Toyota pickup owners, help me out...

[Riverkeeper]

I have a 92 4X4 with 150k on it, 4 cylinder. It is a great truck (fabled 22RE engine), and so far it has not ever let me down (knock knock). I am thinking about selling it and buying V6 version. My questions are: does this engine have the same reputation for going 200-300k like the 4cyl does? What kind of mileage difference should I expect? My reason is that I would like some extra oomph for going over the mountains and towing boats. I would probably buy a 90-94 model with 100-150k miles. Any experience or advice would be appreciated.

Darian

[Kruechief]

Keep th 4 cyl. Rebuild it using Ted Stanwood up in Portland. He does the oversive valves, high compression pistons and big cam. Get a Downey Header and K&N cold air intake. Readjust the mixture and roll on for another 200,000.

The 300 V-6 is an anchor. Not worth the extra weight and fuel.

IMHO

Krue

[w-fly]

I've had 4 toyotas (22R, 3.0V6, 3.4V6, and 4.7 V8).

I sold an '88 w/ the 3.0 w/ 170K, the next owner ran it into the ground and had blown the motor within a year. Then I got an '96 w/ the 3.4 -- night and day; more power, quieter and better gas mileage. Pulled drift boats & tent trailer with ease.

I would avoid the 3.0, it was heavy, slow, horrible for towing, and got bad gas mileage to boot.

Go a few years newer if you can and get the 3.4L.

[wootersen]

riverkeeper

I'm probably as good as anyone to ask. I am selling my 90 4-cylinder 4x4, and I just bought a 91 4runner v6. I must say, the 4 cylinder is the more reliable motor, and gas mileage is great. I was not as impressed as I thought I was going to be with the v6 in terms of power. It definitely has more torque, but not an incredible difference. Maybe the trucks are different with less weight than a 4runner. My 4 cylinder pickup would probably tow a small lake boat no problem.

I've seen people pull 20 foot sleds with the 4runner v6 but not without a fight. We pulled a glass 16 foot boat over the hills to the coast with a 91 4runner v6 and it struggled a little on the hills.

I think it all depends on what type of boat you want to pull with it. Some things to consider. Fixed axles are much less weight that independent rear suspension, and I think that both the 4 cylinder and the toyota v6 were given more horsepower after 1995. Obviously, 4 wheel drive adds a lot of weight. Trollin4trout (on the board) tows a 16 foot smokercraft with a Nissan 2wd no problem. A little slow on the hills, but he saves a lot of gas money. I'm selling the truck in favor of v6 pulling power, but I'll miss it a lot. It's a good truck that everything was really easy to fix and it's pretty peppy without anything to weigh it down. Also, very capable off road. Hope this helps.

You can also outfit the toyota v6 with a supercharger, good for another 80 horsepower.

[DanS]

The 3.0 V-6 is a toad. I have an 02 Tacoma with the 3.4 V-6 and it is very nice. I get 19-22 mpg..........most of my driving is on the highway.

Can't tell you much on the reliability.....haven't had it long enough yet.

[Point-of-Sale Clerk]

I have had an 80-20R, an 84-22R, and currently a 94 Toyota PU 4x4 extra cab with the 22RE. Great gas mileage but not a lot of raw ponies. The wife says I can have a 2004 Tacoma 4 door next fall and it will be up to me which motor I get. I don’t know the engine options but no matter what I pick it has to run better than a FORD. :shocked:

You can get more HP out of your current rig by improving air flow with new air intake filter system… new low restriction exhaust… performance chip… and an after market Cam. Makes em go vroom vrooom
:grin:

[wootersen]

Anyone know specifically when they switched to the 3.4 v6 from the 3 liter ?

[STGRule]

***: You're a motor head AND a geek???? Cool. :grin:

[Lepper]

i'll second sticking with the 22r.. GREAT MOTORS!! I have owned to vehicles with the 22r in it.. one a celica still going strong with 250,000 + miles on it. and a

86 toyota.. that has been a little moded.. just put some money into the 4 banger. you''ll love it all the more.
d

[steelhooked]

i have a 90 toyota w/ 22r in it and yep it is sluggish but reliable. i put a k+n airfilter in it and 3" exhaust and it seemed to help, but i also am looking at the power chip for it. don't know how much it helps or costs yet but i'm definitely thinking about it. anybody ever put a chip in one?

[Oregon-Jet]

Originally posted by wootersen:
Anyone know specifically when they switched to the 3.4 v6 from the 3 liter ?

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">It was the 99 Model I bought one in the fall of 98, dove it till 2002 and bought the Crew cab, They have plenty of power to tow a boat of med size, i dont even notice my 16 Alumaweld Drift Boat behind it, and i live in Eastern Oregon with lots of big hills. One thing about them though, if you fill up with gas make sure they tighten the gas cap till it clicks. Other wise the check engine light will come on due to a vapor issue which will go out after x amount of key turn on's. Or if you were like me the shop will reset it. good trucks ran 70,000 miles on the first one, no trouble at all, the 2002 Crew Cab has 50,000 now and no troubles.

[Hoosier Daddy]

I have a 95 Tacoma V6, and while it's no hot rod, I haven't had any power problems. Haven't had it long enough for reliability to be an issue. It pulls my boat (17' glass and tandem trailer) just fine.

[Riverkeeper]

Ok, so say I stick with the 4 cylinder 22re, and I buy a small sled in the 900 lb range, plus motors and trailer. Am I asking for trouble? I don't mind slow over the hills, but I don't want to get stuck not being able to pull the boat out of the water at some of the steeper launches.

[Ivana Fishalot]

I would stick with the venerable 22r for one reason and one reason only. A slightly experienced mechanic can do anything on them with a 10, 12, 14, 17, 19 mm wrenches and a screw driver. The V6 has to have some specialty tools just to adjust the valves. I am a complete toyota truck gearhead if you haven't noticed.

If you can't tow your boat out of a ramp in four low... you aren't going to tow it out with anything.
Basic math...
1st gear ~ 4.5 to 1
Rear end = 4.10 to one (on four cylinders 4.87 to 1 on 31" tire models)
Low range ~ 2.02 to one.
Lets say your truck has 90 ft-lbs of torque.

90*4.5*4.1*2.05=~3405 ft-lbs

I think that's right for basic torque multiplication but will tell you that in my fourwheeling experience, I have never seen a toyota 22r not be able to spin the wheels. Not enough traction... yes. Not enough wheel speed (to clear lugs in DEEP mud)... yes. That is why I thoroughly encourage a traction aiding differential in the rear end (Detroit locker) and don't play in deep mud because it gives the greenies an excuse to shut down off highway vehicle areas due to erosion. It also will really silt up a stream which absolutely screws the fish habitat we all love so much . (I am not kind to people just playing in mud just to play. If you are going some where then go but don't cut doughnuts just to cut doughnuts)

Now you need to decide how fast you want to go. A 22r is anything BUT fast. If you have added oversized tires (anything over 28") you may want to explore a gear ratio change. My old 4 runner with 35" tires has 4.88 to 1 gear and I wish I had went with 5.29s.

A final nail in the coffin comes from the fact that the V6 only has about 34 more horsepower, which translates into not a lot faster. They are torquey as all get out though. If you wanted to do just a few mods to your 22r you could easily get these horsepower numbers with torque that is just slightly less.

Any questions don't be afraid to pm. I've already started to ramble because I've found something that I can share.

[ 09-15-2003, 11:45 AM: Message edited by: ScottyV ]

[FallRiverGuy]

I have a 99 Tacoma 4X4 extended cab with the 3.4L engine. I bought the truck used with 13,000 miles and it now has 90,000 miles. The truck initially got around 20 mpg, and now it gets around 23 with a few simple modifications. This truck pulls my 16 foot smokercraft with little effort. I could not imagine getting a 4 cylinder now.

This truck as been very reliable and has only two small problems. The first it the water pump needed to be replaced after 75,000. The other was the air mass meter fouled after I installed a K&N air filter. This happened three times and I finally returned the filter. I think the filter was fine, however the design was poor and the only thing I could figure was dirt was getting around the filter because it did not seat properly in the air box.

The modifications I made were to use an Amsoil air filter, which is reusable like the K&N, and to shorten the air intake and removing an elbow before the air box. This has help improve power and gas mileage. Twice now the truck has gotten 25 mpg on pure road trips. Below is a link describing the air box modification. In short I love this truck and fully expect to get 200,000 mile out of it with few problems.

Amsoil vs K&N

Elbow removal

[ 09-15-2003, 02:12 PM: Message edited by: FallRiverGuy ]

[Riverkeeper]

Scotty,

That RULES!

Here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to buy the boat I want, and see how my truck does. Lucky for me, my old man has a 98 v6 that I can play around with. If my 22r doesn't do it, I will consider making some modifications, in which case I may contact you for some further advice.

Again, speed is less of a concern than saftey and getting stuck. I've pulled my 16' glass drifter out of some pretty sandy or muddy slides, and the sled I plan only to use in big rivers/bays where there are relatively developed launches. Hopefully it should work out ok.

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

[James in Idaho]

I've got a 92 with the 3.0 in it, 202000 + miles on it today. It was rebuilt by Toyota (new short block) due to a failed head gasket, and even though I was not the original owner, Toyota paid for the repair. I had them do the clutch, oil pump, timing belt and water pump (I think??). It is still going strong, but if you are looking at the 3.0, make sure the head gasket was replaced under the recall program. No problems since other than fairly normal things (battery, plug wires, radiator, new distributor cap) associtated with an 11 year old truck with that kind of miles. Had an 89 which had the 22re bombproof engine, totaled at 148K. I replaced an oil seal and the clutch on it, and had those teenagers not pulled in front of me, I'd probably still be driving it. As far as towing, I have a 10' tent trailer (about 1600 dry), and while the 22re was no speed demon, it pulled it. The 6 banger works better, but it still is not a v-8! I will replace mine in the next couple of months with a newer (2000 or better) Tacoma, and I'll stay with the 6. Lots of good reports on the "new" v-6. All of mine have been manual trannys, which I feel is a better choice for towing. It is tough on clutches. Don't forget that I loose a chunk of horsepower due to altitude. I'm a big Toyota fan, yeah I'd like an F-250 with a Powerstroke, but that is more than a little overkill for 98% of my driving. I really like the Trunda, but that is more than a little out of my price range, and from what I have heard is not too good on gas milage.

Oh yeah, pulled a 17' open sled with a 90 horse o/b a couple of weeks ago, no big hills, but no problems pulling it.

[Oregon-Jet]

Edited for not be able to figure out how to post a picture here, its got to be the hardest site to post a pic on.......

[ 09-18-2003, 04:18 PM: Message edited by: Oregon-Jet ]

[BonkBonkBonk]

i think they made a 22ret(turbo) if i was gonna replace the engine, id go with that!

[Hooker]

I just bought a 2003 Toyota Tacoma, 3.4L V6, extended cab, 4x4. I pull a 16' fiberglass drift boat with no problem (a small car could pull it though). I get around 19-23 MPH.

Love the truck!