This is no vote winning post...but please read on...

...you may recall I have recently changed the head and done some quite major work on the bus. There are a few small issues remaining but the biggest thing is that the bus has to regain my trust before embarking on a long journey again. My wife suggested we sell the bus and buy another, newer one, so we had a look on the interweb and nearly every one of the adverts had lines where the seller was being honest by saying the bus has one problem or another nearly all of which seemed to point towards an imminent head failure or indeed it was being sold for spares for that reason. At this point we wondered if a SC is the best bus for us. Oh sure the comfort and gadgets are superiour to any other car out there, but what is the point if it breaks?

So we looked at the ony other alternative, theVW caravelle. Then we remembered why we didn't get one- the cost!

So now we have come to the conclusion it is better to iron out the remaining faults on our bus and stick with it. Don't get me wrong I would love to have a newer SC, but not at the expense of doing another head job...

I wonder, how many can say they have never had or don't have a problamatic head/gasket/cooling system, I would love to know?

My heart says get another cause I have been bitten, but I am a man ruled by my head (or wallet) and thinks, is it really worth the stress? I want to be persuaded to get a newer 3 litre, but these heads go too don't they?

Hi Simom,

Bite the bullet and give the old girl a 3.0 lt turbo diesle transplant, you will love it!!! I have had mine for almost 2 years and wouldn't look at anything else (well in this price bracket anyway).

Mine is currently on 196,000 km of which I have clocked up 50,000 and all I have done is regular 5,000 km oil and filter changes (oil is cheaper than engines) £28.00 at National tyres using 10w 40 castrol semi synthetic. Other than that air filters a set of break pads and an alernator belt. As several of the other owners on the posts have said the 3.0 really is bullet proof and they just purr along all day!!!

Shame youcant pick one up from a Land Cruiser or other 3.0lt donor.

Good luck

Dave

I have the best ever vehicle I've ever owned sitting on my drive. That is the problem it died New Years Eve and refuses to restart.
I'm moving house so I need a working machine and money is tight until after the house move.
I guess your choice is much the same as mine, however time is not on my side, and I doubt I can fit an exchange engine without major expense in addition to the engine price.
With heavy heart it is going on ebay.............but I'll be back and get another after the dust has settled in the new home.

My cooling system has been fine...had it 7 or 8 years now...BUT...I used to watch it like a hawk...flushed out...new cap and thermostat..new top hose... temp used to be monitored via a multimeter...new viscous fan even.
These were replaced for 'preventative maintainance' reasons...they were not faulty....maybe thats the same as paranoia
Mine is the 2.8 ....essentially the same lump as the 2.4 ... but the block / stroke is longer on the 2.8...no turbo to stress the engine though.

I think part of the problem with any used vehicle is things are rarely done as per recommended service schedule....coolant renewal being one of them...brake fluid renewal another.
When a vehicle is approaching 20 years its bound tol complain if proper treatment has been neglected...its a fair age even if it has been looked after well.
Another thing is some importers clearly are not bringing the best examples into the country...just focussing on lower graded cheap auction deals to maximize profit margins over here.........

If I was going to switch...I think maybe a grand hiace with twin sliding doors?....
There is some security in 'better the devil you know' though...

2.4 seems to be prone to head problems - 2.8 has an iron head and is a bit of a slug but reliable. I'm lucky to have a turbo conversion on mine and touch wood, reliable apart from an oil pipe which burst on holiday in Europe - all because I didn't fit a Toyota part!

Clive wrote:

I have the best ever vehicle I've ever owned sitting on my drive. That is the problem it died New Years Eve and refuses to restart.
I'm moving house so I need a working machine and money is tight until after the house move.
I guess your choice is much the same as mine, however time is not on my side, and I doubt I can fit an exchange engine without major expense in addition to the engine price.
With heavy heart it is going on ebay.............but I'll be back and get another after the dust has settled in the new home.

Damn,, sorry to hear that Clive  Good luck with shift

Thanks for your replys, keep them coming.

Kiwi Dave; if I bought another one it would be a 3ltr

Sorry to hear of your woes Clive. So I have a 1992 2.4l and you have a 1994 3.0l. Both have the same head so the block is slighly larger, so basically the same engine with same problems. I don't know when the engine was changed after this date maybe 1995 (Kiwi Dave). Sounds like its better to go for a car after this year. A good thought though chrisand hiace aboud poor quality imports. I think if I bought another one I would do it through a good garage or myself.

dandywarhol, mine has a iron head too and it still went (between the valves).

Still unconclusive, but for sure I do like the SC.

Oops - I was convinced the 2.4 had an alloy head

According to the manual its just the stroke (shorter block) thats different regarding the castings........but I keep seeing people refer to alloy heads so who knows?...the 2.8 model # is 3L.....the 2.4 model # is 2L
The 3ltr is a different beast all together...and alloy...

The KZH 100 that is in ours has 2982 displacement ( 3ltrs) and turbo and it is a top little motor. Bit of info below.

Displacement, cc 2982
Engine model 1KZ-TE
Max.power (Net), kw(PS)/rpm 130 ps (95.62 kw) / 3600 rpm
Max.torque(Net), N*m(kg*m)/rpm 29.5 kg*m (289.30 N*m) / 2000 rpm
Power density 15.46
Engine type Water cooling serial 4 cylinder OHC turbo
Engine information
Fuel system EFI (electronic fuel injection)
Turbocharger Turbo
Fuel type Diesel
LEV system (Low emission vehicle) No
Compression ratio 21.2
Bore, mm 96
Stroke, mm 103

Oooh specs
This is how my 2.8 compares...

Min.turning radius, m 5.3
Fuel tank capacity, l 70

ENGINE

Displacement, cc 2779
Engine model 3L
Max.power (Net), kw(PS)/rpm 91 ps (66.93 kw) / 4000 rpm
Max.torque(Net), N*m(kg*m)/rpm 19.2 kg*m (188.29 N*m) / 2400 rpm
Power density 20.99
Engine type Water cooling serial 4 cylinder OHC
Engine information
Fuel system Bosch type distributor type pump
Turbocharger No
Fuel type Diesel
LEV system (Low emission vehicle) No
Compression ratio 22.2
Bore, mm 96
Stroke, mm 96

And a 92 2.4...

Min.turning radius, m 4.7
Fuel tank capacity, l 70

ENGINE

Displacement, cc 2446
Engine model 2L-TE
Max.power (Net), kw(PS)/rpm 97 ps (71.34 kw) / 3800 rpm
Max.torque(Net), N*m(kg*m)/rpm 24.5 kg*m (240.26 N*m) / 2400 rpm
Power density 18.14
Engine type Water cooling serial 4 cylinder OHC turbo
Engine information
Fuel system EFI (electronic fuel injection)
Turbocharger Turbo
Fuel type Diesel
LEV system (Low emission vehicle) No
Compression ratio 21
Bore, mm 92
Stroke, mm 92
Final gear ratio

.....not sure why the turning circle is different....all specs here
http://english.auto.vl.ru/catalog/toyota/hiace/

Looking at later granvias, grandhiace, regius etc. it seems the 3ltr turbo deisel engine got even more powerful as time went on.....

chrisandhiace wrote:

And a 92 2.4...

Min.turning radius, m 4.7
Fuel tank capacity, l 70

ENGINE

Displacement, cc 2446
Engine model 2L-TE
Max.power (Net), kw(PS)/rpm 97 ps (71.34 kw) / 3800 rpm
Max.torque(Net), N*m(kg*m)/rpm 24.5 kg*m (240.26 N*m) / 2400 rpm
Power density 18.14
Engine type Water cooling serial 4 cylinder OHC turbo
Engine information
Fuel system EFI (electronic fuel injection)
Turbocharger Turbo
Fuel type Diesel
LEV system (Low emission vehicle) No
Compression ratio 21
Bore, mm 92
Stroke, mm 92
Final gear ratio

.....not sure why the turning circle is different....all specs here
http://english.auto.vl.ru/catalog/toyota/hiace/

Longer wheelbase model?

Looks like the 2.4 is an iron head......................the bottom pic is a Chinese copy!

Longer wheelbase?....the pages are right...so I guess the info is incorrect for one of them.
I'd always believed the 2L and 3L engines to have the same head...but shorter block.
However...don't know how that can be as the bores are different sizes

Yea the place I got my 2L head said it is the same fro 3L and 5L (what ever that is). It was only a guess about the block being deeper to accomodate the extra 125cc for each cylinder. But as you pointed out the stroke is longer.

Thanks for confirming.
The 5L is fitted to small trucks and buses.....guess thats got an even longer stroke!
Such a popular platform...guess the head weakness must be using it with a turbo...or at least without turbo timer or its manual method

a mate of mine had a 2.4 td toyota surf ..which is the same 2L motor as the hiace, not long after he bought it the head went...only after hunting the forums did he realise this is a common fault with this motor..... a quick type of toyota 2.4 head in to ebay will confirm this with the amount being offered for sale .... obviously a popular part .....as far as i am led to believe there is no such common fault with the 2.8 3L or the 3ltr td which was also fitted in the later surf ..... i had my 2.8 non turbo for 2 and a half years and it gave me nothing but trouble free motoring.....an excellent vehicle only let down slight lack of power and poor mpg.....