>>>*The two engines we almost never see are the 3.0L twin cam Camry engine, and the 3.4L.

Since we see almost EVERYTHING that exists, the fact that we see one in for repairs rarely is a good sign. Of course the 3.4L is newer, thus less mileage average for the fleet, the 3VZFE is a 92-93 design and those now have many miles of service.

The 3.0L 3VZE has an undeserved poor reputaion, that mess with the factory design head gasket combined with a pure PIA to get one out and apart is part of that.

Then add in that the vehicles are heavy, (which means poor power) and even at around 170 H/P they are called weak. Yet my poor old neglected Camaro with 170 H/P will light the tires and run an easy 100 MPH.

Weight doesn't go.

I say free up the exhaust on the 3VZE, keep it well tuned and don't neglect periodic valve adjustments, 300,000 miles is common with good performance.

Now mileage?...Well...still, lots of folks are pleased with the service, in my day we traded everything off at 59,000 miles.

I like the engine design, it is proving to be tougher than it's reputation....*EB