Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Looking at a 93 Surf SSR-X with a 3.0L 1Kz Turbo Diesel.

I think that I want to go the TD route as it just seems the only economical way of pushing 2+ tons of 4WD around (Gas is not an option)

But I just dont know enough about it, ive been trying to edu-ma-kate myself a little, but all I hear/read/get told is horror stories of how dear they are to repair, how prone they are to failing, and how outlaying for a petrol is half as much, even though the running costs are 50% higher...

Anyways, back to the surf. the car in question has 281Kays on it, its a 93 as I said. It SEEMS as though its had regular maintenance as this is what the owner tells me (oil+filter every 5000) and from pictures it looks pretty tidy for its age. Its a good price, but they kays realy have me dubious, oh, that, and it has a leaking/split turbo oil return line...

Its a manual, has bull bar, tow bar litttle lift, turbo timer, and all that other junk and the buying seems good, but its also in ACT which is about 5hrs 45Min acording to GOOGLE.

So, is it a safe buy, is ANY used car a safe buy, would YOU buy a High Kays Turbo Diesel?!?!?!?!

The truth will be in how it drives. It should be smooth, make power and not smoke.

The fact he mentions 5k service intervals would tell me the seller is smarter than some mechanics.

I'd be wondering why the oil line wasn't fixed though. It's not an expensive job and would give the car more appeal when selling.

I would not expect the 1kz-t to go much past 400,000 without showing signs of old age, but the same can be said for any of the petrol or diesel engines in the surf/4runner range.


To answer your question, I would buy a 1kz with high kays, but I am in a position to fix things myself when they break. I don't think it's going to be any less reliable than a 3L or 4/6 cylinder petrol engine, but it will definitely cost more to repair when it craps out. But that's the price you pay for the economy of diesel ownership, and it applies to any car or truck.

I've got a 90 series prado with the 1kzte with 200,000ks. I recently had to get the injector pump reconditioned so just bought a brand newie $2700 from Toyota as the price differences was only a few hundred. The likey cause of the punp going was contaminated fuel. The 1kz is very quick to crack it's head at the first sign of overheating. My hasn't but I've made sure the cooling system is in top condition. Ask about the head, as the jap surfs have a smaller radiator than the Aussie prados and are more prone to overheating problems as a result. If it has any overheating issues or even gets warm up hills, then I wouldn't touch it. Also check that the viscous coupling has some resistance and doesn't spin freely, from what I have researched, failure of this has been the cause of a few cracked heads.
Apart from the head issue (injector pump failures are uncommon but expensive to fix), they are solid engines. They have good low down torque, cruise easily on the hwy and are pretty frugal.

X2 on the over heating
they have an alloy head with small rad and auto cooler in rad its trouble
if it has not been pushed then its should b ok
its a bit of the luck of the draw as well
thing to check and or ask is
does it have orginal rad (rather than up graded and how long has it been there)
does it have an external auto cooler
has the head been off (if so why and what was done)how long ago
does it have a tow bar (if yes what have you towed with it)

cheers

jonathan