Bad Luck?

[Hoosier 45]

Anyone ever hear of a '03 Tacoma with a v-6 throwing a rod at 75K? My Bro' in law came over for Christmas and gave me the bad news. I also have an '03 and fully expected this thing to go 300K.

 

[austintaco]

Anyone ever hear of a '03 Tacoma with a v-6 throwing a rod at 75K? My Bro' in law came over for Christmas and gave me the bad news. I also have an '03 and fully expected this thing to go 300K.

Damn. I have an 03 with 70K and I picture it in my driveway with my kid driving it some day, and I don't even have kids yet! That would throw me for a loop if that happened.

 

[4Rescue]

Yeah I'd say that is a very rare problem you've got there. Even Toyotas have a bad one in the batch sometimes. Not as many as any other brand bt still it happens eh. Was this a previously owned vehicle that maybe had a not so bright PO??? it's amazing what someone who takes NO care of a rig can do to a perfectly good truck. EVEN A TOYOTA... Bummer mate, sorry to hear about your problem.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Hoosier 45]

No my brother-in -law bought it new and he takes care of his stuff. I kind of had the same thoughts.

The dealer is trying to work with him by putting in a rebuilt engine for 4K insted of the 7K that it should cost. I would think a guy could drop the oil pan and pull the end off the other 5 connecting rods and kind of see real quick if the journals are toast or not to try and say if it is poor PM or not.

 

[obscurotron]

I read the odd post now and then on various Toyota or Tacoma boards about a 3.4L Toyota motor throwing a rod and making holes in the block. Usually seems to happen in the 50-80k range. Damn shame, really. Invincible Toyota Quality isn't, any more.

 

[Applejack]

Invincible Toyota Quality isn't, any more.

Or maybe never was, nothing is. Yeah even Toyota has lemons from time to time. I had an '84 that had the venerable 22R that wasn't so ......venerable. Overall they're still legendary for their quality.


I wouldn't go with a rebuild though, I'd find a low mileage used engine and put that in. If he doesn't have a dealer do the work he could be done with it for under 3k. My personal mechanic recently did this in a 97 4runner, (same engine) found a 75k mile engine for $825 and charged $1200 labor.
Our local dealer wanted 6k for the job with a used engine.

 

[misterquad]

Just curious, what oil was he running in the motor?

In the last couple of months, a couple of FJs blew motors at 51-55k miles each.

 

[Hoosier 45]

I do not know what kind of oil but I will ask.

 

[misterquad]

I do not know what kind of oil but I will ask.

Thanks, I would be interested in knowing.

 

[misterquad]

I do not know what kind of oil but I will ask.

Any update yet? Just really curious about the brand of oil he was running. Thanks,
Brett

 

[Cackalak Han]

I've seen a few threads now on this. Here is one on Yotatech (4Runner)

http://www.yotatech.com/f2/my-4runner-threw-rod-pics-185253/

I've owned three 3.4L with zero issues. One was supercharged, too.

 

[Skim]

I would review that oil change history pretty close.

 

[OverlanderFJ62]

I have a friend who's Vehicle, same year but a Four 4Runner with approximately 87,000 suffered a broken rod, which led to a lot of residual damage. Toyota asked for PM paper work, such oil changes, service intervals etc... It did not matter who did the service work as long as it was documented with receipts and a reasonable time line based on the recommended owners manual. Toyota dismantled the engine to determine the issue. Their was a known casting issue with this particular rod. Toyota owned up to it with no issues. When all was said and done, I believe her repair bill totaled the hours for tear down and assembly. All parts were included expect items that were not reusable and or recommend for replacement and a warranty to boot........... Hopefully "Bad Luck will turn into "Good Luck"

I have three Toyota's, Hopefully, This type of factory response continues.

Cheers - Michael