Toyota 'Ute' Dilemma

[Dick]

Ok, so my bro wants a new ute, or to be more correct, a HILUX. Anyway, we have been looking around quite a bit lately, and they just seem so expensive, and anything that’s in our price range has kms through the roof.

The main reason he wanted a ute is because it needs to be 4wd (for hunting, the odd farm track, paddock etc) and it has a deck for his trail bike. However, it’s only twice or 3 times a month that he actually goes out trail riding, so towing a trailer those times wouldn’t be that much of a big deal as he does it now anyway.

That leads me to this. For the mean time, (until he has been working for a while and got enough moo-la for a nice Ute) maybe a Toyota surf or something similar would do.

Therefore, my question is... are the surfs any good for the above??? We would love a 3L one, but I think once again, they would be a bit expensive for now. So therefore it seems the 2.4 may be the cheaper option.....BUT, is it 'likely' that after buying a 2.4 surf with 200,000kms on the clock, we will end up spending 3g on the engine in the near future, due to the 'incidents' that commonly occur with these engines? Or would it be better to spend that little bit more and go for the 3 litre?

Any ideas on this would be great thanks guys!!

[skid]

ring Klem and see if pricey still has his lexus surf for sale

you could pick it up for about 7-8k and can play with it and tow with it and it looks cool and sounds even cooler

[Dick]

ring Klem and see if pricey still has his lexus surf for sale

you could pick it up for about 7-8k and can play with it and tow with it and it looks cool and sounds even cooler

Dont tempt me.......I would love that truck, however at 1.779c per Litre, mmmmmmmm.

Cheers anyway.

[skid]

ring Klem and see if pricey still has his lexus surf for sale

you could pick it up for about 7-8k and can play with it and tow with it and it looks cool and sounds even cooler

Dont tempt me.......I would love that truck, however at 1.779c per Litre, mmmmmmmm.

Cheers anyway.

diesel not much cheaper and then you have to pay a $100 a year more for rego and road users etc etc

very tempting

[Jerry]

Skids orange thingy is still for sale ....just duct tape the bikes hillbilly style to the bonnet

[SupraLux]

personally I wouldn't let the KM's on a Hilux worry you, as there is bugger all to break, they are a very simple little truck. Yes you can spend money on them, but if it looks and sounds ok then it probably is. Check for smooth gear changes (well, not too rough anyway), make sure there isn't gobs of oil and grease pouring out of the inside of the steering knuckles, check the engine isn't too smoky and what else is there? bugger all... make sure the 4WD works ok tho... check the hubs engage and disengage without too much drama and that everything spins as it is supposed to. Would also pay to grab the driveshaft by each diff and push it up and down to look for play in the pinions cos a blown diff will just make your day...

Best bet if you aren't sure, get it AA checked, don't think they are too expensive and they are pretty thorough.

Steve

[Dick]

personally I wouldn't let the KM's on a Hilux worry you, as there is bugger all to break, they are a very simple little truck. Yes you can spend money on them, but if it looks and sounds ok then it probably is. Check for smooth gear changes (well, not too rough anyway), make sure there isn't gobs of oil and grease pouring out of the inside of the steering knuckles, check the engine isn't too smoky and what else is there? bugger all... make sure the 4WD works ok tho... check the hubs engage and disengage without too much drama and that everything spins as it is supposed to. Would also pay to grab the driveshaft by each diff and push it up and down to look for play in the pinions cos a blown diff will just make your day...

Best bet if you aren't sure, get it AA checked, don't think they are too expensive and they are pretty thorough.

Steve

Thanks for that Steve, it has really put things in perspective.

Dick.

[gimmemud]

get an old surf with removable canopy. best of both worlds and the 84-85 ones have have solid front axle. good base to start and reasonably cheap to buy

[86-surf]

Theres an 84 or 85(sruf) on trademe now looks in prity good nick for 3k http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... key=171054 Looks like it needs some rear springs tho,

My surf is a 1986 2.4 it's a bit sluggish, but tows a trailer better then the old mans 2.7 navara,
I haven't had any over heating problems yet and hopfuly i won't, it has 264.000 ks on the clock and from what the previous two sellers said, it hasnt had any problems, It only costed me 2.5k, so there a cheap reliable wagon if you treat them right.

here's some surfs i like:D
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... key=171054
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... key=171054
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... key=171054
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... key=171054
And some hilux's
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... key=176711
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... key=177311
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... key=177623
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... key=177623
There getting expensive. . . . . .
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... key=177623
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... key=177623

[surf_tomo]

personally I wouldn't let the KM's on a Hilux worry you, as there is bugger all to break, they are a very simple little truck. Yes you can spend money on them, but if it looks and sounds ok then it probably is. Check for smooth gear changes (well, not too rough anyway), make sure there isn't gobs of oil and grease pouring out of the inside of the steering knuckles, check the engine isn't too smoky and what else is there? bugger all... make sure the 4WD works ok tho... check the hubs engage and disengage without too much drama and that everything spins as it is supposed to. Would also pay to grab the driveshaft by each diff and push it up and down to look for play in the pinions cos a blown diff will just make your day...

Best bet if you aren't sure, get it AA checked, don't think they are too expensive and they are pretty thorough.

Steve

Good advice Steve. Yeah I would recomend a AA check, have had a few done now and they are really thorough.

Tom.

[Dick]

Went and saw a 93 toyota d/c yesterday, almost brought it, however, there was only water in the Radiator, no radiator fluid, and the water was rusty with a slight taint of an oily look. The guy selling it said it was in the garage getting that fixed 26,000kms ago, so running an engine with no radatiator fluid for 26k, which probally was through last winter, im quite sure that is not good for it, hence we left it alone.

Anyway, on the topic of another ute, the navaras, other than the fact they are a bit sluggush, what are the motors like in them? Can they handle the high kms the hilux can. The reason I as is because of this:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=147472341

Its a 98 Nissan with 400,000kms. Should we just forget about this track right now, or would it be worth pursueing it?

[SupraLux]

Sounds like you're after champaign on a beer budget... go back and buy the Toy, water is an ok coolant, obviously not as good as glycol, but better than nothing in the rad at all

Tell them you want the engine professionally checked first if you're worried.

Steve

[nstg8a]

Sounds like you're after champaign on a beer budget... go back and buy the Toy, water is an ok coolant, obviously not as good as glycol, but better than nothing in the rad at all

Tell them you want the engine professionally checked first if you're worried.

Steve

second that..... i hardly ever use glycol and ive never had a problem because of it.....

[Dick]

Sounds like you're after champaign on a beer budget... go back and buy the Toy, water is an ok coolant, obviously not as good as glycol, but better than nothing in the rad at all

Tell them you want the engine professionally checked first if you're worried.

Steve

second that..... i hardly ever use glycol and ive never had a problem because of it.....

Really...whoa... I have always been told not to have engines without antufreeze in them, due to cracking the head etc when the water freezes during winter.

The other side of the coin, we are just weighing up what else we can get for our 8 - 10g. For example, instead of a 93 Hilux, something like this http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=146729531 may be more suited, for the amount of off-road driving my brother will be doin...Its a hard one all rite.

[tweake]

water only in a motor will cause the block to rust out from the inside. usually you don't notice it until it pinholes the bore. repairable if you can replace the liners. also it can eat out the water pump and with some motors cause electrolysis on the block/pump and it will eat the metal out.

a family member has just repaired a tractor thats had the same fate. low hours but pin holes in the bore and sweet f all left of the water pump impeller. also I've seen a motor where the block behind the pump was eaten out by cavation/electrolysis right through to the water jacket (meaning pump doesn't do jack and it overheats, one new block required). that was put down to never having the coolant changed.

[Dick]

water only in a motor will cause the block to rust out from the inside. usually you don't notice it until it pinholes the bore. repairable if you can replace the liners. also it can eat out the water pump and with some motors cause electrolysis on the block/pump and it will eat the metal out.

a family member has just repaired a tractor thats had the same fate. low hours but pin holes in the bore and sweet f all left of the water pump impeller. also I've seen a motor where the block behind the pump was eaten out by cavation/electrolysis right through to the water jacket (meaning pump doesn't do jack and it overheats, one new block required). that was put down to never having the coolant changed.

Cheers for that.

[tweake]

Went and saw a 93 toyota d/c yesterday, almost brought it, however, there was only water in the Radiator, no radiator fluid, and the water was rusty with a slight taint of an oily look.

its stuffed. it takes a while for that rusty look to appear. its proberly starting to overheat, either cracked head or holed bore. avoid unless you can get it real cheap and replace the motor.

[Dick]

Went and saw a 93 toyota d/c yesterday, almost brought it, however, there was only water in the Radiator, no radiator fluid, and the water was rusty with a slight taint of an oily look.

its stuffed. it takes a while for that rusty look to appear. its proberly starting to overheat, either cracked head or holed bore. avoid unless you can get it real cheap and replace the motor.

Yeah the guy was wanting 9g for it, so we were not to keen cause of the radiator water thing.

[Steve_t647]

For the difference in price unless you need the tray you could mount the bike across the back of a surf. I have a ute and 300,000 km and it is still going strong, the ute is a pain at times large no lockable boot etc but a bonus at others

[Sadam_Husain]

the ute is a pain at times large no lockable boot etc but a bonus at others

The problem with ute's is everybody always throws their empty beer cans on the back

[KiwiBacon]

diesel not much cheaper and then you have to pay a $100 a year more for rego and road users etc etc

very tempting

Offroad you'd be using half the fuel with a diesel, onroad probably 1/3 less.
Of course some change in the pocket to repair a cracked toy diesel head is probably wise.