Surf Info

[mortcars]

HI,

found this place as im looking for a multi purpose vehicle to compliment my campervan, it will be used for green laning, general dog and load lugging duties as well as ferrying me and all my gear to work.

im not bothered about a show stopper, more interested in a worker and diesel

any pointers on where to look? i dont have a massive budget atm

Ta

Dan

[MudSurfer]

Underneath and under the bonnet are good places to look

There are some for sale on here sometimes, have a good trawl around a eBay, or Autotrader.

Welcome btw.

[Esilvester]

I've had a 2.4 for a few years now. It's great but having driven the 3L I do regret not getting that instead.

[mortcars]

cheers for the reply's ill have a good poke around anything i get but just wondered apart from the rear window mech working are there any other things to be wary of.

also been told to avoid auto's agt all cost due to hte overheating issues, is this true?

tbh i wanted a 3l auto, are there any mods that can be done to ease the overheating issues?

ta

Dan

[J i m s t e r]

There is a buying guide from Koi in the FAQ section of the forum.

I can echo what I've generally read over the years on here for you:

Most of these trucks are autos. I don't believe there is anything that specifically causes an auto Surf to overheat moreso than a manual. It's usually loss of coolant that causes the overheating.

I'd avoid the 2.4 unless the head has been done as the original 2.4 head design was prone to cracking.

The 3.0 engine is very reliable (touches wood) as far as engines go, as long as the coolant system is not leaking. Check the pipework under the truck to the rear heater for corrosion as it would appear to be one of the few weak areas where coolant can escape if the pipes are rotten.

Buy on condition and not mileage. Most believe they are all clocked as they leave Japan anyway.

[RebelV8]

Auto's are easier to find, if it doesn't have a transmission cooler fitted, fit one.
They are more prone to overheating under load because the transmission is cooled by the fluid going through the bottom of the radiator, under load this doesn't provide enough cooling ability

[Jameswallace]

Things to look for are head problems (mayo on oil cap etc) general over heating symptoms (look on undersie of bonnet for evidence of any water explosions!!)

As for mods, I find that my standard cooling set up works fine, the only mod i did was to knock the temprature that the viscous fan kicks in back a bit, and re oil it so now it actually works, it makes the truck very distinctive and noisey, but i know its cooling properly. Not one i looked at had its viscous fan working, so fan not doing much i guess.

The rest is just general stuff, look for the usual things when buying a vehichle , i looked at about about 6 or 7, so that i could get a feel for what they should be like, the first one i looked at i went in with rose glasses, but after seeing others i realised it was a dog!

I tried to find one with an original head (which I did) as my mate put a cheapo head (£350!) which has cracked after 3 years again (not cooked once)

Buy a 3.0, same consumption, less prone to head cracks i understand

[DaveHMS]

We've had our 3L manual for 10 years now & I can only say it's brilliant. The only downside is the fuel consumption, but you don't buy a truck expecting great MPG!

[BioHazard]

http://daemon4x4.org/tech/hiluxsurf/