Hilux Surf 3.0 Manual

[sowerby]

Hi,
the wife cooked the head on our Hilux the other day as the rear heater pipe split and lost all the coolant engine cut out but she just restarted and finished the journey home (luck not far from home).

Fixed the leak and went to start the engine and won’t start, so stripped the head sent it to Cleasby here in Durham for a pressure test and a skim if it was ok.

Just got the head back great but was just about to clean the top of the block ready to refit when i noticed that the top of the pistons have a ridge/line all in the same place is this normal just want to be a 100%
Also any tips for improving the cooling and life of my baby would be great
Andrew

[woodwarm]

Hello & welcome Andrew.

Bores look okay.

Use the search at top of the page. Lots of info & pics ref head block.

Install an aftermarket temp gauge.

Tip.

Do not blame the "wife"

[tashtego]

Also you might want to replace those rear heater pipes with something more stable(copper) or bypass them altogether. They get corroded and tend to leak, and seem to have caused a fair few cases of overheating over the years. If you search around the site you'll find tips on how to do it.

[sowerby]

Thanks, i have bypassed the rear heater for now but will replace with either copper or rubber i was just concerned about the mark on the top of the pistons in case it they had cracked with the heat .

I am putting a new Water pump in, Thermostat, Temperature switch, head bolts.

One issue I have is I bought a replacement centre exhaust pipe but it won’t fit the original down pipe (what I get for buying on ebay) where’s best to get a one that will fit with no hassle

[woodwarm]

http://www.roughtrax4x4.com/index.php?doc=1

[red barron]

The Ridge will be ok if you are keeping the original pistons and rings, its normal wear and not unusual. However, if you are putting new rings and/or pistons then you will have to rectify it with a ridge reamer as the new rings will strike the ridge and you will be in trouble! I can remember some years ago we used to fit special top rings called ridge dodgers! They were designed to do just that.
But all in all if your compression was ok you will be fine leaving them as they are.
Bores look fine.