testing the newe 4runner

[Joshv4runner]

So i purchased a 94' 4runner this past saturday for $1500 in Texas. The owner told me It has an exhaust leak on the drivers side. So yesterday my dad and I tested the 4wd and it worked, but the light did not come on so I got under the truck and found a "blue connector" on the passenger side, right by the oil pan that was disconnected. I conennected it and turned the key to accessory and moved from 2HI to 4HI and to 4LO and the green "4wd" indicator light came on the dash. I disconnected it again and went to through the gears and it did not come on, so i assume I fixed it? Also when going up hills I lose alot of power. I searched the forum, but I really could not find a "right" answer. I also called my local Toyota dealership and asked them If my 4runner had a parts recall and they said they need to replace the steering relay rod. Any help is appreciated. Thanks

Oh and I have 1994 4wd 4runner with the 3.0 v6. All fluids are good and I have no leaks.

 

[niteman]

Ask the dealer to double check and see if the head gasket recall was ever done. The 3VZE has a propensity to blow headgaskets due to the way they designed the engine layout.

Not sure what to say about you loss of poser going up hill. This motor is also not really known for being very powerful to begin with.

 

[GonOvr]

Welcome to the 3.0l, they aren't power houses by any means. What you are experiencing seems normal.

As for the indicator, if it's unplugged and it doesn't work. Then you plug it in and it does work, I would say you fixed it.

Great job taking time to look and troubleshoot first before just posting. :banana:

 

[Hyde802]

Ask the dealer to double check and see if the head gasket recall was ever done. The 3VZE has a propensity to blow headgaskets due to the way they designed the engine layout.

Yup. DONT LET IT OVER HEAT. It has poor cooling channels in the block, and a bad exhaust layout that makes the #6 cyl known for popping headgaskets. Besides that though, its a very reliable motor.

Welcome to the 3.0l, they aren't power houses by any means. What you are experiencing seems normal.

Its not the 3.0 (ok, well a little) , its the slushbox auto tranny behind it. Im assuming you have an auto? The auto tranny robs a lot more power from the engine than the 5 speed does.

Make sure its tuned up and the TPS and VAMF are adjusted correctly. There is a factory service manual available in the stickys at the top of the classic forum that explains how to do all this. I would also check your timing, factory is 10, but you can get a little more umph out of it bu advancing it to 13-15ish.

Oh yeah... :worthless:

 

[GonOvr]

Yup. DONT LET IT OVER HEAT. It has poor cooling channels in the block, and a bad exhaust layout that makes the #6 cyl known for popping headgaskets. Besides that though, its a very reliable motor.




Its not the 3.0 (ok, well a little) , its the slushbox auto tranny behind it. Im assuming you have an auto? The auto tranny robs a lot more power from the engine than the 5 speed does.


Oh yeah... :worthless:

Well I have an auto and I can scream up hills... I'm just sayin.
Could be the fact i went From 3.0l to 6.3l too, but the fact still remains.

IMO 3.0l's are garbage, 3.0l w/auto is double garbage.

 

[Joshv4runner]

Thanks guys for the help After getting home from work, my dad told me that he had trouble starting her up(my dad took the 4runner to work) and he wiggled the dizzy or ignition cables and it started right up. Could this be an ignition problem? After telling me this I went to clean the MAF sensor and unfortunately I did the mistake of unscrewing the 2 screws are on top of the air cleaner( I thought the black connector was the MAF ) and pulled it out. I searched and read that this was a big no no.

 

[KidVermicious]

Well I have an auto and I can scream up hills... I'm just sayin.
Could be the fact i went From 3.0l to 6.3l too, but the fact still remains.

Don't make me jump up and down on your head, buddy. :flipoff:

OP, what tires are you running? The 3.0 isn't going to win any races, and the auto doesn't help at all, but if you've got oversized tires w/o regearing that truck will really lag.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[the_dingman]

The 3VZE is not a bad engine, but it is a very small V6, and isn't that much more powerful than the 22RE. It gets a bad wrap around here for that, and the fact that the 22RE is probably one of the most reliable engines out there.

I know my first gens with the 22RE won't top 45MPH on a big hill, floored in 4th gear. So I would imagine that the 3VZE would have a noticeable loss, especially with the auto trans.

 

[Joshv4runner]

Sorry guys about not posting any pics. My camera broke, but I'm going to get a new one this weekend.