- Have you ever pondered to yourself,
"What's the most reliable, dependable,
"indestructible truck ever built?"
It's not your Chevy, Bruce,
it's not your Ford, Dale,
sorry, Bill, it's not your Dodge either.
It's a 1980's
Toyota Pickup truck.
(hip-hop music)
And I don't want to say
that they're the cockroach of trucks,
because that has a negative connotation, but
they're the cockroach of trucks.
You can step on them, spray them,
light them on fire, drown them in the ocean,
blow them up in a concrete building,
and they still won't quit.
So the only question I have is, "How?"
How is a seemingly basic, no-frills truck
from the late 80's one of the toughest vehicles ever built?
Well, it boils down to one word, and that word?
Simplicity.
So, today, we're gonna talk about the simple elements
that make the Toyota pickup
the most indestructible truck ever made.
We're gonna look at, specifically, two things,
its frame and its engine.
Let's do it.
I drove mine without engine oil for two months straight.
(imitating car engine)
I was an idiot.
(hip-hop music)
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(beeping)
(funky music)
If you live in the states,
Toyota didn't give their trusty truck the Hilux badging.
From 1976 to 1994, Toyota didn't even give the truck
any sort of proper name.
They literally called it the Toyota Pickup.
That's it.
Which is actually the perfect name.
They didn't need some fancy naming device
because what made the Toyota truck great
was the fact that it was simple.
They didn't give a truck!
(beeping)
There's no airbags, no windows, no power locks,
no power seats, no AC,
some models didn't even have full door panels.
They used bench cloth seats, manual locking hubs, no tack.
It was a bare-bones, mighty little pickup truck
built in a time when trucks were utilitarian work horses.
No frills, just function.
And when you make stuff simple,
less stuff breaks,
and the backbone that made this truck so hardy
was its frame.
Specifically that it had a fully boxed frame.
Now during that time,
its competition in the light weight truck division,
we're talking about the Ford Ranger and the Chevy S10,
they were built using a C-channel frame.
So what's the difference between the two
and why is one better than the other?
Now the frame is the backbone of the automobile,
and for body on frame vehicles, like a truck,
the frame is made up of rails, or beams,
welded or bolted together in a specific way
that gives the frame its structure.
Now these rails, or channels as we can call them,
are usually made of steel, and they have a specific shape
that give the frame its structural rigidity,
and there are two types of designs for these channels.
If you take a piece of steel, for example,
and you fold it at two points,
it creates an open-ended channel,
and if you were to look at a cross section of it,
it would look like a C,
hence the name C-channel.
The C-channel is one of the most common types of frames
used in vehicles.
The other design is what's called the box frame.
The box frame is when you take that
open part of the C-channel
and you add a fourth side to it,
making it a box.
The channel is fully enclosed along the length of the frame
in what's called a fully-boxed frame.
So what are the advantages and disadvantages
of each of these and why did Toyota
go with the box frame style with their pickup?
(funky music)
Starting with the C-channel, it's cheaper.
Welcome to economics 101,
you're on your way to making money.
If you can make a mass-produced item
using a fundamental part that is cheaper,
you save more money and therefore you make more money.
The cost is driven down because it takes less time
to manufacture a C-channel.
You're essentially just making two bends in the metal,
and that's it.
That is a oversimplification, of course,
but you get my point.
The process is cheaper.
And the second benefit is that they're easier
to bolt stuff onto the frame.
For all intents and purposes,
it's just a thick plate of steel,
so you can drill holes, you can bolt brackets,
you can do whatever you want,
just start adding parts to it, it's much easier.
Another so-called "benefit" of C-channels
is that the frame flexes to allow
for some of the road bumps to be absorbed
by the frame itself so that the suspension
has less work to do.
The frame is part of the suspension design.
And sure, okay, I'll entertain this.
This is what C-channel fanboys are wanting you to believe,
but I would be in the camp
that your suspension design should be focused on
the suspension,
but maybe I'm wrong, okay, maybe I'm wrong.
Maybe so is every race car builder out there.
The reason race car builders build frames that don't flex
is because they don't want it flexing.
When that happens, it turns your frame
into another spring that you can't control.
You want all of those motions
to be controlled by the dampers
in the springs of your suspension.
You can change your shocks out
and change settings all you want,
but you can't change your frame out.
Go ahead, debate it.
C-channel versus box frame, people, go nuts in the comments.
I'll be in the comments in the first hour.
Convince me C-channel's better.
(beeping)
So that is the benefits of a C-channel.
What about the box frame,
like the one used in this Toyota pickup?
(hip-hop music)
Well the box frame is more rigid.
Think about one of the strongest types
of structural members, and that's a tube.
Again, there's a reason race cars and race trucks
are built with tubes and not open C-Channel members.
When you close up that channel and you form it into a box,
it improves the structural rigidity of the frame.
Specifically, they have a higher torsional rigidity.
That means they don't twist as much.
Also, compared to a C-channel,
you don't need as much material.
C-channels have to be thicker
to make up for that open side,
which means for the same torsional rigidity specs,
a box frame can actually be lighter.
Food for thought.
Now if you need any convincing
that a box frame is better than a C-channel,
with the exception of three trucks built in 2020,
every manufacturer offers a fully boxed frame
on their trucks.
The three trucks that don't have it,
the Ford F550, and the Toyota Tundra,
and Tacoma. (musical sting)
Hold on, what?
Toyota switched?
Went to something worse?
Yeah, that's right.
More on that reason in a bit,
so stick around, it's a juicy explanation.
(slurping)
So back in the late 80's and early 90's,
when Ford and Chevy were advertising
their light weight trucks
with their C-channel frames as being
designed to flex for your comfort
and your improved ride quality,
Toyota, with their pickup,
went with the structurally superior box frame,
and this is what makes these trucks
off road, rock crawling beasts.
When you're climbing up a rock face,
you don't want your frame twisting around,
and a box frame prevents that.
It also has a stronger payload in towing capacity.
Their four by two models were capable of carrying
1640 pounds and pulling
3500 pounds.
The Chevy S10 of a similar year
was only rated at 1300 pounds
and could pull only 2000 pounds.
The Toyota pickup was actually considered a half-ton truck
due to its frame and suspension setup,
it's pretty cool.
They even built a one ton version
that could handle 2655 pounds of payload
and could pull 5000 pounds.
This is a tiny truck!
You know how much 5000 pounds is?
I don't know, like, two of your mama.
(yelling) (beeping)
5000 pounds, that's a lot of weight.
That's about the weight of a small elephant.
And most importantly, the stronger frame also lends itself
to being better when you smack it
with a wrecking ball (cartoon smacking sound)
or you blow it up in a building
when the truck's on top of it.
So again, there's a reason trucks today
use a box frame, it's just better.
But like I teased before,
why did Toyota do away with their box frame
in their current lineup of Tacos and Tundras?
Well, it came down to rust.
You see, the box frame pickups were great,
but they had a design flaw.
They weren't built to keep out water
or let water drain if any got inside the frame,
and water absolutely hates steel.
It's like the bully at school.
He's steel, okay?
And you?
You're water.
You're just a little nerd boy
that chips away at him mentally each day,
slowly but surely.
You're breaking down that buff bully
who used to beat you up
with small jabs of subtle insults
that weaken his confidence through subconscious verbage.
You're in it for the long game.
He's tough now, but get it 10 years and he'll rust away.
You'll be hosting a show at Donut
while he's living with his parents in Boca Raton,
bartending at Rico's Sweatshop with his bald head,
and he doesn't even know about Keeps.
Sup, Walker?
Hope you're doing well, buddy.
So one reason Toyota might have gone
with an open-channel frame design
in their current lineup of trucks
is because they had to spend billions of dollars
replacing the rusted frames
from older generation pickups.
So they thought, "Hey,
"we've been down this road,
"maybe let's limit our risk, here."
When you lose billions of dollars,
someone's getting in trouble,
and the guy designing the frame, he screwed up big time,
so the next dude in line was like, "Hey, man,
"let's go tried and true.
"I don't want any of these rust problems on my hands.
"I don't want to be at fault for it."
Actually, they do have what's called
a semi-box design, so
the front part of the frame where the engine sits,
that's boxed, but towards the rear,
where the trunk bed is and the cap,
that's a C-channel.
So they kind of gave a compromise,
so maybe that's why.
You know, who knows?
I don't work for Toyota, okay?
I'm only speculating, here.
We're in the speculation zone.
- The speculation zone. (beeping)
- So how can a truck with a frame that rusts
be considered one of the most reliable trucks?
Well, it takes a long time for that to happen
and deem the truck inoperable, and in fact,
in the case of the Top Gear truck,
it was actually the rusted frame that crumpled in a way
that kept the entire truck together,
so its weakness turned into strength.
And speaking of strengths,
let's talk about the other thing
that makes this truck so reliable, indestructible,
and dependable, and that is its engine.
(funky music)
We get that this Japanese pickup truck
can take a lick and keep on ticking,
but what's under the hood of this truck
that allows it to just drive away
from situations that most car
would end up being sent to the junkyard?
It's time to give a little love to the four cylinder engine.
Now there are a bunch of engine varieties
that Toyota put in the pickup, gas and diesel both.
The Hilux in Top Gear has the little 2.4 liter diesel,
which put out a whopping 83 horsepower.
It was a trooper.
But I want to focus on another engine in particular,
one that was most common in the pickup,
and that's the 2.4 liter, 22 RE gas engine.
They put this engine in a bunch of cars,
the Celica, the Corona, the 4Runner.
Toyota used the 22 RE until 1997, that's 15 years.
And again, with good reason.
The motor was built to last.
It was durable and easy to work on.
- Somebody did it right.
(chorus singing) (beeping)
- 2.4 liter single overhead cam four banger
is known to reach well over 500,000 miles,
and the reason it's so good
is because Toyota had a lot of time to perfect this engine.
The 22 RE comes from a family
of extremely well designed engines,
the R-series motors.
Toyota first built the R-series
all the way back in the 50's,
and this engine was overbuilt
with a high nickel content block
and a forged crankshaft.
The presence of nickel adds strength to the iron block.
An alloy of only 5.5% weight of nickel
has a strength that is 125% greater
than estimates for a pure iron block.
And the forged crankshaft is stronger as well.
We talked about forged parts in our super-episode,
go back and watch it after this, but basically,
it means it's stronger.
The long stroke, (moans)
and domes pistons coupled with fuel injection
help provide good, low to mid range torque.
Now a longer stroke engine
means it does this more.
You guys get it.
It won't rev as hot, but it will produce more torque,
and the domed pistons added a small amount
of volume increase, which also increases
the compression ratio, and, in turn,
makes a bit more power.
Toyota even used the 22 RE as a power plant
in the Celica GTS during its outing
in the 1985 Macau Grand Prix,
finishing third behind two six-cylinder BMWs.
They needed two more cylinders.
Typical BMW.
Always trying to compensate.
It was the highest finish for any 22 RE powered Toyota ever,
and Toyota even made a turbo version, the 22 RTE.
Heck yeah, hashtag bushcreeks!
Where my turb fans at?
So like I said earlier, I actually had a Toyota pickup.
It was my first truck, a 1990, four by four five speed
with the 22 RE.
And before I knew how to work on cars,
or knew anything about engines,
I drained what I thought was the engine oil,
so I added my engine oil,
no filter change because I was a freaking animal,
and I drove the truck around like normal.
Fast forward a month, it turns out
I drained the transmission oil.
So, if you're wondering, "Well, dude, you added engine oil,
"didn't you, like, overfill it?"
Well, no, because one, I never checked the engine oil
because I was an animal,
and two, it was so low to begin with,
that when I added oil during the "change,"
it brought it back up to the normal level.
Meaning
I ran a 22RE
without engine oil
for who knows how long, and it ran fine.
And I ran it without gear oil for that whole month.
Also, my sister sold that truck,
which I still get upset about,
so if you happen to own a maroon red 1990 Yota pickup
with camo interior, five speed,
you live in the Florida area,
sorry that you have my abused truck.
But actually, hit me up.
This is a Toyota pickup truck we're talking about,
so I bet that thing's fine, bet it's running great.
I love Toyota pickup trucks, I've owned two,
and if you want to know more information about them,
why don't you watch this episode of Up To Speed?
It's got maybe one of the best intros we've ever written.
Comedy gold.
I'll make a deal with you.
If you don't chuckle just a little bit,
just a tiny little chuckle,
and I'm talking about even if it's inside your heart,
your mind, you don't even have to vocalize it,
I'll give you one of my dirt bikes.
(groans)
I don't know, that was a bad deal.
(laughs) (beeping)