have'nt met anyone who sticked long enough with his surf... they would always upgrade to a pajero or a trooper...
my SUVic pajero is ok naman, for my standards... it's not a bnew vehicle so do'nt expect that its in a nothing to fix condition... i had my underchassis refurbished, minor electrical works done so far... replaced all the belts and hoses for preventive measure... problem is i think its suffering a little blowby, i consumed 350ml of oil within the span of 5000 kms. not much though, its bearable since i got a high mileage unit 102T kms at the time, or maybe it was due to the turbo leak that i had to get fixed..
its very important to check the steering sytem and the brakes if it were converted properly..
though its not a surf, i'm just sharing some possible similar problems you may encounter.
You should bring along a knowledgeable and reliable mechanic to check the unit you're planning to buy, giving special attention to the steering mechanism and its installation. My ride is also a converted SUV (Paj 2.5 TDIC) and I've been using it for two years now without a major problem. I have also made numerous long trips to Ilocos without a hitch.
i learned a few things about this conversion business, it is scary to get a converted car now since locators in subic remove good original parts in favor of replacements (radiator, evaporator, gearbox, etc) then they turn around and sell the parts.
second, i have had 3 pajeros and was thinking of getting a surf for a change, i researched the models being sold here and apparently there really are issues with overheating and transmission (2.0L and 2.4L, google it and you will find a lot of surf clubs in europe and australia and read up on their comments).
the only one worth getting is the surf with the 1kz engine if you can find one, they are generally over p500k and for that money you are better of with a pajero either way since 1. parts are cheap 2. anyone can actually fix it 3. regardless of what you hear they are actually dependable.
warning, neither of the surfs here have good inventory of parts, its just that a surf with 1kz engine is awesome, 3.0L 6cyl intercooled turbo, same engine as the prado in that tiny body--talk about diesel power to weight ratio!
the problem with the surf also is that parts are expensive and not easy to find or even troubleshoot, notice how many surfs are for sale who claim not to overheat-why point it out? you dont see that on other cars, you dont see kia "hindi bulok" hahahaha
pajeros, well cant say enough about them, really they are the least of all evils from subic because it is easy to fix and once you get past that first service (drain all fluids, blah, blah, blah) it is a good deal not to mention steel manufacturing in japan is far superior to here--sorry local guys, that is the truth. those pajeros will last much longer than the local ones. but its a judgement call, others may have had other experiences, i had the first 86 pajero na skd and man that car was great compared to the 89/90 i got after that, the quality was not even close, now i am sure our manufacturing has improved but dont think for one second it is at par with japan.
you have to like tinkering with your car if you consider getting from subic, now that is the reality of it. it is not hard to select one from subic; however, hayward is right about brining a mechanic, you may actually want to get one that has been here for at least two yearss because during the infancy of this phenomena, conversions were done by the book (orig parts, no shortcut).
it was when they got better that quicker methods were realized especially when margins got thinner since there were so much coming in (replacing of parts, etc). there are pajeros with isuzu trannys now and toyota steering/suspension parts. toyota quality is indisputable although i hardly think they had pajero in mind when they made it hehe
i own a subic pajero and am thrilled about, take it to joseph atotubo in multinational if you choose to get one-you wont recognize it after he fixes it up, cheap pa and lots of good stories-
i learned a few things about this conversion business, it is scary to get a converted car now since locators in subic remove good original parts in favor of replacements (radiator, evaporator, gearbox, etc) then they turn around and sell the parts.
second, i have had 3 pajeros and was thinking of getting a surf for a change, i researched the models being sold here and apparently there really are issues with overheating and transmission (2.0L and 2.4L, google it and you will find a lot of surf clubs in europe and australia and read up on their comments).
the only one worth getting is the surf with the 1kz engine if you can find one, they are generally over p500k and for that money you are better of with a pajero either way since 1. parts are cheap 2. anyone can actually fix it 3. regardless of what you hear they are actually dependable.
warning, neither of the surfs here have good inventory of parts, its just that a surf with 1kz engine is awesome, 3.0L 6cyl intercooled turbo, same engine as the prado in that tiny body--talk about diesel power to weight ratio!
the problem with the surf also is that parts are expensive and not easy to find or even troubleshoot, notice how many surfs are for sale who claim not to overheat-why point it out? you dont see that on other cars, you dont see kia "hindi bulok" hahahaha
pajeros, well cant say enough about them, really they are the least of all evils from subic because it is easy to fix and once you get past that first service (drain all fluids, blah, blah, blah) it is a good deal not to mention steel manufacturing in japan is far superior to here--sorry local guys, that is the truth. those pajeros will last much longer than the local ones. but its a judgement call, others may have had other experiences, i had the first 86 pajero na skd and man that car was great compared to the 89/90 i got after that, the quality was not even close, now i am sure our manufacturing has improved but dont think for one second it is at par with japan.
you have to like tinkering with your car if you consider getting from subic, now that is the reality of it. it is not hard to select one from subic; however, hayward is right about brining a mechanic, you may actually want to get one that has been here for at least two yearss because during the infancy of this phenomena, conversions were done by the book (orig parts, no shortcut).
it was when they got better that quicker methods were realized especially when margins got thinner since there were so much coming in (replacing of parts, etc). there are pajeros with isuzu trannys now and toyota steering/suspension parts. toyota quality is indisputable although i hardly think they had pajero in mind when they made it hehe
i own a subic pajero and am thrilled about, take it to joseph atotubo in multinational if you choose to get one-you wont recognize it after he fixes it up, cheap pa and lots of good stories-
i live in las pinas and i have a friend who owns a 2.5 subic pajero. he finds it too slow, can joseph atotubo fix it? where can we get in touch with him? thanks a lot for your surf comments.
hilux surf subic
Linear Mode
