Hi guys, newbie here. I recently purchased a 95 runner at an auction for my aunt who lives in high desert and needed 4wd for the snow and muddy roads. Its a 3.0 v6 auto withe 145k on it for $2600. I guess I scored, cause I picked it up and drove it home,discovering that it wouldnt shift into overdrive. Well, thanks to this site, I read that if the thermostat is missing, that it will not get to operating temp and not shift. well my $9 thermostat installed, and it has been running like a champ. My big mistake (for the two weeks I had it in my possesion) is that I took it 4 wheelin and fell in love with it. Now, I gotta have one. So here is my problem. I have a place in Lake havasu city az, with lots of wheelin places. I want a runner that I can wheel the desert and mtns in in the winter, and will also tow my boat 4000lbs to the launch ramp about 10 mi away. I read that the 96 4 cyl has as much power as the gen 2 v6. Can I get away with the 4cyl, and if so, what trans manual or auto, I used to have toyota cars with the 20r and 22r motors, I love them. 4cyl,6cyl, auto,manual what should I get. last question, did any of these come oem with lockers? Thanks in advance
toyota purchasing dilema
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03_4x4Runner
Senior Member
I live in Lake Havasu and off road all over the place around here. Do you know LC enginerring is in Lake Havasu City LC Engineering . I worked there 3 years. They should be able to answer any question you have. The later 4 cylinder are 2rz and 3rz. They are very stout engines with a lot more power potential than the 22r. The 3.0 has head gasket issues, the 3.4 is much better.
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Norcal99limited
New member
having had a 22re, 3.0, and now a 3.4 i think you are fooling yourself if you think you can adequately tow little more than an empty trailer with a 22re. especially with over 150k miles
from '85 4Runner book:
2000 lbs. gross trailer weight and a secondary listing of 5500 lbs. combined vehicle/trailer/cargo weight.
93 22re 4x4 extended cab lists 3500 lbs towing capacity
from '85 4Runner book:
2000 lbs. gross trailer weight and a secondary listing of 5500 lbs. combined vehicle/trailer/cargo weight.
93 22re 4x4 extended cab lists 3500 lbs towing capacity
I guess I need to rephrase. I said I loved those motors 20r and 22r,however I am looking at the 4 cyl in the 96 model and later, which is said to have 150hp, that is the same as the 3.0 v6. After looking at ads for gen3 4runners, I see the v6 is alot more available. But in the real world driving, is there a big differance in mileage between the 4 and the 6? As I stated, I only need to take the boat 10mi to the launch ramp. For any seious towing, I have a diesel truck. I need to know if the 4 cyl will launch the boat, 4 wheel in the desert, and commute to havasu a total of 250mi one way,while detting the best mileage possible. If the differance is only 1-2 mi per gallon, then I guess I should opt for the extra power of the 6 cyl, but if its like 5 mpg the I would lean toward the 4
you're looking at most 1-2 mpg difference in mpg between the 4 and 6 cyl and even then it depends on a lot of other factors.
If you are at all considering the 2.7 - 4 cyl, in my opinion, you need to be looking for a manual transmission. The 4cyl and an automatic would be horrible on anything resembling a hill even without a trailer.
I think you should look for the 6 cyl but a manul 4 cyl will do what you want, it'll just have to work harder.
If you are at all considering the 2.7 - 4 cyl, in my opinion, you need to be looking for a manual transmission. The 4cyl and an automatic would be horrible on anything resembling a hill even without a trailer.
I think you should look for the 6 cyl but a manul 4 cyl will do what you want, it'll just have to work harder.
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