recall notice and conditions apply?

[Duncan]

If a recall was sent out in Japan with regards to head/gasket on the 2.4s.
Why didn't the Japanese drivers/owners get it sorted at the time,instead,waiting for the cars to hit the U.K. and then,as the majority of cases,have the heads go or some other cooling problem within weeks of getting to blighty.
I'm curious how a lot of imports show low mileages and are advertised as such when keys and pedal rubbers etc would indicate much higher mileages.
Any views on this or if anybodies been to Japan could shed some light on this I'd be very interested,thanks.

[Morr]

If a recall was sent out in Japan with regards to head/gasket on the 2.4s.
Why didn't the Japanese drivers/owners get it sorted at the time,instead,waiting for the cars to hit the U.K. and then,as the majority of cases,have the heads go or some other cooling problem within weeks of getting to blighty.
I'm curious how a lot of imports show low mileages and are advertised as such when keys and pedal rubbers etc would indicate much higher mileages.
Any views on this or if anybodies been to Japan could shed some light on this I'd be very interested,thanks.

As has been mentioned here before, the mileages shown are often far from genuine. Clocking still goes on. It is possible to verify the mileage on imports after a certain date. Try a search here and you should find the info, I believe the organisation that can verify the mileage is called BIMTA

[whitehawk]

I was lucky with mine, it came with certificated mileage from BIMTA and a copy of the original Jap log book. Mind you, i think it depends how good the dealer is. Mine was from Complete Car Sales in Ramsgate. They specialise in good low mileage imports and their service is excellent. Should you find any problems after purchase it is all sorted with no quibble.

Ken.

[Elvz]

There isn't a design fault and there never was a recall concerning the 2LT series of cylinder heads. It's all just myth

Most stuff about Surfs and Land Cruisers is myth. People are fond of saying that Hiluxes and Cruisers "go on forever" but you only have to own one for a while or read this forum to see that this is conditional on spending money regularly and in fairly large amounts.

....and you bought a 10 year old one with no service history imported from a country where car maintainence is ultra-expensive and where only foreign workers and the unemployed would be seen dead in a 5 year old car????

You can see that the balance of probabilities isn't exactly on the UK Surf owners side can't you?

[europa88]

There isn't a design fault and there never was a recall concerning the 2LT series of cylinder heads. It's all just myth

Most stuff about Surfs and Land Cruisers is myth. People are fond of saying that Hiluxes and Cruisers "go on forever" but you only have to own one for a while or read this forum to see that this is conditional on spending money regularly and in fairly large amounts.

....and you bought a 10 year old one with no service history imported from a country where car maintainence is ultra-expensive and where only foreign workers and the unemployed would be seen dead in a 5 year old car????

You can see that the balance of probabilities isn't exactly on the UK Surf owners side can't you?

I have to agree with everything that Elvz says (officially) there is no design problem with the 2lt heads! I have used this engine in various SWB landcruisers over the years and never had a problem!

But, and please correct me If I am wrong as I have no 'hands on' experience with this issue, are modified heads with redesigned waterways available for this engine?

[Elvz]

Thanx Neil. The present form of the 2L engine has been around for about 14 years and has been made by many different companies and in different countries. Over a period of time things like engines get redesigned for many reasons - think the term is "continious improvement"

Pro-Topflite who manufacture replacement heads for Toyota diesels claim that their heads are better than the originals because they are made "with superior casting techniques using higher grade cast iron." I know this is just a sales pitch but if it's true it might be the metalurgy of the Toyota heads that causes them to fail due to internal corrosion if the engine is neglected.

[whitespider]

Interesting thread. I have long been suspicious of the head problem in surfs.

Having recently had a total head nightmare and employing someone to rout about inside the block, I have learnt a lot about surfs, second hand I grant you.

Curious thing noted was the head was in a mess, cracks everywhere, the replacement failed within 2000 miles (new head) but the mechanic said the block and internals were "as new".

The mileage on this motor is questionable in terms of the interior wear but the engine is very clean.

I think the heads were design fault, or were subjected to something that exposed a weakness, ie turbo, poor cooling system etc.

Maybe the surf was just badly designed somehow and the result has been the failures noted.
Of course it could be that all the cars are 10-14 years old now and something that old is bound to fail at some point.

Many people are tricked into buying surfs on their clean and attractive appearance. Not really noting that despite this the car is old and has probably been clocked.

It makes for interesting investigation, but something is wrong with the early 90's surfs, it may be just old age.

[Vagrant No2]

If anyone has ever had the head off a VW Transporter and similar diesel VW , it will be covered in cracks , including the swirl pots . To look at you would think the head was scrap , but far from it . In this manufacturer spec the cracks are acceptable to a certain limit which is frighteningly big!

I know its not Surf related but is diesel and on the same subject as a matter of disscussion .

Rick

[Smurf]

A few days ago i gave the surf a really hard drive for about 1/2 hour and when i got home i switched off and let it sit for a few minutes then decided to check the levels whilst it was still hot, on lifting the bonnet i could hear some quite violent boiling of water in the turbo area, this got me thinking that maybe the head problem is caused by what happens after you switch off????? I am now quite conscious of letting it run for a minute or two before switching off just to cool the turbo. I know you should do it anyway but i suspect most of us dont!!!!!!
Has anyone had their turbo glowing cherry red, dont know if this is possible on a diesel but i have had petrol turbos before which when thrashed reach a nice cherry red colour(just before total meltdown LOL)

[Woodie]

A few days ago i gave the surf a really hard drive for about 1/2 hour and when i got home i switched off and let it sit for a few minutes then decided to check the levels whilst it was still hot, on lifting the bonnet i could hear some quite violent boiling of water in the turbo area, this got me thinking that maybe the head problem is caused by what happens after you switch off????? I am now quite conscious of letting it run for a minute or two before switching off just to cool the turbo. I know you should do it anyway but i suspect most of us dont!!!!!!
Has anyone had their turbo glowing cherry red, dont know if this is possible on a diesel but i have had petrol turbos before which when thrashed reach a nice cherry red colour(just before total meltdown LOL)

I used to work on the engine test at Fords tractors in Basildon and all the turbo's glowed a very dull red at night, if they started getting bright red we had to change the injection pump settings, if you walked away and didnt notice them glowing bright they would get noisy and we had to change them. I mistakenly thought my Surf turbo was shot because it whines, what I didnt realise it that I had only dealt with brand new turbo's before so I thought the 'whiners' were dodgy but it takes a while to get that way and doesnt mean its shot. I would think the boiling you heard was the oil in the turbo bearing feed pipe. I have a turbo timer fitted which runs the engine for a set time without you being there to lock up etc. it basically lets the turbo cool to an acceptable level before shutting off.

[monkey hanger]

I have actually seen the listed milage of a surf pre import ie at the docks in japan? it showed 120k when the same vehicle went through the importers for sale in the UK it had 60k on it!! this is fact not conjecture?
cheers Keith

[kitesurf_phil]

I knew mine had done a genuine 100,000Kms because the brake and gas pedal rubbers were new

Fingers crossed, I have had no engine probs yet. The savings account is swelling just in case the awful day comes. Still, it's in better condition than a 12 year old motor that had spent all its life in blighty.

[Big Jonah]

clocking...

Mine had 114k on the clock, but the steering wheel leather was worn through, as well as the edge of the drivers seat.

Either it was clocked, or the previous owner had one mighty iron grip and a large butt...

[Scuddy]

Tend to agree on the clocking issue, would be very suspect if the clock dials are out of alignment too (as is on mine slightly)

My 1990 2.4 has 51K on the import documents back in 2001, and I bought it with 70k on it 2 months ago.

As with Big Jonah's surf some big butt has been rolling off the drivers seat as the material has almost collapsed on the door side; maybe he/she just liked getting in and out of it just to be behind the wheel (guilty too)

[icsys]

I thought there was some form of mileage restriction in Japan or is this myth too?

Luckily the Surf I have is very tidy inside. No wear on the seat fabric. So it's either been very well looked after or not used very much. The pedal rubbers are a bit worn on the edges but I would expect that on an auto, especially stop/start in Japan.
Makes me think 110k is about right.