LEGION

Hey guys! So this is my first post so bear with me if i make the rookie mistakes okay?

First for a quick introduction... What i have is an 89 extended cab Toyota pickup with a 3.0 V6. It was my first vehicle, had it since 16 and we've been through a lot together. *sniff*sniff* Okay okay so the truck has a 4" Rough Country IFS Lift kit, Marlin Crawler Rear Bumper, Downey 2" lift leafs, Downey Torsion Bars, Fabtech Desert Guard, Flowmaster 2.5" catback exhaust, IDelta Toolbox, Bushwacker Cut Out Fender flares and on and on and on....

Now! Onto the important stuff. The truck has 304,000 miles on the original motor... Unfortunately the transmission didn't make it this far though. It only made it to 296,000. Lol so it has a new transmission in it with only 8,000 miles on it! One more (probably important) fact is that the truck is sitting on 33x12.5 Cooper Discoverers on 10" wide rims.

Okay okay so after all that introduction, here's the problem: The truck has ZERO guts. She runs and drives like a top! Leaks a little oil (leaky valve covers i think) but makes no bad sounds, vibrations, no nothin. I have never had a single problem with the truck. She has never let me down and I've had the truck for 5 years now. I love the thing to death but it's bad. I'm a college student that needs to be able to drive this thing on the freeway without fearing every hill between A and B. I usually get stuck in the right hand lane in 3rd gear doing 45 mph. And just to drive the point home, i was doing 65 mph in 4th gear and put my foot to the very floor. You know what happened? Absolutely nothing. Not an mph faster.

So what's a toyota lover to do? Is the engine just tuckered out? Should i look into replacing anything on the motor? Or should i look into replacing the motor all together...? My only other thought is towards gearing. Could regearing be the fix all to this problem or would new gears really not help?

I'm just hoping for some input, thoughts and/or experiences guys so if you have some ideas PLEASE let me know. I love the truck to death and need some help figuring out the best way to get her back on the road where she belongs. One more thing to consider is that i've got a budget for the build but i'm a college kid, my pockets aren't THAT deep. Lol

Thanks guys. Take care and happy driving.



PS: I've attached a picture of the 'ol girl

coopster

Nice looking truck. Had it a long time, no rust? New tranny?

You already know what you want. If you don't want to do it yourself, get help. But a nice truck "good as new", for 2 to 2500 bux? I'd say go for it. Good luck.

vasinvictor

iTrader: (3)

Sompthin aint right. What gears do you have now? Even with 33s you should be able to throw her down in gear and get it moving. If it's not making any strange noises, I sure wouldn't go tearing it apart. When have you last replaced the timing belt? What's your base timing set at? That sure is a pretty truck. I'm with coopster- even if it costs a chunk of change, you are not going to buy anything else decent for $2-2500 that doesn't need a bunch of work. I always tell my wife, anybody can make payment on a newer truck, not just everyone can drive an old Toyota (make some sense in my mind)

toyota4x4907

Probably has 4.10 gears, coupled with large tires, and a high mileage motor. I would regear

LEGION

Wow thanks for the quick replies guys! That's true coopster... There's a place in gig harbor wa that sells completely by the book warrantied engines for $2800 installed w/ 5 year 60,000 warranty. Nope, no rust at all. I had a shop tell me the corner of the windshield may have some rust problems in the future but that's about it.

And for you vasinvector, that's what i feel like! Somethin cant be right... I did the timing belt and water pump about a year ago. This is something i was thinking about too. When i put the new belt on, i lined up the cams and whatnot but never actually "timed" it. I was thinking about experimenting with the distributor cap placement. What do you think? :/

LEGION

Yep! It's all stock gears. Do you thin regearing would give me what i'm looking for? I'm having to really ride the clutch on the hills (partially to lack of power and gearing).

pruney81

If your running 33X12.50's on stock gearing I bet re gearing it would make a huge difference.

JBurt

Has it always been like this or have you noticed a decrease in performance? If it used to be more powerful I would look at what changed. I would also use a timing light and see how close you are to being in time. That can make a big difference. If you're in yakima and in college are you commuting to ellensburg? Thats quite a drive on a gutless rig. I'm definitely with everyone else. Keep it and make it better.

Tofer

5sp or auto?

if you can afford it, do the 3.4 swap... it'll be an all new rig.

Black_1985_SR5

iTrader: (1)

x2 on that
what do you mean your having to ride the clutch on the hills? you could of worn your clutch down.

vasinvictor

iTrader: (3)

Dude, you've got to put a timing light on it. Small changes in timing make a huge difference. I suggest 12* base timing. Don't regear or get all worried just yet until you throw a light on it.

Tofer

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

If it's paid for drive it until it's dead. Save your $$$ in the meantime and do a 3.4 swap when it dies.

:wabbit2:

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

304k on the original 3.0...that is pretty awesome for that motor...I think it is just tired

edeslaur

I've never needed to retime a motor after a timing belt. But that's just me. Get the belt on wrong and ignition timing won't fix it. Checking the timing is a good idea, however.

Check your gear ratio in there now
http://home.4x4wire.com/erik/diffs/#ratios

Once you know that, what MPG are you getting? That'll tell you more about how your truck is doing.
Compare to your peers here:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...ileage-142556/

I just upgraded to 285s (effectively 33s) on my truck. With the new motor & turbo (and right cam), it probably runs at least as well as any 3.0. With 4.10s in the pumpkins, it definitely reduced it's oomph on the road.

I went from 17mpg to 13mpg. Considering my last two 4x4s got in the single digits, I'm surprised I'm so bummed. Tank's too small I think. LOL Also consider I'm in CA, Ethanol is run 100% of the time (-10% MPG is my experience), and I'm SoCal which is all hills. That knocked 1-2mpg off my other vehicles when I moved here alone.

My 4.88s just got here, they're going in this weekend, along with a Zuk mod and a BlazeLand lift. The gears should make it perform with 285s (33s) like it did stock with 4.10s and 225/15s.

JBurt

Keep in mind that when you figure out mpg (distance driven/gallons used to fill up) that your odometer is off because of your non stock tires. If you're using that way of figuring out mpg's your actually getting better mileage.

Your 33 inch tires have a 103.1 inch circumference. Your stock tires have a 28 inch diameter and a 88.8 inch circumference. 103.1/88.8=1.16. This means that your odometer reading is 16% too slow. If it says you've driven 100 miles, you've actually driven 116. So to get an accurate mpg measurement you need to take the total number of miles driven and multiply it by 1.16.

To go back to your example if you were getting 17 mpg before the tires, ti would take you 5.88 gallons to go 100 miles. If you then figure out after new tires that it takes 7.7 gallons to go 100 miles (this gets you 13 mpg) you really need to divide 116 (100 x 1.16) by 7.7 and then you realize your not getting 13 mpg's, your getting 15! Which means your spending 15% less on gas that you can use to save up gears or armor.

Once you get your new gears installed though that will mess with your odometer/speedometer more. I haven't figured out that math yet but the easiest way would be to use a gps as your odometer. Have fun with it.

oldblue

maybe it just needs a good standard tune-up (cap/rotor, plugs, wires, fuel and air filters). check ignition timing with your tune-up with a timing light. wouldn't hurt to do a compression check if you have the plugs out, and a vacuum test is always nice to see if your catalytic converter might be plugged or if you have burnt valves. and since you mentioned you replaced your timing belt, are you sure the marks are lined up, REALLY sure?? a cam one tooth retarded will run like that.

shaunneuhaus95

3.4 swap! with your 5speed should be pretty simple

LEGION

Holy cow. . . That's a lot of responses. So i guess i'll start at the top.

Option 1: do some experimenting with the current setup. Check the timing with timing light (yes i'm 100% sure i set the cams right). As for cap rotor and plugs, i've changed them recently. Didn't check the compression though.
Option 2: the old motor is tired and worn out. Time for a new motor. I've looked into the 3.4 swap and it sounds like an awesome way to go. The only problem is, I have to do it myself. I do not know of a place in washington that does that swap. This will also leave me with a non-warrantied fix and a bastard truck (half tacoma, half pickup). And at the end of the day, i need a good solid truck that i can count on, not one i threw together in my spare time with some wrecking yard motor.

Option 3: i regear it. Has anobody out there done this to their 3.0 V6 running 33's? I would really like to know someone's experience on
regearing (does it really make a big difference?).

Ps: by riding the clutch, i mean that i'm really having a hard time taking off on hills. The truck wants to die and gets so bogged down that i have to throw it in low gear just to get the thing moving! And no, my clutch has zero issues. No slipping problems. No nothin'.

874runnersr5

Not sure if ive missed anything, have you done a full tuneup?