cheappc

Well, I guess I screwed up, I bought this 4runner "after" I read the posts, I know theres a lot of pro 3ZVE and con 3ZVE.

Its too late for me, I already gave the gentleman the money, but good news is that the 4runner is absolutely cherry, in an impressive condition, the interior is immaculate, everything is intact, buttons, moonroof, everything works great.

It's an Automatic, with 4X4, and I towed by boat 100 miles yesterday and tried the 4x4, and it worked like a charm (much better than the 2013 F150 2x2 I was renting at Uhaul before I purchased this truck).

It was a little slow on the hills (I got kind of scared), but it made it...

So Its not leaking, its working pretty good, however I do want to go to Laughlin from California in it, about 600 miles, and I want to know what I need to do to make sure its in tip top shape...

Any suggestions would be great, here are pictures of it, im not sure if I can post a picture just yet, but here it goes:

Mr. iNCREDIBLE

I just bought a 1995 with the same motor, and 238,000 miles on it..

the seller had the motor rebuilt, and it's at 6K since the rebuild, and no leaks and everything seems to work great.. I took it out for a little off-road over this past weekend and did some mild dirt, rock, and water off-roading with no issue.

my mechanic told me that the 3.0L is a fine motor as long as you take care of it.. I know a lot of people complain about the head gaskets problem, but I can name 20 cars off the top of my head in the past 25 years with a similar head gasket issue.

personally I don't think it's a big deal, but I know how to change out mine, though I know it is a PITA and time consuming in this motor, it's not a daily driver for me so I don't care.

have a mechanic you trust check everything out, look for leaks and worn seals, ball joints and bushings, other than that you should be fine..

The guy I got mine from drove it over 3K on the new motor mostly off road all over NV, AZ, and CA in the past 3 months with no issues.

Only reason he (claims) he sold it to me was because it was an auto and he wanted a manual, matter of fact, the day he dropped it off at my house and we did the title change, I was to drive him back home and he had me drop him off at someone elses pad with a 1994 5 speed and used part of the money I paid him for his to buy that one.

cheappc

Nice!... The guy I bought it from also said that he just threw in a motor from a 1994... ??

I think its leaking a little bit, (however I didnt notice any leak overnight)...

I am going to have a mechanic check it out tomorrow, I just want to feel safe traveling a long ways with it! thanks for your input..

By the way do you warm it up before you take off with it?

Thanks...

errol

ahhh.. i love these west coast rust free trucks! good luck with it!

cheappc

Your the 4th person that says that to me.

I guess Im lucky (imagine the rust in the engine or transmission)..

Thank you.

Mr. iNCREDIBLE

nope no warm up, other than what it takes to put on the seat belt, get comfortable and adjust my mirrors if need. 30 - 40 seconds, enough to get the oil flowing, and I don't kill it either for the few few blocks, drive it slow and steady until all the fluids are flowing.

it will warm up faster under load, than sitting and idling..

only car I've ever owned that actually needed a warm up was a 1968 Ford T-Bird, with a 429ci Motor and a 4 bbl carb.

besides I live in socal, never cold enough here to be an issue.

Gamefreakgc

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/80...e-posting.html

Check out the above link for all kinds of helpful tips (I know... it's from another forum). The issues are common to all 3VZ-E's, I've personally done half of those items. There's nothing serious on that list, just little things to help it run better.

If you haven't already, check to make sure the spark plugs, spark wires and distributor cap are good.

Honestly, just pop open the hood when it's off and again when it's running and check things out. I've found most issues by just listening and looking for any kind of abnormality. You'll learn how your truck is supposed run and if anything changes you'll know there's an issue.

cheappc

WHAT A GREAT POST!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

Thats exactly what i was looking for...

Gamefreakgc

Well, I didn't write it so don't give me the credit.

And about your 4Runner, I think you got a great vehicle. A well-maintained 3VZ-E engine is a great engine. It's harder to work on than a 22RE due to space but it makes up for it in power. I guarantee that if you do some simple tricks like in that post (as well as increasing air flow, try removing the air box "spoiler" from behind the headlight) it'll get even better.

a51young

I have a 90 4runner, I removed that air spoiler behind the headlight a while ago, it make some noticeable improvements! Still takes a while to get up to 70 mph but can accelerate nicely below 45 when needed.

loko ino

I have a 93 also..my HG popped a few weeks after getting it but other than that the motor has been great! Don't worry about the naysayers for the 3VZ..everyone has their fav motor.

cheappc

Dammm A few weeks after getting it?

Wow, I plan to do everything on that great post mentioned above, but I plan to travel to Laughlin a lot and tow my 2100 pound boat (total weight, including trailer and fluids).

I noticed the 4runner struggling a little bit on the mountain overpass on the 10 freeway to San Dimas, so I stayed in the slow lane, and wow, finally made it... but it felt like it struggled a little bit, but as the manual states, do not put it in overdrive (I didnt) and just chugged away...

I upgraded my Triple AAA membership to tow even my Boat..

I went to the mechanic and he told me it had a exhaust leak, and it needs an alignment, and that everything felt great (the transmission, engine).

So I guess Im gonna do everything I could the prevent a major catastrophe on the road...

loko ino

Yeah, the towing cap is suppose to be 3500lbs but uphill..and old..not sure about that.

And the HG popping was a pain but I know basically have a rebuild top end on my engine and feel totally comfortable driving around for the next 50k miles at least..ya know.

cheappc

Wow I just called Toyota and they told me that I can go an get a 50N recall done on my 4runner free of charge...

Ive seen a post about that im reading it now...

Dingotech

I once had a 94 with the 3.0 and auto tranny. Not a good combo, in my opinion, however, it can work.

One thing that freaked me out, initially, was the tranny had a tendency too overheat. You'll be driving along (on the highway, no less) and, Bam!, the overheating warning light comes on. You may even find a little tranny fluid dripping out. If this happens, pull over, raise the hood and wait about 15-20 minutes. I eventually installed a tranny cooler. It helped, a little.

This was an issue on my old 4Runner, and I recall hearing at the time that other 3.0L/auto combos had the same problem. It was also ten years ago, so my memory is a bit sketch. Just be aware that this might happen to you.

Good luck and have fun!

cheappc

Wow, it was so hard to find everything I wanted, a 4runner, 4x4, with tow package, in a light exterior, I've been looking since August of last year, and when I finally do, I get the bad combo, lol... Damm

I should have read more about them before I bought one, oh well, I paid $1600 for it, it's absolutely immaculate in its interior, and exterior is pretty good, a minor accident in the front left fender.

Now, I can do the 3.4 swap, 5 speed conversion, or sell it and get a 96 or newer, by the way, they are very expensive, going through Craigslist is unbelievable...

Mr. iNCREDIBLE

I wouldn't let the experiences of others freak me out, take the info for what it is, be aware of the possibilty of such issues, but don't stress on it.

in my experience if you are waiting for something bad to happen, something bad will happen..

I've been beating on mine now for 2 weeks, stop and go traffic, long drive, off roading with it..

loaded it up as full as I could with tools (moved them from my shop to my house) probably 900 plus pounds, yeah it chugged a bit but so far no major issues.

it all really depends on how well it has been taken care of over the past 18 years. but also it is 18 years old, doesn't really matter what make/model/combo 18 years is a long time for any machine, even longer for one not taken care of.

you know what needs to be done, keep it maintained and keep a weather eye on known issues and you will be fine.

cheappc

Thanks to everyone for their input..

I dropped off my 4runner this morning at Penske Toyota in Downey, CA - for the 50N Recall, supposedly I get a free alignment with the recall.. so I jumped at the chance..

Im planning to change the muffler to the one in the recommended list, also do the airbox modification procedure:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f130...-engine-75127/

Red radiator fluid, and keep topping off the oils, of course, also let it rest for 15 minutes if the sensor goes off!

loko ino

Yep, I got the 50N when I bought mine about 6 months ago...free alignment is good.

I like your grill..and your headlights look to be square...on a 3VZ..hmmm...I need to do that to mine.

a51young

That is the air box mod I did, but stopped after removing the spoiler and it's great!
What muffler are you going with? I need to do that one day soon too.