question about 4.0 engine

Hey everyone. New here and looking for a truck. I'm interested in learning about the 4.0 V6 and if there were any changes made to the engine between '05-present. Especially curious about the 'ticking' lifters that I keep hearing about. I enjoy working on my machines and would like to know more about these trucks before buying one. Please excuse me if I missed an obvious thread or link. Thanks.

 

I haven't had a problem with the motor itself. But other small things about the truck annoy me lol

also check the tsb, that should give you an idea of what these trucks need improvement on

 

the 4.0 in my opinion is the most solid v6 Toyota has put in a truck so-far

its goes by the 1gr-fe if you didn't know. highlights are

two cams per head, 4 valves per cyl, valves are "direct drive" by cam. no rockers/lifters, only an upside down bucket thing between valve and cam, Tacoma edition is internally un-changed, variable timing on one of the cams, chain-driven cams, centered spark-plugs, 10:1 compression ratio, "wet sleeves": they are attached in only 4 places to the aluminum block, that's all I got for now

 

These engines are always loud, especially that "tick". The tick still annoys me sometimes, but overall these 4.0 never quit. If you do regular maintenance they easily go +200K, ticking the whole way

 

Meh motor and trans are pretty solid. The 1grfe is a noisy bugger but powerfull enough and peeps have some miles on them now so they last. What I'd be doing research on is the frame rot issue. Overall the truck is built decently but the frame material is a sad joke. Big enough one that with in the next year I'm getting out of the tacoma game. Not trying to steer you away at all I love my truck but I bought it brand new and moved to AZ were winter road salt isn't much of an issue.

 

I can say that this engine is very sensitive to the quality of gasoline. I think the ticking gets confused with pinging here... And the more ethanol or the more water added into the fuel by those lower cost gas stations, the more pinging your going to hear. The software that's suppose to increase/reduce timing is also suspect...

 

From what I know, there has been no changes for the V6 until 2013 when they shortened the piston skirts supposedly for fuel economy. This however was an epic fail because my 2013 gets slightly less fuel mileage than my 2006. My 2013 is currently being lemoned because of strange engine noises and there are a group of us who have the same issue yet to be diagnosed.

 

From another new guy with a first toyota: the engine seems a bit louder than most other engines in general. Nothing sticks out as to the cause, but it's just louder. Still, I absolutely love my truck 700 miles in.

 

Thanks for all your replies, much appreciated.

Will check the TSB and research more about the 1gr-fe. Good to know about possible pinging and sensitivity to fuel quality, especially if I'm test driving a used truck, as well as timing software uprgades. Very interesting to hear about '13+ piston skirt change. That really sucks about the lemon thing.

I've also heard about engine noise due to light weight oil being used and the fuel injectors possibly 'ticking'.

It's a shame that these trucks have frame rust issues. I'm in Chicago so that could be a problem.

Thanks again.

 

Mine has been imploding for almost 2 years after 90k+ of mild abuse. #6 cylinder is scorn. compression is down significantly. mobil-1 synthetic looks like grey metallic spray paint after 1500k.

cause yet TBD till I rip it out. spare engine acquired a year ago. just waiting for this one to poop out first.

My only tip is to get your oil tested by Blackstone or similar lab so if there is an issue you can catch it hopefully before it's to late. When I throw the new engine in I will be getting it tested.

Good thing is if you look hard you can find a good used one for a couple grand max.

 

Great trucks! Don't listen to the negative comments on here as most are suspect.

Most noise that you hear is the injectors. The blocks are aluminum. There is a reason why these trucks sell quickly and have a high resale value.

 

Great trucks don't have lists of TSB's three pages long and have defective frames for the past two decades Just stating some facts.

You can investigate mine all you want if your such a pro I maintain my truck better than anyone I know and she's got a lame ticker.

 

My 2003 frame is in perfect shape so it is all in how you maintain your vehicle. If you put steel in salt water it will rust. Show me steel that doesn't rust in salt water. I have seen plenty of vehicles from the North rusted. I see boat trailers rust too exposed to salt water.

As far as Technical Service Bulletins are concerned, what is your issue with them? On my 2003 I had 1 recall. That was for the front ball joints. My Tundra has had a recall for the mat issue that is a joke, other than that pretty solid vehicles.

 

stations do not add water. Ethanol attracts water. I ru Murphy with no problems.

 

So you're saying there is no such thing as a great vehicle?

Or do you not understand the purpose and intent of a Technical Service Bulletin ( TSB ).

TSB
A technical service bulletin (TSB) is an advisory issued by an automotive manufacturer to its dealership service departments detailing a fix for a known concern or difficult repair. The bulletin is for informational purposes only. It is not a recall.

 

the 4.0 is a great engine in my honest opinion. it's really hard to kill one and it has great output for its size. i bought mine in 2006, besides plugs, oil changes, normal maintenance,i never had any problems with it at all. I am at about 130,000 miles maybe a little more right now.

as far as the ticking goes... every toyota truck i ever came cross has it in some form or fashion, its just the "Toyota Tick" LOL!

all around, this is the best truck I have ever owned.

 

you know if you pay with a wal-mart card you get $0.15 off per gallon at Murphy! because of that, Murphy is only station I go to I was way below 'E' today and filled up for about $57 bux!

 

Nope. Just stating a Tacoma is not one of them IMO. 10 years of producing the second gen and they are still plagued with issues and quality has gone down not up. Maybe they are no longer breaking motor mounts and the oil pumps are now able to keep up without starving half the engine unlike the first years production models, but they now have a ton of other smaller issues.

and I fully understand what a TSB is so thanks for the explanation Your the one who seems to be needing some help with it if you think it's "for informational purposes only". Thats BS. It means the bean counters at Toyota figured out it would cost less to arbitrate against Toyota customers when they sure than recall and fix the issue.

I love the fact Toyota issues them for models that are clearly out of warranty. Just man up and recall them.

I love my Toyota, don't get me wrong. I just refuse to deny the clear facts because I own one.

 

That red statement above looks like an improvement to me. Read it again.

Every Vehicle made has a laundry list of Technical Service Bulletins. TSBs are just tech support tips for dealers so they can ID and repair known issues with fixes quickly. It could also be for changing procedures to troubleshooting or repairing the vehicle.

That is why they issue them for vehicles that are out of warranty. A TSB Is Not for the consumers use. They are for the technicians and service departments of their dealerships.

This little pearl above makes it obvious that you do not understand the difference between a Recall and a TSB.

From the NHTSA:

Everything else falls under the standard vehicle warranty period and is covered under that. TSBs are defined as stated earlier.

So you are actually in denial of the Facts. Sorry to derail the tread. I'm done now.

XXXX you can continue with your little irrational vendetta.

 

Tacoma's aren't the only vehicles that rust in the rust-belt. Ford Explorers are notorious for frame/suspension parts rusting. There are many other vehicles prone to this type of rust. The difference is that Toyota actually did something about it. My 1st gen received a new frame at 186,000 miles! I'm going to go out on a limb here, but I doubt seriously that Ford would do the same...