3.4 V6 Oil Capacity Less than Previous 3 T4R's

[trd4runner007]

Greetings all,

I recently purchased a 2000 Limited 4WD 3.4 w/locker with extensive off road modifications. The previous owner was a member of several T4R forums (yotamanmatt). It is an off road beast. This is my fourth 3rd gen 4runner the previous being a 99 Highlander Edition 5 speed 4WD, a 99 Highlander 5 speed 4WD w/locker and a 98 SR5 4WD 5 speed. This is my first auto- kind of weird driving an auto T4R. Anyways, I have always used a M1-209 oversize filter and have always been able to put exactly 6 quarts in the crankcase. The 2000 Limited that I have now, with the M1-209 only takes 5 quarts. I'm not understanding why this is the case. This car is originally from New York. All of my previous models were California cars. I hardly think that that has anything to do with it, as I can't see less oil capacity being state specific. Does anyone out there have any suggestions as to why this T4R only holds 5 quarts? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Weird. What does the dipstick capacity look like after 500 miles?

The Mobil 209 is a great filter IMHO. Amazon had them on for $8 a pop in February.

 

[trd4runner007]

Weird. What does the dipstick capacity look like after 500 miles?

The Mobil 209 is a great filter IMHO. Amazon had them on for $8 a pop in February.

I haven't had a chance to drive that much yet. I have about 50 miles on the current fill of Maxlife Synthetic. I was able to score a few cases of the M1-209 for 3.00 per. A heck of a steal...

 

[Drcoffee]

Is there sludge in the pan? It may be occupying some space.

 

[cj80cruiser]

Previous owner didn't replace the oil pan in anticipation of a SAS did he?

 

[Brian757]

Pics or it didn't happen

I would say that maybe your engine is sludged up, and it is occupying space in the engine. But if the owner took good care of it, and put money in it, like you said, then that shouldn't be the problem.

 

[trd4runner007]

Pics or it didn't happen

I would say that maybe your engine is sludged up, and it is occupying space in the engine. But if the owner took good care of it, and put money in it, like you said, then that shouldn't be the problem.

The engine doesn't seem sludged up at all. The previous owner used M1 for the duration of his ownership (8 years). I'm wondering if he did indeed swap out the oil pan. The SAS would have been one of the only mods left to do. Here is a list of the mods:

-Addco front and rear larger diameter sway bars
-Tail light guards
-16" Pro Comp black steel wheels
-Catch all floor mats
-Midland CB radio with 3ft antenna
-CBI Offroad rear tire carrier
-Savage Offroad rear tube bumper
-Surco Safari roof rack
-Trail Gear rock sliders
-Budbuilt front skid plate
-Trail Gear rear diff locker skid plate
-Flowmaster 50 series muffler
-Front differential drop kit to compensate for the lift. This prevents excessive wear on the half shafts.
-Shrockworks front bumper
-2002 model tail lights
-2" Custom body lift
-Sonoran Steel 4" Custom suspension lift with Toyota Land Cruiser springs, and Bilstien nickel plated shocks.
-Polyurethane front and rear bump stops
-Heavy duty front half shaft axles
-Cryo dipped and heat treated front brake rotors to prevent warping
-(4) Hella 500 FF's mounted to the roof rack
- PIAA 510's mounted in the front bumper
-PIAA 520's mounted on top of the front bumper
-Custom roll bar, from a 1985 4Runer fabbed up to fit a 2000 by Wabfab.
-Front kick panel speakers with MB quartz installed.
-Pioneer speakers in all the doors
-JVC headunit with DVD player and iPod connection
-Autometer a-pillar pod with Voltmeter, and Oil pressure gauges installed. These are only a year old.
-Trueflow re-usable air filter
-Airaid intake tube
-Safari Snorkel
-Custom made front grill with Land Cruiser Toyota emblem-Satoshi Grill Mod
-B&M Aftermarket Transmission Cooler

I will take some photos and upload them later today.

 

[Brian757]

Wow, that sounds like a well put together truck. But I have also heard that a picture is worth a thousand words, so you wasted a lot of time. Haha! I'm just messin' with ya.

Well, now is your turn to modify and make the truck even better!

 

[trd4runner007]

Yes, the PO used all high quality parts and didn't go the cheap route. I just had to replace the upper/lower ball joints, outer tie rod ends and steering rack. The upper/lower were OE, the tie rods and rack were NAPA. I just ordered some sway bar bushings from Energy suspension and went down to NAPA to purchase some front sway bar end links that I will be using in the rear. Next in line is installing the OE timing belt kit.

 

[SCRunner12]

So you bought that 4runner. I saw it on craigslist not too long ago and even emailed the owner to see if he would sell some stuff separate. Definitely a nice rig and done right. Hope to see you around the area and at some meets.

 

[trd4runner007]

So you bought that 4runner. I saw it on craigslist not too long ago and even emailed the owner to see if he would sell some stuff separate. Definitely a nice rig and done right. Hope to see you around the area and at some meets.

SCrunner12, I had it on CL for a bit but decided not to sell it yet if I couldn't get out of it what I had sunk into it. Upon seeing it for the first time after I flew out to Texas, I realized that the 2" body lift and 3.5" Sonoran Steel lift had it sitting higher than I anticipated. This T4R is my daily driver, and I was hoping for a milder lift. The woman wasn't too thrilled in the fact that I would be haulin' around a 3 month old little one in it, so I put it up for sale. The T4R is everything that I had hoped for and had pretty much everything that I wanted to do to my previous three 3rd gens. I will be taking it on a week long trip up the USAL road and into the Siskyone Wilderness on the Lost Coast next week. Need to make sure that everything is in good working order as there will be no services where we are headed. I can't recall what you had hoped I would sell separately......Did I get back to you?

 

[SCRunner12]

SCrunner12, I had it on CL for a bit but decided not to sell it yet if I couldn't get out of it what I had sunk into it. Upon seeing it for the first time after I flew out to Texas, I realized that the 2" body lift and 3.5" Sonoran Steel lift had it sitting higher than I anticipated. This T4R is my daily driver, and I was hoping for a milder lift. The woman wasn't too thrilled in the fact that I would be haulin' around a 3 month old little one in it, so I put it up for sale. The T4R is everything that I had hoped for and had pretty much everything that I wanted to do to my previous three 3rd gens. I will be taking it on a week long trip up the USAL road and into the Siskyone Wilderness on the Lost Coast next week. Need to make sure that everything is in good working order as there will be no services where we are headed. I can't recall what you had hoped I would sell separately......Did I get back to you?

Nice, glad you kept it. I was drooling over it and wondering where one like yours was when I was looking. Definitely looked to be done right. I know what you mean about the girl not liking the height with a kid. My Fiance hates that I have a 3" lift when she has to put my daughter in. O well...

I was wondering about the rear bumper and you got back to me. I realized after that you had a 2" body lift so it wouldn't work anyways. Next wheeling or meet you need to make it so we can see it in person.

 

[trd4runner007]

I'm definitely down for a good meet up. When/where is the next one being held if any? I travel over the hill in your direction frequently.

 

[trd4runner007]

A few pics...

 

[trd4runner007]

Two more

 

[trd4runner007]

I think that I need to attend to this ASAP before wheelin'. I have never replaced sway bar links before. Does this look like it could snap at any time?

 

[SCRunner12]

You're good. It doesn't look that bad and most people take off the rear sway bar anyways. If you replace them get some 3rd gen front sway bar endlinks or 2nd gen rear sway bar endlinks. They are longer and will allow more flex.

 

[trd4runner007]

I went down to NAPA this morning and bought a set of front end links for the rear. My Energy Suspension sway bar bushings will be here Sat or Mon. I will do all at once.

 

[SCRunner12]

Nice, it's pretty simple, but you will need an allen wrench for the lower connection. A ratcheting wrench will help a lot with this.

 

[trd4runner007]

Is it a 6mm?