1993 Td

I only read in a paper this morning about a guy with a Surf and because they are "grey" imports from japan and all the components are in japanese he was completely frustrated by mechanics who could not guarantee what was wrong or whether they could order the right part (cause its in japanese). Its just always a risk buying a grey import, you may win and have a lifetime of no problems but i hear about lots that do have problems and when things go very wrong you can't go back to a Toyota or Nissan dealership cause they did not import these things and cause they are competition they don't want to know you.

I own a 1995 surf and absolutally love it, it's my 3rd 4WD and is undoubtly the best one so far. Parts are not a problem at all, even aftermarket parts are easy. The 1KZ-TE motor in mine (3.0L) is the same as 3.0L Hilux and Prado, body and suspention is mainly 4 runner. Insurance is no biggy, paying bout the same as my previous car. The only thing to watch out for is corrosion of the cooling system and there for the head. If people have been running tap water instead of anti corrosion anti cavitating coolant then the motor may not last real long. (just like any other modern day engine really).
The surfs do have a bad reputation for overheating. I was aware of this when I bought mine and kept an eye on it and sure enough as summer came around my temp guage started to climb. Heaps of people were telling me all these expensie modifications etc I would have to do, so I went to the Australian Surf Owners Assciation website and one guy said that the cooling system was adiquate it just had to be running 100%. $270 later I had a recored radiator, new top tank and genuine coolant and new silicone in the fan clutch and she's been perfect ever since, even fully loaded on 40c+ days. If it's in good nick (get it well checked over, as with any second hand diesel 4wd) then you will have very little problems! Enjoy!

thanks for the advice, guys. i will have about 4000 grandto play with, after i sell my current car. is there anything you can suggest to spend that money on, to make the 2.4td a more workable engine?

There are a few people now intercooling the 2.4's with WRX intercoolers etc and boosting the turbos a little more but wait and see, there are plenty of surf pages online to help you out with these ideas, here is one for example:
[ View Image]Hilux Surfing