The 4 cylinder?

Marlin does have a 3rz-fe in his crawler. That is a cool dude!
Before that he ran a 20/22r hybrid motor for years too.

And yes they are getting old, many are dogs but if you have one put together right they will surprise you!

My 1985 with 270k still runs pretty well actually with 31's and 4.30 it drives very nice, still gets good MPG.

Many of them were rebuilt by sub par engine builders, and make less power than stock.

The mud truck makes more power at the wheels than a brand new stock 3rz-fe makes at the crank. Not cheap or easy, but it is NA and it does RUN!

If it was not for nostalgia I would recommend the 2.7 3rz or 2.4 2rz as best old truck swaps overall.

 

You can get them to scream, but for the effort and money...be cheaper just dropping in a small block Chevy....still nostalgic since Toyota borrowed many ideas from the old Chevys.

 

But a turd 22re, is more pleasant to drive than a turd Cheby..

Lots of guys swap out for out Cheby motors and then sell the truck cheap.

I have swapped a few out for guys who wanted the Yota back!

To be fair, before a built 22re the mud truck ran a stout Cheby 4.3 based Mercruiser 4.3 that made about 250 at the wheels.. But that was an old carby motor and the built 22re spanks it. If not only because it is faster, also because it is cooler!

Old yota's engines did borrow much of their design from cheby.. The Landcruiser's inline six is the best example. The difference is Toyota built them with Japanese quality

The old chevy inline six was a good engine, that's what was in my boat. 4.1 liters of bottom end. Ran very good!

 

*thumbsups*

 

And when you beat them in a Yota with a cheby its not nearly as offensive as when they lose to a 4-banger..

 

Turns out, I DID end up with an older 4wd Pickup since that post! I traded my buddy my Cadillac project for it, here she is! It's a '79 but has a 22R in it, so far I need to replace the fuel lines and carburetor, I can get it to start and all but not stay running. I have a thread about it in the Toyota Trucks and SUV's thread if you want to check it out!

 

That is cool stuff there bud, nice score. I have a pile o parts left from mine I drove for 27 yrs but in TX and MT is some expensive shipping away from here.............

 

I wish there was a way to auto-separate the threads into

A) Bitching about the 4cyl, but has an automatic so he prolly deserves it

B) Bitching about 4 cyl performance while running huge tires/lifted body/suspension mods

C) Bitching about the 4 cyl and comparing it to other motors with 50% more cylinders/displacement/supercharging

D) actual discussion about how to improve the milage/performance of the excellent 4cyl/5spd truck that everyone should have gotten in the first place

 

My wife has a Venza 2.7 with a six speed. I have a 2015 off road,4.0. I know it's not the same comparison and not the same motor as the 2.7 inthe truck. But, I would have bought a four in a Taco in a heartbeat had it a five or six Speed automatic. My wife's six speed makes her four Venza very acceptable for most driving. It always seems to be in the right gear. IMho, I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised by the new Taco with the six auto four. It will surpass the old five manual in every respect and is probably why it will not be offered. Toyota makes an awesome six speed and my biggest regret about not waiting, is the transmission and not necessarily the new motor. I think when most of you try out the new model with a four, you will agree.

I expect the new six will be wild with it's much higher rpm range making it a better onroad performer with the six auto. I have seen 0 to 60 times for the six and four Colorado. The new Toyota six will have it for lunch and the four will be more competitive then you think with it's near same torque numbers as far as acceleration is concerned with a six auto. Have faith. It is a good motor ! The new Taco is lighter which will help as well. A lot of off roaders love this motor because of it's better balance and the least expensive way to get a great off road truck. The same people will continue to buy it. If they decide to up grade it in another year or two, it would take sales away from the six which Toyota does not want for now. A two hundred hp four in the new lighter Toyota Tacoma with a six speed auto would make the six cylinder redundant for many who would buy a six now. They know what they are doing. They have owned the market for a long time and will continue.....even with this four cylinder.

 

The Venza and Sienna 2.7L were 187HP. More tuned toward being in cars than the 157HP 2.7 in the Tacoma and 2010 4Runner. If it remains at 157hp it'll still be weak with a 6 speed auto.

 

I disagree. It's about the torque, not the horsepower in a truck as the six speed will do an acceptable job. Toyota does a marvelous job with their new autos. The torque numbers on the Venza 4 are similar to those on the Taco four. The lower HP will keep it from cruising easily in the 85 plus mph range which my wife's Venza four does easily. But in the 75 mph range......no problem. That's what HP is about. My 2015 Taco with just a five speed has similar 0 to 60 numbers (7.7 vs 7.3) as the new Colorado. Why ? Becasue the torque numbers are as good. It just won't cruise at higher speeds as easily with the Colorado's 305 HP. I will be the first to admitt I was wrong when the new four comes out and it's a dog. I just feel it will perform significantly better then the 2015 four auto and manual which sold very well for ten years for sure with the new auto and lighter chassis. The numbers just don't lie and the old four is good enough. If it's a disguise and we find out the four is up graded with more hp at the last moment, great too.

 

I have many complaints about my base 5 lug manual Tacoma, but power isn't one of them when it has proper gearing. With stock tiny tires it was transformed with 4.10 and on true 30" tires it is darn good with 4.88s.

I'd like a 6 soeed manual with granny first and a taller sixth, but the actual power and torque, when you can leverage it thru gearing, it just is as responsive and quick as anything else for street driving. I have to drive with restraint with it now. It was gutless with 3.31, it doesn't have the power to beat that much gear.

Past cars include Mach 1 with 340 rwhp and 4.56 gears. Stupid for street driving, great on autocross course but overkill there too.

One of my fav cars, a 16v 127 hp scirocco with a close ratio gear box! When you have it right in the gearing and trans ratios, you can have much less motor with great response and acceleration.

I feel cheated I didn't wait for the Colorado though. They seem to have put a lot into it over the Tacoma base vs. base trucks.

 

Amen to that!

Clark

 

And Hallelujah!

 

I have considered getting the 4 Banger/Speed/4WD...but the mileage gains aren't that much better than the V6.

I have had two 22RE 4WD trucks in the past, I could squeak out 23-24 mpg out of one of them, the one truck I kept bone stock. My buddy recently purchased a '15 Taco 4 Banger/4WD base model, he can't get better than 20 HWY out of it. His '14 F150 was getting 20 HWY.

You think after all these years, they would be getting better mileage.

So other than hypermiling them, how do you improve mileage?

 

There is little you can do when the drag of 4 wd that causes a lesser powered motor to work so hard, it can't be more economical then a more powerful motor working easier at much lower RPM. It is true with the 2.7 vs the 4.0 now when you have to cruise at higher turnpike speeds with more air resistance. Heck, they don't even offer the crew cab in 4 wd with a 4 cylinder. If you do any work at all other then around town driving and trips to the mall for groceries, comparing TODAYS 2.7 to the much more efficient 3.5 in the 2016 model will be a disaster.

The 2.7 can barely keep up with the 4.0 in 4 wd in all models now. That's why I am hoping between now and release time, they come up with a few more ponies. The Venza 2.7 has the same torque as the Tacoma 2.7, you would think they could find a way to give it equal HP (180). It's a done deal with direct injection. But it may be too much to ask of the Toyota "cheapskate division. " they already have the DI in a 3.5 Lexus they can move to the Taco.....any 2.7 with it ? Probably not. It's 2 wd or nothing for this puppy. The 2nd gen 4wd with the 2.7 with a 4 speed auto is absolutely dreadful. You need to be a mosochist to buy this dead road kill of a truck. The six speed alone will bring a HUGE provement. But whether it's enough for you, you can only tell with a test drive.

 

Thanks, just feel like they should be able to get better mileage after all these years, though the truck has grown a bit and gained some weight over the years...so it is a compromise.

Doesn't look like the Colorado V6 mpg estimates are getting what they projected.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/chevrolet/colorado/2015

 

I know engine swaps are a big no no these days but has anyone put a VW TDI in one of these? I'd bet it'd be a 40 mpg vehicle powered by one with a 6 speed.

 

Stop buying automatics

 

Not sure about any 2nd Gens, some first gens...OP claims 34 mpg.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=293577

There is Diesel Toys that will swap in a Toyota oil burner for ya, but that is a $25K swap. Can buy an awful lot of petrol for $25K. You could sell the petrol motor to offset some of the cost, but still won't be saving too much money in the long run...if any.

http://dieseltoys.com/tacoma-diesel-conversions typical mpg is 25-28, 30's with an intercooler.