dry-fly

Hey guy's. I'm an LS owner, a 90 with 235k miles on it. It has been crazy reliable. I'm looking for a dependable $4000 car and lot's of ES's seem to be available. Are they as reliable as the LS? I guess that's a loaded question to ask on the ES board, but...

JSM1284

they are, However the early Es's with the 3VZ engine had a few headgasket problems.

dry-fly

How many is a few? Was there a recall?

llcoolpass

for that dough, get a 95 or 96 nissan maxima, they are very nice riding, quiet, more spacious, lighter, and quicker cars compared the ES. then, with your balance you can pay to have ANYTHING replaced that needs to be withing the next couple of years.

92ES5sp

My 92 hasnt had any major problems. The 3vz will blow up only if you overheat it. Same goes with any engine with an iron block and aluminum heads.

llcoolpass

i pulled apart my engine [image coming], and the front valve train literally looked brand new. the rear, not nearly as much, but still very normal. the stupid heat builds up back there near the firewall. but I didn't see thick sludge.
description of usage as best as I can:
143000 miles, 14 years. used to tow small boat for 2 years, on the highway for thousand miles a shot[to and from florida], i drive it not in ''severe''[as described in car manuals] conditions situations not much if ever now for last 6 months. before the boat situation, just driven around for young family and grocery purposes.

over heat the engine, and you can often get away with mill and new gasket. if you had the 1mz-fe, then you might need new engine if you did the overheat.

BadViper22

My 3vz overheated after a radiator hose cracked and ran on zero coolant for 2 miles till I pulled over. After fixing the hose and refilling, the engine still runs like new. Point being, these engines are very durable and with a little care they can make it to 300k.

llcoolpass

well there was probably some coolant, just no flow ... that's crazy. i hope you change your oil frequently for up to 5 times i would say after doing that since the oil probably sludged up from the high temps .... clean her out, viper

i hope that doesnt happen to me. if it does i will throw it in neutral and kill the ignition faster than you can say dalai lama

BadViper22

Of course I run her on Mobil1 and she's had Seafoam through her crankcase since that incident.
dry-fly: Make sure you personally inspect the ES before you purchase it if you can.

Lexucan

....and more! Mine's at 435K kilometers right now, which is the equivalent of 270K miles. And with the way she's still purring, I know she'll easily surpass 300K. My service advisor says she's got 4-5 years worth of life still left in her. Then when the time comes, I'm throwing in a new JDM engine and cruising for ANOTHER 500K !!

maniax

iTrader: (3)

maximas are definitely quick and fairly reliable. But they're definitely not quiet compare to the ES. The fit and finish is definitely below toyota. Even my 2000 maxima has lots of squeaks and rattles.

Overall, the VQ torque makes them fun to drive. I drove a 95 in stick and it's a totally different beast than my 2000 auto


I would say the engine and the transmission of the ES are reliable but all the wearable parts usually wear out with age....(suspension, brakes, radiator, rubber, hoses, etc.)

Slooooooow

iTrader: (1)

Quote:

Originally Posted by 92ES5sp

My 92 hasnt had any major problems. The 3vz will blow up only if you overheat it. Same goes with any engine with an iron block and aluminum heads.

+1

Though harder to find in good used condition in North America (unless imported), the 3VZ-FE is a fairly common V6 in most parts of the world, after having a good lifespan in popular models. They are cheap, simple, have few problems, and have become a semi-popular subject for engine swaps.
The 3VZ-FE also started Toyota's trend of severely overbuilding their production V6 engines. Having a larger forged steel crankshaft and large cast rods, they can handle double the stock power output. With a few nitrous and turbocharged examples matching or exceeding 450 hp (336 kW) on both the stock engine and stock engine management with a piggyback/interceptor controlling fuel/ignition.

As you're probably well aware, the condition of these cars (Toyotas and Lexus in general) is more important than the mileage. You'll do well with any 3VZ-FE, or 1MZ (with thorough service records to give some piece-of-mind about engine sludge on the 1MZ).