Known Toyota 2.8Lt Diesel problems

Hi Rowie,
thank you for your reply.
yes i had heard the same about the Hilux.
my preference is the Rodeo, but this one came up at a good price.
as i have my own Business i will be carrying heavy loads at times.

Thx CA

A bit rough on the old Lux , yes the 2.8 isnt a rocketship but it is reliable and gets the job done time and time again. The Rodeo is a good vehicle but still needs to earn the same reputation the Hilux is famous for.

Ditto SMB
the 2.8 lux is a solid, reliable and strong bus.
Parts are EVERYWHERE, and they are pretty well unbeatable offroad. Ive had 4 of them and none of them have been hungry.
Rowie-where do you get the "high fuel consumption" info from?

Not to say the Rodeo isnt a good ute, though Ive heard one of the 2 TD in the Rodeo isnt too flash. Rodeo is probably better on the road, but not sure about allround?

hi,
thank you all very much for this info, i didnt mean for it to turn into Hilux against all. my first Hilux was a 83 duel cab 4X4 Diesel. that was slow, but would climb anything and carry anything, had 2 tonne bricks in trailer and near 1 tonne in ute. tooks 10kms to get to 80kph and the same to stop but it would keep going. not built for comfort or speed but built for a purpose.

im just a bit concerned with the auto as to will it take what i give it.
this is a 4X2 single cab 340000kms on the clock.
CA

HI Crazy, I had an 89 2.8D dual cab sr5, great old bus, sold it with just over 300thou on it and still going strong till this day (spoke to buyer only the other day). Oil and filter is a major thing with these old 2.8, they need to be done every 5 thou or less (no more) they will do big end bearings if not done, something to make sure of with prevous owner. Not sure where Rowie gets his high fuel consumption from ??? My'n never went any higher then 11L per 100k and this was towing a camper trailer with flat to the board and lucky to get 100k out of it, this is where they suffer badly, very under powered for towing BUT if your not in a hurry and dont want to over take and keep in the left hand lane on any up hill run then I cant fault my old one, Great off road, fantastic low range, Would aggree with Rowie and look at a rodeo for the same money but with IFS on the front of the rodeo it wont have the wheel travel the old lux would have, thats if the lux has solid front end, but depends on what your needs are ?? You say it has an auto behind it ??? These were never made with an auto in diesel UNLESS its a 2 wheel drive, maybe I have read your post wrong and its not a 4wd. Regards Steve

same with mine train, its solid.
Ive heard about the bearing spinning problem, but to be honest never actually met anyone who has actually had it happen. Ive probably done a total of about 200000km in the 2.8's Ive had, and know a lot of people who have them and also in the mines.

My mate owns one and he gets around 10L/100km, whether he is cruising down the freeway or loaded up around town. Definitely won't win any drag races, maybe against a snail (but only just...).

I have never owned one but had researched them a while back. The info from trainslux sums it up pretty well.

My 1993 campervan has the 2.8 auto combination and yes it is pretty slow but cruises at 90-100 with no problems. It's done 475,000 km with a head overhaul last June. The mechanic said the rest of the motor was in great condition. I just sit on 3000 rpm up the hills and accept whatever speed I get and the ones behind just have to wait a few more minutes!!! The camper is pretty heavy so we get about 10-12L/100km which is ok.

Just as a follow up they soot up much worse if used at high alittudes eg Orange, Bathurst Cooma. Bathurst Foresty had quite a few with clogged oil galleries, mate who lived at 1000m use to change his oil at 3000ks and never had a problem.
Cheers Pete

Also short trips where they never get up to operating temp will also contribute to sooting up.

When I got mine, I did frequent oil and filter changes, and allowed the detergents in the oil to clean up the motor.
Now stays clean for the first 1000kms after a change.

Changed it, ran for an hr, changed it again, ran for 3 hrs, changed it, ran for a day, changed it, ran for a week, changed it.
You get the idea.
The original oil was like thick honey when I got the vehicle, and it barely drained out, 2nd and 3rd changes still had lumps coming out of it.

After the first month of changes it burnt oil for 12 000kms, like .7 ish lts for 5000kms.
Once the oil was able to clean the rings etc, it no longer uses oil between changes.

Do NOT use kero, or diesel in the oil to help clean it out.
Just letting the oil do its job will result in no damage, and clean up the insides of the motor well.

Trains