Hilux Surf 2.4 turbo diesel auto purchase
Submitted: Sunday, Jan 01, 2006 at 14:58
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greenant
My son is contemplating buying a Surf 2.4 diesel auto . Has anyone had any experience with these good or bad. He has no plans to go around Oz with it and will be mainly used as a town car with the odd camping trip with his kids. I realise that it will be under powered a bit but any feed back would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Greenant
Reply By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Monday, Jan 02, 2006 at 20:11
Monday, Jan 02, 2006 at 20:11
The 3.0L is a far superior engine, but you pay for it too as they are a lot more expensive to buy. If the cylinder head has been replaced and you don't overheat it (the cooling system has to be absolutally A1 otherwise you will) then you shouldn't have a problem. The origional 2.4L motors were actually recalled because of a weak head problem. Problem was a lot of the ones imported never had the recall, so unless the previous owner has already had the unfortuante experience of replacing the head then it's not a good idea to buy it, however in saying that if a 10-15 year old vehicle hasn't cracked the head yet, then maybe it's not going too!! ;-)
Hey, we love our surf, it goes brilliantly, a little heavy on the juice considering the size of the vehicle and motor, but heaps of power and goes great in any off road situation you put it in and it's still a hell of a lot cheaper to run than the petrol Ozzy 4 runner. Comfy, quiet, easy to drive just a great all rounder. The only problem we have these days is it's really too small with for our family and all our gear, going to have to save the $$$ for a full length roof rack and get rid of the basket I reckon...
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Reply By: mattlobie - Wednesday, Jan 04, 2006 at 22:39
Wednesday, Jan 04, 2006 at 22:39
Another alternative is a 2.8 litre diesel Toyota 4Runner. The 2.8 is ultra reliable, doesn't have much power but will tow ok. 4runners have basically the same body as Surfs and they're not
grey imports. Many people believe that the reason the Surf cooling system is not up to scratch is because they are
grey imports and not tested in Australian conditions. Some parts for Surfs can be expensive and/or hard to get for the same reason.
IMHO a 4runner is a much better, safer option.
matt
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