Tundra 4.0L V6

Not much on these engines regarding reliability. Obviously from a performance standpoint does not compare to 4.7 or 5.7 V8.

 

It is the exact engine from the previous generation Tacoma, check on Tacoma forums regarding reliability. They are fairly rare in the Tundras.

 

Thanks

 

They are rare but reliable. They just dont have the power in a heavy truck like the Tundra. They are great in the 4Runners because of different gearing, even though the 4Runner is heavy as well.

 

The 1GR is a very reliable engine. They do 250K easily. Lifetime timing chain.. hydraulic self adjusting valves. Low maintenance.

 

I have a 2012 4.0 V6 tundra with the 5 spd auto. Running 265/70R18 Cooper at3 4s's with a 3" spacer lift. I had a tranny rebuild at 112K due to a slight vibration when shifting into 3rd gear, turned out to be a worn syncro. Other than that has been an incredibly reliable truck and has been through more than a few states. Currently at 136K and I have had to research 4runners and tacomas when it comes to engine maintenance such as spark plugs. It's really underpowered with bigger tires like mine but i daily drive it and use it as a weekend warrior in south florida. Mileage has always been pretty bad since it only has around 270 Horse in such a big truck. If anybody has any good info on these engines it would be a great help because I plan on keeping this truck as long as possible its definitely my baby Lol.

 

Isn't it the dual VVT version from the 4Runner? That's quite a bit different than the Tacoma's. IIRC they switched from the shim-under-bucket solid lifters to the hydraulic lash adjusted roller rockers like the other newer Tundra motors. Also got iridium plugs from the factory. No more swapping shims to adjust valves every 100k and changing copper plugs every 30k. Sadly it lost the Tacoma's easiest oil filter change ever (spin on filter up top) for the cartridge system.

It's easy to tell, the single VVT 1GR says 5w-30 on the oil cap because the solid lifters need heavier oil, and the dual VVT says 0w-20

Aha, yep look here for cool info about the second 1GR engine type

 

I only used the 4runner info to get to my spark plugs, didn't want to damage anything but i do have the dual with 0w-20 nice to finally have some confirmation on that as I was never 100% sure which version i had i always suspected it was the dual though. I don't do the oil changes i take it to the dealer for that this truck gets the special treatment my other trucks i do myself though so i wouldn't know hard how hard the filter is to remove

 

I have been hearing a weird groaning noise when putting my accessory on after a couple hours of sitting, I feel like something is failing but I have no clue what it could possibly be as I'm trying to prevent any failures before they happen, any chance you could know what it is?

 

Accessory? Sorry I don't understand what you're referring to. If you mean turning the key on without starting the truck, the fuel pump will make some noise as it comes up to pressure

 

Yes that's what i'm referring to, it used to sound high pitched and normal not too loud but healthy, every once in a while it sounds alot louder and just unhealthy. I don't know if it is the fuel pump but it sounds like its coming from the engine bay when im sitting in my truck and it happens

 

I drove a Tacoma with the 4.0L engine for work and it had over 250k on it when I left that job. I had conversations with folks about that Tacoma on different occasions and one guy told me that the 4.0L engine in the truck I was driving was absolutely bullet proof and that 500k out of that engine is very doable.

Also, he remarked that this particular type of V6 was used as a bus engine in Japan, hence the low maintenance, high mileage probability it lasting a very long time if you took care of it. I have no idea if this is true, but if this V6 is used as a bus engine, it should go for a very, very long time with regular maintenance....

 

I take very good care of this engine and at 136K it doesn't even burn oil which i would have expected from an American truck by now. I find it hard to find any background info on these engines but they do interest me since they found their way into more than a few tundras

 

I had the 4.0 in my 4Runner (150,000 miles when I sold it to get my Tundra). That engine was perfect. Quiet, smooth, it's hard to imagine that it could run any better when it was new!

 

Got one 4.0 with potentially 330k miles. Ready for an overhaul. Truck has the RA60 6speed and is geared to turn at 2600rpms at 65mph in 6th gear.

 

Does it have the clutch squeak? Had I kept mine I probably would have done the steel quill conversion.

I always throught the ratios of that RA60 are weird. 1st is about right, 2nd is too tall, 3rd thru 6th are very close ratio like a race car, and 6th is barely an overdrive. She was loud on the highway thanks to that rpm but it was fun to drive.

 

I haven’t heard the squeaky TOB. I can see the TOB is turning full time on this particular clutch that it has. It turns rather high rpms on the freeway and drinks gas but it is geared good for heavy loads, this truck has the 4.08 rear diff. Tacos and automatic trans Tundras have the 3.73 and 3.90/3.62 respectively I think.

 

I'm not so sure about the Tundras, but the 4.0 6-speed Tacomas would have a 3.31 rear in the 5-lug X-Runner or a 3.73 rear in any 6-lug variant. It was the same effective ratio because of the different tire sizes. Close to 2700 rpm at 70 mph. Lots of torque in top gear. Not that it couldn't get decent mileage though; my accumulated lifetime average on that 4WD truck was just over 21 mpg but it spent most of its life on 55 mph roads.

The TOB seems to be luck of the draw; one guy on TW didn't change his out until he did the clutch at about 400k miles. I sold my truck at less than 60k miles and it was starting to make a racket again. It had a TSB done to it at about 20k for the same noise. It's that aluminum quill that it slides on. Its as if it gets a bit of dust and galls up. Most transmissions have a steel surface to slide the TOB on. This is the repair I would have done had I kept it

 

Driving 55mph is exactly what I did on mine. There is post on Tacomaworld on what caused the squeak, and the various clutch parts Toyota was installing were mix and match from different manufacturers. Did you trans ever make noise in 6th gear? My trans makes a particular noise when on the throttle in 6th, but is silent when coasting and in all their gears. I’m still saving up to replace my engine.

 

Nah that one was quiet in 6th. The 5 speed Tacoma I replaced it with made a noise in 5th though when throttle was applied. A rather irritating whine. It never changed or worsened. Some others had a similar issue as if it was imperfect machining on that gearset. It wasn't the bearings; I replaced all of them myself just to be sure. I probably should have changed out the #5 gearset at the same time, but I didn't. It'll probably irritate its new driver for years to come.

 

Doesn’t look too bad.

 

Does anybody have any direction on when to change the spark plugs on these 4.0 V6 engines? The manual says every 30,000 miles but that seems crazy to me.

 

I have 141K miles on the odometer, mostly highway miles but I am pretty sure that I still have the original spark plugs. Family member was the previous owner and there's a chance they could've been changed around 100K but my engine runs perfectly so I haven't bothered to change them especially with how much of a job it's gonna be when that day comes. From what I know these spark plugs that come in these 4.0's last a decently long time without issues as long as you've maintained your truck well and haven't had any issues.

 

Appreciate your response. It's interesting in the manual because it says: "Replace spark plugs 1 GR-FE engine only, required under the terms of the Emissions Control Warranty." Sounds excessive but also read that the plugs are the less durable copper ones so am debating when to switch them out.

 

No problem, I'm sure there are some more knowledgeable members on here who could give you an answer backed by some type of research or better experience as I've seen some pretty well educated members who knew a lot about the 1GR-FE, in my experience I'm pretty sure I have the originals and this truck has had many long trips in the heat and cold I haven't had any issues. I'm interested to see if someone can comment on this because it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to switch them out one of these days that I don't have class or work. I do know that you should stick with the same type of plugs because when you try different brands or different styles it can run lean, rough, or even misfire. At least that's what I have seen other 1GR owners experience.

 

OK Chris. This is what I was able to find out. The 1GR-FE V6 engine from the 2007-2011 Tundra uses the old copper plugs with the suggestion that they are changed out every 30,000 miles. It's not recommended that these plugs are switched out to newer, longer-lasting iridium plugs. What two dealers and a mechanic told me is that they believe when the V-6 was upgraded in 2011 Tundra to 170 horsepower (available from 2011-2013 and then discontinued), the newer plugs were put in that newer V6 engine. Best way to check is your manual and when it tells you to change out the plugs. Hope this helps.

 

That would make sense. I have the 270 Hp version of the V6 which would have the longer lasting spark plugs. My truck is a 2012 thanks for the useful info

 

@Cg13055 Have you thought about re-gearing? My dad has an 08 4.0 DC and the stock gearing is 3.90. I think the truck would benefit with 4:56 gearing but he doesn't want to spend the money.

As far as the spark plugs go, if you put the iridium kind then you won't have to change them every 30k. All in all, the 4L tundra is not that bad, you couldve had an f150 with a 2.7L

 

Honestly it isn't too bad, being that it's a Toyota I'm not worried that I'll ever be stranded on the side of a backroad. It's pretty slow with these heavy tires but in stock form it's pretty quick for a 4L na. I don't plan on getting rid of it I just do maintenance and keep putting miles on her replacing whatever needs work.

 

@Cg13055 I was about to delete my comment after seeing @Kurt7700's answer regarding the plugs.

I will say, there's plenty of room in the engine bay to add Long tube headers if you're looking to add power. See link below. In order to see photos you'll have to make an account