Life span of a 3.4L

There's really no need for that much power in a compact pickup truck though, and that would drive up the price tag and insurance premiums significantly anyway.

 

Actually, they love it, it's good advertising! And if you break a million miles, they buy it back and give you a new one on the house legend has it. Look up the million mile Tundra, that's a good story.

 

217k on my 00 4Runner.

 

My '98 SR5 with the 3.4 sucked water into #3 cyl at 298K. Ran perfect before that. Always used synthetic oil on my watch (so maybe the last 100k miles or so). I'm guessing blown head gasket, but opted for a JDM engine rather than fix the original motor. It cost $1,100 and I put it in myself. Have done that several times in the past with other makes, but wow, the V6 was a bee-atch. Main issue was the gargantuan wiring harness. You basically ahve to disconnect the many connectors and fold the whole wiring harness up toward the windshield and out of the way before you can swap the motors. From there it was pretty straightforward - switch the Japanese manifolds for the ones on the original engine (using all new gaskets) and then plug-and-play. The JDM engines are advertised as having only 50,000-60,000 miles, and I've always had good luck swapping them into a few Hondas and Acuras. Anyway, the 'new' engine started right up and runs very smooth. Seems to have a tad more oomph than the original, but that might be just in my head. Figure I'm good to go for another 200K. When I get time I'll take the heads off the old motor to see what's what. I've read here and elsewhere that it's common for the 3.4s to develop head gasket issues at around 300K. Whole job, including a top-end gasket set, new timing set, water pump, and various odds and ends cost about $1,500. I consider it money well spent.

 

220k on my 01 3.4L. No problems

 

247k on my 01 3.4. Only issues so far have been valve cover and cam plug leaks

 

265k on my 03. Purchased it from guy that rolled it up on passenger side a-pillar. Body man that was working on it cranked it at some point and claims it blew head gasket (white smoke, coolant loss) He said he poured K&W sealant in it and its honeslty ran fan for ~10k miles just fine. Just feel like Im driving a ticking time bomb waiting to blow that sealant out. Besides that, no issues here.

 

Just rolled over 333,333 miles

 

1996 Tacoma with 354,000 only head gaskets have been done by me

 

My 98 has 299'565 and rolls 33" like nothing.

 

'97 with 285757K as of 2/21/19. Perspective for trail penetration in marshy Fl backcountry. The Titan would come out wounded. As it is, this photo is just before I prepped my Tacoma like I was taking it into the booth, but I ended up rattle canning it with Rustoleum bed liner. It is now fortified and I pity anyone who opens a door on it. It has to be cleaned with a soft brush or broom head. It shreds rags. It packs dust. It is total utility. These trucks are highly serviceable. Modern trucks are more powerful but I have doubts about longevity. 1st Gens in the 150K mileage range are going for 11K in Central Fl. Later models. This Tacoma has one airbag, by the end of the run, they were much less treacherous to crash in. B/C this has been in Fl since it left the factory, the frame and body are rust free. Down here it's a good idea to get under any car with a pressure washer. High street water in the rainy season isn't enough. When ya see that some of these trucks are hitting half a million miles it makes ya think. Where are the rest of 'em? Around here ya can't find a 1st Gen Tacoma in any junkyard, I've looked. Yea, back in 2007 ya could, not now. I need a bolt cap for the passenger side wiper. Peace

 

got 325k on mine. nothing but oil changes and cleaned the MAF about every 30k.
oh yeah and the timing belt and water pump was done once at 120k. doing that again this month.

 

@jberry813 We need a better explanation of the meaning of

"Not Water Proof"

so go ahead and tell us the story of how you blew up your first 3.4L

 

Woah you have 285 million miles?










Yes I know that is not what you meant.

 

TacomaJunkie8691 said: ↑
Wow, there are some pretty high mileage rigs with the 3.4 Toyota engine on this thread. This is the last thing Toyota wants to read about. They don't want to hear about an engine they engineered that goes for 500,000 miles. This kind of engineering prevents us all from purchasing new Tacomas.

I think the 'powers that be' gonna discourage us by not making available OEM parts, discontinuing them, particularly certain trim parts, already had a problem not being able to find inside pillar trim in my color on driver side that my head made a super nice crack in (ouch, neck still healing from that jolt 3mo. ago), also a Toyota bugshield/hood protector that was damaged and cannot readily find a new tacoma floor mat in my color. So what happens if I ever need a new dashboard? new steering wheel? new center console, new carpet, new seat(s)

is anybody with a '98 to early '00s model having same difficulty?

 

Yes, lots of parts are no longer available.

This website you can find any used part.


http://www.car-part.com/mobile/index.htm

 

thanks, will check it out

 

That happens with just about any older vehicle aside from muscle cars since people "restore" those more often. If you know where to look or have the availability to go to a junk yard you will be able to find a lot of what you need. I have bins of interior stuff from the junk yards around here. Often times car manufacturers have these parts in a bin and they get put in the corner of a warehouse because they aren't being bought often, then they are usually forgotten about. There is a guy in the Nissan world who tracks down these NOS parts and buys the whole lot of them so he can then turn around and make money off them and help out the community.

 

My 03 had 177k on it and the only mechanical issue that had to be fixed was the plastic bushings in the clutch pedal. They had cracked and fallen out and the squeaking got annoying. I honestly kinda doubt if my 07 will last as long as a first gen. It might, but man that 03 sure felt like a tank and seemed like it would last a bit longer. I miss the metal bed. I don't miss the body roll from the overly soft suspension though. My 07 performs much better but the 03 felt more like a truck. I'm sure any 1st gen will end up dying from old age before mileage haha

 

I also wonder if all the new-hitech electronics stuff on the new models has been tested out to 25yrs?