Looking at getting a Surf

[Honest_jim]

Hi im looking at getting a 2.4 Surf this side of christmas and was wondering if there is anything i should be looking for on them (ie rot, certain sounds while driving etc...)
Im looking a spending upto £4000 on one, is newer with high miles better than older one with less miles?
Ive been reading through the boards here and all ive really found in the way of problems is the heads cracking, does this tend to happen a certain milages or dose it just depend on how the car been treated (unchanged coolent, clogged rad etc...) Also how long do the turbos last in general i know this also depends on how often the oils changed but....?
LOL last thing! do they all shoe the milage in km's or miles (does that make sense?) I seen some advertised stating it in both?

Thanks any info would be very welcom.

[kitesurf_phil]

Hi im looking at getting a 2.4 Surf this side of christmas and was wondering if there is anything i should be looking for on them (ie rot, certain sounds while driving etc...)
Unless it looks like you could eat your dinner off the underside I would give any newly imported Surf a miss.
Im looking a spending upto £4000 on one, is newer with high miles better than older one with less miles?
It depends. If you are buying one that has been in the UK a while and it comes with proof that the head has been changed, you are unlikely to have any probs. As with any other used car purchase you makes your choice.
Ive been reading through the boards here and all ive really found in the way of problems is the heads cracking, does this tend to happen a certain milages or dose it just depend on how the car been treated (unchanged coolent, clogged rad etc...) Depends on luck/ whether the truck was racalled and had a modified head fitted in Japan.
Also how long do the turbos last in general i know this also depends on how often the oils changed but....? Don't know, but there have been very few post on here about turbo trouble.
LOL last thing! do they all shoe the milage in km's or miles (does that make sense?) I seen some advertised stating it in both?
All Japanese imports will show KMs on the odometer. A lot of dealers will state the mileage as it is easier for us in the UK to get our heads round. I have heard of some people fittting an adaptor to make their odometer read in miles but when I asked the dealer I bought from about it he said he wasn't sure it was legal to do that.

Thanks any info would be very welcom.

Good luck with whatever you buy. The grin factor never wears off. If the unmentionable should happen and the head has to be replaced, you can look forward to many years of relatively trouble-free motoring, once the job is done.

[NorthWestDirt]

Out of interest, what turbo unit does the Surf (2.4 & 3.0) use?

My MR2 turbo* ran a standard Garrett CT26 - and these are easily good enough for 100,000 MILES providing cool down (engine running calmly [regular driving] or idling without engaging turbo after a blasting and regular oil changes occur). In fact I think I remember reading on the IMOC forum at some point there was a *Tubby out there with 150,000m running the original turbo.

Also, I presume the turbo on our Surfs might not work as hard on one on say an MR2 screaming away at 7000rpm? Anyone actually understand turbos to correct? Either way, I confident it'll go on & on if looked after.

[Honest_jim]

the one on my nissan silvia lasted around 80000 miles but that was getting punished as it was running at twice the standard pressure!