'97 4Runner w/4 cylinder Question

C

clinte234

New member
'97 4 cylinder 4Runner Question

i've found a '97 4runner for sale in very good condition with low mileage for how old it is. (82K) my only concern is that it has a 4 cylinder engine. i would only be using it for normal driving, city and highway. does anyone have experience with this type of vehicle? i'm just worried about not having enough power. any help is greatly appreciated!

clint
 
Register to hide this ad
i've found a '97 4runner for sale in very good condition with low mileage for how old it is. (82K) my only concern is that it has a 4 cylinder engine. i would only be using it for normal driving, city and highway. does anyone have experience with this type of vehicle? i'm just worried about not having enough power. any help is greatly appreciated!

clint
 
Re: '97 4 cylinder 4Runner Question

clinte234 said:
i've found a '97 4runner for sale in very good condition with low mileage for how old it is. (82K) my only concern is that it has a 4 cylinder engine. i would only be using it for normal driving, city and highway. does anyone have experience with this type of vehicle? i'm just worried about not having enough power. any help is greatly appreciated!

clint
Click to expand...

I had the 4 Cylinder with an automatic and it had plenty of power. The engine is rated at 150 HP which is not too shabby for a 4 Cyl. I put 107,000 miles on it with no issues and never a check engine light.The only thing I did not like was that when the engine was cold I had piston slap for the first couple of minutes
 
where would vehicle be used?

For 95% of on road driving I would venture the 4 cylinder will get you by just fine. I believe the later 4 cylinders are right around 150hp.

If you climb a lot of long, steep hills then you would be happier likely with the 3.4-V6. 177hp I believe it is.

I owned a 95 2nd generation 4Runner with the highly prized
22Re motor. I had to push it and push it hard to climb the mountain passes here in Colorado at respectable speeds. Around town in traffic, it did just fine once modified slightly.

I opened up the intake (K & N FIPK) and the exhaust to 2.25"
with a Flowmaster 60 muffler to increase the ability of the engine to breathe and was happy to be able to average right around 20mpg all the time, city or highway. This increased the pedal travel for the accelerator on those long climbs it was possible to downshift and take a gulp of air and let the revs build again to meet the next gear.

Having said all of that, the 4cylinder was happiest on the back roads and not travelling 75mph on the Interstate highways. The V6 in my current 3rd gen. has probably increased my average speed by 5-8 miles per hour and increased my potential for speeding tickets exponetially.:bash:

So overall I think it depends... where you are and how much you will be climbing, and be aware the aftermarket mods exist for either motor you choose.
 
Ron,
20mpg is all you got out of a 22re?? Thats only a couple better than my current 3.4! I was planning on buying a manual 2nd gen with the 22re just for around town driving once I lift my 3rd gen but if I'm only gonna see around 20mpg then it looks like I'm buying a 4dr civic!

Oh an sorry for the threadjack! To the OP: What are you planning on using this 4Runner for? If its just going to be a daily driver and you live in a relatively flat area then I think you will be fine with the 2.7. But if you want to wheel it or live in a hilly area, as Ron Helmuth said, then I would wait for a 3.4 to come along. Just my 2 cents.
 
Last edited:
mileage variations

yep 20miles per gallon was a pretty steady average-I saw a high one time of 23.5 travelling to Oregon via Interstate and never lower than 18 trolling around town. I am in Denver-the effects of the altitude on miles per gallon is significant out here.

I have a lead foot and am routinely about 7-9mph over the posted limit but so far have not attracted too much law enforcement...so far....

My 22Re also preferred the highest grade of gasoline-89octane out here, made a difference of around 1mpg all the time. I had some shade tree mechanics use that as proof that the valve seals or seats(?) were ready for a rebuild-and my 22Re motor did have 113K when I bought it and 187K when I sold it, never rebuilt.

The 22Re is a great motor, but most anyone would agree it is not the most frugal (gas efficiency) nor the most powerful-just dead steady reliable every day year after year.
 
thanks for the info guys. i just moved to houston last year, and come to think of it i haven't even seen a hill since i was in colorado this winter. i would basically be driving it to school and work everyday. my wife has an '03 4Runner with the 6 cylinder engine, so would it be better to drive on trips?
 
yeah. it has an automatic transmission. i think if it was standard i would have already bought it, but i just want to check all my options first. thanks for the help guys.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 169 (members: 1, guests: 168)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,309
Messages
3,554,071
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top