No power up hills

L

levi.watson

New member
So, this has been going on since I replaced the engine, but today it was making me grumpy enough to post about it.... I have a '89 4Runner, rebuilt 2.4 22RE, pretty much stock except for 30" tires and an electric fan.

Going up a fairly large hill on the highway, I was dropping down to 40-45MPH, with the gas peddle completely floored, dropping into 4th gear, sometimes 3rd. Is this normal behavior?

I also have trouble accelerating on the interstate, it will go pretty good until 55MPH, and then getting it up to 65-75MPH is harder... Once it's there, it's fine with staying there. Don't know if this was usual behavior before I got it.

It's not weighted down with anything unusual either.

Any input would be appreciated!
 
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Normal for the 22re.

Have you upgraded your gears or not?

4.88 is a great ratio for daily drivers.

5.29 is the only thing I run and it works wonders for the off-road and on road.
 
Bad_Vision said:
Normal for the 22re.

Have you upgraded your gears or not?

4.88 is a great ratio for daily drivers.

5.29 is the only thing I run and it works wonders for the off-road and on road.
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Bummer, that was what I was hoping to not hear ha. The gears are stock. I'm fairly new to this stuff, so could you explain gear ratios to me, and what changing them effects? Thanks! (If it's really long, tell me to look it up ha)
 
Welcome to 1989 , the 22re only makes about 115 HP, if the motor's healthy. Still 40-45 mph seems low for 3rd gear hills. Don't be afraid to strangle the little 22re . I constantly need 3rd to get up a hill , and I'm often at 4k+ RPM's for 5, 10 minutes. The motor can take the higher RPM's.

I'd love to see how 30" tires get along with 5.29's...:shocked:
 
HMMM....
I don't have trouble accelerating on a level highway; On long drives max I run is 80 MPH. I can go faster but and I just keep it there so as not to strain the engine too much. (husshhh don't tell the cops - LOL!)

Might be because of your 30-inch tires? I have 235/70-15's (IIRC) so almost stock.

Also what's the grade on the hills you drive up on?
Up the Grapevine and the Tejon Pass, I go around 55 between 4th and 5th gear.
 
v_man said:
Welcome to 1989 , the 22re only makes about 115 HP, if the motor's healthy. Still 40-45 mph seems low for 3rd gear hills. Don't be afraid to strangle the little 22re . I constantly need 3rd to get up a hill , and I'm often at 4k+ RPM's for 5, 10 minutes. The motor can take the higher RPM's.

I'd love to see how 30" tires get along with 5.29's...:shocked:
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Ok, well I'm glad that it's not just my engine!

Where would you suggest buying gears? Do I need two of them? And from what I've seen on here, it seems like it's recommended to have someone else do them?

Can you give me a ballpark price on doing something like this?
 
RAD4Runner said:
HMMM....
I don't have trouble accelerating on a level highway; On long drives max I run is 80 MPH. I can go faster but and I just keep it there so as not to strain the engine too much. (husshhh don't tell the cops - LOL!)

Might be because of your 30-inch tires? I have 235/70-15's (IIRC) so almost stock.

Also what's the grade on the hills you drive up on?
Up the Grapevine and the Tejon Pass, I go around 55 between 4th and 5th gear.
Click to expand...

Haha, yeah I'm not the guy to tell cops! They'd get me for going a little fast too. I was having problems getting up there fast even with the 235's on there... I think mine were 235/75R15.

The hill that was the biggest pain yesterday was Horseshoe Bend Hill on highway 55 in Idaho. 6 miles of hill, 7% max grade. Going uphill, there was no way I was getting it above 50.
 
Gear sets cost about 150$ and can be done by yourself with a FSM.

Front and rear gears must match. If they don't they will cause binding and blow up your t case.
 
I don't have any problems holding 80-90 on the highway, that's with 35's! Of course, my engine is NOT stock by any means, and gearing is 4.88's! Holding hills like Horshoe bend are usually around 60-65 if I'm really pushing it hard (or someone thinks they can get around me when the lane closes!), that's about the same as grapevine in SoCal or the other grapevine near Pendleton, OR.

I have Yukon gears in my truck, they have been great and pricing isn't too bad, but I still think setting them up properly should be done by someone who knows what they are doing. Get the lash wrong and you can grenade a diff pretty quick. Had one done wrong once, it was not good and I'm surprised I didn't blow the whole thing up instantly. Missing a few teeth on the ring, you'd be shocked at how LOUD that is going down the road!!!
 
Bad_Vision said:
Gear sets cost about 150$ and can be done by yourself with a FSM.

Front and rear gears must match. If they don't they will cause binding and blow up your t case.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks! Do I just need two gears, or do I need 4? I don't really know anything about these hah.

flyinhawaiian01 said:
I don't have any problems holding 80-90 on the highway, that's with 35's! Of course, my engine is NOT stock by any means, and gearing is 4.88's! Holding hills like Horshoe bend are usually around 60-65 if I'm really pushing it hard (or someone thinks they can get around me when the lane closes!), that's about the same as grapevine in SoCal or the other grapevine near Pendleton, OR.

I have Yukon gears in my truck, they have been great and pricing isn't too bad, but I still think setting them up properly should be done by someone who knows what they are doing. Get the lash wrong and you can grenade a diff pretty quick. Had one done wrong once, it was not good and I'm surprised I didn't blow the whole thing up instantly. Missing a few teeth on the ring, you'd be shocked at how LOUD that is going down the road!!!
Click to expand...

Ok, that's good to hear. I'm wanting to do some engine modification at some point, but I don't have time now and I don't know what I'm going to do yet. On having someone do it, I think I'll go that route, I'm not comfortable doing something like that hah.

AzuraT4R44 said:
You probably have 4.10s or 4.30s since it's a 22re. I think the 4.30s were in the autos though.
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Yeah, I looked at the code on the door and it looks like I have 4.10s.


Thanks for the help guys! I really appreciate it!
 
To make you feel a little better, with 30" tires your speedo will be reading lower than your actual speed. If it says youre doing 50, you are probably actually at 55.

I run 33's and changed from 4.30 to 4.88 with lockers. It is still a dog going up hills but I was off roading with a H1 this last weekend and out performed him IMHO.
 
I have a 6 years newer Runner with the v6 and I have to go to basically 6k RPMs on 3rd to get up a hill. It's pretty depressing.:ballchain:
 
santanvalleydirt said:
I have a 6 years newer Runner with the v6 and I have to go to basically 6k RPMs on 3rd to get up a hill. It's pretty depressing.:ballchain:
Click to expand...


Well you did purchase a 4x4 designed to go slow and be stable on obstacles not a high speed vehicle. Most of Japan is slow hills anyway like 30mph uphill and downhill so it was designed around that idea never meant to do it at 55mph.
 
Bad_Vision said:
Well you did purchase a 4x4 designed to go slow and be stable on obstacles not a high speed vehicle. Most of Japan is slow hills anyway like 30mph uphill and downhill so it was designed around that idea never meant to do it at 55mph.
Click to expand...

Ah, I should have gotten a Ford Raptor! if only I had an extra $45,000 laying around..:lol:
 
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