Advice On First SC purchase!!

Hi all!
Im a new member and am thinking of buying a 1997 2wd 3.0 EFI diesel SC with around 250,000km on the clock, that my Japanese friend has for sale. I have a couple of question before i go for a test drive in it...sorry if they seem a bit silly..

1- He said the engine type is EZH100 but i can only find KZH100 motor types on the net, (i think it might of been a miss understanding in the language barrier) does a EZH100 motor exist? and if so how do they rate?

2- He said it is Electronic fuel injection, so does that mean it isnt a turbo? (i forgot to ask him oops)

3- I did'nt ask him what model it is exactly, does anyone have any ideas from the info i have put up so far? It has all the options, power windows, front and rear A/C, etc..

4- He is asking $3000 aus for it which after researching seems very cheap!! unless im missing something? I trust him as he has been a friend for a number of years and i doubt he would sell me a lemon.. it is in very good condition (no rust etc.. just a very small ding in the side) is it the bargain i think it is? how much would they normally go for?

5- And lastly is there any common problems with this model that i should be aware of or prepared for?

thanks in advance for your replies any additional info you guys can give me would be greatly appreiciated

cheers

Welcome Zac.

Yeah it's a KZH100 model with a 1KZ-TE motor... no such thing as EZH100.
1KZ-TE motor is a 3lt electronic direct inject turbo diesel.

If your friend has kept up regular service intervals like oil and fluid changes you should have a super reliable van. The 3lt diesel is one of the best ever made and will serve you well as long as you keep the oil changes up. Ask your friend if it's had the timing belt replaced, this needs to be done every 100,000. Check the radiators for any leaks, there are two radiators, one is placed horizontally just in front of the front wheels and the other is vertical under the front seats, check the coolant for any sign of oil that could indicate blown a head gasket. Other than that not really much goes wrong with em.

If the van is in good condition and seems to drive well then i would say go for it.

Is the car in Australia ?

If not you'll be up for around $5000 more in fees, Compliance and freight .

I paid $5000 for my 97 supercustom in Japan about 5 years ago , And after all the fees it owed me $10K .

It had 100'000 ks on the clock .

My other 97 I bought localy for $12K registered .

Hi guys thanks for the replies..

had a test drive today and it went pretty well..
im taking it to my mechanic to have a look over this week but like i said i trust the guy so i think ill be getting it!
he also mentioned he has a 4wd of the same model and year that i think i would prefer as i do alot of surfing and like the idea of cruising along some nice beaches with my lady looking for waves , is the 4wd model much more thirsty on fuel? i guess it would be a little. how does the 4wd compare to the 2wd?

yes its in australia already and comes with a road worthy certificate, it is already registered here in Queensland so im guesing i dont have to do anymore for australian compliance? im pretty excited about it i just hope my mechanic doesnt reveal any major issues. for the price he is selling at i can hardly believe my luck!!

thanks again for the info this site is great!!

Welcome mate.
Sounds cheap to me, and one drawback with the 4wd is parking. they are that little bit taller than the 2wd. From what I gather the fuel consumption is bout the same(ours is only 2wd) but hell at that price you can afford to have the odd little thing wrong with it. We bought ours on the gold Coast a couple of years ago for $12k I think it was.If you look through the forum you will find piccies and how 4wd copes with sand.

Hi Zac, have a look at this thread about the 4wd: https://hiace-super-custom.forumotion.com/t403-off-road-capability?highlight=4wd+capability

There are two types of 4wd SC's - part time and full time 4wd, i think they stopped making the part time 4wd from 94 onwards. The part time has low range and can only engage 4wd on loose surface where the full time 4wd on the later models are 4wd all the time. The part timer's are more capable off road but they both suffer from low ground clearance and poor wheel articulation. I've had my full timer on the beach but aways kept tyre pressures low and kept away from the deep wheel ruts.

Thanks again for the info guys, dont really have anymore questions at the moment, had a good read on the link you posted srburnsy and it all sounds great!! now all i have to do is play the waiting game till mid week and hopefully my next post will be of my new rig!! Keep your fingers crossed for me either way ill be getting one just hope its the 4wd!!

If anyone has anything else to add or stuff i should be aware of please let me know.

Thanks again

Future SC owner!!!

p.s Nice pic! thats livin the dream

Just to underscore srburnsy, the 1KZ has an alloy head which is VERY prone to cracking, esp around these Km's. (over 200,000) It's more likely if the van has been overheated at some stage also. Mine was cracked when I bought it and took me a while to figure it out as no oil signs in the coolant and no coolant signs in the oil. The crack would only 'open up' under hot conditions and the pressure leak from the cylinder/s would basically force out the coolant (out the overflow bottle) which would then overheat the engine again. I thought it was radiator leaks but chased it down in the end.

These vehicles are for the Japanese domestic market, they were never designed for what we put them through. They don't have the cooling capacity for out hot, hilly, tow the boat situations that we like to drive in. This is also magnified if the cooling system has not been maintained and the radiators have lost cooling capacity through build up of contaminants.
I have done a number of mods to control temp including tuning the viscous fan, auto trans oil cooler (to cool the fluid BEFORE it enters the radiator tank cooler) pulled out front air restrictors and fitted an aftermarket temp gauge as the factory ones are dampened and don't move unless your well overheated so next to useless. I did all the labour for the head replacement and still shelled out a couple of grand.

My advice, look for the tell-tail signs, oil in water, grey colored oil in engine and grey sludge around oil cap. The big one is to check the coolant level when cold and then take the thing for a good drive ( least 30 mins) up long hills with lots of throttle to heat her up. Let it cool completely and check that coolant level again. Should be about 50 or 60mm below the top of the filler neck. If you need to add coolant, it's either leaking from the coolant system or being forced out from a cracked head issue. Good luck! Rich.

I would add 1 thing mate if you can take it for a test drive, go out through Nerang and head for Mt Tamborine and go up Henri Robert Drv to the top and if it doesn't overheat your on a winner, and if it does do up a bit but goes down quickly all is still well. We lived there for 30 odd years and that bit of toad is a good test Our temp went up going up there but nowhere else.