1990 hilux surf

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red97, Aug 6, 3:53am
had a mate ask me today about a 1990 2.4 litre turbo diesel wellside ute 180k that he is looking to buy, so i said id ask on here and see if anyone has heard of common faults or particular things to check out
tia
trader_84, Aug 6, 3:59am
4x4!
desmodave, Aug 6, 4:07am
I dont think it will be there for long he's gunna have to move quick on it.
desmodave, Aug 6, 4:08am
1990
Make: TOYOTA
Model: HILUX
Submodel: SURF SSR LTD
red97, Aug 6, 4:10am
did you go check it out today dave!
looks pretty tidy in the pics
desmodave, Aug 6, 4:14am
Only on here , his mrs called this morning to get me to have a look.There wasnt going to be any1 home to check it out.
trader_84, Aug 6, 4:26am
You said it was a wellside ute and a surf to start off with . what, is it both!
red97, Aug 6, 4:29am
yes it is both, i was surprised by it when i seen the photos, surf shape cab and wellside
mrfxit, Aug 6, 4:53am
Need a link to be able to look at it.
The only general std Surf model I know of in NZ thats a 2 door ute with canopy stopped production in 1988.
There are some usa "4runner" models imported & renamed as surfs but not many as wellsides.
mrfxit, Aug 6, 4:56am
There are double cab models but not named as an SSR Surf
Sounds a bit like a miss match renaming at customs by the importer
trader_84, Aug 6, 6:47am
Wow! I've never seen one of them before. Would that have the short wheelbase of the Surf!
aj254, Aug 6, 7:19am
If its registered as a surf there's a good chance someone has put a hilux cab on a surf chassis, if thats the case check that it's certified as 2 cab mounts need to be moved for the conversion. If you check the chassis number and it's L (engine type)N130 its a surf with a hilux cab, and by the look of the pic it has the surf grill & headlights too. Otherwise (its hard to tell by the pic) it could be a LN100 hilux!
mrfxit, Aug 6, 7:23am
aj254, Aug 6, 7:25am
Just had a look at the listing, its definately a surf with a hilux cab on it, and what looks like a navara wellside tray. Its a nice looking ute and would probably sneak through a wof without a cert,but worth a check still.
mrfxit, Aug 6, 7:28am
aj254, Aug 6, 7:32am
Date of first reg in NZ 19 Feb 1999 according to carjam.
intrade, Aug 6, 7:36am
Rust on door bootom front window frames , cracking head if coolant is not replaced every 24 month failing dualmass flywheel onsome manual transmission, Wearing out injector and pump-including busted seals when no diesel additive is used for each tank diesel .
trader_84, Aug 6, 8:01am
Mate, not knocking the points you brought up but . I've had a 93' 2.8 4x4 for around 3 years now and I have never added any additive to the diesel tank except for diesel (and petrol during a brain fade once) and have never changed the coolant out. I've pulled tandems with cars on the back more than a few times between AKL and PMR and never had any problems in those departments as a result. I'm 10's of 1000's over my scheduled cambelt change but talk nicely to my baby when I used him. The problems I have are a leaking diff (coming out of the front pinion seal) leaks out of the front hubs and rust in the A Pillar. I'm going to get onto the belt sometime this year around the same time I get onto the diff leaks. Touch wood nothing lets go beforehand but I have never experienced half of the problems mooted by many on this board with my luxy. Its coming up to 340,000km on the clock . although its done a bit more by my reckoning.
chris_051, Aug 6, 11:20pm
Quite possibly the most over rated, over priced pos on our roads.
GUTLESS engine i am suprised at how bad they are everytime I drive one. Im too scared to keep it on boost though incase the head cracks.
IFS as useful as tits on a bull but there is a myth they will go everywhere off road which is far from the truth
Same story with the weak rear LSD.
Then there are the possibility of the head cracking, this can be prevented by a number of modifications you can do but its really not worth the hassle. Same old story though they have the Toyota reliability (tui) and a price tag to match thanks to the reputation of the trusty Hiluxs and thousands of gullible sheep.
Trader 84 the 2.4t surf is a different vehicle to a 2.8 solid axle Hilux so you don;t need to defend your one.
And I'm pretty sure the NZ New models were badged as 4 Runners, same as Aussie, only the imports are called Surfs.
desmodave, Aug 6, 11:30pm
Could you suggest a good ute with simaler spec's and better value then.
mrfxit, Aug 7, 2:18am
LOL plenty of over used sour grapes there for sure

2,4 / 2.8 = same block/crank/rods/manifolds etc etc . bigger bore on the 2.8 + slightly stronger head but still same basic design.

SAME gearbox/chassis IFS suspension etc etc
IFS & solid axle shared everything else apart from the front diff & springs
The only thing that really let the IFS Sirfs down on general mud etc is exactly the same problem with ANY NON lsd/lock diff system (open diff's)
LSD was NEVER intended for hard core 4x4 trashing

Toyota cure for cracking 2.4 heads was to supply the 2.8 bare head.
Still cracked because ppl didn't maintain the radiator/cooling system.
NO MODS needed.

Mud/grass & general old age sludge tends to block ANY radiator over time
mrfxit, Aug 7, 2:28am
IFS was created to help ROAD handling because more & more ppl started using them on the road as a daily driver rather then a bush basher.
IFS handles better on tarseal better then thesolid front axle systems.
chris_051, Aug 7, 2:53am
Handling on a Surf. who cares. do you want to talk about a ferraris towing capacity! And a solid axle disco or P38 Range Rover throws your claim out the windowthat surf IFS is better on road.
They are a dog of a thing and not good at anything the only reason why people buy them at a premuim is for the badge and perception on Toyota durability.
As for mods to prevent the over heating, an external trans cooler, free flowing exhaus, pyro and more accurate temp gague is a start.
tristanchev, Aug 7, 5:33am
Navara deck no doubt about it
mrfxit, Aug 7, 6:10am
#1: Of which NONE of your examples was even considered for the drawing board when IFS was designed & built for the Hilux's/Surfs etc.

#2: Trans cooler was ONLY needed when doing a lot of heavy towing With an AUTO. (applies to MOST auto vehicles)
No trans cooler on my Surf . mmmmm

#3: Bigger bore exhaust was only really needed on the original early imports because they ran a smaller front pipe in Japan then we do here for the NZ market (hotter front pipe/ better emission control in slower traffic/ short distance)

#4: things like pyro meters etc were only needed when deliberately increasing performance by a reasonable amount (also very common to do to most other turbo vehicles)
#5: I was comparing same approximate AGE & MODEL of SURF with each other.

May as well compare the Surf's suspension to a V8 supercar race track car with your examples