Neglected Hilux Surf rehab

Picked this up as a hobby rig and daily driver while I am over here, I won't be able to take it back with me when I leave in 2022, but at least I can pass on a decent rig to the next person.

Cars here in Japan don't rack up near the miles cars in the states do, roads are slow and driving long distances is often highly impractical. I got this white, 4WD, 2.7L 3RZ-FE from a Marine who was PCS'ing out, cosmetically in pretty rough condition, but it only has 148'000 km on it, and the body/frame is surprisingly rust free, not bad for 4k USD.

Here it is when I got it home...


Time to start stripping the crap off of it... this was the worst welding I had seen in a while, I actually pulled it off... with my hands. Got a few bolts off, but most of them were corroded solid.




OEM swing out spare tire carrier, getting some rust in the joints, will salvage that.


This was a real nice spare tire, 20 years ago... it is literally from 2000, I am a little nervous around it it is dry rotted so bad. Already have new KO2's on the way to Costco in Hiroshima. Not to mention it is oversized and rubs on the carrier, easy fix with a wheel spacer.

 

It had a rattle... I drive the wife crazy with my OCD about rattles in the car. But I did find it, a loose set of screws allowed the switch panel to vibrate.

 

Now comes the inside, I hope none of you are eating lunch for this one....








The count was 5 lighters, 7 cigarettes and at least two spilled dip cans... Dear God.

 

It had a bit of a rough idle, once I managed to find the right HAZMAT here in Japan (Google translate is your friend, thankfully CRC has product lines here), I set about the usual "tune up" tasks.
Not the best picture, but the MAF sensor is black, coated in crud. Couple doses of MAF cleaner sorted that out.



Intake and throttle body got a good cleaning, a significant amount of engine conditioner did wonders for that.


Easiest spark plugs I have ever had to change..




Fixed the rough idle, breathed some new life into the motor. May still clean out the IACV, guessing it is in as rough condition as the rest of the intake, but will need to wait for a gasket.

 

Replaced the disintegrating OEM bolts in the tire carrier and roof rack rails, it's the little things in my opinion. The local hardware store had a surprisingly affordable and extensive stainless steel collection, far better than most US stores.

 

Finally got the time to polish and wax, the paint was in a sorry state. The paint is a floss, but it was so long neglected that it seemed flat, random orbital and some Meguires sorted that right out...

 

Congrats
Looks like your rehab is off to a great start !!

WRENCH ON !!!

 

Picked up a new MAF sensor, despite a cleaning the old one had some corrosion on it deeper down, and was also 20 years old. Easy part to replace.

 

While I was on deployment, the wife said it started to idle rough and feel like it was going to die...first thing in the Haynes Manual is "check the vacuum hoses", easy day. Found two hoses that lead to the charcoal canister were so cracked they had fallen off entirely.



Apparently auto part and hardware stores here in japan do not just carry vacuum tubing by the reel... so electrical tape and zip ties will need to work until I can get some from the states, these particular hoses from Toyota are made to order and take about 3 months (not to mention being over $100 for the both...).



Seems to have been the issue, idle's smoothly now.

 

The head unit in it was rather ancient, and with the affordability of decent Bluetooth capable units on Amazon, it was time for a new stereo. Never done one of these installs myself, seemed straight forward enough.



Toyota was kind enough to label (in English and Kanji) the wire bundles behind the stereo, and with the quick disconnects, all I had to do was fit the new unit's wire bundles with the same fittings, and plug in the right wires... my color blind ass shouldn't be reading wire diagrams.



Rule number one of any job...test it as much as possible before you assemble everything. Luckily, this time it worked right off the bat.



Next project is the broken baffle in the muffler. Hasn't been a priority since it is merely an annoyance, but I'll eventually replace it with a universal fit one.

 

Sweet rig!

I owned a 1992 Hilux Surf. Loved that truck and miss it.

Threads like these make me want to get a 3rd gen 4Runner.