1988 2 litre petrol Hilux or 1994 1KZ Surf !

graham32, Sep 26, 6:28am
Any good ! obviously apart from the age, good and bad points, or should i stick to a 1994 1kz 3 litre diesel turbo surf !

mugenb20b, Sep 26, 6:38am
I had a 1990 2 litre petrol Surf once, automatic. It was slow and thirsty, but comfortable and reliable. Early 1KZ powered Surfs were known for cracking heads but that's only due to negligence to cooling systems. They will crack heads even if the cooling system loses 10% of its efficiency. But, you can easily get new parts and replace / repair what's necessary and you'll have a good truck for a long time. Also, check the injector pump for fuel leaks, common fault on most early Toyota diesels. My pick would be the 1KZ powered Surf as they perform better than petrols when going off road (or on road for that matter) and when towing.

muzz67, Sep 26, 7:39am
we got 96 Surf 1kzte intercooled auto,,. very good engine and around 9L/100km.Workmate got 2L Petrol Hilux Dcab. Does anout 270k per tank, or about half what ours does. Even with ruc and reg its heaps dearer, and wouldn't tow an empty trailer.

mrfxit, Sep 26, 9:06am
LOL yea I know what you're talking about.
Brother inlaw has an 86 2ltr petrol hilux flatdeck
I have an 88 2.4ltr diesel turbo (2L-T) Surf

He had 2 square silage bales on his deck
I had 3 bales on a large trailer

I followed him back from Cambridge to Huntly & he kept slowing me down.
My old Surf was practically walking away with the 3 bales & he was struggling with 2 bales

graham32, Sep 26, 9:30am
1kz it is then , this one has had new head and radiator fitted, bit more practicall for the boat than my commodore is

r15, Sep 26, 10:04am
read this
http://www.toyotasurf.asn.au/forum/viewtopic.php!t=12042&highlight=viscous+fan

if it has overheated in the past it is likely to have this underlying issue of a fan kicking in too hot.

other than that, surfs are great. enjoy it

mrfxit, Nov 21, 12:53am
Forgot to mention .
BOTH vehicles are 5 speed manual gearbox's

Biggest downside to diesel is a generally slower acceleration & shorter power band.
The power band on my Surf is between 2K & 3K , under that it's gutless in thehigher gears & just about pointless revving higher in the lower gears.