Towing in 3.5L vs 4.0L

Time is not kind to anything except wine.

 

Oh, don't get me started on brakes! That has been my kryptonite on this truck. I did a disc/drum power conversion in 2006, but parked the truck in 09. I never drained the brake fluid. Earlier this year had to redo the entire brake system conversion again because everything was shot.

Fun fact too... when converting a manual brake system to power brakes, one must also consider the pedal ratio. I ignored that part of the instructions and had the rear brakes seize on me while on the highway...

 

I hear you.

He made the same mistakes, but already had conversion parts in there from 20yrs ago. We had blown a proportioning valve, new calipers that were no good, rusty bits, and all that fun.

He also had a manual rear bias knob that was removed and installed a few times until the vacuum boost problem was finally figured out.

 

When I converted my car to 4 wheel disc ended up using an adjustable proportioning valve that way I can control the amount of pressure to the rear.

 

They are slick and easy.

The problem with the Bronco was that there was no pressure anywhere. Haha!

 

Have you tried puting it it in 4 lo. lol.

 

Yeah i love the mega torque posts about the 4liter.

 

Downhill, use the Sport mode and shift into lower gears manually. I am amazed at the ability of this little motor to hold a load when you use the proper gear.

 

Its no joke son.

 

Here's just my $0.02, we live in Utah and I have a lot of experience with both and I will say the 6 speed on the 3.5L is a land slide better. The 4.0 was always missing a gear when climbing mountain passes, the new 6 speed has that gear, this allows for towing and hauling heavy loads with pretty good ease. The key on the 6 speed is just to let it get up to like 4,000-4,500 RPM before shifting gears when towing a heavy trailer up a hill. I mean it is a small pickup truck not a 2 ton pickup but I love my taco and it is a champ at towing and hauling heavy loads...

 

Exactly!

 

Mighty Beaver Car wash


Fuck I am immature

 

CLASSIC picture with that in the background....

 

Nice ranger. I miss mine sometimes still.

 

Agreed. I had a 1999 regular cab 4.0 manual and it was a great truck.

 

Yep, not once in 7 years of ownership she left me stranded. Starter shit the bed, but luckily i could still start it with my MT. Other than that it was little things, like the stupid plastic thermostat housing on that 4.0 SOHC, replaced twice.

Really miss steel bumpers and that instant throttle response. It was fantastic off road, i stuffed bigger tires and the clearance was great. They used to make great trucks, not sure what happened with the latest ranger. I see 100 tacomas and like 2 rangers here, pretty pathetic. If i had storage space, i would have kept it and made it into a bush truck.

Some more pics.

 

Dood. There a way to turn up the throttle on the 3rd Gen. T'is very much worth it.

 

I know i know... im still on the fence about the tune. One day i really want it, next day im like no way. Not sure how it will affect the longevity of the engine, as im gonna keep her for at least 10 years. I have no other complaints how it drives otherwise.

 

I enjoy my manual 3rd gen Tacoma (more so than I did my second gen) Gearing is good enough to handle 285/75/16 MT tires. I have no complaints as I understand the PowerBand this vehicle has.

 

I don't think 6000 lb is fair good indicator of what the Tacoma is like as a tow vehicle. Isn't the golden rule for towing only go ~75% of capacity if its doing full time towing?

I tow this regularly now and its about 4500 wet. I have no complaints. Manual trans and proper hitch set up. Towes great.

Remember talking about a V6 GASOLINE set up.