Looked under the hood of the 2025 4Runner

Exactly. Why did they do this. I don't see that this would save space.

 

Toyota 40 years ago: we are gonna build cars that out-class Mercedes Benz W123 in both durability and ease of maintenance, and make W126 feel like a Chevy Chevette built on a Friday before Christmas, because our customers depend on their cars making it to 500k mikes and be able to fix things on their own.

Toyota today: lolz we build whatever and those ijits in America will just roll their negative equity into a longer loan on trade in after three years anyway. They will never open the hood so why let’s call every fluid life time for the giggles.

 

I love the 2nd gens. Just so simple. Easy to work on. Everything has a place in the engine. And, THEY JUST WORK!!

 

Yeah but in what way does that make dealerships money and gets you to buy a new vehicle as frequently as possible?

 

This statement makes me wonder if you are in sales.
A vehicle purchase is always a bad financial move. It almost always starts costing you money from the moment you drive it off the lot.
I don't get this mentality of having to have a brand new car every couple of years. That is just throwing even more money away.
I try to make an informed decision after making too many bad decisions in the past. Reliability is everything to me, and true, no car or truck is ever perfect so I do the best I can.
So, no, the dealers can beg, cry and whine, but I am not buying any sooner than I can make one last.

 

I'm in a kind of sales, part of my job is to get to know our customers and over time make them think a service that the company I work for offers that they are not yet paying for is something they didn't know they needed but now a priority to implement.

Vehicle marketing has historically been an emotional exercise in getting people who haven't thought about a new car to suddenly starting imagining him/herself in that car and everything suddenly becoming easier and life more enjoyable. As a result it works only on a segment of the population. Last year about 16 million cars were sold in the US, say 2/3 of those are to retail customers, that's about 10.5 million customers. So car companies just have convince 10.5 million people out of ~270million adults in the US that they can use a change right about....now. It doesn't have to work on everyone, just 4% of the buying population at some point in a year.

 

Some see a mess, others will just see basic stuff like a composite valve cover, fuel rail, oil cap right out front, dipstick, plugs, lines and wires, everything easily serviceable, including a turbo placed right where even an 8 year-old could find and remove it. Hybrid models swap the battery for an inverter with its own coolant reservoir and high voltage lines in orange. Look closer and you’ll find new electric fans, new electric steering, a gigantic cooling pipe, and a ton of other items that Toyota engineers designed to make a T24A-FTS run as long as a 1GR. Or longer, we’ll see. Look at it that way, and it’s engineering art that you wouldn’t want to cover up.

 

Hey. My car runs. My car drives. It's 31 years old. It ain't no sports car, but it still turns heads. It ain't fast. But I love it. No, I'm not financing a 2026 TRD Pro that has an engine of snakes. The '95 is paid for, pretty much rust free and still runs like if I bought it yesterday from a dealer. Cars are crazy expensive. At least owning one old enough that its easy enough to work on helps bring down the cost for home mechanics. The 2026? Geez, I don't even know where to START if I had to work on that.

 

Ultimately we all eventually have to buy newer vehicles so it's a personal choice. Do note that the people who have been working the hardest to deflect the state of things in this thread by bringing up older Turbo designs and how it's no big deal, they themselves are rolling in 1GR 4Rs and some even bought the last possible year of the 5th gen at a time when the powertain update was already known from Tacoma changes. Seems like total vote of confidence for the T24A. LOLz.

 

Sorry but all I see are more things to either need routine checks and or service, replacement, repair.

Call me old fashioned but I miss the days of opening the hood and readily see just ignition wires, upper radiator hose and several vacuum lines. It was a joy to open the toolbox and all I needed was a socket set, a couple screwdrivers, pliers and a timing light.

I do remind myself that progress brings about more creature comfort, added functionality and then there’s the ever changing aesthetic. Today’s youth are growing up with this present level of technology and tomorrow they will be here ranting and ogling as we are over the next gen vehicle vs what they remember in their youth.

 

I definitely like the older ones better but working on that wouldn't be horrible. When I was looking for a car some friends were selling a 08 Porsche and one look under the hood and I was like no way I'm owning that!

 

I can agree with that. Those are pretty much all the only tools I need for working on my 3VZ-E. @2ndGen22re , your are lucky to have the 22R-E. Up where I am its so rare to find the 22R-E. I've got the 3VZ-E and its been very reliable, but if I find the 22R-E, well, let's just say another 4Runner will be added to the driveway!

 

Sure they might look manageable now when brand new and clean. What about after 10 years of heat, vibration, grease and grime take their toll on the plastic parts? The rubber hoses and such if OE cannot be sourced, can be macgyvered with some basic cutting and fitting skills but all those plastic parts that are suspended and get shaken constantly and baked with heat...I'm sure all the people here with extensive experience with the T24A motor can tells us how it's working out for them.

 

Yeah that will be a issue. People will find was to keep going though. Parts can be custom made and wiring isn't horrible if you have a diagram.

 

Every cloud has a silver lining.

Looks like there's a chance that engine bay will keep guys who don't know what they are doing from screwing something up trying to be shade tree mechanics...

 

When that day comes we will be thankful for Temu, Ebay and Amazon knockoff parts sellers from China. LOL.

 

I admit I don't like the changes/the fact it doesn't have the right amount of cylinders (8), but people will buy them and mechanics will get paid to work on them. Same as any other vehicle.

 

Rockauto too

 

Yeah it's still a Toyota. So while not my 1st choice (I prefer older cars), if I WAS looking for a brand new car, the 6th gen would be considered for sure.

 

Love RockAuto.

 

I like my money and rockauto is way too good at parting it from me.

 

Same.

 

What about the people getting paid to work on them? Do you expect the guys at the dealership that can’t replace a skid plate properly to reconnect all those hoses and wires correctly?

 

Thank you but it wasn’t all luck, I bought a brand new beautiful Bachelor Blue 4wd 1986 SR5 X-tra cab(2 seater) with a 22RE. Got married 2yrs later and then we’re going to have a kid in 1990, my wife had a 2 seat car that she wanted to keep for a commute car(mistake)…..we needed a new car with more than 2 seats and I really wanted another 22RE Toyota. The big luck comes for a new cash strapped family is when I see a one-at-this-price ad($13,999) for a completely stripped 5spd 4dr 4wd 4R in the newspaper(back when people read them). Being the first year of the 4dr(family car) which was the cherry on top over the 2dr. The dealer actually had four, red, 2 sandalwood(gold) and a black one that looked like it had a rough test drive. I offered w/trade on the red one and they pretty much laughed at me and I walked out. Came back the next day to up my offer and the red one was sold. I decided to not fool around anymore but at least I was successful in getting the OEM air conditioning kit, roof rack and cargo mat at cost. The rear carpet has seen light of day just long enough to vacuum around the edge in the last 36yrs. It has participated in more family activities than you can imagine. Both my boys came home from the hospital in it, both learned to drive in it, the younger one used it to get his MS along with all the tons of family camping adventures. It is more than a vehicle to us, like a faithful old dog.
EDIT: my younger son still flys in to visit and takes it wheeling on the BLM behind my house(his pic)

 

See?! This is a 4Runner. A special vehicle that lasts forever and makes many many memories. That is a 4Runner. Its super sad that not many people have 2nd gens or like them. Its the unloved generation. Sad because its just breaking into a true classic.

 

No engine cover?

 

Nah. Toyota's too cheap for that. Heck, without an engine cover, who knows what kind of engine it is. They say its a turbocharged 4cyl, but without proof, heck it could be a V8 for all we know! But I think its a snake nest

 

no you don't need to. when I work under the hood, I trow all the removed parts into the bucket, since all parts are unique and fits only in a specific place and may fit back only that place. sometimes after I finish repair, a couple bolts washers nuts or small plastic parts still remain in a bucket. but what tha hell - engine started and running and that's all that matters.

 

Do you work at a dealership?

 

LOL!!