Life span of a 3.4L

Im coming up on 340,000 on my 99. Runs like a champ.

 

These Toyota 5VZ-FE 3.4 liter V6 engines accumulating these kind of miles is really the last thing in the world Toyota wants to hear. Yes, it is good for marketing for Toyota to announce in documentation that an engine they designed goes for over three hundred thousand miles easily, but it is not good for them as far as selling new Tacomas. The last thing in the world Toyota wants to compete with their new line of Tacomas is their old Tacomas from two generations ago.

 

if they didn't run this well for so long, i wouldn't buy another. in my experience, the Toyota buyer demographic is the same, they might buy one and keep it for 10 years then sell it and buy a new one with newer features.

the people on here who buy used Toyota's aren't the same demographic that buy new ones typically. So they are not the customers that Toyota is concerned with. I'm maybe an exception, being original owner (actually my dad bought it). but now i will never buy a new vehicle again no matter what the make. but if Toyota made junk, i wouldn't buy it, and for the same reason the original owner probably wouldn't either.

there's also a cultural difference between us and the Japanese. they actually take pride in their product while we have become content to build the cheapest crappiest vehicle with the most margin we can to maximize profits. planned obsolescence isn't something we should take pride in. we used to make a quality product and make money doing it. Toyota is doing that still... mostly. that said i realize my truck was made in America and that technically its an "American" manufacturer that operates here, but big picture directives and engineering is Japanese and that is what matters here.

btw this shouldn't become a philosophical thread. it should be about posting your high mileage 3.4!

 

It seems I am just breaking my engine in lol, at least that is what a toyota mechanic once told me, guess I need to make some cross country trips to Fairbanks to NYC (across Canada) to Miami to Houston and maybe to L.A. via Omaha (Charlie Daniels) and back.


is this kinda mileage being seen in the mid-to-late '90s, early '00s models S10s, Rangers, Dakotas, (the comparable compact trucks from Detroit)

 

247000 here and still going strong

 

2002 sr5 3.4 crew cab 4wd, 386k miles. I bought the truck about three years ago. It had very little power, terrible fuel mileage, the brakes were weak and generally performed poorly, so new pads rotors, fuel filter(clogged black), trans filter, plugs, wires, injector cleaner, air filter etc...
About two weeks ago i was driving in a 25 mph zone and the truck coughed once and appeared to run out of gas. so i poured in a couple gallons to make sure it wasnt out. Low fuel light never came on so i was pretty sure it was the fuel pump. It would still turn over and sounded normal. I bought an aftermarket pump and screen for about $168 and replaced what i believe to be the original denso fuel pump and it has amazed me with its performance. Plenty of power, the brakes work effortlessly now, much better fuel mileage, transmission shifts better. So a hole wore in the bottom of the screen of the pump which obviously allowed trash into the system. Caused by the slightly dented fuel tank where the screen rubbed the bottom.

 

This reasoning is the reason I will not by a brand new Tacoma!... I would consider a new 4Runner only because it’s had the same engine in it for quite some time and is pretty bulletproof like the 3.4’s

 

Made 300'000 last week

 

Lol, Toyota doesn't mind servicing our old trucks and making some good money off of it. Not to mentions the killer markup they are getting on parts. It is great marketing that they have trucks that will go well past 300k... Orkin uses Tacomas for all their fleet trucks (at least locally to me), as well as a lot of other companies that are starting to switch over to them for fleet trucks. You don't see many Chevy Colorados being used as fleet vehicles.

 

are there a lot of Toyota's used in military operations? I heard there were some but not sure how many

 

286k on my 03

 

Middle East they are a "weapon of choice"! Seriously though, yes in Japan Toyota even makes Land Cruiser trucks for military purpose: http://www.military-today.com/trucks/toyota_land_cruiser.htm

 

wow, lockheed really cutting costs on their THAADs.

 

Thats why they make shit frames.

OP, take care of your engine and it will outlast your frame/body unless you live in a dry southern state.

 

this is good video from another forum section

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tacoma-with-1-2-million-miles.578489/

its a 2nd gen 4cyl .. I am not very educated on the notable differences on the 2 engines (other than one is 4 and one is 6) and the difference in 2nd gen engines vs. our 1st gens

 

1998 SR5 4 x 4 Extra cab purchased new Thanksgiving weekend '97
3.4L 5VZ V6 with manual transmission and factory clutch @ 251,500
Radiator service Feb '18 detected a wee bit O'hydrocarbons so had the factory head gaskets done, 241,000, they cleaned the heads, no machining necessary.
If someone offered me $5,000 more than what I paid for it new? They would be walking away with a pocket full of money.

 

my truck was parked in the garage that weekend in '97 while I was missing my almost-new truck on an overseas job eating pizza hut for Thanksgiving dinner lol
if you have gotten that far on the factory clutch then mine has much life in it still
so you are willing to let yours go for about $31k give or take a thousand?

 

To be fair, we live in the country, sixty-five miles from one major town/city one way, seventy-five to another going the other way. So the majority of the mileage on that factory clutch is highway driving.

 

as i think mine is rough estimate is 70 per cent long-distance highway miles and i don't ride it as evidenced by my floor mat clutch-wear-syndrome
but only time will tell!
have the foamy things started coming out of your vents yet?

 

In overseas bases you will see some Hiluxes and Ford Rangers used for on base activities. Not many however because outside the wire activities usually require up armored vehicles. Although some SOF guys and contractors use up armored Land Cruisers for more clandestine roles. I took this pic of a LC we were transporting in the Sandbox a few years ago