Bought a 93- need engine advice please
 

Hey guys, I just bout a 93 4x4 with the V6. Everything works real well on the car including the tranny but it has 144k miles and it really seems sluggish getting up to speed. The previous owner says he replaced the plugs, plug wires, cap, rotor, pcv valve and fuel filter. However, I can't help but wonder why the thing is so sluggish.

On previous vehicles I've had intake manifolds cleaned out to remove carbon buildup and this has helped some. Do any of you guys have any recommendations as to what I can replace to help restore some of the engine's power?


Any help would be appreciated- thanks

The unfortunate truth is there may not be anything wrong with your truck. The 3.0 V6 is also known as the "3.slow", because it was woefully underpowered for the weight of the 4Runner. Other than the occasional head gasket going south on some, the engine is an okay powerplant, but Toyota just went too conservative on their first truck V6. On the K&N website, they dyno'd the thing at 105hp and 125 ft-lbs. stock--that's not very much when you're talking about a 2-ton rig. Just for the sake of asking, does your truck have even slightly-oversize tires? If it does, that hurts the acceleration even more, because it's taking the engine out of it's power curve, making it strain to get up to speed. Don't get me wrong, you may very well have a running problem--I would check the air filter, have the injectors cleaned (both spray in the intake and liquid in the tank), and maybe have the timing checked (if that is retarded from the proper setting, it will lose acceleration power). One last thing--do you know if the timing belt has ever been changed? If it hasn't, get that done soon, as you're well past the factory window for that service--and have the water pump done at the same time (it takes the same labor to get at either, so the pump is typically done at the same time to save going there twice). Best of luck!