Soon to be new Surf Owner

[mza80]

Hi, I recently purchased a 1992 2.4L Surf through a friend who imports them to Canada from Japan and have been browsing the forums for the last week or so. I have a few questions and a few issues I'd like to get cleared up if anyone can help, I have looked through a lot of posts here and search around on the internet but I may have missed some of the info, so if so if you could direct me to it I would appreciate it.

First of all, I'm importing the Surf to Edmonton Alberta, which is a pretty cold climate, I did read one post about a Surf in Winnipeg and our winters are almost as cold. From what I gathered I will need to do a complete change of the fluids as well as install a block heater (or oil pan heater?), as well as purchase new glow plugs. Is there anything else I'm missing here?

Secondly, I'm kind of concerned about the cylinder head cracks I've been reading about. At what mileage do they generally occur? This Surf has 118kkm's on it currently and it has all the service records, however they are in Japanese. I know every vehicle is different, but do these cracks usually occur around a certain mileage? ie. is there a decent chance that the head may have already been replaced by 118kkm? Or should I be expecting one at 150kkm? Also, besides changing the fluids are there any other tips to help prevent head cracking in a cold climate?

Thirdly I'm wondering about gas mileage. I've read that the mileage ranges from 20-25. Is that for the 2.4L or the 3.0L? I figured that the 2.4L would get better mileage but I've read the opposite. Also, are the 20-25mpg values for city versus highway driving, or is that range more depended on the vehicle and its condition?

Finally, the Surf I bought has a sunroof, I though I read that the sunroofs were not an option, would this be an aftermarket addition, or were sunroofs an available for 1992 Surfs?

Thanks in advance if anyone can provide me with any of the advice I'm seeking.

[TonyN]

The cracked heads happen anytime, usually its because they have overheated for any other reason and the originall design can't take any heat without cracking.

Glow plugs have a finite life, check them across a battery if removed and watch for the glowing tip after 3-4 secs.

Sunroofs are have always been an option, no sunroof is pretty rare.

Change your coolant to the local stuff, do a exhaust gas check on the coolant while you at it to see if the head is already stuffed, alot come from Japan already cracked and filled with rad weld that lasts 6 months or so.

2.4's never get as good milage as 3.0's as the 3 liter has an extra 40hp, so is always working less for the same sort of driving, so you get better MPG. The 2.4 needs to be given some stick to keep up with traffic, where as the 3.0 cruises along with less throttle quite happily.

[MattF]

Just make sure you flush the cooling system thoroughly, change the rad cap,
thermostat and coolant when you get the vehicle, and you're minimising any
chance of the head cracking. Bad luck may always play a part, but you're
making it try harder. Also, check for any perished hoses or hoses that feel
pretty solid. Some of the matrix hoses under the 'stat housing can become
rather clogged.

[mza80]

Thanks for the info so far. What year did they start making the 3.0L diesels? I've been looking at 1990's-1992's since the vehicle have to be 15 years old to import here, and all I've seen are the 2.4L's and 3.0 V6 gas.

[TonyN]

93' to end of the 2nd gen is 3.0Td or V6 petrol only