Buying My First Truck

[Wainiha]

I think you got it. The 22re is a solid motor. Obviously rust and test drive check etc. I too recommend staying away from all 3.0 motors. Too many problems.

My friend has 400,000 or so his 22re and drove it on the beach everyday, took it hunting...Plus they are easier to work on than the Tacomas.

 

[FB88]

I think you got it. The 22re is a solid motor. Obviously rust and test drive check etc. I too recommend staying away from all 3.0 motors. Too many problems.

My friend has 400,000 or so his 22re and drove it on the beach everyday, took it hunting...Plus they are easier to work on than the Tacomas.

I agree they are super easy to work on. I maintain my fathers truck whenever something pops up, so I already know the truck and the engine like the back of my hand.

 

[Clutch]

Plus they are easier to work on than the Tacomas.

I have owned both, they are about the same. Suspension is easier to work on/modify on the Tacoma...coils ride a little better than torsion bars too.

Brake jobs are easier on the Taco, don't have to pull the hub apart to get the rotors off. Oil+fuel filter are easier to get to (at least on the V6 Taco vs. the 22RE)

Timing belt vs. timing chain...accessing the starter, oh about the same.

 

[Toyotero]

Thanks for the input, I'm choosing the pickup over the taco for the simple fact that in my area Taco's go for so much more money.

Ahh. I've not priced them, is the price that much different?

The 20R/22R/22RE are really great engines, reliable, 'torquey' and simple to work on. Water pumps are cheap and very easy to replace, it can be done on the side of the road in about 30 minutes. The accessories (air pump, AC compressor, p/s pump, alternator) are easier to work on with a smaller engine block under the hood than the V6. The R series engines contributed a lot to Toyota reputation world wide.

Others have expressed it, but I'd like to stress that I'd recommend avoiding the 3VZ-E V6 and look for a 22R or 22R-E. I had an 88 4R with the V6 for a decade. It was reliable, but complex. For example, the water pump is driven off the timing belt. In the end, a head gasket killed it at 225k miles (it was the original head gasket), it was leaking exhaust gas into the cooling system and had probably been doing so for a couple of years although it wasn't over heating. Generally there is damage to the block that can't be milled/repaired, so it's expensive to get it back on the road how ever you do it once it goes.

Best of luck.