Search saga continued....

[gregwho]

Ok, i'm still looking for my surf and came across this one....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWA:IT&ih=005

Could you guys give the add the once over and let me know your thoughts and concerns over it....the badpoint at the bottom says about it being stuck in second for 5 mins before its warmed up....does that ring any alarm bells, or is it a common (and more importantly) cheap problem to fix!!

[gregwho]

Could you guys give the add the once over

Ok, I cant spell shortened words that should have been ad not add!!

[Woodzie]

There is a ecu/ sensor fault=Flashing o/d light also the V6 have a head gasket problem ......sancho will know more about them or tony might be about later to advise

[Slugsie]

My thoughts...

Are you specifically after a V6 petrol model? They're not exactly known for their frugality. Mind you, with the LPG conversion it's probably on a par with the diesel. The only weakness with the V6s is the head gasket - if that's been changed then it should run for a good long while.

The gearbox thing, it could just be a sensor thingy, but it could also be a buggered gearbox. There may be no easy way to tell without getting someone who knows a Surf properly to have a look.

Personally, I'd probably give it a miss.

How much are you looking to spend? £2-3K should get you a very good '94-95 3ltr diesel.

[gregwho]

Are you specifically after a V6 petrol model? They're not exactly known for their frugality. Mind you, with the LPG conversion it's probably on a par with the diesel.

I didnt know the surf came in a petrol model, so was a bit surprised when I saw this. But as there's been two mentions of head gasket issues in this thread already, that'll be me walking away! I think the thing that got my attention was the body and susp lift, and the LPG - i thought it might be quite a lot cheaper than diesel. Do you think it would cost about the same to run as the 3.0 diesel? As for money, not really sure - the £2k mark seems about right...and hopefully santa might want to put something in the fund

[Sancho]

I'll have a look later - ebay is blocked at work.....

The main benefit of the V6 (beyond the nice noise and slightly perkier engine) is that they are cheap to start with. If it's been LPG'd, it should be cheaper to run than a diesel so you could be on for a bargain (like I say, I can't actually see the ad at the moment).

There are definitely issues with the HGs. They need to be replaced at around 100,000km but, after that, should be OK for years to come. As I understand it, the problem with them comes partially from a hot spot and the higher operating temperatues of LPG could make it worse.

What's the gearbox problem? Mine used to not change up to top gear for ages, and sometimes change down again. The gearbox has some temperature related switch that stops it from going into top until it's warm and someone had removed the thermostat from mine so it wasn't achieving consistent temperature. They did that to try and hide a blown HG.......

Without even seeing the ad, I'd be tempted to put in a maximum bid of £1,500 for it. Any problems with the LPG or HG you should be able to get sorted and still be cheaper than a 3.0 at that price - othwerwise, probably forget it.

If you want it for offroading or towing, you should be aware that the petrol has substantially less torque than the diesel and doesn't like water.

[hilly64]

for what its worth my previous two vehicles were running on LPG. I had a Jeep 4l straight 6 Cherokee Sport for about 6 years and thought it was great and the only way to go when running a big 4x4 and wanting an element of performance - however having now owned the 2nd gen 3l diesel 4 runner I would not go back to LPG (or Jeep for that matter) for the following reasons:

1) £30 would get me around 200 miles on LPG, £40 gets me around the same on diesel. urban cycle. In theory the difference should be greater as the Jeep only averaged about 14mpg (lpg or petrol, people still advertise 20+mpg when selling??) and I am getting 24 - 25 mpg on diesel. I was paying 40 - 48p/l for lpg. In practical terms though this is about how it stacks up.

2) A done conversion they recon only adds about £500 to vehicle value however sometimes it can make it difficult to sell. The conversions cost around the £2k mark for a good one.

3) Finding LPG when out and about can be difficult. I would fill local at a good price but because of the restricted outlets you tend to be for ever watching mileage/fill guage to judge when to refil which did lead to a level of anxiety. Motorway prices on lpg can be 25% higher. Fill with diesel when and where.

4) It is another mechanical/electrical ignition system that can break down and that does require an element of servicing. These systems need to be spot on otherwise ignition problems will show. If it does go wrong you try and get it fixed! unless you know who fitted the conversion and have paperwork. You may well find that other installers will not want to know and you may end up paynig to have one of their systems fitted.

For me the reliabillty, performance and associated cost of running a 3l diesel outway the added performance of a petrol V6 on lpg.

Will be considering veggie oil next spring but not sure that the cost saving particularly as winter approaches is worth the risk of clogging up fuel system etc