Surf 3.0 manual gearbox

[lowlander]

Hi there,

I’m considering getting a surf as a second vehicle for a bit lot light off roading and as a general workhorse. I have a few (perhaps lots!) of questions and I would be grateful for any advice. With a budget of £3500 - £4000 I’ll be looking at a 3.0 TD. Manual gearbox is an absolute must. I know this limits the choice as most were autos.


1. Are there are specific known issues with the 3.0 engine and is it worth the extra over the earlier 2.4?
2. In general how reliable as these vehicles when compared with say a Defender, Discovery, Nissan Patrol’s, Mitsubishi Padjero’s etc?
3. What are the differences between the UK spec cars and imports?
4. Are there any known rust issues with these vehicles?
5. Are all surfs LWB?
6. Do all surfs have seven seats?
7. How capable are they off road? The rear overhang looks large so I would imagine that the departure angle is not great. I can’t see this as being a problem as I wil only use the vehicle for light off roading.
8. Are parts expensive compared with Land rovers or other Japanese vehicles such as Nissans, Mitsubishis, Suzuki’s, etc?
9. Any other tips, hints on what to look out for?
10. I’m not keen on the two tone body panels where the lower half of the door is a different colour to the upper half of the door. How common are these colour schemes and how easy / costly is it to convert?

Thanks and all the best.

Martin.

[sarah]

I'll answer what I can from my experience with a 3.0TD J70...

1 Definitely. The 2.4 is underpowered. The 3.0 is prone to cracked head though so beware. If it is intercooled I have on good authority no problems.
2 Very.... no comparison. If you look after it there should be no reason it won't go on and on...
3 Generally trim levels and extra's , There are no UK Surfs, they were Forerunner here. Specs do seem to vary but no personal knowledge.
4 Sorry don't know. my J70 is of the same era and some rust in rear quarters now.
5 SWB was the J70, Surf is on hilux platform
6 sorry no idea
7Surprising good. body sits high so overhang not as big a problem as you might think.
8Yes but can be bought patent and you'll need them less often. Service spares cheap from places like Milners
9/10 sorry can't help

[Tiny One]

answers to your questions (i have a 3.0 td auto surf ssrg!!)

1 no no problems 2.4's can be underpowered and be prone to cylinder head problems 3.0's no problems not with heads no problems whatsoever (ask any on hiluxsurf.co.uk and you will be sure)

2like any toyota they are reliable and cheap part prices quite easy to work on (TBH i have not done any work to it myself but garage guy down the road reckons they are really easy to work on EASIER THAN LAND ROVERS!!)
part prices some people think that it is expensive to buy parts have a look here at part prices
http://www.toyotahilux.com/
mate had a v8 disco (sold it now!!) it had a fairly big bump part prices cost £250-300 in body panels for the surf £150 fantastic
never go wrong only part i had to replace was a steering idler arm (recall in japan!!) nothing else did suffer from overheating under load ie going up sugarloaf mountain at 35mph with 3 people and a 40kg dog found out that garage had put to much oil it transmission (auto)

3 uk spec are 3.0 v6 ptrol imports are 2.4 td 3.0 td

4 no i don't think the only one i had seen had been by the sea all the time

5 yes all of them no swb cause they are a based on a hilux chassis

6 no most have only 5 never seen a 7 seater you can fit in 10 ( yes i have done it !!!)

7 if only light off roading yes they are capable (i do light off roading and it has never been a problem!!)

8 no go to roughtrax and parts are dead cheap see above

see above and topic called should i buy a surf

10 some have it some don't if you want it have it if you don't some don't
don't know about cost mind

i have seen a manual for sale but they are quite rare but they are available
3.5-4k is about right

get one you won't regret it!

cheers tiny

[Damian]

I have to agree with everything that Tiny says, I'm sure that you won't be dissapointed with one. I'm only selling mine because I want something else to write about!