Between the 3UZ-FE & the 1GR-FE, which engine would you guys say has less maintenance, and which one do you think will get to more miles before its toast. And this is with regular required maintenance that Toyota tells you the engine needs, with the oil and being changed every 4000 miles, and adding in a bottle of redline fuel additive every oil change. What would you guys say?

Thank you!

 

1GR is known for head gasket failures and the water pump is made of paper they frequently crap out. 3UZ doesn't have any known weaknesses.

 

3uz is better hands down 1ge motors are kinda crap also its a v8 vs v6, v8 wins always in my book.

 

For sure, Ive been looking for a truck and the first and second gen Tundras have the 1GR as an option. And they get similar mileage to my 04 LS430 but dont require premium, so I was debating splitting my driving between the two instead of just using the Tundra for truck/offroading stuff. Do you think the 3.4L in the early year Tundras is better than the 1GR?

 

I assume you're talking about the 5VZ-FE, awesome engine with one flaw the head gaskets go out eventually only a matter of time. Can delay it greatly by keeping the Toyota SSL coolant fresh but not a cure. VZ engines are not all that powerful and thirsty but they are silky smooth.

 

Awesome thanks for the info! I want an 05 or 06 tundra for two reasons, It has the 5 speed over 4 speed, and in 05 they started adding vvti which gives it ~30hp and 10 ft lbs tq. If that cant be found for a reasonable price then Id go with the 5VZ with a 5spd MT. Im not a super big fan of the second gen Tundras because theyre so damn big, other wise id be open to the 5.7 also. A seconf gen taco would be cool but the 2.7 is just so weak and it sounds like the 4.0 isnt the way to go. So im not sure right now, Im even considering Rangers with their 4.0 from 03+

 

5VZ with a manual transmission is awesome the engine has good low end torque this is one of my favourite Toyota engine/tranny combos. I don't get this trend of giant pickups what happened to the smaller simple workhorses.

 

Yeah, I dont get it either, Unless you have it strictly for work like how my dad has a single cab F350 with the 7.3 diesel. I have a 89 yota pickup single cab 2wd and its such a great truck. The only thing is me and my girlfriend want to go offroading and sleep in the bed, so having 4x4 is a must, and a truck thats wider like the second gen taco or first gen tundra gibes us more room in the bed. After a truck is 76+ inches wide its just to big for my liking. plus I wish my truck was an extra cab because theres no space to throw anything in the cab especially with a passenger, and having an extra cab that opens (I call them access cabs) would be sweet.
So yeah, Guess Im probably sticking with a first gen 00-04 Tundra with the 5VZ, access cab, MT. Or the 05-06 First gen Tundra with the 3UZ

 

If you can find a clean example with the 3UZ I'd go for it. Sure they drink gas but not that much worse than the 5VZ. And the engine is bulletproof.

 

The UZ will require timing belt services, and may leak at the cam/VVT seals and that's a majorly annoying job. My LS had those seals fail on me at separate times among many other issues requiring me to fix like an upper oil pan leak and the usual valve cover leaks and intake tract buildup for the bypass mix passages.

Good engines though. I have had better luck with my URs overall but those do have the valley plate leak issue so nothing is perfect.

 

Thats a good point I did notice the gas mileage is only about 2 mpg worse. If you were in my position, would you be fine with taking the 00-04 3UZ over the 5VZ with a manual? Cause until 05 you dont have VVTI, so you have a bit less HP and a little less tq, and you are stuck with the 4spd. Which seems to be a very reliable trans but man is that not many gears, Ive never owned anything with less than 5.

 

I think VVTi is more trouble than it's worth, have to deal with failing oil control valves. 4 speed auto is a limitation for sure but the engine has more than enough power so it really doesn't matter. Also non VVTi engines have a more linear power curve.

 

Thats just outright false, VVTi literally exists to provide more even TQ output across a broader range. It's also a $50 control valve and 4 minutes of time, big woop for 50 more HP and a much flatter TQ curve

 

I have the 2UZ-FE, 3UZ-FE, 2UR-GSE, 1UR-FE. The latter two I haven't owned long enough to make a judgement. My 2UZ and 3UZ are still running silky smooth, both at 200K+ miles. I replaced the pulleys, belts, water pump etc. every 90K miles, use M1 0w40 Euro spec for 20 yrs on both. Very smooth, very reliable. 2UR was a beast...insanely powerful and didn't sweat if rev'd up to 7200rpm with its titanium valves. The LS430 on power mode was like the RCF in normal. I'm so far impressed at how good the acceleration is for the 1UR. Makes a 5200 lb SUV w/ KDSS accelerate and corner like I'm driving a 4000 lb sedan!

 

Just curious, Why dont you use 5-30 like they recommend?