I am not sure how you did this. Please provide us some details... Any insight is appreciated.
Simple, they drove like an arthritic senile old lady that can't push her locked up ankle past 25mph...
You should add a poll at the top of this thread. I went with a v6 because I like the selectable 4wd and no timing chain. Also t4Rs in general are slim pickings. I drove up to Minnesota to buy mine. In retrospect knowing what I know now and with bigger tires,lift, and bumper I think I may have opted for the V8 to carry this extra weight around with ease. The v6 will do fine and I dont tow huge loads, but I wouldn't necessarily mind the extra power. My question is why did Toyota not make the v8 a 4wd selectable? In the end I'm happy with mine and I don't plan on selling it ever. So I guess i will just have to buy another....
Did you mean the V6 has no timing BELT, as it does have a chain... Also, why do people think not having selectable 4WD is a bad thing? Its not even close to the intrusive and limiting Domestic style systems and you really wouldn't notice much difference in 2WD or 4WD with these systems (hence why many members just leave it in 4WD.) There is no earlier failure rate or wear and tear than on a Part-Time 4WD set-up, its just misinformation and older prejudice.
I also wonder why Toyota didn't make it selectable only because the system is so identical to the part-time 4WD minus one shift fork and a different shift rod, that it makes no sense.
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TFJ-4Runner, Lexus's engines almost exclusively use timing chains now. The 3UR-FE, 1UR-FEL, 4GR-FSE, 2GR-FSE, ect ect all use chains. I actually don't remember if we have a current production engine that is a belt anymore. Chain drive has become far more quiet than it used to be in older Domestic, European, and Asian vehicles; they last longer, tend to be fairly reliable (at least on most Asian vehicles...)
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Now then, for me I purchased the 4Runner because I needed a mid-size SUV. I looked at the FJ Cruiser and strongly considered it as it fit many of my needs, the 1GR-FE was borderline acceptable for my needs/wants.
I came from a beat-up old '93 Chevy S-10 Blazer with that anemic 4.3L Vortec that had about as much punch to it as an old lawn mower engine. That thing put a very bad taste in my mouth and I swore I would never buy anything the size of a mid-size SUV or larger without 8 cylinders, period.
The FJ Cruiser ended up being too small as I assumed I would still be hauling transmissions and engines in the back and carrying friends. The 4Runner was just the right size for my off-road needs (decent wheelbase,) comfortable/modern interior, room for passengers and gear, and the option of the 2UZ-FE. I settled on the V8 for reasons beside my bad experience with the S-10; I still assumed I was going to be hauling an extra 1-2k of engine/transmission parts in the vehicle. I also assumed that I would be towing with the vehicle (which I haven't done much of yet except recoveries.) The other deciding factor was that I fully intended to armor up, modify, and deck out the 4Runner for off-road/heavy duty use and knew that extra weight would strain the V6 ontop of my other needs.
So in the end the V8 was chosen soley for its low end torque and to provide a reasonable amount of unmodified (meaning not reabuilding the engine for extra oomph or serious regearing) power on my end-game vehicle which will have about 1200lbs (rough estimate) of extra armor, upgrades, and parts.
