3G owner about to purchase a 2g w/ lift

[combatmedic]

Hey fellas, my 3g is down (oil pump and a few other things), Im going to look at a 1993 v6 w/ 5inch skyjacker lift and 35's. Damn good condition from the pictures and info he sent. Is there anything I should look for, for instance w/ the 3gs its the strawberry milkshake.. Thank you!

 

[DC runner]

Crappy engine. Horrid acceleration...

 

[combatmedic]

as in thats a gimme due to the lift and age? or I should be wary of that?

 

[Thurlo76]

unless that thing has 5.29's in the axles then you arnt going to be going anywhere fast.

 

[DC runner]

Yea. Sorry.

That was my knee jerk reaction. I owned 2 3vze engines and I am not a fan. It has a notorious head gasket issue, caused by a horrid internal cooling design.

Simply put, the cooling channel around number 6 cylinder is horrid. Your temp gauge will read normal temp, but that cylinder will have temperature variations and it causes the head gasket to fail.


Also. It is a dog of an engine...its nickname is 3.sloww

edit: You are not interested in reliable daily driver? If reliability isn't an issue, sure go for it. At this point, this age, I just can't recommend that engine. It let me down too many times...and I babied it. Did everything I could. Maintenance above board. At the end there, I was nervous to take it anywhere. I simply cannot stand that.

The 3.4 in the 3rd gen's is a much better engine.

 

[Hyde802]

Its not the worst engine in the world, I still see a ton of them out on the road every day. And its defiantly faster than the other option, the 22re. Its not a power house, but as long as you keen the cooling system in check, its a dam reliable engine. Most who hate it have driven/owned one with an auto, the 5 speed makes is much quicker.

I put many miles on my 3vze till sludge in the oil combined with high RPMS (I was stuck) spun a bearing on the crank. My new 3vze (rebuilt by me) works great and gets driven pretty hard with no issues. I even prefer the 3zve over the 22re.

Its all opinion. Go test drive it and see what you think. just know its not going to be like your 5vze.

 

[DC runner]

Actually, probably most that hate it had it leave them stranded. I owned both the manual and the auto.

Being slow wasn't an issue to me. It was the repeated failures that engine caused. I had my main engine bearing go out, as well as a HG failure. You are def. right, it is all personal.

But I will say this. The HG issues was so large that Toyota instituted one of it's largest and most flexible TSBs ever. It allowed the HG repair to stay open for almost 15 years. That does demonstrate that even they were aware of how large the issue was.

 

[BucknutBob]

I have had three 2nd Gens, all with the V6, and they've actually served me well over many years and many thousands of miles. Only one of them blew a head gasket, but I know it IS a problem for those--although if you have to do one, it should be fine for a long time after. Yes, they are definitely weak at higher speeds, but that's simply a result of too little power for too much weight, not a junk engine. As for the lift and 35's, your primary problem will be the CV axles--they won't hold up to the stress, especially if you wheel much (and who wouldn't, given the set-up). With 5.29's, the truck will accelerate like stock. Overall, the 3.0 does fine around town and offroad--it just runs out of steam on the highways, causing you to drop gears to hold speed on long hills or in high winds. If you can get a good price, it might be worth it--I would consider a solid axle swap for the future, though. Best of luck!

 

[combatmedic]

Update: Well I went and looked at it, its a rust bucket... I asked him before I went to austin whats the exterior 1 out of 10 he goes its an 8 or 9.... yeah out of 100. Anyway, I drove it just for ****s and giggles, and I wasnt impressed. But thank you guys for your input, Im going to get another 3g 5vzfe

 

[BucknutBob]

Don't ya' just looove dishonest sellers, saying anything to lure you in?! If he wasn't up front about that, there's probably plenty more hiding in there that you wouldn't find until AFTER you were stuck with it. Best of luck on the next one!