slurf

I have only recently purchased a 1992 2.4L diesel Hilux Surf ( LN130 2.4td). I believe its basically the same car (truck) as the US model 4 door 4Runner but here in Australia Hilux Surf (mostly) what they're called . All in all it seems in pretty good shape. The previous owner ( a mate of mine) had left it sitting for a month after after 6 years of daily use to lug his tools around. He said it was fine up to that point. Funny how mechanical gremlins always pop up when a vehicle stops being frequently used...


... so whats happening is mostly things are fine from cold start up but after about 20 to 40 minutes of driving the check engine light on the dash comes on, the turbo light goes off and the power goes way down. This very embarrassing on the highway cause it starts blowing some white smoke and I am flat out going 80 klicks. Interestedly if my Surf (think "4Runner") is going ok and I stop the engine for 10~20 minutes and restart the "power loss" almost always kicks in but if I leave it till its completely cold things go back to normal.

My mechanic thinks its the that the fuel filter/primer is sucking air from the plunger shaft but several other sources suggest that the the check engine light shoundnt come on if thats the issue. I have tried removing the plastic plunger cap while the check engine light is on and covering the opening with my hand but nothing changed.

Its also been suggested that the heads cracked or the CPU capacitors are bung. I checked the ECU diagnostic and got 5 blips, followed 2 second gap and then 12 blips followed by a 4 second gap. Got no idea whats that about.

Ive been searching through this and other forums sites for a couple of weeks trying to find the same symptoms. I know there are many similar posts but nothing seems to be exactly the same. Im just hoping its some kind of common thing and I can save some time and money if I know where to look.



Thanks if you can help.

slurf

Thanks anyway, didnt realize that you dont have Diesel 4Runners but so maybe its been a bit of waste of space on your Forum. I wonder if this includes Canada also???

thook

No, it's not a waste. No need to feel that way about it. Even though most of us don't have the diesels in the US, doesn't mean we aren't curious or that some don't know about them. I personally don't have a clue, though....haha. Gasoline's are the only one's I know anything about.

Good luck, eh.

4runner4ever

I've had a few of those engines. Unfortunately a few with similar symptoms.
That's a typical symptom for either the turbo or a cracked head.
High presure on radiator system? Coolant consumption? Oil consumption?
Is there a decent amonut of play on the turboshaft/impellor?

To determine if its the turbo you could bypass the turbo and let the engine run NA. Just disconnect the intake hoses and testdrive. You loose 1/3 of your power, but it will not damage the engine or turbo.
It's an all mechanical engine with a mechanical pump and a boost actuator on the diesel pump so you can't screw anything up.
Make a small testdrive and see if the symptoms are gone or not. Than stop and check under your hood. If you find an oil mist (or worse) under there you have your cause.

slurf

Yeah, thats what most are saying on the Australian forum. Driven it only about 400 miles since I got it and it took only about half a cup at the radiator cap but I dont know if the overflow tank was empty when I purchased it. What is interesting is that the power loss Im experiencing is about 1/3 which equates loosing about 25 miles per hour off the highway cruising speed (from 60~70MPH down to 50~40MPH with no guts).