New Tacoma owner!, Mistake?

Hello everyone!, I recently purchased an 03 Double cab, 6 cyl. auto. I have been wanting one for quite sometime. It came time to replace my old 83 Chevy 4X4 hunting/fishing rig, so I located this truck.
Maybe a mistake?, The truck seems solid, it looks like it has a 2 or 3 inch lift. The problem is power. I drove this truck back through the mountains on the interstate at 80 mph. I had to give up on the cruise control, because it would have to downshift to 2nd to maintain speed. Even when I got closer to home, it still downshifts to 3rd on any gradual hill or against the wind. We don't have mountains out here around Lubbock, flat farmland.
I looked over the truck, it has a new front O2 and a spacer behind the throttle body. It has about 130K miles. Looks like original cats are still on it also. I plan on towing a boat, but if it cant pull itself, I may need to rethink this. A co worker of mine has an 02 with the 4cyl and he said his was gutless. I thought the six would be much better.
Is this normal?

 

what size tires are on it? You might just need to regear.

 

265/75/16s

 

Hear this alot from guys going from v8 to a 6 or 4 cyl.

What were you expecting ? Granted the 3.4 isn't a 4.0 or a 4.3 Vtec but not as bad as you desrcibe, How big a boat ? 25ft -35ft ?

 

I pull a 20' a Triton bass boat with mine. I can run 80 mph on the interstate. Sounds like you need a tune-up. Don't mistake me though....I'll be getting a bigger truck (diesel) to tow my boat and race truck.

 

My thoughts exactly. Even my 4.0 downshifts in cruise going uphill. If you wanted big power and huge towing capability a Tacoma 3.4 isn't going to cut it. Either that or just deal with it knowing that it won't break down when it hits 200k. My 96 4runner 3.4 has 238k on it, just rebuilt the heads and it runs strong. I've towed some mid size cars on a 2wheel tow dolly with it and it does just fine, it's just not fast.

 

Yup. Sounds normal to me.

 

Its a 14ft jon boat with a 35hp outboard jet, but we have to haul everything, fuel, camping supplies, etc. Its 25 miles of 4 wheeling to get to the river.

I haven't pulled a spark plug yet, but the fact it has a K&N filter and the spacer makes me think the previous owner was trying to get more performance also. I was also wondering about checking the valves. The service schedule makes no mention of when to run the valves.

Ive got a diesel for the big hauls and plenty of other toys to go fast in. I just think it should maintain highway speeds a lot better than that.

 

Try cruise control set at the speed limit?

 

A thorough tune up will do wonders on a 3.4 V6. I would change plugs, wires, oil filter, fuel filter, change the oil and clean your maf sensor and go from there. If you're still not satisfied sell it, I'm sure you'll get your money back.

 

We all know that both of those add-ons don't really add any more power. Personally I would take off the spacer. The K & N won't hurt anything so might as well leave it there.

If you really want more power you could always go with the supercharger add-on.

The valves shouldn't need to be checked unless they are making noise. When I rebuilt my heads I didn't have to make any adjustments. I just re-used all the tappets and cups by keeping track of where I took them from. But it doesn't hurt to check them though, the specs are printed on the hood on the emissions sticker.

All of Ron's suggestions above are really the best place to start ^

 

No idea what your 6 feels like but my 4 cylinder is very gutless, especially coming from an 8 cylinder. That said, I still have a lot of fun driving it. The standard transmission is a big plus, The autos just amplify the lack of grunt. You'll get used to how it drives after a while and think nothing of it, they're plenty capable vehicles, they just don't have the gobs of power that you end up taking for granted after driving a v8.




If it's really that bad maybe check the compression?

 

Sounds about right. I noticed it when stock, and now with 33x10.5, I REALLY notice it on the hills. No more cruise control for those areas, and I just work the gas pedal differently. You'll get used to it speed up down hill too haha.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. Ive only had it a week. Ive been getting my 83 ready to sell. I plan on replacing the timing belt and water pump soon as well. No phone service for miles where I go. I will pull a plug and see if they have been changed, probably do the tune up and see if it helps. It has a new fuel filter and the oil has been changed also.

The supercharger would be the last resort. I built a wicked Chevelle with an LS3 and Edelbrock supercharger, so , Im game.

 

Clean the MAF. The K&N will gum it up and kill performance and eventually throw a code.

 

My v6 pulled my 17' with two motors across the state and up mountain passes just fine.

 

Yeah, K&N can kill you. if your maf goes it can get expensive too. I have never felt a v6 auto double cab, but the v6 auto extended I had enough power to be fun. My supercharged double cab isn't fast, but it is quick.

My dad had a 4.3 auto 4x4 s10 ext cab that he used a couple times to pull a ski boat with. It worked up hill, but you could tell that it wasn't too happy with it.

I would say with regard to towing and our trucks it can be done but a bigger truck would be the better option. If you have the room to tow a boat in 4x4 to get to your river then I would go with a full size truck. The fuel mileage would be about the same I would think.

If you are driving at low speed to get your boat to the river I don't think it would be that big of deal though.

 

300 miles of highway, then 25 miles in 4wd to the river. I was using a full size, my 83 chevy at 8 to 10 mpg. That's why I got the taco. That and it should go anywhere in the sand hunting quail, deer and coyotes. In the mountains for elk too. My 83 did ok in the sand, but you had to pick places to stop. We don't have mud, it would have to rain for that.
Im excited to have it and thankful for the advice.

 

I had an '01 DCSB which replaced my '99 Xtracab. In comparison between the two the DC sucked balls. With the auto (only option) and extra weight the truck was a different animal. In my '99 I could pull the grade from Palm Springs to Yucca Valley, CA in 5th gear, accelerating the entire way over 85mph. In the DC it has to down shift and wind out and still wouldn't get out of its own way. Oh and in the DC you can't set the cruise control over 88 mph unless the overdrive was disabled.
I would say your truck is performing on par. Xtracab with the 5 speed is where it's at.

 

My v6 auto is awesome. Performs pretty well at 80-90 mph even with these heavy tires i got. Only issue is keeping a semi constant rpm while in cruise mode in hilly areas, i usually take it out while in them.
I had a 2001 Silverado with a v8 in it, it was plenty powerful, not as quick or fun as the Tacoma tho.