heads and over heating

[lexusman]

why do the surfs overheat and crack the heads?
i know the 2.4 have these probs,but how come the 3.0 now have this problem,i thought they were ok?

is the intercooler model any better?

[charliemuttley]

I am sure lots will answer this, but as far as i have heard there are a couple of explainations
- Mixing Japenese anti-freeze with British can turn to sludge and block waterways or just cause bad circulation
-In the '90's when asbestos was banned the replacement for it was slightly porous and let water by thus leaving head short of water if not checked regularly.
Someone may correct me on these but i have just done two 3.0 heads and they crack in the same place as the 2.4's............maybe just a design fault by one of the worlds best engine team???

[lexusman]

I am sure lots will answer this, but as far as i have heard there are a couple of explainations
- Mixing Japenese anti-freeze with British can turn to sludge and block waterways or just cause bad circulation
-In the '90's when asbestos was banned the replacement for it was slightly porous and let water by thus leaving head short of water if not checked regularly.
Someone may correct me on these but i have just done two 3.0 heads and they crack in the same place as the 2.4's............maybe just a design fault by one of the worlds best engine team???

well,after having a lexus v8 soarer and a petrol hilux for the last 8yrs without any engine probs whats so ever,i think the surf engine must have a design fault,because toyota engines never go wrong

never heard any faults with the 2.7 petrol engine surf

[charliemuttley]

MR2's and Supra's had head problems though

[BUSHWHACKER]

The heads have very thin walls between the water jackets and combustion chambers, the temp gauge is about as accurate and a sundial on a cloudy day so it only has to go into the red once and the head (original casting) is fubarred!
I think it's lack of maintenance when the trucks arrive over here that cause the heads to go, plus the anti-freeze as mentioned above.
The same 2.4 diesel engine is used in black cabs in London and they seem to last forever.

[lexusman]

MR2's and Supra's had head problems though

yeh the old supra did,but the later model is sound

[lexusman]

The heads have very thin walls between the water jackets and combustion chambers, the temp gauge is about as accurate and a sundial on a cloudy day so it only has to go into the red once and the head (original casting) is fubarred!
I think it's lack of maintenance when the trucks arrive over here that cause the heads to go, plus the anti-freeze as mentioned above.
The same 2.4 diesel engine is used in black cabs in London and they seem to last forever.

so is the 3.0 head the same then,i thought they sorted this problem when the 3.0 came out

[BUSHWHACKER]

so is the 3.0 head the same then,i thought they sorted this problem when the 3.0 came out

Not sure, could be lack of maintenance as above, / abuse /bad luck.

[supersurf]

we get these surfs from our lovely friends in japan,
who never speed in them at all,
i have never yet seen a surf with a towbar which was fitted in japan,
so they never use them for towing,
we get them and abuse them,
but when you think that they are doing approximately 100,000 miles before they do go,
thats ###### brilliant,
hats off to toyota for makeing such a brilliant motor,
you just dont get quality built motors like these any more,
they really are quality cars,
and even if you are unfortunate to have a head go,
once it has been replaced it will be good for another few years,

[Albannach]

-In the '90's when asbestos was banned the replacement for it was slightly porous and let water by thus leaving head short of water if not checked regularly.

You have a non asbestos porous thing on your Surf? I thought they were all asbestos!

Or Am I getting mixed up again?

[charliemuttley]

As far as i was aware (which could be totally wrong) asbestos was banned from manufacture for obvious reasons and the material used to replace it wasn't as good as it should have been when first introduced and so let tiny amounts of moisture through, thus lowering your water level over a very long period of time without you noticing, which of cousre with these engines is fatal.
But basically i think it is lack of proper maintenance and the fact that we abuse them too!

The 3.0 heads go in exactly the same way at the magic 100,000 mark, it's just that they are ally instead of iron.

[Sancho]

The story is:

The 2.4s (2LT-E) have a poorly designed head, as described by Bushwhacker above. This was corrected on the subsequent 2.8 engine (3L) and the 'modified' heads that are available for the 2.4 engine are, in fact, just the 3L head.

The 3.0 Petrol V6 (3VZ-E) suffered from the change over from asbestos to non-asbestos head gaskets in the late 80s/early 90s. Rather than being porous, I believe the issue was mostly that the heads moved a little and eventually blew the gaskets. This can be corrected by replacing it with a modern gasket. The engine is then still a little weak in the head gasket area due to some movement of the heads and the uneven heat distribution in the exhaust (the manifolds are kind of crammed in and a bit wiggly) but are no worse than 50% of the cars on the market today.

The 3.4 Petrol V6 (5VZF-E) also have some movement in the heads but is, again, no worse than 50% of modern cars.

The 3.0 diesel (1KZT-E) is beginning to suffer from cracked heads. There doesn't seem to be a definitive answer yet, but the majority seem to come from extreme overheating incidents.

The 2.7 petrol (3RZ-FE) doesn't seem to have any head problems, but does (apparently) have a habit of burning valves unless the clearances are checked every 25,000 miles.

The important thing to remember about all surfs is that they are generally bought at auction in Japan and shipped over here as 'bargains'. A lot of them have little or no history and may have been overheated and/or poorly serviced in the past. A lot of them have hidden problems. Probably the best way of getting a good one is to find one that's been in the country a long time, has a lot of history, is owned by someone knowledgeable and has had any problem corrected. The rest is down to luck.

[rambling angler]

I think I was quite lucky with mine, I bought it off a mate who had it for 4 years & he replaced the head in November 2006, fingers crossed my engine will be good for some time.

[coolsv650]

Toyota estima's are known for cracking heads also.

Seems to be down to the servicing (or lack of!!)

I used to have a 2.4 which had had a new head, but had cracked again but it had been overheated..... badly. Put on a stevo one and it was ok... Just sold it.

My 3.0 ltr one cracked a head the week after the 2.4 one went. That appeared to be my fault as the coolant was mixed (DOH!)

3.0 ltr ones seem to be a bit of a mixed bag. TonyN has had theirs overheating many time without problems, mine never overheated and cracked the head.

Fingers crossed and touching much wood it will never happen again

[lexusman]

well all this talk of heads going is putting me off buying another surf,unless i fit one of the best engines in the world into it,and having been driving one for over 8yrs without any probs what so ever,is the only way to go
LEXSURF 4.0 V8