I will be taking my stepdaughter to Western Carolina soon and I have a question for those who travel I-40 Westbound to Ashville. As you know there is a 7 mile uphill climb over Brown mountain before Ashille. My runner has a real hard time with this climb. My engine screams at almost 5,000 RPM's to keep at 50mph. I turn off OD but is there something else I can do to help out the engine?

 

Why do you turn off the OD? If I were you, I would keep it on. Then you can go for the "4th" gear and it will be alittle easier on the engine. I keep mine on all the time, and don't mind climbing the hills. Maybe just keep it on and you will be ok. :fireman:

 

Ryan, I tried that and the trans. seems like it can't find the right gear, it constantly searches for the proper gear and it gets very annoying with the constant up and down shifting.

 

This is a trait of the 3.0 and and the auto transmission.
Mine does it too going up steep hills, even more since I am not geared for 31" tires.

If we had bigger motors, it would not do this.
Corey

 

Upgrading some parts of the Runner besides the motor may help this condition. Do as much as you can to reduce the rolling resistance. Inflate the tires a little more. This reduces friction between the road and the tire, requiring less force to roll the tire. Switch to synthetic fluids, Motor oil, tranny fluid, transfer case oil, and differentials... This will also reduce the force required to move the vehicle. Remove anything that isn't going to be used on the trip to save weight. A higher flow exhaust will give you more power at those higher RPMs, the best exhaust for your motor seems to be high flow catalytic converter, high flow muffler and 2.25 inch diameter pipes. This will require less force to expell the exhaust gas.

Leave overdrive on so that the auto transmition (which thinks its smarter than the driver) can use whatever gear it wants. Don't make it stay in 3rd, give it the option to use high gear if it wants. Maybe that ECT button will help. Your tranny has a mind of its own and sometimes an active imagination to boot. This is just the way it is with an auto. Think of the tourque converter in the tranny as a fan driven by the motor that blows on a windmill that drives the wheels. Instead of air it uses fluid. Tons of the motor's power gets wasted in this process.
:pat:

 

I usually leave the OD on and use the ECT to get up hills. The only time I use OD is to:

1. Pass somebody
2. keep my speed up, over 60mph but not over 70
3. slow down without hitting my brakes (like if I see a cop).

At least on mine, I've noticed that if the speed drops to 60 it will downshift. At that point it's too late to turn off the OD as it will not do anything. If it get too low, like 50 or so, and I turn off the OD it will upshift.

Steve

 

I usually leave the OD on and use the ECT to get up hills. The only time I use OD is to:

1. Pass somebody
2. keep my speed up, over 60mph but not over 70
3. slow down without hitting my brakes (like if I see a cop).

At least on mine, I've noticed that if the speed drops to 60 it will downshift. At that point it's too late to turn off the OD as it will not do anything. If it get too low, like 50 or so, and I turn off the OD it will upshift.

Steve

 

Yeah, you 90's guys ever have problem with the cruise kicking out of OD and almost red-lining to keep an adequate speed?? My Dad's 90 did that ooohhh soo bad, I can see where Paul's problem is similar to this.. Mtns always kick between gears constantly, Matt has some good advice, he forgot though dont run the AC..

 

I have only used my cruise control a few times.
It's not worth it, as it always kicks down and like you said, redlines.
Corey

 

The only quick thing I can think of is change your oil to synthetic and make sure your cooling system is in good shape. After that maybe a tranny cooler. Make sure your tires have the right air pressure for highway. Have your tranny serviced. Maybe just take it easy for the 7 miles the heck with everybody else. Good luck and have a great trip.

Pete

 

I have that problem when I use mine. It goes up to 5500 rpm to keep up speed, and that kinda annoys me! Oh well, I guess it knows what it is doing. :fireman:

 

To avoid this problem during my last road trip, I just rented a car. It's too frustrating when you don't have enough hp to pass multiple big rigs on a hill, especially if you're trying to run your AC at the same time. If renting a car isn't an option, you just gotta be mentally prepared for the hill and practice lots of patience.

-mangoango

 

Thanks for all the feedback guys, I leave in a few days so no chance of mods or fluids changes so I'll try the ECT on this trip and see what happens. Also I never use cruise control because of what it does on hills.

 

Brown Mtn? Are you sure it's not Black Mtn? I've never heard of Brown Mtn (of course, that means nothing). Anyway, I've driven that part of NC a few times (Black Mtn, not Brown, but it sounds similar). The first time, I was in a 72 VW Beetle, last time it was a Ford Ranger with an anemic 4cyl. Yes, I like to suffer.

Anyway, the best advice I can give you is to get in the right lane and pick speed that is comfortable for your 4Runner. It is a tough climb even for strong vehicles. Don't try to push it too hard. On the way down the other side, keep an eye out for runaway truckers. BTW, where are you headed out there? The Pisgah Forest (about 45min from Ashville in Brevard) has some nice roads to drive on. Some nearly require a 4wd with ground clearance.

Chris

 

Chris, I'm taking my stepdaughter to Western Carolina University located near Sylva. You are probably right about it being Black Mountain instead of Brown. Will only have about a half day to play btween dropping her off and coming home. We plan on doing some light hiking to kill time.

 

Paul, I have the same problem on my 89 runner. To get up to speed on the interstate you have to just about floor it just to make the tranny shift. On mine, I push the gas way down so it will shift and increase the speed, but as soon as the tranny upshifts, the speed starts dropping off again, so you really have to keep your foot planted down on the pedal. I recently moved from Atlanta to Laramie and I had to just put up with it the entire 1600 miles. BTW, climbing up towards the pass on I-80 just east of Laramie, I have to keep the pedal all the way down and the tranny stays in about 2nd or 3rd gear with the rpms nearly pegged out just so I can maintain 55 mph! (speed limit is 75)

 

My .02 is to keep the OD OFF and run in 3rd at around 60 mph. You can keep it in OD, but once you lose your momentum, just drop it in 3rd (turn od off) and keep it there. This should keep the tranny in the best shape and at 60 mph in 3rd gear, it should not hurt the truck at all. Shifting in and out of gears under a load is awfully hard on a tranny.

 

I know there has been a lot of discussion about higher octane fuel not making a difference, but my '90 3.sl0w (5spd manual) seemed to handle hills better when I would tank up with 91 or higher octane. I would fill up once or twice prior to when I was going to tow my boat or camper anything more than 20-30 miles from home. At least from my "seat-of-the-pants" meter, there was some additional power gain, most noticeable when pulling uphill. I'd give that a shot in addition to some of the other advice from the members. And have a safe trip!

 

That's what I'm saying. If you are turning 5000 rpms at 50 mph, you aren't in 3rd...you're in 2nd gear. I turn 3000 rpms in 3rd at 50 mph. You should leave OD off when climbing the hill because the lack of power will cause a lot of shifting which will generate more heat. That's bad for a tranny.

If you want more power then it's time to do mods:
1. Airbox mod
2. ISR mod
3. Exhaust
4. Advanced timing
5. Correct gearing - disregard if your gearing is already correct.

Otherwise just get in the slow lane and suck it up. Oh yeah, this motor makes all of it's torque at about 2K rpms. So you might want to try driving in 3rd close to 2K rpms. You'll run slower than 50 mph but you should be able to maintain that speed on the hills. Just another thought.

I hope that was some help.

:bounce2:

 

Im assuming you have a automatic tranny.....something you might want to try, if its having a hard time "picking" a gear up hill is to keep in OD but shift down a gear. my father-in-law has the same problem with his truck and as soon as we shift it from D to 3, it runs awesome up steep grades. just a suggestion.