Hello Folks,

I am admittedly very new the the forums and do not know much about runners or mechanics but have started the quest to learn. I just got a '95 4Runner from work for $1,500 CAD which I thought was a pretty good deal.

Unfortunately, this beast burns gas like its going out of style. In my first post in the newbie tech section Jay from BC offered the following advice:


If you want to improve fuel efficiency there is a few things you can do:

1. do a full tune up
2. o2 sensor ( can be found cheap at www.sparkplugs.com )
3. change fuel filter ( wont help much with mpg, but good for the truck)

As we are in winter now, we are getting the crappy winter gas, so don't expect very good milage till spring(ish)

I have heeded his advice and will be working on said mods this weekend but wanted to see if I could milk any more info out of the ever knowledgeable yotatech users.

I have the 3.0L V6 automatic which I understand to be notoriously bad on fuel (as the the FAQ) but am wondering what I can do to maximize my mileage. I got just over 250k out of my first 60L tank.

Thanks in advance.

-Barrolde

 

check your tire pressure, run it on the high side. The little life you lose in the tires will be more than made up for in the gas savings.

 

250k a tankfull is about normal for the 3.slow, as said before check your tire pressure and use a light foot.

 

For whatever reason, around town mine drinks like a sailor. On the highway it does pretty good

 

You can also get your plugs, wires and a new air filter from that website. I have gotten the NGK performance wires, NTK (ngk) oem o2 sensor, and an oem denso air filter from them. Great stuff!

also, what gas are you running? (brand)


He is talkin about kilometers, not miles. So his is pretty low, im averaging about 370km to a tank now, down from around 410 in the summer.

 

mine is about the same as jay's so the 250 is pretty low. do the tune up stuff and you should notice an improvement, just remember, if you let it idle to warm up that will kill your mileage.

lee

 

Does it have manual hubs on it because that will help out as well. Having some synthetic oil in the diffs would help out too. And make sure you have a good fresh air filter. And as was pointed out make sure shes running in tip top shape. Plug it in in the cold mornings as well so you don't have to warm the thing up. But then your paying electricity prices.

 

I always idle my truck for about 3 mins, till the rpms go down to normal range.
I have yet to install my plug wires and o2 sensor though.

 

in the winter with my 3.0 5spd 1st gen i get 350-375km per tank.
summer i get 410-450.

 

being new to the 3.0 too, im in the process of it being my d.d.
what is the octane rating for these engines. I know that 91 gets much more mileage in my bmw, but its also rated for 91+

many choose the cheapest and crappiest fuel out there, so remember the quality of fuel will also be a factor.

 

Sorry....this is a myth. ADD when not in 4wd creates no resistance substantial enough to reduce mileage that much. You can spin the axle side freely and easily by hand. The synthetics can help, though.

Get the injectors cleaned and rebalanced.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=190135308437

He does 6cyl's, too.

 

Barrolde- Welcome to a fellow calgarian....man, its cold today...-23 c..whatever that is in farenheit

anyway.. i get 330 or so now...but in summer i get 400....

i have a 3.0 standard....but it is on 35"s so that decreases economy a lot from stock....

but i too, have heard the 3.0 and auto is bad for gas guzzling....

 

Some one on here is getting 250km a tank ful????? I'm getting 270 MILES a tank full, and about 305 at best, 210 at worst.

 

if i let the needle go down to the E line, i'll go about 200mi. this was the case before my HG job and after. new o2 sensor, fuel injectors cleaned, new plugs/wires/dist cap/rotor/air filter/fuel filter etc. i don't know how you guys do it!

 

x2 I couldn't show a statistical difference between before and after. I don't think people are doing a true comparison accounting for the natural variation tank-to-tank. If you happen to compare a bad tank before to a good tank after for example ...

I go 200 mi on a tank, but mine is only 12 gal at the most.

How they do it? Look at the transmission they have - auto is MUCH worse than manual on these trucks

 

welcome to yotatech!

well, yep you got the 3.0
i think 250 miles for a tank of gas is pretty good. i get barely 200!

if your worried about gas mileage dont get bigger tires like i did. i run 31'' tires and those make my gas mpg suffer.

also, try a seafoam (if you want more info private message me) it cleans out soo many things.

make sure since you bought the truck to find out.
1. when was the headgaskets changed (BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH 3.0's!!!)
2. when was the timing belt changed
3. what other work has been done?
put good oil, filters, and plugs in your truck, and maybe some 3.0 mods (search on here for those mods) and you will have a long running truck my friend!!!

 

oh yes, also dont run the most expensive gas in there. ive tried it. if you do stop and go alot and you need the little extra pickup from stoplights, go for it.

but it wont help your mpg. i tried. waste of 5 extra bucks.

 

I posted this at work on Friday and there is already sooo much info for me to sponge up here. Thank you guys so much. You guys are more insightful and willing to help than the geeks on the computer forums i usually frequent! Thank You!

Sorry it took so long to get back.. I was out driving my runner

I'm going to summarize the advice i've gotten here, please let me know if i'm missing anything. So, in no particular order:

1. Tire Pressure - more pressure = better mileage but more wear on tires. Sweet.
2. New plugs/wires/air filters/O2 sensor/air filter/fuel filter/headers - choose quality parts and not the cheapest option.
3. A Light Foot - easier said than done but i'm working on it
4. Manual Hubs - yes the jury is still out but i was planning on doing this in the spring to reduce wear and tear on the CV anyways. Yes No?
5. Don't let it idle in the mornings - I live in Calgary ahem. What is the downside of just jumping in it and taking off?
6. Get the injectors rebalanced - cool.. surely there is someone local who can do that though? Do people mail him their fuel injectors????? <-- noob :/
7. General Maintenance - put in synthetic oil, check head gasket, timing belt etc etc. Since i know nothign about the history of this truck I know this is sound advice.
8. The best way to improve mileage IMO: post on yotatech!

A couple more questions/comments:

Why do you call it a 3.slow? Or do i want to know :/
I am 'frugal' i buy the low octane gas o line. You too?
I am working on my 'light foot' right now i have 180k on this tank and i have a little over 1/3 left... joy
What is seafoam?


So this is a good start for me.. I'll get her all primed up and running tip top as my DD and then can look into the 'fun mods' for off road hehe.

Thanks for the welcomes, glad to see there is a fellow Calgarian on here too (Vohaul) maybe once i get my act together you can show me come good places to play.

I think i'm catching the yota fever.. i now notice other runners and tacomas when i'm driving around and have started asking strangers where they go for service

 

you live in sac, last i remember, the biggest hill in sac is the driveway hump to a mcdonalds, here in this hilly valley im lucky to get about 170 a tank, but on the freeway its about 230(havnt drivin much freeway after ngk iridiums and reduced weight)

 

woe woe, who says no idle in the morning, at least let it idle for a minuet or two, let the oil fully clear everything so your not just romping a dry cylinder


careful with synthetics, a lot of the time they dont do anything, if your car has been useing synthetics before, then keep up synthetic, but you wont notice anything but a smaller wallet if you switch now


lol, im not sure where you live, or what kinda mods you ahve on your yota, but the 3.slow def. isnt a race motor, we'll just say that


magic in a bottle. 8.99 a can at kragen, and pour it everywhere, vacumme lines, gastank, it cleans EVERYTHING


get the feeling. toyota.