vs. the ones made in North America?
I recently purchased a 1991 4x4 5sp with a 3vze from the original owner. It had 187,000 original miles on it when I bought it for $4000. It runs beautifully, gets average of 18mpg and has never had any of the problems common to 4runners (rear window, door locks, hg, etc.) My runner was MADE IN JAPAN, No. 511, I actually have the original mfg. card in japanese....really cool. This guy took great care of it, all regular maintenece, etc. Most people skip regular maintenece as long as the truck runs ok. There-in lies the problem.

Most of the people I know that have major issues with their runners are the ones made in North America. A difference in mfg. standards, perhaps?
Also, I think that many people beat the hell out of their trucks and drive offroad like they are in the baja 500, then wonder why they have problems after every wheelin' trip.
I hear a lot of bad things about the 3vze, meanwhile I'm going on 191,000 miles and not so much as a hiccup.

 

That could be, I suppose. Mine was made in Japan. Rear window inards rusted out though....

My personal feeling is that the 3vze's problems are way overblown. You see quite a few around here, but I've talked to lots of people around town who have them and every one of them is like "I have a brazillion miles on mine and it runs great - it's awesome!". I've never actually run into somebody who's had problems. Just folks on here.

I also find it interesting that people are in two camps: never had a problem, or have had multiple headgaskets go. You never seem to see people who are like "I dunno, mine went out once but has been fine since". It's always "I'm on my 3rd one - my last only made it 5k miles".

Remember too that there was a recent thread on here about how horribly unreliable and fragile the 22re is. So factor that into your thinking on this.....

Problems are always overblown on the Internet. Millions of people drive Toyota trucks day after day after day and never know this site is here. Then they have a problem, they start searching the web, find this place and sign up to vent. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just remember that nobody drives home and says to themselves "by golly, I need somewhere to announce just how gosh darn uneventful owning my Toy is."

 

That is so true, a lot of the time people do sign up to get fixes/vent for the problems on their truck's motor. But seing as the both 3.slow/22re are really old engines now and are only starting to have problems recently that speaks a lot of the engineering that both of them have. I highly doubt people had these problems on brand new-6,7 year old trucks even with the 3L.

 

I had a 3.0 in a '91 4runner with 260,000+ and a 3.0 in a '90 Pickup with 150k.
I never had any problems with these motors besides poor gas mileage, and I 4 wheeled them at least every weekend.

 

iirc hearing somewhere, the 3.0 headgaskets themselves were problematic... as far as i can tell, they've been revised 4 times... which means the latest revision of the OE gaskets is probably the best to get. 11115-65033 and 11116-65033 are the latest part numbers to these gaskets... overhaul/top end kits will all have the latest gaskets.

often times, jobber companies that build gaskets often copy the original gaskets the manufacturer made, and not keep up with the updates, or revise it for themselves... these gaskets will be as prone to (if not more) failure as the original 3VZ-E gaskets...

often times when headgaskets get done, the mechanic doesn't measure the head or block for flatness... this is an ESSENTIAL step, as any bit of untrueness will cause premature failure... for blocks that are flat, but pitted, JB weld (not the 5 minit one, the one that takes a day to cure) works wonders to fill the grooves. just spread it on with a new, single edge razor blade, and then let it cure overnight, and measure again for flatness. sand it with emory cloth on a straight edge or bastard file if needed.

 

is the 3.0 THAT bad?
really depends on what bad means. if high performance or high mileage are the main concerns, then yes it's a not good engine. but as far as reliability goes, availibity and cost of parts/replacement make a better engine. all in all i think it's a good engine.

 

Mine runs great. but drinks gas and has no power whatsoever for a v6 3 liter... i expected more but it is REALLY underpowered. i know i'm running 35's but still it is a damn dog... and 12 or less mpg really blows...

 

sorry, didnt read all of the above posts but from what ive noticed in addition to the overheating which results from the EM there is also a problem with the factory or recalled head studs, they are too weak and quickly develop wear and play. the play of the head itself acts on the headgasket and is a large contributor to its failure. so i understand anyway, all the aftermarket HG companies sell "stronger" head studs as well to correct for this problem.

 

I thought all 4-runners are manufactured in Japan. Even up to this day, I thought the 4-runner was the only Toyota line of vehicles 100% Japanese made. Could be wrong.

 

I purchased my 4Runner for $3750. I managed to find a complete 3.4 from an automotive recycler for $2000, with which I got everything from the fan to the clutch, oil pan to the intake and MAF sensor. I dropped another $1000 on a crossover and exhaust system (which needed doing, anyhow) which includes cat and high flow muffler. Figure at least another $500-700 in extras and a few days of work. Well, more like 11, but knowing what I now know, I could get away with fewer. Keep in mind that I had the wiring harness done by my brother's neighbor (gave him the engine stand I bought for the swap as payment) and that my brothers both work in the autoparts industry, so I got a lot of my extras for a reduced cost.

The swap isn't mechanically difficult at all, and I can say this because this is the only time I've ever pulled an engine and did most of the work by myself, my brother pitching in a few times when more hands and his brute strength was needed.

Was it worth it? Well, I can honestly say my truck is a blast to drive now. It turns 33's with ease. Sounds cool. But I won't ever see my money out of it that I've spent on it.

Would I do it again?

Nah, next time it's a 4.0 Lexus swap!

 

I'm just venting... It might not be the worst engine in the world, but my parents 98Runner with the 3.4 has 200k and never a single problem.
And I am by no means an ASE certified mechanic.. but rather a poor college student (I might have skipped the step of checking the block/heads for flatness... I know thats my problem) but I was short on time and money and thought I could trust my old yota to THROW ME A FREAKIN BONE. Damn

 

Don't bad mouth the engine because you cheaped out on fixing it right. Now its gonna cost you a bunch more to do it right next time.

 

Yeah... Thanks Dad

 

Ah, that makes me feel better. Still a bummer about a blown HG after 12k, but at least even you know why.

Here's what I know on the rebuilt 3vze I'm looking at. I talked to the seller today, and got as much info as I could.

The block and heads were tanked and pressure tested at a machine shop, valves done, heads checked/decked. All specs checked on the block, no boring needed, cylinders honed, new pistons, one new rod, crank/bearings surfaced (I don't remember how much he said they were cut), cams checked and found within spec. Said the cylinders were still showing the factory crosshatching. All parts used for the assembly were from engnbldr.

It sounds like all due care was taken on the build, and in the end you're always just taking someone else's word on "recent work" anyway. At least he had all the right answers. Also, the price is comparable to other rigs I'm seeing around here with 150k miles, so it seems to be a great value.

I guess the question now is, why shouldn't I go for it?

Or even better, what questions do I need to ask that I may not have asked already?