Offroad-Express

i have found a early 90's manual petrol surf. its the v6 model (3L i think) top speck with cruse control etc. have heard that they are bad on gas. just how bad are they? are the manuals much better than the autos? its realy cheap as is of someone i know. mine is getting tired so was thinking of trading up.

Hey Pete does it have the 3VZ-E engine? I have a 92 with that model v6 in it. Its manual and currently i get about 100km per $20 its about 400 - 430 km per tank which costs just under $80 to fill I have spoken to a couple of people with the auto's and they reckon they get about 350km to a tank

im not sure exactly which engine it is as havnt had a good look yet. its actually a 4runner (i assume that is just the new zealand new version,are there any differences between these and surfs?) all i know is that is a v6 with 250000km. know the guy who ownes it, he bort it new in invercagill a few years back now. if at all checks out alright even with the fuel being abit more expensive if i dont have to spend afew grand to fix my surf when it craps out ill still save, and its nicer than the surf and a 5 door!!!

yeah the fuel is a bit of bummer but not too much of a problem if your working i guess - im just out of uni now and didnt have too much trouble running it the last year!!

The only bad thing i have heard and emphasise heard is that because the drivers side manifold loops round the head and joins the passenger manifold they can crack heads - never actually known anyone that happened to though. I have looked at what it would cost to fix this with a couple of options but so far have just taken the cat converter out to relieve a bit of heat flow.

Other than that if your getting it quite cheap then it should be worth the money - definitley more grunt than the 2.4 diesels!!!

hi,

I Have a 93 ssr-g which is the highest spec and it is the auto, and 350kms a tank would be right, they are good but they only crack heads if the cooling system is neglected, just like any car, also if you ring the shit out of it, it will break, my dad had a 92 v6 before he brought the new pathfinder and it had 270,000 kms on it and the only major thing that was done to it was the fuel pump and the water pump, and he had if for a good5 years , when it had done 130,000 kms on it

jst working it out and i get simila milage in my surf per tank and with road user charges it cost about $70 so it aint much differnet for the manual.

Guy at work has the V6, its thirsty as hell.... hes always moaning about filling it...

its still goses bill and a new motor costs about $500 cheeper than the desiel a bill

if he's worrying about filling it tell him to buy a mini, if people are moaning about driving thirsty vehicle, tell them to get off there arse and get something else, Petrols are cheaper to run than diesels, with diesels you have to service them more often and that stupid road users tax, at the post office, petrols you get more bang for you buck more power, than a slow smokey diesel, making a bigger whole in the ozone layer

i think at the moment for the vehicles i am looking at diesels are still cheaper but not by much. it used to be more when road user charges were less. and as for servicing any petrol i buy will be old enough or have high enough km's that i would service every 5000km any way. however if i can get it for the right price think i will get the 4runner

took for a drive tonight it does have the 3VZ-E engine omg the power!!! way better than the 2lt. however think it might be worth more than i can afford. any idea of a rough price??? its a 91 4runner 260000 kms, top model with cruse control.

Well just for comparison i bought mine a 1992 ssrx model for $9990 at a dealer with 138,000km - What sort of price is the guy asking for this one?

I Brought my surf 93 ssr-g 6 months ago for 7k

Why don't you chuck a petrol motor in the Gen 2 Surf??? You'll get $1000 for a good running 2lt. $700 for the head alone if its not cracked.

You could have a 3.8 comy in it for $1500. Supra..... well sell the boat anchor diesel, find a rusty supra/celica and you'll probably make money plus you'll like your old truck again.

wjw wrote:Guy at work has the V6, its thirsty as hell.... hes always moaning about filling it...

the number plates not XT6526 or something is it, could be my old one,it never got anymore than 250km out of a tank around town.
I have seen it around a bit lately.