Hey all , I just bought a 90 4runner with the 3.0 and it is more than likely blow. I saw a rebuild kit on ebay for under $400. What are the good kits and where are they. Also while I got it open , what are some good mods to bump it up. Any info is great , or links would help , thanks for your input . Corbit.

 

engnbldr on ebay sells full rebuild kits for a good price. get some headers and a good exhuast system that should help

 

If you are going to do a full rebuild, then you might as well take advantage and have the heads ported and polished. A good machine shop should be able to do this and get you probably 20-30 hp. Don't get the DOA heads, I've read posts of guys getting those, and they flow marginally better than OEM, then the guys get them redone and they flow 10 times better than the DOA. Also heard that their customer service is pretty bad.

It all depends how much you wanna spend. Don't forget to post pics during the rebuild process.

 

RE: Downey headers:

I have the Downey headers and have been reasonably happy with them. Haven't had any gasket leaking issues like a lot of other who have them complain about, but I think that's a function of who does the install. No fecking way I'd want to do that job myself -- it's a serious undertaking that you'd be better off paying someone else to do. I definitely noticed a performance improvement, but not as much as I'd hoped. I also have my heads ported/polished and although it helped, it was no where near 20-30 hp. Any assessment of actual hp gain would just be a guess, but I'd say closer to 5-10 max.

The 3.0L is simply a dog. I've done all of the engine mods you can possibly do to one without going with the $5000+ engine build from Downey, and it's still sloooooow. Better than before, but don't expect any major improvements from any mods you make. Get a cheap air intake replacement kit and don't bother paying the big bucks for the K&N. That was the most worthless upgrade I've made in terms of $$ spent: performance gained.

FWIW -- engnbldr doesn't do the 3.0L rebuilds. Only the 22RE or R. Unfortunate, because I hear he does outstanding work.

Bottom line, don't sink a lot of $$ into engine mods. It's not worth the return on investment in the 3.0L.

Ed

 

Get your kit from engnbldr for the gaskets bolts etc...take your pic on headers, I have NWOR ones and they fit and are pretty easy to get in, I've heard horror stories about putting in Downeys, also didn't like the idea of beating up my firewall just to get em to fit. Doing the work on the engine is actually quite easy if its out and still easy with just some PITA parts when is still in due to lack of room to work. Do the work yourself, you'll save a ton of money and learn alot about your motor in the process. I've got a K&N, port and polished heads and intake, OS valves, headers and full catback from NWOR and I definately felt a large increase in power, I'm able to turn 34s without regearing and still maintain speed on freeway hills and accel on the freeway to pay w/out too much trouble, and I still get 20mpg mixed driving and got almost 25 on a just freeway tank. I personally like the 3.0.

 

Thanks for the info ,what about motor swaps . I've read a bit on the 3.4 , is it worth it ? Does anyone have any links to Chevy 350 swaps ? What other options are out there . Thanks again Corbit.

 

Depends on if it's a manual or automatic. Manual will match up to the tranny without any major issues. The automatic is a whole different matter. It's possible, but a lot more work and $$.

Am I smoking crack, or does engnbldr NOT sell a kit for the 3.0L? If he does, it's a new kit and not on his website.

Ed

 

its not on his website...look on ebay for 3.0 rebuild

 

I noticed you never got the oversized valves...

 

OK -- nearly all...are you happy with the performance gained from doing yours?

Ah -- good info about the 3.0L rebuild, then. He didn't have one last year when I was building mine.

Ed

 

I never got mine done, but from what I understand, you don't get anything from any intake/exhaust mod until you do this. That's the weekest link in its breathing.

 

3.0 rebuild kit in the middle of page.

This is the one I used along with the OS valves and a pile of port work and balancing.

If you where a bit closer I would take ya for a spin so you coud see if it was worth your time to rebuild the 3.0

I know Im fairly happy with it.
Im working on improving economy now.

 

Epic Ed - did you put in cams matched to the heads as well? Then on top of that you can put in a 6smt, larger injectors, fuel pressure regulator, new fuel pump and turbo it with some dyno tuning. Agreed though - bolt ons dont really add a whole lot....HOWEVER I am nearing completion to my custom intake using a 7mge VAFM - this should make a big difference as your whole engine is normally trying to breathe through a 2" x 2" opening!!

ps - did you do the jacobs ignition? That was dyno proven to give the 3vze 10whp at 3800rpm. Probably more later on in the range too, but the dyno cut off there. (this was compared to new, OEM equipment as well)

 

My gawd that's a lot of $$ to toss at that engine. OK, so I'm completely blind and my reading comprehension could use some work -- how did I not see that 3.0L kit? I stand corrected.

I didn't do any of the other mods like the larger cams and OS valves -- just too much additional money for me to justify sinking into the 3.0L. Bumpin', how much $$ will you have in to the engine mods when it's all completed? I guess what I'm getting at is, you can sink a good chunk of change into some engine mods like I have and still not gain much HP. You can then sink a bunch more $$ into the mods and get a high performance 3VZ-E engine (but is some reliability and longevity sacrificed with some of those mods?).

Or -- you can just say screw it and get a 3rd gen 4Runner and enjoy the 3.4L engine. Is the heavily modified 3.0L engine much better, if any at all, than the stock 3.4L? I honestly don't know -- sounds like some of you guys have attained some performance gains you're happy with, but I know for my money, I wish I had just bought a 3.4L and done the swap.

Ed

 

And, dude, what the heck is this mod? I haven't heard of it. Any links to more info?

Ed

 

If you can rebuild an engine you could do the 3.4 swap. If you can find a donor 3.4 for a good price you'll prob. save money doing the 3.4 swap instead of rebuilding the 3.0.

 

yotaman has a point- & this seems to be the way many people are leaning if the 3.0 gives up...but check out this thread for pointers & more links.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...1&page=1&pp=25

 

Keep the info coming. I said 20-30 hp cause that is what DOA is claiming on their website for the heads, http://www.doaracingengines.com/page9/page9.html, but I'm not sure on actual numbers. I might rebuild the 3.0 if you guys are getting enough out of it without sinking in to much, otherwise I'm going to save up and do the 4.0 Lexus V8 swap, with the a340f tranny with dual crawlers. The tranny will get done either way as you can't bolt up crawlers to the a340h that is behind the 3.0 because the tranny and transfer share fluid.

Any way, keep the info flowing and post pics if you've got them.

 

I dont know what the link is, but both cebby and i made noise about doing it. Cebby's 3vze got shot down with an external (very unusual) HG leak, so I'm the only one left doing it. Just search for my name and/or "7mge vafm" And in my case I just got the 3" mandrel Upipe cut up, welded and now Im cleaning up the welds SOOOON!!