baileymoto

are the 4 cylinder engines generally more reliable than the 6 cyls? i have seen tons of claims of 4 cyl guys running their engines beyond 300k miles. is this the same with the 6 cylinders?

amusement

Toyota 6 cyl seem to have more problems than 4 cyl.

sick4runner

Yes, it seems to be that way due to the 6's head gasket failure on the 2nd gen's at least.

AgRunner06

^ = $$$$$

It seems like I've been hearing about a lot of burnt valves lately too. I'm just praying nothing bad happens to mine.

I wish I had the 22re with a 5 speed.

X-AWDriver

I'd rather drive a more powerful engine for less miles than a slow one for alot longer.

corvettelvr73

I personally love the six cyl 3.0. The head gaskets can be fixed. With all engines more moving parts and bigger displacement are going to have more/different problems arising.

kyle_22r

the main problem with v6 engines is that they have less main bearings than a 4 cylinder and tend to have to use every trick in the book to properly balance

schlopecki

That's why R6 engines rule.
Unfortunatelly automakers like "cab forward" rule, which promotes "shorter"
engines - V engines.

duanedeidre

hey there i had a 3.4 engine with over 200k miles and never had a problem out of it just that heat sheld on the cross over made some noise however i had the 3.slow enigine and i had 140k miles and the problems it had you would think it had 800k miles on it (traded it off) and now i have a new 2003 taco with the 3.4 engine again i'll drive this thing until it dies
duane

sick4runner

WOW! i thought i would never EVER hear anyone ask for an engine with less power in their yota. I love my 22re and i agree with you, but still, Two points for the 4bangers "SWOOSH"!

Thanks for the compliment Aggie

ElwayLite

From the mileage Ive seen people get outta the yota sixes its fine with me, I want the power. And honestly, I'll never keep a vehicle for more than 100k to 150k miles anyways so the argument really doesnt apply to me. Once a vehicle crosses 150k miles, its time for me to buy a new one, just my 0.02

CrazyDiamond

Can't complain about my little old 22re :-) With the right gearing, tires, and some CHEAP engine mods, you just can't stop the thing. It won't go over 182 degrees in 100+ degree heat outside with the A/C going, nothing EVER breaks, and it's easy as hell to work on. Sure, you aren't going to smoke tires, but is that what a 4wd is for? I thought it was for pullin the guy who floods his '03 supercharged, K&N-powered, huge exhaust-tipped, doesn't-do-his-own-engine-work truck out of the river he thought he could cross :-) My 22re has done that twice (the pulling, I mean) :-)

Keep 'em runnin'!

RedRunner_87

Lol, I love my 22re. I have always heard of the 4 Cycl racking up more milage than 6.

kyle_22r

how about a 20R? mine has 310,000 miles on it

i've scrapped the plan to ditch it and build a 22R eventually...i'm gonna rebuild my engine, and use the head and intake off my spare engine i have sitting in the back yard. 300,000 miles and the thing still has power, and gets 22 miles to the gallon on average. i can't imagine what it's gonna run like when all the internals are brand new again

ilion

Show me any Toyota engine that, if properly maintained, won't last 200,000+ miles.

Seriously.

Remember those ads from way back, where they had real people showing where their Toyotas hit 100, 200, and 300 thousand miles?

As with anything, the most important thing is maintenance.

AgRunner06

Maintenance means nothing to the head gasket. <---

amusement

Wow!

It's like having a bomb ready to go off ... but you don't know when!?!
Or, its like a lottery where the odds of winning are really good. Which is really bad, if you a driving far away from home.

ElwayLite

Its funny how the headgasket thing always comes up. Ya know $%1# happens, even with toyota. The v6 is the best of both worlds plain and simple, gets decent mileage but is not a hog, has enough pep that it can tow small things with ease and can actually get out of its own way when trying to get on the interstate. My bud has an earlier model taco 4x4 reg cab 5spd with the beloved 22r, and we get passed by old women in wheelchairs when trying to get on the interstate.

AgRunner06

We are talking about the 3.0, not the 3.4. With a 5 speed I'm sure it's better but it's still slow, gets bad gas mileage (although mines pretty good compared to everyone elses), expensive to fix, and has a bad HG.

With the 22re, at least you can do power mods easily. They are cheap and easy to install.

4RUNR

6 cylinders have 50% more of 'parts' than a 4 cylinder. 4 + 2 = 6, so 2 is half of 4, 50% get it? All else being equal obviously more 'parts' have a higher chance of failure.

If there are many more high mileage 4s than 6s that does not mean anything. If anything I would say people who buy 4s are inherently owned by the more conservative people. They are maintained differently, driven differently and kept for much longer.

Just like with Toyotas, reliability is mostly attributed to the conservative nature of their owners.