Crankshafts

The 3.0L uses a cast iron crankshaft that stayed the same for all years. There are steel 3.0L cranks that you may run across, but these are out of the twin-cam 3.0L car. Journal sizes are the same as the truck SOHC motor; the difference is the snout length of 2.75" for the truck and 2.50" for the car.

5VZ-FE – 3.4L DOHC V6

For 1995 on the T100, more power came from an increase in the bore size of the VZ V6. It was increased to 93.5mm, and had four valves per cylinder and twin cams per cylinder head. Now displacing 3.4 liters this motor put out 190 hp at 4800, and 220 ft. lbs. of torque at 3600 rpm.

This motor also became available on the ’95 Tacoma and the ’96 4-Runner. Even though it shared the same basic design as the other VZ V6s, it didn’t have many parts in common. Parts it did share with other VZs consisted of main bearings, thrust washers and freeze plugs.

The Toyota VZ engine family is a series of V6 gasoline piston engines ranging from 2.0L to 3.4L in displacement and both SOHC and DOHC configurations. The family introduced many changes for Toyota, including various EFI, ECU, and engine improvements from generation to generation. The VZ was Toyota's response to the Nissan VG engine. The low angle DOHC cylinder heads were designed by Yamaha Motor Company, and excelled in low-mid torque and power, making the VZ well-suited for various uses in cars, trucks, and SUVs.

The blocks are all strongly made using cast iron with large interconnected main bearing cradles and two bolt main bearing caps. Forged steel crankshafts, and cast iron main bearing support girdles became standard with the 3VZ-FE. Piston and ring construction are typical parts, with rods varying between large and very large for stock V6 production engines.