2025 4Runner reviewed by Doug DeMuro
- Thread starter wemay
- Start date
Hard to say. I never owned one, no idea what the engineers were thinking. Other than, there is a lot of pieces to put together to make any car. By this time cats would have been on most cars (maybe not worldwide however). But getting cats to warm up fast has always been desirable--but then a hot cat makes heat to go into the cabin. Can't win.
Guessing they put it close and ran with a single exhaust for cost reasons. Cost, packaging, who knows, maybe how it got assembled as it went down the line was important too, more important than a bit of heat where you and I think of as "bad".
Having worked at a Toyota dealer as a master tech in the time frame that those were being sold, I can say that doesn't guarantee it was done correctly. The proof that it wasn't done correctly, are the results.
As for the 3VZE being slow, it was the optional, more powerful engine. The 22RE was slow. A neighbor still has a 2nd gen 4Runner with the 22RE. It's rusty, it's got over 500k miles, but it still runs fine. The neighbor has a 100 series Landcruiser for when he wants a nicer ride, but he plans to keep the old 4Runner until it has some sort of major failure. 34 years, 500+k and counting...
Yep, and the 22RE was even slower. But 34 years and 500+k miles later, it keeps running in the neighbors beater 2nd gen 4Runner.
The space in the frame and under the hood was limited. This wasn't a big truck.
On the left side of the transmission was the transfer case and forward driveshaft - so, the exhaust, all of it, ran down the right side of the transmission. Crossing the LH manifold pipe over behind the oil pan, in front of the firewall, kept it out of the way of the front driveshaft. The two pipes then dumped into a single cat on the right side.
A decent set of headers was hard to fit, but added a claimed 20% to the power of the engine by removing the restriction in the cross-over.
oh, that's quality for sure
On the Mitsubishi Montero the exhaust runs right underneath the front driveshaft. All generations have ifs so the front driveshaft doesn't move much
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2020
- Messages
- 156
I’ll have to agree, but the 3.0 V6 that came in those were pretty weak and to make it worse they blew head gaskets if you looked at them funny. But I imagine everything else is probably pretty bulletproof. The 3.4 V6 that came after was a much better engine.
We've already talked about that.
And the 3.0 on mine was great, just a couple timing belts and a water pump, for over 300,000 miles.
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2020
- Messages
- 156
I guess I didn’t see that part.
my bad. We had a 3rd gen that was hit and totaled unfortunately. It would have probably still been on the road.
He does some weirdly dorky stuff that I perceive as awkward because at this point he may be going through the motions. He's a nice guy that I think is socially awkward and has made it to a very public position. I like him as a person and find moments in many of his videos weirdly uncomfortable and I get the impression he feels the same way.
I haven't seen the video yet and will watch it at some point tonight when I get time.
I guess I didn’t see that part.
I had a 3rd gen for 22 years. It was a great SUV (even being slower than the 5th gen) The only failure during 22 years of ownership, was a hydraulic hose for the clutch. That repair cost me about $20, and less than an hour of my time.
Someone who recognized it for what it was, offered a ridiculous amount of money. Otherwise I'd probably still have it. It had: V6, 4wd, 5-speed, rear diff locker, factory leather, moonroof, optional bigger wheels, tires, and brakes, and premium sound system.
Dang, with those options it's probably the most desirable SUV out there
It was a great SUV, but someone who recognized it for the unicorn it was, reaaaaaaaaally wanted it, and offered enough that I became interested. I had it for 22 years, and have great memories of the trips we took in it. But we still like the 5th gen better.
