This might be normal but the acceleration seems slow.
I read about it on other sites that its normal but my brother seems to think otherwise.

He says the 4runner has a hard time getting up to speed and i agree. My RPM meter gets the the 4 tick when im trying to accelerate on highways (60-75) from city speed (25-40).

It has 98k miles on it and i just had an inspection my the shop that replaced my brakes. They didnt seem to find a problem.

Any Ideas?

1995 4Runner SR5 Limited V6 (3VZ-E Engine)

 

Sad but true. The 3VZE engine is a slug. Moving that much weight is a strain for it. Alot of people improve the breathing (intake and exhaust) to get marginal gains. Nothing short of an engine swap will get you "good" performance.

I guess the worst part is that on top of the poor performance, the gas mileage is awful too.

Welcome Newbie!

 

I knew i was a newb since i got my car two months ago.

How much would an engine swap cost me?

 

A swap cost depends on what motor you'll put in and how much of the work you'll do yourself.

If you want to keep it all Toyota, you can swap in the 3.4 V6 out of the newer 4Runners/Tacomas. This swap is pricey since the motor is newer. The motor alone is usually around $1500 +. Another Toyota swap is the 7M-GE/GTE I6 out of the 86-92 Supra. These can be had for about $600-$800. Some fabricating is required for both of these swaps and you need to get harnesses and ECU's from the donor vehicles I think.

If you don't want to keep it all Toyota, then there are swaps out there done with Ford V8's, Chevy V8's, Chevy and Buick V6's. Downey Off Road has adapters for these swaps.

I've heard figures of $5000 tossed around for turn key swaps from a shop. Not sure if that's accurate or not - never looked that far into it.

 

So where am i able to find these motors?

 

Salvage yards, Ebay, and there was a place importing used engines from Japan - maybe someone who knows will chime in.

 

You can advance you timing to 12 degrees. This will provide a noticeable difference in your power. If you advance too far it will ping.

There is also the intake and exhaust stuff you can do.

You can also get a bored out throttle body. DOA sells them for $290.

I would do the intake, exhaust, and the timing first. If you still aren't satisfied then I would move on to bigger and better things.

Welcome NEWBIE!

 

How do I advance my timing? I can always use more power. Will my mileage get even worse?

 

my buddy put an MSD system on his and didnt notice much change. Cant you change out your gears to get more off the line HP? Will a flex a lite fan give you more power doing away with sluggish clutch fans? Also instead of doing the ISP mod couldnt you get more power from an actual cold air intake system?

 

Find your diagnostic connector over by your fuse box on the passenger fenderwell. You need to jump the TE1 and E1 connectors. When you turn your truck on, you should have the OD OFF and CE light blinking (if I remember correctly). Doing this puts the computer into diagnostic mode and keeps it from playing with the timing. On a side note, when you have a CE light and jumper those connectors and turn on the car the light will flash your CE code.

Now the vehicle needs to be at operating temperature and idling at 800 rpms. Then shoot your timing light down at the crank pulley from the driver side. You should be able to read the marks. Then just loosen your distributor and turn it until it reads 12 degrees. You are going to want to set your timing to the mark in between the 10 and 15 degree marks, but the mark will be closer to the 10 degree mark. I'm saying this because I don't think the mark is labeled. Once you tighten your distributor, check you timing again to make sure it didn't move.

Then turn your truck off, disconnect everything, and go for a test drive and see if you get any pinging.

Also when you advance your timing, your idle should increase. So you may need to turn it down a hair when you're finished.

Have Fun!

 

AGrunner, this sounds like something I would like to try . Are there any downfalls to doing this adjustment .

 

I advanced my timing 12 degrees months ago and have noticed no down sides yet.

Seemed to perk it up a little.

I always had used 93 octaine fuel before. No pinging noticed either.

HTH

 

I haven't noticed any downfalls to doing this except sometimes a little pinging if the gas isn't good enough.

As for my mileage, the best highway I got with my timing advanced was a little over 20 mph with the windows down.

I think adjusting your timing is a good idea.

 

ok i think i want to adjust my timing.. but i am still 100% confused on what to do

"Now the vehicle needs to be at operating temperature and idling at 800 rpms. Then shoot your timing light down at the crank pulley from the driver side. You should be able to read the marks. "

ok.. what timing light? you mean just a flashlight?


i found the tick marks... but then you said "loosen the distributer" that's quite a ways away from thsoe tick marks, and i'm not really sure if i'm looking at the right thing. is there a writeup online for this?

thanks

edit: this is waht i'm looking at

 

A timing light is far from a flash light. It will clip to your battery to draw power, and to your #1 cylinder spark plug wire. When it senses a spark going through the #1 wire, it will flash, and you will be able to see the timing mark that's on your pully as it passes along the timing marks. Make sure your pully is clean. you may locate the mark and mark it with some chalk to make it show up better. If you don't have a timing light, you shouldn't have too much problem finding someone who does have one, and is willing to show you how to time your truck. I would recommend this since you have not done it before. After someone shows you, I'm sure you'll have no trouble doing it again in the future if you wanted to.

 

I went down to my "only if I dont wanna fix it myself mechanic" to ask about advancing my timing to the 12 degrees BTDC as suggested on our site. After telling him about the ticking noise I sometimes get after accelerating from a stand still he told me its the cheap gas. This is the second shop to give me this reason for the ticking noise. I told him ive switched gas stations and from mid grade to supreme and off and on get this ticking. He said if I advanced the timing it would increase the ticking and advised I retard the timing. I gassed up today with Chevron Supreme and guess what, no ticking! I am sure it may be the fuel quality now. Also why is it that when its hot my engine tends to idle high?

 

How high is high? I too had the same problem. Mine would sometimes idle 1500-2000 when it was hot outside. I took it to the dealership and the tech spent almost three hours trying to figure the problem out. He finally found that the throttle cable was adjusted to tight. So $70 later, the problem was solved.

L33T35T, DjShiznit hit the nail right on the head. Yes, the distributer is far away from the tick marks. You will find that as you rotate the distributer the tick mark will change when you shine your timing light down there. You will want to adjust your timing to the mark just left of the 10 degree mark. Just watch someone else do it and you will get the hang of it. It's a breeze to do. I will suggest doing it just after the engine reaches operating temperature. This is because the distributer will also get very warm. I had to use a rag the last time I adjusted mine so that I wouldn't burn myself.

Have Fun

 

Mine will idle at what is high to me being a grand and not kick down in hot weather.

 

If that is with the AC on then it's normal. If not, you may want to turn your idle down just a hair.

 

Does this mean that if I advance my timing, I'm going to have to use something other than 87 octane gas?

I already costs me about $28 to fill my tank... :cry: