newbie

[ezza24]

that would be the perfect situation to buy from a memeber just have to se if one comes up im looking for a 3l litre td model ive been told its the most bullet proof of the engines avaliable body work can always be repaired the main thing is that it has been mechanically maintained to a good standard my current car gets an oil change every 3k and you could eat your dinner off the underside lol how do surfs hold up against rot ive worked in a garage for the last 6 years and never had a surf come in

[Surfer Ross]

that would be the perfect situation to buy from a memeber just have to se if one comes up im looking for a 3l litre td model ive been told its the most bullet proof of the engines avaliable body work can always be repaired the main thing is that it has been mechanically maintained to a good standard my current car gets an oil change every 3k and you could eat your dinner off the underside lol how do surfs hold up against rot ive worked in a garage for the last 6 years and never had a surf come in

The chassis is very strong, you'll hardly ever see a rusty one. 2nd Gens rust at the bottom of the doors, usually worse on the drivers side. They also rust on the chrome bumpers. 3rd Gens appear to be pretty rust free unless they've been bumped. The 3.0 is marginally more reliable than the 2.4 but both have a design flaw in the cylinder head. If it hasn't had a head change, you can be more than 60% sure that it's something you'll need to look at.

If it's had a head change, check where the new one was sourced from. Not all cylinder heads are created equal. A roughtrax or Stevo Engine Company head will give you the greatest peace of mind, both are well proven. eBay heads are nearly all from China and are to be avoided like a horny 80 year old woman with loose morals.

You didn't say what your budget was. Are you looking for a 2nd Gen or 3rd Gen?

[ezza24]

my budget is 3k max and i was after a second gen i just come across this one on auto trader
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...ge/1?logcode=p

i rang him to ask about the engine rebuild it mentions in the add, what he means by that is that the head was repalced about 5k ago he said he has reciepts t prove work ,but he isnt sure were the new head was sourced from the truck has belonged to his brother since it was imported into the country 5 years ago, i asked if it had been undersealed and again he wasnt sure is has an extra gauge fitted by the dash dash pod when i asked what it was he wasnt sure but that is said thermo something on it ,it lookes realy nice im just bit nervous about it coz of the unanswerd questions

[Surfer Ross]

The additional gauge sounds like an aftermarket temperature gauge. It looks a nice truck but its too expensive. It has a tiny bit of sag on the rear, nothing too bad but it suggests that the rear springs are either poor quality aftermarket or original and have seen better days. Its worth about £1.5k-£2k tops in my opinion.

£3k will buy you a 3rd Gen in good order if you buy carefully. Its a much better engineered truck than the 2nd gen and its bigger with better suspension and 4WD setup. Some don't like the looks but I suspect if they actually owned one, that particular prejudice would quickly disappear. 2.7 Petrols tend to be slightly cheaper than the diesels and are very reliable.

[Sancho]

my budget is 3k max and i was after a second gen i just come across this one on auto trader
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...ge/1?logcode=p

i rang him to ask about the engine rebuild it mentions in the add, what he means by that is that the head was repalced about 5k ago he said he has reciepts t prove work ,but he isnt sure were the new head was sourced from the truck has belonged to his brother since it was imported into the country 5 years ago, i asked if it had been undersealed and again he wasnt sure is has an extra gauge fitted by the dash dash pod when i asked what it was he wasnt sure but that is said thermo something on it ,it lookes realy nice im just bit nervous about it coz of the unanswerd questions

He's a trader and he's lying.

[Surfer Ross]

How about this one?: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...m6&logcode=emf

[ezza24]

thanks for the advise on that truck i can tell you know your surfs well , that truck you showed me is very nice but as i intend to modify and off road it would a diesel be better, because of the tourge they produce and in general ?
and if i cou;ld get a nice gen 2 for 2500 iwould be very happy because that would leave me a bit of cash to play with incase it needs anything ,eg cambelt or brakes or evern my first lift kit lol

[s1mon]

thankyou for your advice your right i should just take my time im just excited want to go play in the mud lol, i have been checking all the websites i can think of ,and i am keeping an eye on the for sale section on here to, i saw the silver one for sale shame it sold that was lovley, the bull bars on the front on that truck on autotrader a strange never seen a set on anther truck are they after market dose anybody know just curious ??

The silver one on the forum for sale was bought by me - picking it up next week; - be really careful with the 2.4 if you do buy one; I got my fingers burnt big time on my last one!

[ezza24]

lucky your mate it looks a realy nice truck how did you get you fingers burned if you dont mind me asking ?

[Surfer Ross]

thanks for the advise on that truck i can tell you know your surfs well , that truck you showed me is very nice but as i intend to modify and off road it would a diesel be better, because of the tourge they produce and in general ?
and if i cou;ld get a nice gen 2 for 2500 iwould be very happy because that would leave me a bit of cash to play with incase it needs anything ,eg cambelt or brakes or evern my first lift kit lol

I'm by no means an expert, just that I've owned a few and I know most of the common problems. There are members on the forum who know these things inside out.

The diesel is a more relaxed drive but the Petrol engine will be more than adequate for most things. The 2.7 petrol has more top end power and similar torque, but you need to rev it more to get the same result. The 3.0TD will happily pootle around at less than 2000rpm and its more economical than the 2.7 petrol around town. Your only worry with off-roading in a Petrol Surf is that spark ignition engines generally don't like getting wet. This isn't really a consideration unless you're going to be doing some very serious off roading though, and I mean water up to the top of the headlamps.

That said, the 2.7 is very slightly more economical on longer runs and you don't seem to have the Russian roulette cylinder head factor on the petrol engines, although there aren't really enough of them around yet to get a true idea of their reliability.

If it were my money, I would definitely have a 2.7 Petrol 3rd Gen over a 3.0 Diesel 2nd Gen. All the mods are available for the 3rd Gen for the same cost but its so much better to drive.

[s1mon]

lucky your mate it looks a realy nice truck how did you get you fingers burned if you dont mind me asking ?

Head cracked a couple of days after I bought it, and basically I sold it as spares or repairs lost a lot on it, but I decided to cut my losses and buy a 3 litre instead

[JUDWAK]

3ltr 2.4ltr both use about the same in diesel
so going for a 2.4 on the i will save on diesel thought
aint realy happening
3trs use about the same in my opinion
i go 3ltr if i had my time over again
altho its a nice looking truck i have had no engine problems at all
with a toyota gen head from new and still going strong (engine is)

and thats a 2.4 not all are bad
its down to it been looked after and how clean ya keep the water and rad
but thats just my opinion

[Webbo]

Good advice Mate....Hello and welcome.

[ezza24]

the diesel consumption dosent worry me to much coz i drive a petrol 2.8 v6 heavily modified and i only get about 18 mpg when poodling about so most things are an improvment on that lmao