not even a week old & motor's blown.
 

yup... i got my 90 4runner not even a week ago... and i went out, first time muddin w/ it, sucked up some water, & now it's knocking like a missionary on your door.

i'm just.. kicking myself in the balls now.. cuz i have no money to do a swap.. and i dont' want to put the pos 3.0 back in it.

from what i see.. i can't get a 5vz for under 3k...(but that's just ebay)... are they that much cheaper from junk yards?(i've got a manual).

also, the full complete kit from ORS is near 2k by itself... wtf... i'll be broke b4 the swap even starts. Anyone know what i really actually need from them?... i dont' mind doing alittle custom work..

*sigh*.. anyone have a 3.4 for cheap? guy i talked to this weekend has one(he says it's fine, but i don't believe him).. i'd still have to get the wiring harness & ECU though.

this sucks. the little puddle of water i went through my old dodge would of walked through... this is pathetic(sp?)...

so. what would you all do? rip out the motor & wait to see what i can do(so that once i decide, i just have to drop the motor in)?... let it just sit? -- swap 3.4 after i get the money? or put back in the 3.0?.. or just try to repair what i have(doubtful)?
:pat: :(

I have no knowledge of engines really, so this is more of a question. But can't you do something to fix the knocking other than an engine swap? Something cheaper?

FROM MY EXPERIENCE THE 3.0 IS RATHER SOLID!!!:mrt:

I'M GOING TO KEEP MINE AND REBUILD IT WITHIN THE YEAR...
THE MUST'S
$250 Downey HEADERS- THE STOCK EXHAUST IS THE ACHLES HEAL OF THE 3.0:pissed: BURNS UP THE VALVES/HEAD/HEADGASKET:pissed:

$250(+/_)LARGER BORE INTAKE/EXHAUST VALVES- SHES GOTTA GET THE AIR IN AND OUT BETTER TO MAKE MORE POWER (THATS FIGURING SENDING IT OFF TO A MACHINE SHOP)

$308.88 (Advance Auto)PREMIUM RE-RING, COMPLETE GASKET SET AND ROD BEARINGS

$30-$300 HEADER BOLTS (PARTS STORE - DOA RACING)

:pat: I'M MISSING SOMTHING CAUSE I PLANED ON SPENDING AT LEAST $1500
THATS JUST THE MAIN THINGS, DONT FORGET:
TIMING COMPONETS $?
CLEANING SUPPLIES ECT...
NOW THIS IS ASSUMING YOU DIDNT MESS UP THE BLOCK/CLYLINDERS
AND FOR GODS SAKE REPLACE/MOVE THE INTAKE

sounds like user error to me. If you sucked up water, maybe you hydro locked it? There are tons of 3.0 that last over 200k easily with the proper maint.

welcome to yotatech.... where abouts do you live ?

I'd think twice about that one, if I were you.

For your 3.0 to suck up water, you must have been in water as deep as the head lights. Definitely not a good idea (in any truck). If it were mine, I'd rebuild the 3.0.

Well, number 1 you shouldnt be plowing through water as if you had a humvee with a fording kit....

I was in water up to the bottom of my headlights and didnt flood out or get stuck. Stock lift, stock air box at the time. Yes that's water about a foot over my floor boards on 3 separate occasions! Its all how you drive it. Dont go blaming the manufacturer for your stupidity behind the wheel, thats like blaming the gun manufacturer that killed somebody rather than blaming the jackass who pulled the trigger! [/vent]



Now having said that, welcome to yotatech. The 3.0 while not being the best toyota engine IS light years ahead of most all of the domestic offerings. Your best bet, and cheapest, is to rebuild the 3.0 until such time as you can afford a 350 (gen 2 or 3 block) or a turbo 4.3L swap... Those are the only offerings from this side of the pond I'd look at. Some people have found sucess with the 5.slow ford but I dont care for fix or repair daily...

And the BEST swap for reliablity and power is a 7mgte swap.


If for whatever reason you decide to rebuild your 3vze, you owe it to yourself to get oversized valves, (about 100 bux + head rebuild by reputable machine shop) and do something about the exhaust crossover. Loose the OEM crossover. Id also suggest cams sinces the OEM ones suck. Those run about 450 including shipping.... And for the record a 3vze can very well equal a stock 4.3L's output....;)

You could always find the offending rod, change the bearing, and replace it ghetto style.

Contact rick @ fullboogie.net - he got a 5ve in recently and I think he'd see it change hands at a reasonable price.

Hello Hydro.

have you learned anything?


On the rebuild, from a guy who's polished the turd to the max,...don't waste your $ on the 3.slow, do the swap.

I have a near complete 3.0 engine left over from my 3.4L swap with a good bottom end that you can take off my hands. Where are you located?

^^^ well duh:con: . i'm not blaming yota at all guys.. shizz i love yota, i WORK for yota... i love everything about yota, cept the fact that i got water in it so easy. the only thing i can blame yota for is routing the water, erm, i mean air inlet where it's at. run it into the fender.. but what do i care? what's done is done, and i'll be doing something. Once it's up and running though, first thing i'll buy is a snorkel.. and water/air proof the intake tubing, to the max(drivetrain too).

guys, plz don't think i wanted to go swimming.. boo.. like i said, it was a mud/waterhole that i'd been in NUMEROUS times, in numerous trucks before.. had never been a problem(crap, i've been through worse & deeper water)... though with a year & a half of time.. land changes, and holes become bigger. it's completely my fault(not the point of the thread).. and not yota's.. i just found, and still find it funny that it didn't handle it better than it did. then again, it was almost out. if it wouldn't of stalled out, i'd of made it. :(

back to the point of the thread.
I was looking up prices on 3.0's... i can get one for like everyone says, around 2 grand.. i'm thinking of donig that. but i still duno.. i want more power, but modding an engine that some say is worthful, other's say a pos... kinda turns me off to modding it at all(till later). I think headers would be a good idea, i cant' seem to find any though, anyone have a link for 3.0 performance stuff?

cams would be a good idea, so would teh valves, but i'm just going for a rebuild right now.. headers would be about all i'd be able to afford, till later. i don't mind going into the motor several times either just so you know.

i could just do the rod(s), and crank(if needed).. they're about 60 bucks my price each rod(from toyota), so i could do that, but i'd rather just get a fresh rebuild, but then again, i need to tear it down & see how really bad it is.

i'm in orlando, about 5 min from kissimmee... um.. 5/8 min from seaworld, & 5/8 from gatorland. so pozi, i'll pm you & uh.. see what you want for it.

ok sorry for the millitant opening there...:)

Headers youll find are one of the more expensive mods actually. The last set I saw go used went for about 400 on ebay. New, expect to spend 550-700...:eeek:

how much work is the 7mgte swap?? can i still use my trans (90 v6 5spd 4x4)? also how much parts the available for the 7mgte?

how prevelant are parts for the 7mgte? LOL! Its almost as ubiquitous as the small block chevy! lol Ok there arent THAT many parts but it was a VERY successful supra engine that is heavily supported by the industry.

There is a fellow on here that has completed a 7mgte swap and about a dozen others on other boards. Its definately a viable swap! www.supracharge.com ;)

im on ur boat too. my oil pump went out. i didnt realize it until 50 miles later, when i got home the next morning. it made it home like a champ and didn't hesitate at all. still runs prettty good, theres just no oil pressure at all. i've heard some pretty crazy stories about how tough the 3.0 is. i'm probably just gonna rebuild the engine, but upgrade it some, unless i find a great deal on a donor car. i saw a 98 4runner with a 3.4 that had rolled on autotrader for 1500 a month ago. it ran fine. why couldnt this have happened a month ago!

Thanx for the info! i'm still unfamiliar with toyota's. I come from a mopar & honda world. I'm currently working on an engine for my Acura, it should be pretty nice. At the current moment there is nothing wrong with my engine, its got 151k on the clock and running strong but its something i might consirder in the future, but really i'm trying to learn as much about these cars as possible :D

Any one in Chicago wanna talk cars?

eh.. 700 for a set of headers is normal from where i'm at... i had a tiburon.. they were about the same for a good set. before that, my dodge.. around 500-700.. i mean.. lets be honest, a GOOD set of headers, IS going to cost you money.. but is it worth that for an engine like the 3.0? do headers really actually do that much for it?

Not unless you attack the weakest point first - valves and cams. After doing those, sure.

I sucked water into my 22R last year and it ran like a pile of ÅÅÅÅ. I had to take the carb apart and clean out all the mud in it! HA

runs fine now =)

Though, you say KNOCK, does it KNOCK or just run like ˟˟˟˟˟? Water in the distributor will make the truck run and misfire and all sorts of fun stuff. The distrib is the MAIN thing to make the engine handle weird after going into water.

The distributor should have a seal (O-ring) between the cap and the body but it also has a wonderful little vent on it that loves to slirp up muddy water being blown onto it from the fan (atleast on 22 its conveniently behind the fan).

Something to look into. Take the caps off (takes a minute) and see if mud is inside.


* not sure you'd be laughing if you got halfway through a rebuild and found mud in em ;-P

[QUOTE=4runnermax;50359388]FROM MY EXPERIENCE THE 3.0 IS RATHER SOLID!!!:mrt:

that a crock a ☺☺☺☺ the 3.0 is worth lessthe head bolts strech and the head gaskets blown left and right .