Toyota's best diesel engine for hilux/surf series

cmx4eva, Jul 15, 8:08pm
x1
which engine in yr opinion is the most robust of all the hilux/surf series diesel motors

stevo2, Jul 15, 8:18pm
2L 3L and 5L

tweake, Jul 15, 8:29pm
the 1kz is the best engine. just keeping it cool is the issue.
L series is not bad but it has its issues as well.

snoopy221, Jul 15, 8:36pm
L as in the original non turbo non head cracking non electronic.
And well proven by top gear as the one they couldn't kill and the same one ole crumpy drove as a hilux should be driven. LOL

thejazzpianoma, Jul 15, 8:39pm
This, if buying a late model HIlux, better off just to get a Ranger, Amarok or any other of the traditional brands. Late model HIlux's are expensive and not as reliable as you would expect.
Even the MItsubishi is worth a look depending on your budget.

cmx4eva, Jul 15, 9:22pm
4=would that be the 2,4 diesel mtr yr referring to?

snoopy221, Jul 15, 9:26pm
Not on ya nellie

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_L_engine

The L family first appeared in October 1977, it is a series of 4-cylinder diesel engines. It is the first diesel engine from Toyota to use a rubber timing belt in conjunction with a SOHC head.

The L is the first L engine produced. Note: Toyota just calls it the L engine, not the 1L engine. 2.2 L (2,188 cc), 4-cylinder diesel engine. Output is 72 hp (54 kW) at 4,200 rpm and 93 ftâ‹…lb (126 Nâ‹…m) or 142 N·m

as in
L

Not 2L-or 2L-t E

djrandomguy, Jul 15, 11:25pm
The Kz series, D4 no way and for all the love the L series got, they were nicknamed the headcracker in certain circles as they were not very forgiving if cooling system went wrong.

vivac, Jul 15, 11:32pm
1GR-FE

mrfxit, Jul 16, 8:28am
On that note, the 2.4 L series were good in the roller rocker head (alloy cover) type but started cracking heads in the next gen Tin tappet cover type.
Apparenty a lot of it was because of the smaller front exhaust pipe needed for the Japan market to meet emissions standards because of the short travel & lower speeds over there.
In NZ with our longer distances & higher speeds, it created a lot more heat at the head ports & any problems created by the cooling system would easily result in a cracked head.
The 2.4T (turbo) just made it happen faster.

Apparently a common trick was to swap on the non turbo 2.8 head as the castings were thicker, which is what Toyota started doing.

mrfxit, Jul 16, 8:33am
It gets more confusing with 2.4-TE & other upgrade model names.
Adding in the designations for starter motors is even better with the 3 types available being 2L 3L 5L which was commonly used for the 2.4 series engines as well.

intrade, Jul 16, 9:35am
The L engines without E the 1kz is E you might as well get A D4d then as there is no repair parts for pumps and just testing a old electronic poo fighter pump costs 1800$ a old pump is like 600$ refurbed in most cases with testing. AKfuel
good engines are L=the 2.1 rocker roller diesel 2L the 2.4 diesel 3L the 2.8 diesel and 5L
now if you have a -t or a -te on the end the -t= turbo and the E is for eavel otherwise known as electronics. and we all know how long electronics last There is electronic components inside a pump with e in engine code And There is no repair parts for these pumps like speed controller or calibration resistors .
in some cases you can revert back to older systems. All L blocks interchange in some form.
My hilux 1990 was a 2L-te . i still have the leaking pump on the shelf somwhere The problem is the change over from older L the crank bolts also differ .
I did run a L2.1 inside my hilux it only just moved but it always moved when i started the engine on 5 speed manual trans.
Automatic you can not just delete a Electronic pump as the trans wont function after.

tweake, Jul 16, 10:50am
the 2L-1 is ok for its time but it goes faster falling off a building than driving on the road.

the L series and 1kz injection systems are cheap to repair. plus there is the option of converting to non-electronic injection.
D4 with its injector seal issues and anything common rail is $$$ to repair.

mrfxit, Jul 16, 11:02am
Odd, my old 2.4T kept up with most traffic ok & long trips would leave friends behind that traveled with us in their own cars.

Didn't care if the Surf was empty or over a ton in the back (or on a trailer).
Still kept up with town traffic ok.

tweake, Jul 16, 12:09pm
the 2l-1 has a whole lot less power than a 2lt-1 or 2lt-2.

what helps the surfs is their low gearing. they certainly rev their nuts off at 100kmh.

serf407, Jul 16, 1:24pm
Toyota with a merc om617 - 5 cylinder inline 3 litre turbo diesel engine.
https://youtu.be/OI2YKmee5qg?t=3m7s

mrfxit, Jul 16, 2:01pm
Yep they sure needed that turbo.
Blimin TD27 Nissan non turbo I have now, goes better on the flat but less power on the hills compared to the 2.4T Surf I had.
Nissan Caravan TD27 manual, revs around 3200 at 100kph
Can't remember, but the Surf was under that by a reasonable amount

intrade, Jul 16, 3:56pm
i originally was gona fit a 1.9 unit injector vw in my hilux and put a vw taro badge on it. But while possible it made not huge sense and cost would have been quite extensive . so its got the 1982 L 2.1 instead.
topgear 2L, 2.4 was the one the failed to kill

tweake, Jul 16, 7:13pm
surf L series diesels typically where between ~2800 and 3200 rpm @ 100kmh. it kinda depends on tire size and speedo accuracy. there is a few variations in diff ratio and tire size they came out with.
1kz is a bit different.

3200rpm is really screaming for a td27. td series are well known for their lower rpm torque.
L series toyotas where more of a higher rpm engine ie not good under 2000 rpm.

thejazzpianoma, Jul 16, 7:44pm
You are probably part of the 50% or so that get an ok run. Then there is the other 50% that keep NZ's engine reconditioning business's viable. (I don't know exactly what the split is, but hopefully you get the point)

Inlaws one has had thousands spent on it in the last couple of years. Every time it has gone in for a service/wof there has been major work needed and $1500 or more to spend.

It's only used on road to tow a light Caravan, which to be honest it does a pretty rubbish job of. Sometimes you need a Ute, but they don't and certainly don't need the running cost.

I have a number of friends running late model MItsubishi's interestingly none have had any issues. Now it's not a fair test as I don't have enough numbers to be scientific, but it would be worth looking in to if you were in the market for a Ute.

mrfxit, Nov 22, 9:56am
TD27 Non turbo 9 seater passenger van.
Any higher gearing & it would have serious trouble on the hills