How important is the V6?

The V6 2GR FkS engines are made in the USA, including the ones installed in the Mexican assembly plants. I don’t know if the new Turbo 4 motor will be the same, but likely.

 

You have been lucky (or carefully selective) in picking Toyota NA engines with good reliability. Your Land Cruiser V8's predecessor the 4.7L 2UZ had exhaust manifold cracking issues. It also has a low-mounted alternator prone to failure off-road.

Your 4Runner V6's predecessor, the single-VVTi 1GR, suffered from blown head gaskets and timing cover leaks. Later versions in the Tacoma were prone to air injection pump and switching valve failures.

Have you had any German NA cars? Never had to grit blast the intake valves to remove carbon deposits?

 

I have a 991 with about 110k miles on it that has seen a lot of track use.

 

New engine should harvest lightning power.

V6 overrated.

 

My panel fits are fine and it was a Mexico made truck . The Tacoma is and always was built for North America and only with the 3rd gen was it available outside the US. You're welcome to your opinion, but assembly in Mexico as a primary issue is nothing more than a scapegoat. Especially when the majority of issues are in parts that originated elsewhere. I could be mistaken but I believe the current engines are actually made in the US.

 

Google chicken tax.

 

T100 was made in Hamura at the Hino plant.

MB was “completing” their Sprinters in the us.

I forgot if Ford got in trouble for removing the passenger seats from their transit connect vans that were made in Turkey.

 

Had two of them, one failed at 125K, meh… woefully underpowered and crappy gas mileage for what it is.

The 3.5 V6 is pretty darn good, look how far we have come. Sure the Turbo 4 will be even better.

 

You'd think that, but a lot of European cars use Mitsubishi turbos and they're normally one of the first things to die on them.

 

Japan just has a stricter culture when it comes to highly skilled workmanship. I like to say they're more dedicated to producing the finest product they can. You have taiwan, and china now building some highly technical products to.

 

The entire plant location and “made in” debate is kind of an interesting discussion because various countries have different rules regarding how the statement can be applied.

For example, the Japanese rule is, “made in Japan” can be applied to a product made overseas as long as the plant is using Japanese equipment and is managed by Japanese personnel. Quite a few “Made in Japan” Seiko watches (for example) are actually made in Malaysia. The Swiss rules for “Swiss Made” watches have even larger loopholes.

I’d bet, if given a plant tour, you’d see minimal human involvement with the assembly of our trucks. It is all done with robots and automation. As long as those tools are set up correctly, the final product should be identical in quality.

As for the new turbo 4 hybrid engine, I’m taking a wait and see approach. I think this design makes sense for a street focused passenger vehicle. I’m just not certain how it will work in an off-road centric truck - and by “work”, I mean longevity.

My favorite “hybrid” drivetrain design actually came from “Top Gear” years ago. They used a small diesel to run a generator. The generator sent power to batteries. The batteries powered electric motors for the wheels. The beauty is the system is completely modular (can replace any components without effecting the system) and the diesel does not “rev” at all. It is running at its most efficient RPM and only there to recharge the batteries.

You are effectively an EV without ever needing to plug it in.

 

You will have to pry the steering wheel of the 3.5 V6 outta my cold dead hands..!

 

A 4 cylinder turbo might have fewer overall parts than an NA V6, though, wouldn't it?

 

The PHEV hybrid you are describing sounds like the excellent design of the Chevrolet Volt, which would have made an incredible off road truck engine. The gasoline engine did not drive the wheels, it charged the on board batteries, and offered 50 miles of zero emission driving for the majority of trips, but allowed you to extend trips indefinitely.
Pretty sure my Seiko watches say "Made in XXXXX, "Movement Japan"

 

or 4.7 2uz that I love in my 4Runner.

 

There's enough room for an inline 6 under the Taco's hood. They should tap BMW again and put a B58 in there. I'm only half joking.

 

Well Hell yeah they should put a 2.0 liter na or turboed inline 6 in! I heart inline 6's.

 

Turbo's are fine, I've put 500,000 miles on several, no problem. Can they fail? Sure, just like any other part on an engine.

 

I bet that hybrid turbo 4 will be sweet. My wife's Prius V totally changed my perspective on hybrids. That thing is built to last. In 140k, with her beating on it all the time, it has had absolutely 0 issues. In 37k of being pampered, my Taco has had a few... I could see getting into a hybrid 4runner towards the end of the run. I'd prefer something the size of the new LC/GX550, but the packaging of the turbo V6 is concerning. Getting to the turbos on the Tundra appears to be a body off job. Hopefully the I4 will be packaged with more accessibility.

 

What year is yours? I'm replacing the head gasket on mine at 160k.