TOYOTA SURF , ANY PROBLEMS ?

[bert86]

HELLO JUST GOT A QUESTION
I AM LOOKING AT PURCHASING A TOYOTA SURF 1993 - 1994 TURBO 3 LITRE. ARE THERE ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE ENGINES OR DRIVELINES THAT I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BEFORE BUYING ONE. CHEERS ROB

[pongo]

visit http://www.toyotasurf.asn.au/ and have a look see.

I have a 4runner and am keen to sell it and am now a patrol owner x3.

They are ok, and plentyful round these parts in sydney, But venture out to the burbs and they are all cruisers and patrols.

[Beastmavster]

Yes there are


Cruise the toyota section here and you'll find a heap of issues, especially on diesels.

Of course, if you like the look and intend a driveline change it can be a good thing

[chunkz]

i have the 2.4ltr and could only be happier one way
if i got a 3ltr with more grunt

but other then that
fantastic
out bush
in city
at the drive in

i get it 9.5 stars out of 10

[bert86]

YEAH I USED TO HAVE A SWB PATROL MQ UN COMFY AS HELL. BUT TO DRIVE A SURF IT IS LIKE HEAVEN ON WHEELS. I AS TOLD TO STAY CLEAR OF THE 2.4 LTR. APPARENTLY THEY HAVE TO MANY PROBLEMS. FOR WHAT 4WDING I DO IT SEEMS LIKE A GREAT 4BE AND ALSO A COMFY DAILY DRIVER.

[bazooked]

MANNNNNNNNNNNN DO YA HAVE TO SHOUTTTTTTTT/?

[j-top paj]

at the drive in

watch out for those bumps you might not have enough flex to make it over

[j-top paj]

what do u want to buy? a 4wd to go wheeling in? or a 4wd to drive around town and have a little fun on some fire trails on the weekend???

[chunkz]

at the drive in

watch out for those bumps you might not have enough flex to make it over

ifs loves it bro

[Surfin Alec]

The 3 litres are are good motor. Stay away from the 2.4's. But like ANY 4by or car, If it isnt looked after any car will have problems.

There have been a few 3 litres cracking heads with high k's on them (mine did at 250k) as well as the exhaust manifold can crack too but only a couple hundred from Toyota new so no biggy. The auto and diffs are great.
The IFS will limit you off road but a locker fixes that as well as strentheneing the front diff at the same time.
Just check the oils and especially the coolant to make sure they are all the right colours and levels. They are a really nice truck to drive anywhere and I loved mine. I only sold it due to running out of room ith the two kids now and planning to do some long camping trips.

The only real major problem with the 3litre auto is towing big things in summer, they tend to overheat (which will also speed up cracking heads) and maintaining the cooling system is critical. There is a 30 odd page on the Surf site in the 3 litre section for you reading pleasure on how people have remidied it.

As said previously, the Surf site is awesome for any tech and q's about the surf.

Alec

[Jimbo]

Surfs have heaps of problems and anyone who says they dont are just kidding themselves....and yes i know the early 3 liter patrols also have problems but i would not recomend them either.

I had a 3 liter and it cracked its head at 180,000km driving on the freeway on a winters night. Besides that it wasn't too bad.

Without lockers they dont go anywhere special and the front diffs break pretty easily (compared with my Gq). The owner b4 me smashed the rear diff climbing a pretty avarage hill!!!!

My 4" lifted Gq handles a shit load better on road than my surf with a 2" lift and 2" body lift would ever dream of. Maybe because i had a steel bar and winch on the front of the surf (but have the same on the patrol).

The best thing about the surf was that the seats folded down flat in the back which made it good for sleeping in. They also come with pretty comfy front seats.

A lot of mechanics and toyota dealers dont want to help you out but if you look hard enough u will find some1 who wont try and rip u off!!

The question i want to ask you is Why a SURF??????


Jimmy

[crunch]

The question i want to ask you is Why a SURF??????

Maybe because they appeal to him?

[Jimbo]

Ok i'm sure he can answer that for himself.

What do u want to do with it? Daily driver, tow vehicle and so on.

[pongo]

YEAH I USED TO HAVE A SWB PATROL MQ UN COMFY AS HELL. BUT TO DRIVE A SURF IT IS LIKE HEAVEN ON WHEELS. I AS TOLD TO STAY CLEAR OF THE 2.4 LTR. APPARENTLY THEY HAVE TO MANY PROBLEMS. FOR WHAT 4WDING I DO IT SEEMS LIKE A GREAT 4BE AND ALSO A COMFY DAILY DRIVER.

try a lwb heaps of difference

[bert86]

well guys thanys for the replys, the reason for a surf is the style and comfort. a lwb patrol or cruiser is to big for me as a daily driver. i mean the only 4 wheeling that i do is on weekends and some holidays. i go to the flinders , granpions , robe etc. i dont do heavy 4 wding or treat them rough. my uncle has a 2000 navara with ifs and with careful driving it has been everywhere that my patrol and my dads troopy has gone. + i have noticed that the ifs in the surf is not as low ar in the navara so that could be a bonus.

[HG]

There a great little 4by in standard form and if you get the urge to modify it they are even more fun .
Check out the Toyotasurf forum, it's great for all things Surf & 4 Runner

I hope one day to get mine up to the level so I can play with the Patrol boys

[waxhead..]

Dude, dont get one. I bought one, tidy 92 model, no guts, thirsty for their performance, and broke the shit out of the ifs on a moddest track at purga, and i mean broke it, driving along and i see the front wheel, hub, snapped off and wedged into my front bumper and guard, plus all the mechanical costs that came along with it, and the clock only read 91 000kms. It was a very expensive 6 months driving a surf, but I am too blame, should never have sold a nissan to go over to the dark side
I have since built a zook that i can drive hard till the cows come home and a dual cab str navara that I am stoked with for my towing and daily...
Go the v6 4-runner if the body and size appeals to you that much... JMO...

[sniper]

3.0 surf is the pic of the bunch. You will hear good and bad from everyone, depends on how theres ran and how it was looked after.

The IFS diff cant flex big time but if its a weekendd warrior your after you cant go wrong.

Like stated mate http://www.toyotasurf.asn.au/ this is what you want to read. Ask the question there for a better response.

Stay away from petrol 4Runners a 2.8TD is much better.

Good luck.

[HG]

The 5.0 ltr solid front Surf is the one to get

[+dj_hansen+]

And how many axles have u broken to date Andrew?

Needless to say, i have put my D/D, 2.4 NA, IFS 4runner into bog holes and tracks that mates with beater 40 series and GQ both runnings 35's said no.... and that was on standard 7.50 R16 road grippers

Any vehicle is gonna come apart if its not maintained properly... i do hear petrol GQ's dont like muddy water in the dizzy, they tend to get stuck in the middle of the bog hole at wandin and need recovering several times...

for the purposes you have stated, a 3.0lt surf, decent aftermarket suspension, a nice compliment of bar work, common sense and a respect of your car and its abilities... you should see many happy returns

[Jimbo]

"I hope one day to get mine up to the level so I can play with the Patrol boys"

HAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHA

Yes if your surf u want is similar to HG's then i would say GO FOR IT!!!


"surf is the style and comfort"

I must admit surfs do look good!!! Thats the reason i bought one but comfort no. A LWB patrol/cruiser is a lot more comfy to drive in all situations except doing a U turn!! (in my opinion).

Also dont let anyone tell you that the 3.0l dont crack heads...cause they DO and they are expensive to fix.

As some1 else mention they are not economical compared to how shite they go! With a 3" exhaust and a bit more boost the 3.0l are ok. If you want to do any serious touring you will probably need a bigger fuel tank as standard is pretty small.

Offroad....if it comes with a working lsd then thats a bonus but otherwise 2 open diffs and a front end that doesn't flex really sucks. Another thing that was a bit anoying was having to baby it everywhere while offroad.....so good now being able to put the foot down and not worry.

Anyway go to the surf forum and read as many posts as u can without asking questions on whether or not to buy one....cause everyone will just tell u to buy one (they are in denial about how crap they are LOL (j/k))

Jimmy

[Jimbo]

"Needless to say, i have put my D/D, 2.4 NA, IFS 4runner into bog holes and tracks that mates with beater 40 series and GQ both runnings 35's said no.... and that was on standard 7.50 R16 road grippers"

If they didnt have snorkels i understand but there is no way in hell a standard surf on hwy tyres will do better than a gq with 35's that aren't bald.

"Any vehicle is gonna come apart if its not maintained properly"
A perfectly maintained surf will still break front diffs and cv's a lot more often and actually with ease comapred to a cruiser/patrol. There is no arguments there. The driveline is crap!!!

[HG]

Ah yes I have been known to snap a few axles But hopefully thats in the past now I have the Cruiser diff under there

[Jimbo]

So HG what part of your 4wd is still a surf??? Gear knob??

Jimmy

[PajeroSRV]

Maybe....I am not sure if even that is still surf.

[bucketofbolts]

my father in-law bought one, has had heaps of drama's, only because when they imported it, the never changed all the things to australian standards,
nice car, and is going good now,