Sunday, December 12, 2010

Toyota DIY 22re and 3vze performance upgrades

Those of you who know me already know I have an addiction to Toyota Trucks.  Their compact size, Their indestructible construction (aside from body rust) and their bullet proof driveline make them high on my list of must have outdoor adventure vehicles.  I've been though a couple first generation and second generation 4runners in the past few years and the only complaint is They're damn slow!!

There's not much that can be done in a conventional "tuner" sense being that the ECU is very primitive and very locked down.  so what can be done in DIY land??

some simple fixes include getting a  K+N drop in filter K&N 33-2031-2 Replacement Air Filter and advancing the spark Timing (a timing light needed, and basic understanding of what this can do to your engine.) Tooluxe Tools Xenon Automotive Timing Light

one common problem on the two standard (canadian market) Toyota truck engines, the 22re 2.4 L4 and the 3vze 3.0 V6 is the intake path.  usually abnormally long and full of bends, they tend to be kindof lacking in the airflow category.

The DIY fix for the 22re intake, is to relocate the airbox and battery to opposite sides of the engine bay.  This entails a few things,  the battery cables must be lengthened for the EFI controls, any accessories running off the battery (ie. fog laps, stereos) and the starter.  And the intake must be shortened.  I accomplished the intake shortening by taking the plastic over the Rad tube out and simply hose clamping the two rubber ends together resulting in about 2 - 3 feet less intake path from the airbox to the throttle body. this can also be accomplished with PVC pipe and silicone couplers for a few more dollars Vibrant 12700 Silicone Coupler 3" ID x 3" Long Black

On the 3vze the best method for improving the intake is to remove the intake silencer/ air bypass source box and replacing all the rubber tubing with PVC pipe from home depot, and silicone couplersVibrant 12700 Silicone Coupler 3" ID x 3" Long Black from any auto parts stores.  this results in a more direct airflow to the Thottle body.

Another power taker (this is debateable) is the old mechanical cooling fan bolted onto the water pump.  This can be replaced with a 90's ford taurus rad fan from pick your part (best physical fit for both engines) or a Flex-a-lite 398 Syclone Black 16" S-Blade Reversible Electric Fan and a simple princess auto relay kit (manual control,  meaning watch the temperature).  If you feel like putting about 36 bucks into this setup, you can get an adjustable control module from a few online sources like amazon.com Flex-a-lite 31147 Adjustable Temperature Control Unit.  This modification should noticable reduce engine noise, and improve throttle reponse.

Finally the third most noticeable improvement would be exhaust.  on the 22re the exhaust manifold is not the problem, it actually flows quite well.  The problem is the collector (the pipes the manifold bolts to) and the piping from the collector.  This can be fixed by having a muffler shop build a nice large collector (out of a single 3 inch pipe bent to fit) to replace the two tiny collector pipes, and have that connect to the stock manifold connector, and run 2.5 inch pipe all the way back.  Run some low cost cherry bomb muffler and you're set. Cherry Bomb 16803 Turbo MufflerThis will provide some over the hill on the highway power for the little 22re.

The 3vze on the other hand is a little more extensive.  A lot of people will argue, get headers get headers.  to me, that's just too expensive.  The best bet for the 3vze is to eliminate the crossover pipe from behind the heads and have the passenger pipe run to the main exhaust right before the O2 sensor (instead of the engine bay) then block off the "incoming" collector pipe on the drivers side manifold.  the will help in 2 ways.  Lower under hood temperature, and removing the backward flow of the crossover pipe.  This will allow the v6 a little breathing room.

If you're fortunate enough to live in an area that doesn't have emissions testing, or if the truck is Off-Road only, then you can get away with a bit more breathing room by eliminating alot of the emissions gear, such as the catalytic converter (exhaust restriction) the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) which raises intake temperature and increases carbon build-up.  and removing the SAI pump and plumbing (simply for cold start emissions control,  but probably about 15 feet of tubing and vaccuum lines just for this system).

So with the listed tricks I've personally noticed throttle response and a bit more driveable power.  Numbers, don't have any, but it feels better and didn't break anything, and thats what matters.  They are Toy's for a reason.


If anything I've written doesn't make sense, or you don't agree with, then comment about it dammit. And either way its getting you under the hood to DIY.


11 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing such an interesting post with us. You have made some valuable points which are very useful for all readers Exhaust Parts

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  2. I have done the egr and pair delete, isr mod and i see a huge difference. However i have been experiencing a problem with idle dropping to about 300. i did timing (new belt and harmonic balancer) it seems like i have to adjust timing frequently. if i don't i have no power till i hit 3200 rpm. any thoughts on how to correct?

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    1. First off, 22re or 3vze. Either way I would go for the ISV adjustment first (all should be located on the bottom of the TB, small flat head screw. This can move around with vibration, a dab of grease or silicon should keep it in place once set.) if that doesn't correct it, start looking for a low cost O2 sensor (bosch 4 wire for later 22re's, 2 wire for early) later = O2 sensor in the exhaust pipe, early = O2 sensor in the manifold. Let me know how it goes.

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  3. 3vze. i do have a code for the o2 sensor but didnt think that would be the cause.

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    1. The O2 sensor is responsible for the air/Fuel mixture...usually during acceleration etc, but if it can't measure properly, it'll wreck Idle due to the air / fuel mixture being messed up in the "on throttle" condition. basically there will be too much fuel, and it'll be sluggish in Idle until the residual fuel gets burnt off. If you're in California however, there are 2 O2 sensors, one is for A/F mixture, the other is to ensure the emissions gear is correct... hopefully it's not the latter :)

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  4. Im not in California Im in ga. but my rig does have 2 o2 sensors which is for the emissions?

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    1. Usually the Sensor after the Catalytic converter is to monitor emissions. The one before the cat (just at the collector) is for engine management.

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  5. I appreciate all of the info. Im looking forward to many years with this truck.

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  6. Anything to help another toyota live longer :) Enjoy!

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  7. hey brother I love your blog, I have a 92 3zve 4runner. I was wondering if you had a good EGR delete write up that you can tell me about. Or do you have pictures / video of your egr removal. I think im going to remove my egr I have code 71 and im over it. I live in Florida but my 3zve is from California

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    1. Up here in Canada, our EGR valve is not monitored by the ECU, so we'll never see a code 71 (thankfully) your easiest fix would be to find a 10k ohm resistor to bypass the EGR wiring plug. Just basically jam the resistor into the plug and the code should clear. As for the plumbing, There's quite a large rats nest of vacuum lines covering the EGR first off, makes it quite a challenge to get in there and the toughest part....getting the nuts off the old exhaust manifold....personally I ended up grinding off the hot pipe (from the exhaust) and bending it over to seal it up.....it's tight in there. for the intake portion, I made a blockoff plate with spare tin under the stock egr flange (cut from the unit with a grinder). I'll grab some pictures if you need some more direction.

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