I was reading the 22r(e) thread and started wondering about the 3vze.

How many miles have you gone without any major engine work?

I have gone about 82k on my 3vze which was replaced under the head gasket recall. My dad had the head gasket blow on him and he drove it for 200 miles like that and warped the head. So they put in a new motor i believe.. or a new head.. which do you think?

Anyways, how far have you gone without any major engine work?

Before his head gasket blew, he drove it for 155k

And also state the type of motor oil you have been using if you have a lot of miles I'm curious to see how many amsoil users actually change their oil according to amsoil's guidelines and have made it past 200k

 

104K here on my 92. Had headgasket replaced at 60K. Using amsoil since 100K but will switch to mobil 1 syn at next oil change because easier to get.

 

133K now on 1990.. headgasket was done under the recall at 70K.. Runs great but gas mileage sux.. If you are considering 22RE vs 3VZE, gas mileage is definitely a factor. With 22RE in 1988 4Runner I used to get 20 MPG, with 3vze in my 1990 I am getting #$%## 13 MPG .. Had I expected it, I would probably have looked for another 4 cylinder 4runner. Mine had plenty of power.. I towed a 2000 LBS trailer cross country with it, across the Rockies and all kind of other mountains. You can have the soap box back now

 

I'm not a pro so correct me if I am wrong. Is the 3vze the 3.0 v6 they put in alot of the 4runners?

If so, I have one with 130,777 miles and the engine died the other day. Nobody has opened it up to see what went wrong but the estimates to replace are $4,000+.
Everyone I have spoken to says the engine is incredibly reliable. Another interesting tidbit...The guy working on mine says the Lexus engine is cheaper than the engine I need.

 

I have 201,xxx with no work ever done except a timing belt. I started using Mobil 1 synthetic about 5000 miles ago with a Pure One filter. There is no oil leaks but it does consume some oil. The oil stays cleaner longer with synthetic. It will take about 3 changes to clean old dino oil gunk out. I can already see down inside the filler cap appears to be going from black to light brown.

 

About 180K on mine. Headgasket recall done at around 60k. No other major motor work. I have changed the timing belt and water pump every 60k. I have used Mobil 1 Synthetic & Toyota filters since new.

 

171k on mine now. Started using mobil 1 syn, but i've found i have to replenish the oil too often. I'm about due for a timing belt change.

 

183K and climbing. Pretty much original. I got it with about 45K and have been using regular oil the whole time - changed religiously every 3 months or 3k miles - SAE 30 in the summer, 5W30 in the winter. There's a leak from the rear of both valve covers which I'll get fixed the next time I change the timing belt (hope I don't have to take the plenum off before then).
I had a Celica with the 22RE engine many years ago. It had 160+K on it when I upgraded to the 4Runner. Never had a problem with it, super easy to work on.
Oh yea, almost forgot - saw an '88 w/3.0 in a junkyard a couple of months ago. Didn't appear to have had any major work on it (at least recently) and hit 317K before something or someone hit it.

 

3vze is nearly as reliable as 22RE if you discount the head gasket issue. Before buying a 2nd gen with 3vze though, I would make damn sure that either head gasket recall had been done, or, if not, that it is eligible to have it done.

Toyota rarely screws up when it comes to reliability... that head gasket was their one major messup, but they were good about it, replacing them free, and even giving people new engines when they were too damaged to repair.

By comparision, if you look at recalls for Fords, Chevies or Chryslers from 1990s at NHTSA website, there are pages.. and pages... and pages of recalls for them. Toyotas, less than a page, and none safety related ( read: it will not kill you like a Ford <G> )

 

90 2dr 4Runner. I've got the 3VZE 3.0 with 225k mi. on it. No major engine work, just typical time belt replacements (2). No headgasket recall. The only problem I've ever had was a broken fan bracket bearing. I'm not really loyal to any particular oil brand, however I do change the oil religiously every 3500 miles, usually with Valvoline or Castrol. 99% of the time, it gets Chevron gas though(known to clean injectors).
I purchased this truck with 146k mi. on it and it still runs as well as when I purchased it.
I'm really impressed with the reliability and performance of this engine. I know it's not the fastest, but with 225k mi. on it, it still runs good and passes CA's strict smog test.

My bro-in-law recently bought a 88 Toy 4x4 pickup (3.0 V6/5spd) from a friend of mine that has305k. mi on it!

FWIW, regarding the headgasket issue. I think it's not as big of a problem as some people tend to believe. Of the people I know of with the 3VZE (a '88, '89,'90 [mine],90, 95,95) none of them have had any headgasket issues. Four of those listed above have 200+k miles on them. 2 of them have 300k miles on them.

 

94 4R, 132k miles with the timing belt done recently. No problems so far, still runs like new... (knock on wood). All services has been done at the dealership since new including oil changes.

 

I've got 152K on mine. I got it at 140K so not sure about the history of it but it had the headgasket recall at 80K. As soon as I bought it I paid the dealership to adjust my shims because of the ticky noise. $700 later the noise is still there and I'm poorer. Other then that I've just changed the oil every 3K with Valvoline and a Fram filter. I still get 20 mpg and it runs great.

 

The Runner: 183k, headgasket done @ 120k. Runs like new, 20mpg will be switching to Mobil 1 syn from Valvoline.

The Truck: 288k, no major motor work done, one small oil leak (valve cover I think), starts when asked, runs good but could probably be a little better, 15 mpg, she gets Valvoline oil.

 

I'm at 141,000 on my V6. I've been good about changing the oil every 3,500 miles (dino oil) and keeping the air filter clean, but it hasn't had a timing belt, fuel filter etc done since it had 60k on it. Nothing has ever been replaced on this motor with the exception of the headgaskets. It doesn't leak a drop and the motor stays clean enough on its own that you could almost eat off it. It runs like new too.

It has been more reliable than my 22R-E was and I have more miles on this one. It's a good motor, but the 3.4 is much better.

 

142k on a 95, 13k of that between May 20 and August 20 this year.

Head gasket done at 65k or so. Timing belt at 125k or so.

Couple more years and it is time for a 3.4 to push the 37's.

Reliable? Perhaps.

Gutless? For sure!

 

102,687 on my '94 pick-up.

Had the head gasket replaced under the recall at 60K along with the timing belt. I bought the truck only 10,000 miles ago, and I've used VAVOLINE with a K&N oil filter.

I get around 14 miles per gallon and I'm not an aggresive driver at all! I'm still wondering how some people in here are getting 20 miles per gallon...??

I've done no engine work to it, not sure about the previous owner (according to him, none as well).

 

53,523 on my 94 pickup with the 3.slow. i bought it from the original owner who had just installed 7" of lift and 35x12.5 on it. it still has the STOCK gearing in it and if i m right the stock gearing is 3.15:1 which make my effective ratio a 2.49:1
and the original owner had the head gaskets replaced even though they wernt blown (stupid #%@) :pat: the 3.0 wont be in it very long( a year at most) i am either going to do the 3.4L swap or try to squeeze a small block chebby in it.


Jason

 

If you have an auto, I completely understand. With my 5-speed, 32" A/Ts, campershell, roofrack and aggressive right foot, I get an honest 16.5 mpg city and 18 mpg highway. Strangely enough when I go over the mountains, I can get as high as 19 to 20 mpg. The only reason I can think of is the lack of oxygen at altitude means the EFI won't inject as much fuel--so WOT at 9,000 ft. in elevation will use less fuel than at sea level.

 

mine went for about 205,000 then headgasket went and had to replace with a jasper engine( same as stock engine) and toyota paid for almost all of it. Now i'm at 250,000 and expect it to hit the 500,000 if not more. When that time comes i'll just get a new engine and start the process all over again.

 

Mine's a baby. It has 156,000 on it.