Thoughts on the 4.0 V6 in Gen 2

Here is my take, based on my 2012 Tacoma, 4x4, Access Cab with the 4.0L powerplant and automatic transmission:
As I drove it on the highway I could not help but wish it got better fuel milage as my previous truck was a 1999 GMC full size 2WD with the 5.3 L motor aand it was quicker AND got 2-4 MPG better fuel economy (also on 87 octane fuel).

BUT, this past week I went on a fabulous 4x4 trip with a few other TW folks (the Rug Road Trip) which was about 40 miles of mild to difficult off-roading. I lowered my tire pressure to 20 PSI and was damned glad I have full skids, welded on sliders and plate bumpers. My Tacoma did a fabulous job climbing (and descending) miles of rock steps and crossing a few shallow water crossings. What I really want to say for this thread is that the 4.0 motor works nearly perfect in real off-roading, I would change nothing in the drivetrain (although I do have 4.56 gears and ARB Lockers at both ends).

So you won't hear me grumbling about the 4.0 motor any more.

 

Im never giving up my 4.0L engine. This is my 3rd Tacoma and the engine is the main reason why I keep the 2nd gen.

 

It is a great power plant, no matter what anyone says.

 

I doubt anybody managed to run Tacoma hot. We have bigger than needed radiator, and Transmission cooling done first by Main radiator than by Transmission cooler. Result is you will rarely see that transmission in 190F range if ever. Maybe towing 6500 lb trailer through the mountains in 90F weather. otherwise 90% of time our transmission runs over cooled.

 

Thanks for all the info, guys...As I said, I love my new Tacoma, and I have no complaints at all, just was curious why this engine, though relatively new, seems to be "old tech" compared with other Toyota engines of similar vintage. I think the answer is the Tacoma has done so well in its market segment, that Toyota focused its resources elsewhere as far as updating engines. No problem, I'm expecting many years of reliable service out of mine!

 

Some Toyota oil history, including the V6. There is also a 2013 version which is rather different, but I couldn't find it right off hand. Anyone have a link?

http://www.positivespin.us/ToyotaOilChart.htm

 

Clearly you misunderstood me. I am not saying that there are folks in Death Valley right now sitting by the road with their hoods up, and steam belching out all over the place.

What I meant is that the Toyota engineers realized that they had a hot running engine and took steps to deal with it. Anybody out there have a 4Liter V6 that doesn't have a towing package???

 

I have a 2015 Tacoma with the 4.0 and a 2011 4Runner with the newer 4.0. The "ECO" mode on the newer 4.0 is a bit sluggish in my opinion. I prefer the response of my 2015 personally. Toyota also decided it was wise to move the oil filter to the bottom of the engine on the newer 4.0 and change to a cartridge style filter. While I prefer the cartridge design, the pain of accessing it stinks. As for plugs, I agree that changing them sooner than later is the best practice. You will notice very little wear even if you go past 30K. I follow the recommended oil in both trucks, 5W30 in the 2015 and 0W20 for the 2011 4Runner. I you change the oil on schedule, both work well. I prefer not to stretch my 2011 out to the 10K that Toyota specifies. I also have a 98 Tacoma with the 3.4 V6. It's a great motor in my opinion. It has 250K with no issues. It does lack the snap of the 4.0 but it performs well in its own right.

 

Guess you haven't seen any of their race engines. It is highly doubtful Toyota would use an unproven engine in the Tacoma they have a pretty good ideal on how to build a truck.

 

The 30K reasoning on the plugs has every thing to do with emissions warranty pretty well stated in the manual.

 

Your oil cap is upside down. Sorry, OCD flaring up again.

 

I think the 2nd gen v6 is pretty amazing. My 2007 has 105K on it. I changed the oil a little over 2000 miles ago. Pulling the dipstick I can't begin to see the oil it is so clear. I owned a 4.0 ranger and at 50K it would blacken the oil within 500 miles with blow-by.

I bought this thing a few months back, with just over 100K on it. Took it home before buying it, did the usual checks on brakes and such. Pulled the plugs and ran a compression check on all 6, I thought the numbers were a bit high until I checked the service manual. Still has excellent compression. Well under 10psi difference between cylinders. In short, it seems to be barely broken in. Which is something I like, myself.

Seems to make an absolute ton of torque down low compared to my old ranger 4.0. And gets better fuel economy to boot, all in a DCSB pre-runner.

My biggest pet peeve in life is my apple macbook that thinks it knows how to spell EVERYTHING. And it corrects way more than it should.

 

Very satisfied/happy with the 4.0 V6 Gen2 in my 2012.

 

The 4 banger 2TR FE has aluminum heads and uses iridium plugs...

 

I never thought anything of it. The plugs are about $1.50 a piece...not a big deal. If it works, why mess with it? Is it really that important that you change plugs once every 7-8 years instead of every 2-3? $10 on plugs every 30k is still only $30 over 100k miles. Iridium plugs are gonna cost more for one change than 3 with copper plugs.

All my vehicles have always used 5W-30...never had an issue.

Toyota has stuck with this engine because it works VERY well. Same reason GM barely tweaked their V8's over the years.

^I know a ton of people will probably throw a hissy fit over that statement, but in reality I have always found GM V8 engines to be great. Their V6's and 4 cylinder engines are an entirely different story...

 

And replacing the plugs in one of these is a piece of cake.

...at least in comparison to the Subaru H6 engines I've had in the past--talk about frustrating!

 

Bingo! Marketing will leave things alone if it sells and doesn't cost the bottom line to maintain. Only so many dollars to invest into their offerings and obviously the Tacoma Wasn't in need of any changes where they do so well with it.

 

The Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S has direct and port injection. Though the motor is predominantly Subaru (a flat four), the direct injection system was all Toyota. Subaru had not touched direct injection themselves at that point.