New head shopping list. Additions?

[the silver surfer]

So I'm leaning towards acceptance that the head on my KZN185 is cracked, so following member advice I'm going to be buying the following items, question is, is there anything else that's worth or necessary in doing at the same time?

Built Head
Water Pump
Gasket Set
Thermostat
Cam Belt Kit
Oil Filter
Radiator
Coolant
Oil
Head Bolts

Looking at the rads I'm considering going for an all aluminium jobbie with 12v electric fan. Anyone know if it's wise to run both electric and belt driven fans? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aluminum-r...EAAOSwiylW~5nq

[NiftyNev]

The viscous fan is much better than any electric.

Nev.

[the silver surfer]

The viscous fan is much better than any electric.

Nev.

And what about running the 2 together Nev? I mean like installing the electric one grill side of the rad and leave the viscous one as is.

[NiftyNev]

And what about running the 2 together Nev? I mean like installing the electric one grill side of the rad and leave the viscous one as is.

Never seen anything like that. I doubt the electric in front would help at all. May make things worse. By this I mean create turbulance in front of viscous fan, so it operates with less efficiency.

Nev.

[the silver surfer]

Never seen anything like that. I doubt the electric in front would help at all. May make things worse. By this I mean create turbulance in front of viscous fan, so it operates with less efficiency.

Nev.

Hmmm less is more then!!! Perhaps with just the 100% ally rad and other ancillary items that should do the trick? Maybe!!!

You're in Oz, so do you have a 71deg thermo on your Surf?

[yorta2]

If Nev hasn't, I do have one in my KZN130 and have had it for over 6 years. I believe it has helped in the hotter weather.

[NiftyNev]

I have a 2.4. To be honest, it's been so long since I looked at the thermostat that I can't remember what is in there. It's either factory 88 or I may have replaced it with a 82 at some stage.

Nev.

[the silver surfer]

Well, it was official, the head was cracked. Four of them to be precise, all between the valve seats.
So I made several enquiries and researched various brands of head from lots of different forums and it all pretty much came down to one brand, AMC. Yes you could save a couple of hundred with alternative makes, but when pretty much everyone recommends one brand, inc the Mitsi owners, then you have to take notice. The hunt for the best price on an AMC ensued. I got a fantastic price from Cylinder Head Services in Northampton of £835 for a built AMC, head bolts and gasket set, with 2 years parts & labour warranty inc. Pretty good price when you look at other suppliers.
In the end my local mechanic, who reminded me that AMC is a Spanish company! said he could get them in with 1 day notice and had indeed just fitted one to a Shogun. So the deal was done. When deciding upon what to do I plumped for new built head, new bolts for manifolds, head and everywhere else, Victor something gaskets all round, new Toyota water pump, new 78deg Toyota thermo, new cam belt & kit, oil, filter, coolant and the shiniest lump of ally I have ever seen. Total cost €1950 Eur, which includes labour of €300! Yeah I could have dicked about and saved a few quid on a couple of the parts, but overall I think I'm happy enough with the cost. I'll be ordering a competition 100% ally rad at some point soon too, just for that finishing touch.
With any luck it'll be ready for collection later today or tomorrow. I can't wait. It's not until you don't have your Surf that you realise how awesome a motor they are.

(link to AMC head catalogue) http://www.reversib.md/web/pdf/AMC/CYLINDER-HEADS.pdf

[shawthorn]

Off subject

Hi,
Apologies for the off subject, but I want to contact the Silver Surfer about registering an English vehicle in Spain. I read a post from him some time ago that said he was going through the process.

The question really is how painful was it, and would he do it again or buy a vehicle in Spain. I live in Morocco and am considering leaving my Surf in Spain but possibly registered as Spanish vehicle so someone with first hand experience could give good advice.

Once again sorry for off subject,

Boris

[the silver surfer]

Actually was a hell of a lot easier than some Brits over here were making out a Jap Import would be. Anything particular you want to know?

[shawthorn]

Actually was a hell of a lot easier than some Brits over here were making out a Jap Import would be. Anything particular you want to know?

Hi,

Thanks for your quick reply,

It does raise an number of questions

I assume that a vehicle must be register to a domestic address?
How much does it cost?
Does it vary by region (we would probably be in Asturias)
Can it be done online or by post or does it require a visit to an administration?
Does the car need a test before or is it ok if it just has a UK MOT?
Once it is registered as Spanish, presumably it goes through the Spanish MOT process once a year? Is that very different to a UK MOT?

What was the biggest headache when you registered your Surf, and was it worth it?

Thanks again

PS Did you get your head sorted?

[the silver surfer]

My Surf was Uk registered at my Uk address, I presume it wouldn't make any difference as to which country it was currently registered in, as long as you had all of the relevant ownership documents.

Total cost was around €1100 and that included LHD headlamps, technico inspection, ITV (mot), new ownership docs and gestor fees & taxes.

It could well vary from region to region, in Andalucia they generally do stuff a little different, but I wouldn't imagine it'll be that far off in Asturias.

Can't be done online or by post, you need to be there in person.

As it's a Jap import you'll need a technical engineer's report FIRST. Find one local who will come to you or go to them. They will take measurements of wheel base, height, tyre sizes, chassis number etc etc etc. Best to have ALL LHD stuff done before this visit and that includes moving your rear fog light to the left. Also a good idea to do any physical and visable upgrade BEFORE too, as this will all form part of the new registration documents. If you have a tow bar it MUST be of the type that has a plate detailing load capacity. If not you'll have to remove it and get another one retro fitted. This inspection report was about €110 and I included it in the total cost. Whatever your motor looks like at the point of the technical report is what goes into your log book. Any visible mods you want to do after this will cost you to change. So if you want bigger tyres etc change them before.

Once you have received your technical report you can take it for its ITV. This is EXPENSIVE, about €150 (subsequent yearly ones back down to €40'ish).

Once you have your ITV on it you take all the paperwork to the gestor who'll do the transfer. It's possible to do it yourself but I wouldn't bother, too much aggravation and time. I suggest finding your gestor first and giving them a heads up to what you're going to want to do. They may also have trouble finding a Surf on their system, so go down the 4Runner route, but make sure they exactly detail your model, ie SSRG/SSRG etc etc and correct engine size & type.

Once all the docs are with the gestor it should be around 10-14 days for your new log book, which you then take to a car spares shop and get number plates pressed (€7'ish each).

I find the ITV here quite aggressive, especially suspension components. Some things they seem a bit weak on compared to Uk Mot, other things they're hot on. Oil, lights, brakes, emissions, seat belts, washers, shocks, ball joints all checked pretty thoroughly. Fortunately it's only once a year.

The biggest headache was probably listening to other Brits telling me how had or impossible it was to do a Jap import. In reality it was fairly simple, once you know what you're supposed to do and where!

Was it worth it? For sure. 4x4's here are WELL over priced, especially top quality ones like the Surf. For example, there's people selling 2nd Gen 4Runners 22+ years old for between €5000-7000! I could fairly easily sell my 3rd Gen (96) for 7k. So if you think your motor has a value of 3k, plus the transfer costs of 1k you'll still be hard pressed to find a 4x4 of the same quality for that price. And of course, you'll already know the in's and out's of your Surf, which is always a bonus.

Yes I got the head all sorted and went with the AMC option in the end. Again, I factored in the car's value to me, plus the cost of the head works and I determined that I still couldn't buy as good a 4x4 as the Surf for that money. So it made sense to get the job done. And for a 20 year old motor it still looks the dog's dangly bits