di0n Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Towards the end of last year I decided I wanted a 4WD for the summer for surf missions and camping trips. My heart was set on a 1st Gen Toyota Surf, but finding one that was still somewhat tidy and reliable turned out to be nearly impossible. That's when I spotted this 1991 Prado for sale: It was a 2.4 auto that had just clicked over 300,000kms but there was just something about it. I knew it was a risky purchase but the price was good and the owner assured me it had been well maintained and they had never had an issue with it. As it turned out the guy was a compulsive liar (confirmed by many other buyers) and the moment I hit the motorway the temp gauge started rising. Then as it started to get dark I realized the headlights basically didn't work and caused the volt gauge to drop to nearly nothing. I made a stop at my mates place in Silverdale where we swapped the radiator cap for a higher pressure newer item and topped up the water. Then we noticed the engine earth strap wasn't connected so we bolted that up which got the lights going. The rest of the trip was pretty stressful but thankfully no more issues. The next day at home I took dad for a ride and we drove through a little mud and got stuck, only to find the 4WD wouldn't engage. I spent a few hours diagnosing and found the A/C had been removed (years ago) and the vacuum lines never reconnected, so again a relatively easy fix. We managed to use it for about 3 weeks before it got even les reliable and I got fed up with the gutless diesel... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nominal Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Awaiting the 'rest of the story' 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.e.d. Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Insert 350 chev here... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nominal Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 186 I reckon. May better than a diseasel. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geophy Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Buick v6, lumpier cam the better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
di0n Posted August 8, 2015 Author Share Posted August 8, 2015 So a bit of a team meeting was held with my brother, some mates and myself. A decision had to be made between cutting my losses, repairing what I had and hoping it didn't still go "POP", or spending some more money and upgrading the motor. We all agreed a 1UZFE was the only logical option when it came to value for money and reliablility. So a few calls were made to check on the legalities of the swap and track down a motor and trans combo. We were told it would be very easy to certify but that the office that prints the Cert. Plates would be shutting for the summer in 6 weeks so if we wanted it legal for Christmas (the reason for purchasing it in the first place) we would need to pull finger. A couple of days later my new motor and box showed up from Osaka Auto Parts, it's a 2nd Gen setup from an LS400. We tore the old diesel out the first weekend and mated the V8 up to the Prado trans and started mocking up the engine mounts. This is what we came up with. So it begins... Front of truck mostly stripped New chassis mount welded in place New engine mount ready to bolt up The two together Engine in the hole More to come... 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
di0n Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 Here are some shots of the mounts bolted up, chassis mounts were just tacked at this stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
di0n Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 While We were working on the mounts and other things we had the front wheels off and noticed the front rotors were knackered, with lots of rust pitting and scoring from worn out pads. So I ordered a new pair and started to pull the brakes off. As I started to undo the left caliper it came free from the vehicle, both the bolt holes on the caliper had cracked at some stage so as the pressure of the bolts came off them the caliper fell to bits and dropped off. I think I'm pretty lucky it hadn't decided to fall off while I was driving. A mate of mine came to the rescue with a pair of Toyota Surf calipers that were the same, so we cleaned them up and put it all back together nice and new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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