Hi,
I just bought my first Toyota over the weekend. A 1995 4runner 2nd gen with 150K miles on it.
It runs great, but it does seem a little pokey for the size of the engine (3.0).
What would be people's suggestion for power mods? Also, I've read that the head gasket has been known to be an issue at around the 189K mile range.
How concerned should I be?
Thanks!

 

If it didn't get the head gasket recall, very concerned Leakdown test on the cylinders isn't a bad idea.

For more power, swap in a 3.4. The 3.slow is a dog. It's like the 2.4, except that it uses more gas. Just the way it is. A full tune up with a valve adjustment is the way to go. Basically, just make sure everything is running as well as it can, and realize that "as well as it can" means a pretty "pokey" V6.

 

Don't be concerned at all. There's nothin that you might do preemptively. Sounds like a low mileage truck, Has it had decent maintainance??

Drive it like you stole it. Higher revs is better than lugging the ol 3.0.

If its running right it should get 17.5-18.5mpg.

There are no bolt-on power mods for the 3.0 that are worth the money, just make sure that you've got a good tune-up using Japanese parts, and keep the cooling system @ 100%.

Valve adjustment for sure if records don't show its' had one.

If you want more power, swap in a 3.4 when she dies.

Welcome to YotaTech!!

 

Love that advice! Some maintenance records. Pretty clean rig.
She is a cheap replacement for my daily that died while out of town on Xmas eve.
Hopefully I can get a few years out of her. Can't afford an engine swap at this point.
I've always loved 4Runners from the 90's, and they are supposed to be reliable, right?

 

Engine swap is sort of serious, sort of a joke. Just my way of saying you aren't going to get more power out of the 3.0. It's a good engine, except that it had the head gasket issues, and unimpressive power along with not such great gas mileage. By Toyota standards not a great engine, kind of a dud; by most other standards, a pretty darn good engine. Valve adjustments are expensive, unfortunately. Like triple or quadruple the price of a 22re valve adjustment. I paid close to $400 for my 93 with a 3.0. Was shocked when they told me the price. I was used to my 22R/E engines, paying somewhere around $100, before I started doing it myself.

Yep, the 3.0 is still pretty reliable. The 90s 4Runners are just like all the other 90s Toyotas. Definitely reliable.

 

You aren't going to get any more power out of it. Just get used to it. I actually like the 3SLO. It's got better low end power than most give it credit for. If you are wanting to tinker with it and decide to change the plugs, it prefers the cheapo Denso or NGK plugs over the high performance plugs. If you do them, you might do a compression test on your cylinders while you're at it. It's easy to do and is the easiest and arguably the best way to quickly evaluate the overall health of your engine. If you get some out of spec readings, you can investigate further. If you get good results, you can have some peace of mind that you have you a good engine.