Good morning,

I'm looking at purchasing a 02-04 Tacoma 4x4 5 speed and wondering about the fuel mileage between the two engines. I'm looking for the best possible but if the different between the 2.7L and 3.4L is only a couple of mpg's I'll gladly take the extra 40hp. This will be my DD, weekend hauler and mild offroader, which engine do you think suits me best.

Thanks
Evs

PS This truck will replace my current 96' F-150 4x4 that gets a solid 13mpg.

 

don't know about the taco, but my 4runner with the 3.4 and 5-speed gets a solid 20 mpg, and i even get 22.5mpg during the summer on highway trips...i say go with the 3.4, but then again mpg will vary drastically with your driving style...good luck with the decision bro...

 

my 3.4 gets 21 hwy and 17-19 city. pending on my mood lol... what do you haul?? the 4 banger can do what the 6 can just not quite as strong. personally i would go with the 6, i beleive they have less "issues"

 

Being that I'm a 2.7L owner, I must say there are most definately times when the 3.4 would be nice. However, it gets me around town easily, highway driving can be a bit of a struggle on long grades but its not terrible. I even tow a boat on occasion without issue. I think a 2.7L with the Taco would be fine, not nearly as much weight to haul around as a 4runner (which is what I have to compare to). I get a consistant 18mpg in the city and around 22-24mpg on the highway. It depends on what you'll be doing and where you'l be going. In the city, I doubt you'll notice much difference. Wheeling, towing, or for mountainous areas, you'll want the 3.4. Wheeling in the 2.7 even isn't terrible, kick that baby into 4lo in its a tank.

The 2.7 is also very easy to work on and has a timing chain unlike the 3.4 which has a timing belt. So its a more maintenance free engine. The only known issue with the 2.7 is a cracked exhaust manifold, not a big deal but you'll want to get it fixed. Its an easy fix that I had done in an hour and gives you an awesome excuse for headers.

The 2.7 is not a wimpy engine at all, and has bulletproof reliability. Go with what your lifestyle demands.

 

good post... to add one more thing its cheaper maintenance on the 4 banger. less spark plugs, less oil, and etc.. not thats that much but you get my drift. like he said its easier to work on. great lil 4 banger.... but again this all wraps around what your intentions with the truck are and whatyou are pulling... i pull a 21ft bass boat with no issues with my 3.4 auto

 

Having owned an 22R, a 22RE, a 2.7 and a 3.4...

I love the power of the 3.4. I miss the mileage of the 22R.
It's all a tradeoff. Like the others pointed out, mileage will depend on your driving habits...

My recommendation is go with the 3.4. The slightly lower mileage will be more than made up for by the extra hp.

 

If your going to haul a trailer or anything like that I would go for the 3.4

The 2.7 is a nice little engine and as skrillah has posted above it gets me around town easily, and with my gearing it gets me around on the highway pretty good. I get around 18city, 23 highway.

 

I would definitely recommend 3.4: not just because of increase horse power and torque but because reliability.
3.4 doesn’t have any know issues (not about too many engines you can say that) and IMHO it is one of the best engines Toyota ever built.

 

[QUOTE=Skrillah;50807191] The only known issue with the 2.7 is a cracked exhaust manifold, not a big deal but you'll want to get it fixed. Its an easy fix that I had done in an hour and gives you an awesome excuse for headers.
QUOTE]

speaking of cracked maniflods i have a 2000 taco 2.7 and my exhaust manifold is cracked all the way down the middle. i was wondering if you or anybody else would no of a good header for the 2.7 i need to get i fixed before this summer begins any help would be great!

oh sorry for the thread jack!

 

i've had 2 3.4's, and i'd say get the 2.7 and regear it to suit

the 3.4's are good, reliable motors, but you'd save quite a bit of $$ with the 2.7

 

My truck is new to me, but I have the 3.4 and got 22mpg on the first tank (all highway) and 19-20 on the last two tanks (50 highway/ 50 town) ..... just another data point. I'm coming from the 1FZE powered FZJ80 LandCruiser and I am happy with increase in mileage and the solid power.

 

I am running a lce header and it has been good to me so far, but i have heard stories of the egr cracking and the collectors cracking too.

gears area a key, 4.56's makes my runner run nicely.

 

Good topic guys. I came across a 98 Taco with the 2.7. I was wondering how I'd do with this. Basically it makes the same power as the 3.0 in my 4Runner so I figured it would be a good daily driver. Also - if it is anything like the 3.0 - auto tranny will get worse MPG's and be more sluggish.

 

do your cel come on after the header install?

 

Thanks for all input I am thinking the 2.7L is my girl. The things I'd be hauled are garden waste, the dog, just little things. My comute to work is all highway about 15 miles one way.

 

Compared to the 3.0 the 2.7 is alot better imho. From what skrillah has said above he gets about the same if not better than my runner, and we have the same set up except i have manual.

Nope, no cells, not even when i drove with no exhaust to the exhaust shop. The header had a 1/2" gap between it and the cat.

 

I have the auto in my 4runner, and I must say its really not too bad. I have to put my foot in it going up a steep hill at times but really not bad. Like Crolison said, 4.56 gearing really helps...I too have that and it doesn't make it nearly as sluggish as people might think. I have been thinking of upgrading to the 3.4 but after driving them, I just don't see that huge of a difference...at least not a big enough difference to constitute getting rid of my modified runner. At least not yet...the right deal might change my mind tho. I think the 5spd is the most appealing idea of it all.

The 2.7L will be much cheaper I think all the way around. Upfront and in maint. costs, and gas costs.

 

thank for the info! i think ill be gettin one soon.

 

i've had both the 2.7 and 3.4 and i've liked both engines. 3.4 has more power but the 2.7 is suprisingly strong as well. the 2.7 has quite a bit of torque, and gets 3-5 miles a gallon better. like stated before the 2.7 has a timing chaing and requires less maintenence. both are a definite stepup from the 22r/e and 3.slow.

 

Yeah, I would have gotten the 2.7 had I known that the 3.4 with an auto sucks this much gas down. The only benefit to the 3.4 auto that I have is that when the 1uz project gets started, I will be happy to stay with the auto since it is a nicer swap. Otherwise, I would have done the 2.7 with a 5 speed, hands down.

I think the biggest thing that hurts mileage and drive slushiness is the solenoids in the A340 transmission. They are designed to be very soft for a "luxury" shift. Yeah, well that translates to sloppy shifting and higher fuel consumption. In the next month or so, I will be dropping my valve body and doing a Stage 1 mod on it myself. It consists of just adding shims between 7/8" and 5/8" in size on top of the springs that hold the shift solenoids. There is a good bit of info and a link to a write up somewhere towards the last 3/4 of Speedy's Supercharger thread. When I do it, I'll start a thread and post results, if there are any.