Great board. Had my '93 3.0 4runner 4x4 a little over 2 years, and now needing a new engine. Can't decide whether to go for another 3.0, swap a 3.4 or sell as is with bad engine and start hunting for a 3rd gen (96-02). I'm not looking for a rockcrawller. Mostly have it to take 30 or so miles down the beach and surf fish. Also is my daily driver.

Thought I had a clutch go out, terrible racket near the bell housing. Went ahead and got a clutch and dropped the tranny. Clutch was needy, but not the cause of all the noise. The crankshaft hub (believe thats what you call it, flywheel bolts up to it) had some pretty good play. It is very exaggerated with the flywheel attached. So thinking lower end, crankshaft shot and have 200k on it; need new engine.

The car has good straight body, no rust, love the simplicity of the 2nd gen over the 3rd gen, and hey, it has a tailgate!!
R150 tranny, 4.56 gears.

One option it to sell as is, drive my beater camry to work and start hunting a 3rd gen. Any thoughts from you owners who have had both 2nd and 3rd gens much appreciated.

Option 2, most cost efficient option, get another 3.0 and drop in. Do other mods as I can. Don't know if I want to put the time and investment in another 3-slow. But it is the cheapest (just the block) and quickest route to getting back on the road.

Option 3, I believe, is my preference. Get a 3.4 (ecu and wiring), get it up on jack stands and plan on a project, invest a little more money and time. It mates to the bell housing and new clutch. The tranny seems fine. About a 3 inch lift, OME, with air-aid bags in the rear coils (for added weight in rear -- water, ice, beer, gas, supplies when going primative). Manual hubs and do the ADD bypass trick. Limited-slip in rear. Yes, signing up for a lot with this, but when done I think I would be happiest.

Any insight, thoughts, wisedom or just plain opinion is welcome and appreciated.

Scarey

 

Option 3 seems like the best to me.

You've got a 5 speed, and that's a lot to start with. It's simpler and you get more power out of it.

A 3.4 would rock in it!

And second, I don't think you realize the 4WD you got.

I've parted two Tacoma's out and I do not care one bit for their 4WD system. EVERYTHING is backwards in them and nothing from an earlier truck will fit or work in them.

Plus, ALL the 4WD trucks are under a recall!

American steel and assembly is so piss poor, that's right, they're all under a recall!

The only thing not are 4Runners b/c they, like Landcruisers are manufactured in Japan.

Me no likey no made in Japan... I think it's junk if it doesn't have a J in VIN#.


Sorry, that's just me.

I'll take an old Torsen bar 22R 4WD over anything new made today.

 

^^ agreed. Personally, if I had to go again, I wouldn't do anything differently. I ended up going back to the 3slow due to the lack of 3.4s floating around here. my runner's mostly stock and I keep up with my friends in lighter, better equipped rigs on tight wood's trails with little to no difficulty.

as for those recalls: tacos recall's shaving the pedal down so it doesn't get the pedal cut and an ecu reflash. tundra's a straight pedal cut ... I think fj's next on the list but no runner's ... You have no idea how happy I am that all 3 of my yota's are J's :-)

oh, before you throw a new engine in, take the vin to the local yota dealer and ask if the head gasket campaign's been done. there's a provision for block damage that if it hasn't been done, and the damage's due to leaking headgasket, they will replace the block and heads

 

This is what a 1 in the VIN will get you on a Foreign owned vehicle manufacturer, using Domestic contractors.

Toyota Tundra Recall: 110,000 Trucks Recalled for Frame Corrosion

Info on the 1995.5 through 2004 Toyota Tacoma frame recall for rust

Toyota Tundra Frame Supplier Dana Off The Hook, No Rust Fix Yet


Thanks a lot NUMMI and FU Jim Lentz and Dana manufacturing.


/

 

from experience with the 3.slow.


don't waste your time with it.

once you put the money into the rebuild (don't put a used motor in the truck, because there is NO telling what kinda maintenance has been done to it, or what problems the motor has had in the past) you can have a 3.4 swapped and running.

now, that's WITHOUT rebuilding the 3.4, but that is only because they are a far superior motor compared to the 3.0 in terms of reliability.


i've spent about $1700 (ABOUT...idk for sure..maybe a few hundred less or more) on my 3.0 rebuild. that's COMPLETE rebuild, plus clutch kit.

for THAT price (or maybe a tad more) i could have swapped in a 3.4L with under 100,000 miles and probably be a lot happier.....


don't get me wrong though, i'm proud that i've done the work myself and such, and proud to say that "i built this, i didn't buy it." because about 95% of the people at my college, didn't build their trucks, they bought em the way they are.
now i haven't gotten my 3vz to runnin right yet, i believe the AFM is the problem, will find out soon enough!




3.4 FTW

 

Tried - I keep forgetting about those ones and I'm the guy in the dealership who has to do 'em. the taco frame corrosion campaign ends Oct 31 up here and can't wait. We had a new bean counter come in and oversee the campaign in our territory. His definition and mine about what a good frame is and a bad frame are in two completely different worlds.