Gen 3 The best design ever.......

[plcfcng]

I know I'm talking to the masses but I did a Radiator Replacement on a 2004 Nissan 350z. What a pain in the buttt compared to doing work on a 4runner. It fought me all the way from the Air box to bleeding the air out of the Cooling system.

While the Engine has lots of horses I took at the service sticker for oil changes I figured out the engine was using 1 qt per 2,000 miles the engine only 170,000 miles. I did a little research and this engine is known for this problem. Give me a 4Runner with a 3.4 any Day.:first:

 

[HiLife]

I would not hesitate to wrench on a 4tunner anytime.
I researched, watched and assisted repairing Nissans. Ha, no thanks for the money I charge. Nissan owners scoff at shop book prices when estimating repairs. Then they turn to me for the same repair for payment at a fraction of the original estimate in exchange for a lot of aggravation in removing the required parts to do the actual repairs.
Nissan is not intuitive as much as toyota in parts layout.

 

[PRG3K]

Nissan's never were put together all that well in the first place and the Z is one tired platform. Thing has barely changed in almost 20 years. Its like when Ford kept building Mustangs on the Fox platform for almost a quarter century.

 

[T4R2014]

Food for thought. Cars like the 350z are bought by young hooligans that will thrash them. If a quart every 2,000 miles is all it burns, then that isn't so bad. The Nissan VQ35 is thought to be pretty good if you get the right version.

 

[plcfcng]

Purging the air from the cooling system was the worst I "HAD" to use a no spill funnel elevate the front run the engine up to 3000 rpm three times,kept having to squeezing the Upper Radiator hose and opening a purge valve at the heater core hose. While this was the time I did this it took we nearlly 45 minutes to get enough of the air out. :bash:

 

[brillo_76]

Mostly Toyota are easy to work on compared to other mfg of vehicles. The engineers do well and always looking on ways to simplify things and make things better. Granted there are a handful of design flaws in the Gen 3s. That were corrected in later gens but over all I agree these are great rigs. They are perfect for my DD and work vehicles.

 

[G_Raw]

My wife used to have a maxima... had to drop the front bumper and remove passenger light housing to replace the bulb...because even after removing the windshield Reservoir I still couldn't back the bulb out due to frame and fender... rediculous

 

[Jidaran]

I love the 5vze, but it's actually harder to work on that the other engines I'm familiar with (Jeep 4.0 and Volvo redblock). Both are inline and have more space in the engine bay (especially the Volvo). Maybe not a completely fair comparison, as they're also older and have less electronics and doodads.

 

[cahaight]

Funny just had a friend asked me about replacing his brake booster in a Ford edge which after research a common problem required removing a bunch of stuff out to get to it told him in my 4Runner it is just remove and replace,you cannot beat older Toyotas design..


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[fathousecat_]

I just bought a 4Runner at the age 27. I have never wrenched before. I built bicycles and do some welding. So I am very much looking forward to having a vehicle that will last me a long time. The first thing I am doing is rust proofing the bottom. There is not any rust currently.

 

[Kanoe]

I love the 5vze, but it's actually harder to work on that the other engines I'm familiar with (Jeep 4.0 and Volvo redblock). Both are inline and have more space in the engine bay (especially the Volvo). Maybe not a completely fair comparison, as they're also older and have less electronics and doodads.

The 3rz option is a VERY nice engine to work on. Tons of room in there and a very good layout. Of course there are downsides to the smaller engine...

 

[Co4Fun]

Idk

IDK...love my simple and tough 1st gen but after axle seals, radiator, brakes, and now a knock sensor CEL that persists after $2k worth of service I'm not so sure on my '99 with only 140K! Sorry guys but I'm down on them right now. My 06 LJ 4.0 was more bombproof even if not as nice on the road.

 

[plcfcng]

IDK...love my simple and tough 1st gen but after axle seals, radiator, brakes, and now a knock sensor CEL that persists after $2k worth of service I'm not so sure on my '99 with only 140K! Sorry guys but I'm down on them right now. My 06 LJ 4.0 was more bombproof even if not as nice on the road.

After 140K I think you could consider those items as maintenance once ahead of the curve hoping you will have smooth sailing or your setting up a rig for the next owner.:whip2: