The JDM '96 Toyota Hilux Surf

1996 Toyota Hilux Surf SSR-G 5 speed manual (3rd gen)​

Motor is the 1KZ-TE 3.0l Turbo Diesel non intercooled with dual batteries


Finished in stellar blue over grey two tone with 127,000 KM (~79,000 miles)

Power windows, power locks, and even power mirrors which is all factory. Even comes with a rear retractable mirror from the spoiler before rear cameras were a thing. There's also an "Idle Up" button that raises the RPMs to about 2,000

The interior is near spotless


It's 4wd, however with a center locking diff can be switched to similar AWD, 4hi and 4lo

Came stock with Bridgestone wheels (yes wheels, didn't know they made wheels) and Wild Peak H/T tires.

First thing I did was swap my original non replica TRD Trail Teams wheels from the Tacoma. Kept the tires with each other since the Tacoma was on 35s, they wouldn't come close to fitting on the Surf. Maybe one day I'll make that leap.

Delivery day:


Wheel/tire swap:


The Tacoma looked hideous with those. She has since been sold

 

Next was removing the side steps, and "off road" decal, added window tint and new tires. Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx in 285-75-16

Decal required the 3m rubber wheel decal remover which worked awesome. The driver side was easier to take off than the passenger side. Likely sat facing the sun the same way and baked it on over the last 25 years




Found a TEQ Diesel badge on ebay I thought was pretty cool

 

Up next was to change the KPH to MPH. Few options of either replacing it completely an overlay, or throw in a 3rd gen 4runner but wouldn't have the correct mileage. I purchased the replacement face, but instead of pulling the needle off I just slapped it over top in case I go back to original

 

Over the summer I test drove some long distance 70+ MPH drives. Noticed that after about 2 hours the temps would start to climb and the AC would auto shut off

After some research, seems the viscous fan can lose silicon oil which causes the speed to of the fan to change and in turn doesn't keep the engine cool enough. Toyota makes replacement oil, however only available overseas for $30 bucks a tube which would require 3, plus the pricey shipping

I was a bit skeptical this would solve the issue being this is a non-intercooled engine

So I found some 10000 CST oil used for differentials in R/C cars for about 7 bucks

I pulled the fan and shroud out and took the hub apart using an impact screwdriver to loosen the bolts. The inside was pretty dry. Filled it up with the silicon oil and sure enough, after a few drives there was no more overheating issues.

Future plans is to throw in a larger radiator, and possibly find the intercooler for this engine.

 

Biggest project was the lift. I was able to find some King Shocks non-resi's for the front paired with the Icon Delta Joint UCAs, however I'm still waiting for the rears so currently ToyTec's 2.0 Aluma Series are installed along with their rear springs

For the rear I added adjustable rear upper control arms, rear trailing arms and rear panhard bar from Rokmen Offroad

I won a set of DuroBump bump stops at the Toytec event, so those were also installed

@TMFF was kind enough to lend a huge helping hand at his shop to install all the components. It took us most of the day with minor setbacks here and there that added up

The lower control arm bushings seized and had to be cut off, the lower ball joints were shot, and the rear shocks we opted to just cut off

The Surf had come with actuators that allow to change the ride quality similar to the GX's which was surprisingly noticeable. Those of course were removed with the new suspension.

Rides like a dream now!

 

Currently waiting on Addicted Off Road to send me a bumper. Ordered back in August, the first one showed up damaged from shipping, however I wasn't home to deny delivery so they just dropped it off. Scotty said he was going to put in a claim and ship one out ASAP. That was November and unfortunately I'm still waiting. I'm not in a huge rush, but I would at least like some kind of update.



Sliders from RSG are currently sitting in my garage waiting for me to paint them.

BXbuilt lights are currently being built, after that I'll look to exterior lighting, winch, and possibly snorkel I also have sitting in the garage

 

Pulled my little trailer with minimal issues up over the passes this last fall for hunting season. Larger hills struggled just a bit

 

such a cool rig

 

Its so much cooler because of the way it is

 

Sub'd!

 

love it. great color.

 

Bringing this here so I remember to work on the EGR, thermostat and some other cooling upgrades
The Surf motor, specifically the 1KZ, can cut power with too high of EGTs as I found out running the AC last summer at 2k RPMs for too long. Or even cracked heads, though this was way more common in the previous gen motor. The 1KZ rarely has it happen. Filling up the viscous fan with silicon oil helped, but I also saw some peeps using a trans cooler but routing it through the radiator. I also just realized I have a lower temp thermostat I haven't installed either. Thanks for reminding me! I also need to block the EGR and clean the manifold, simple-ish job. Exhaust after that and she should sound pretty nice. I don't want to jump into increasing PSI or more ponies, it's fine for me how it is, plus if I blow the engine, well that's the end haha

 

I was filling up the other day and noticed some liquid dripping.. Turns out it was fuel from the filler neck which cracked. Toyota wanted $65-80 bucks.. Picked up some cut-to-length fuel line from Napa for $30 instead

 

Looks great, I love seeing some of the 3rd gen 4runners being imported now.

Sucks to see the addicted off-road bumper got damaged. I e had mine for years now and it's still one of my favorites.

How do you like the Rokmen rear control arms? Did you get the trail series or the adjustable pro ones?

 

New bumper is in just haven't had a few days of no wind to finish painting/bed lining. Hopefully soon

Rokmen makes some solid products. Great customer service as well. I got the trail series, didn't see the need for fully adjustable based on what I'll be doing

 

Subbed!

The Taco came a long way from back in the day. Looking forward to the new build!

 

That was early into the mods there!