Toyota Hilux Surf cheap African explorer

[cozmcrae]

This is my Hilux Surf 3.0 turbo diesel I bought 10 days ago from Essex and drove back up to Aberdeen.



I have loved it so far although I haven't really had a chance to get it off road yet apart from maybe a cheeky wee blast across some wasteland behind my house but I won't count that . Its remarkably clean and everything works on it with the exception of the trip counter, the rear suspension is sagging a bit and just 2 days ago, both batteries died. I was bricking it thinking it could have been the alternator but the leaking battery acid at the terminals gave it away.

My plan with it is to replace anything mechanical that is even hinting at going, MOT is due next month then to give it some off roading goodies such as a slight body and suspension lift, big ass tyres, bull bars, undertray, winch, spotlights and a snorkel. If anyone has any of these bits cheap around Aberdeen or even Glasgow/Edinburgh, give me a shout. This all needs to be completed for January which is when I'm going to drive down to Africa in it with a couple mates.
So far, I've done nothing to it apart from fail to replace the batteries after I found out one of my mates still has all of my tools in his boot. Over the next few days, Its getting the engine and trans oil replaced, fuel and air filter, brake discs, pads, rear shoes, brakes bled, coolant flushed and then I have bought a 2" body lift kit which will hopefully be fitted without to much difficulty. I'll also try wire up my CB radio for that true long distance experience.
I should probably mention that this is my first proper 4x4 so I'm very new to them as up until this point I've been an 80s/90s BMW guy so expect mistakes to be made. I also need to learn how to properly drive off road but I'm hoping the good old North East winters will have taught me most of what I need to know.

[cozmcrae]

Not yet. The stability of so many African countries are dubious at best and the whole Ebola thing means I'm going to have to put a lot of time into planning a safe route. I do want so see as many "safe" countries as possible though

[cozmcrae]

I've seen that pleanty of guys have gone down Africa in banger rally's but, although I know I could make it down in a standard car, I'm not doing it for the "challenge" of driving down and really can't be bothered struggling off road and on stty surfaces just to try and be a bit more original. I recently drove to Georgia in a 206 that was falling apart and I actually got stuck down a road in Bulgaria because of how destroyed the road which resulted in a 4km walk in 30 degrees heat with no water. I want something I can be sure won't get stuck and that I can rely on wherever I go.

[cozmcrae]

eltax91 said:

Yes, but in standard guise this won't get stuck on anything that could be called a 'road'

I do intend to go off road when I get the chance. The rear suspension is starting to sag and the tyres need replaced so I decided I might as well just lift it a few inches and put some big, wide rubber on it. I have been looking up the pros and cons of lifts and it looks like the only thing that is an issue would be increased wear on the front CV joints which I could live with. The handling would be worse but I never bought the car for its handling.

[cozmcrae]

witko999 said:

I would like to do a surfing trip down through Europe/Africa sometime in the future, in a similar manner with a 4x4. How are you dealing with the car insurance side of it, and what are 4x4s actually like to insure?

I've just got it insured with admiral just now for about £500/600 if I can recall but I wasn't happy with that amount since the UK model with the 2.4 engine was only £300. There are companies that can insure it in non-EU countries but I haven't got a quote yet. You can aparently buy insurance for certain countries on the boarder but I will have to look into whether that is a cheaper option and if it would give me cover incase the thing got stolen.

shenanigans said:

Are the servicing costs okay? Are parts readily available?

So far I've bought all the usual stuff like filters, fluid and brakes and its been pretty reasonable. It does take 7.5 litres of oil but apart from the sheer quantity of fluids and the larger size of parts, they are not that expensive. Parts should be really easy to get in Africa as the older hiluxs are common there and was actually a major part of why I bought one so I wouldn't be stuck for weeks waiting for parts in some back and beyond town with no transport.

P I Staker said:

Remember bigger tyres will also stress the drive train more as well as raising the gearing.

I'm not lifting it a huge amount. I've got a 2" body lift kit (which is aparently the most it can go without modifying the steering) and I'm looking at 2 or 3" suspension lift to fit 33" wheels. Its a pretty torquey thing so I don't think the raise in gearing will be enough to really hinder me getting up hills or anything but the under body protection is something I'm looking into.

[cozmcrae]

Quick update. The hilux has been serviced, new dvd head unit installed and a cb radio fitted. It was put up on ramps today and it is so clean underneath which is very odd for me being in Scotland.
The plan was to change the driveshaft, discs and pads but there were some spacers/hub things between the wheel and the disc that were seized on so progress was halted until a mates uncle who is a blacksmith can be summond. This has proven problematic as it's booked in for an mot tomorrow.

Other than failing at getting it mot prepped, I've bought a set of standard bull bars with spot lights which are waiting to be fitted this week. Also it's been run on 100% veg oil now so 50/60 mpg cost equivalent has made running costs much more reasonable.

[cozmcrae]

Well this whole story took an interesting turn. Long story short, I didn't go to Africa because the whole Boko Haram stuff scared the utter living st out of me. The Hilux has been slowly getting more love and attention over the past year and I've fitted the following parts
Landcruiser rear springs
Monroe 2" lift shocks all round
Every last ball joint or bush under the car
Polybushs for the front and rear ARB
A silicone intake hose
Discs, pads and shoes
2nd hand nearside hub
31" Modular mud and snow tyres on 16" steel wheels
And I've done all the fluids at least once.

The car now looks like this


Sitting at a friends digs in Suffolk

Its probably not visible but it is now riddled with dents after I was convinced that a paintball gun wouldn't dent a car. Oh how wrong I was.

It has also been used to transport a MK2 Escort from Porto, Portugal to Ayrshire, Scotland so its done well so far

But the challenge now is to drive the beast from Scotland to Mongolia. I would take it further but unfortunately taking a foreign plated car into China is very expensive and over all just more hassle than its worth so its going to (reluctantly) be up for sale in Ulaanbataar.

I'm currently in Poland and heading to Riga, Latvia tomorrow to kill some time until my Russian visa kicks in on the 15th then the fun starts with the crazy Russian drivers . I should be In Mongolia around mid November trying to find the Hilux a new owner to make happy as long as she holds together.

And on a final note, I've been running it on straight veg oil since shortly after I got it and its been running flawlessly. Its been getting 50mpg+ cost equivalent to diesel so it has been a pleasure to run so far and the boot is big enough that I was able to bring 320L of veg oil across on top of a full tank of it so I should be able to make it to Russia on Costco's finest before I have to start using their pump diesel. I would have taken more but the veg oil would most certainly freeze in the Russian climate this time of year and I heard that diesel is 40p a litre there after Putin decided to go a bit wobbly and ruin the ruble.

I'll try get some more pictures of the car En Route.

[cozmcrae]

No Dr G I have not read that book unfortunately. I'll have a look for it once I'm through my current read

I thought it would be a good time for an update as thats the hilux now burned through all of the veg oil and the 2L of white spirit I had to lower the viscosity in these colder countries. I was hoping to make it to the Russian boarder with the veg oil but I'm happy enough with where it got me. Its a bit mad looking at the map and seeing that where I started in Scotland is almost just as Northern as where I am now on the verge of entering Russia.

Here is a picture taken yesterday of it in Kaunus Lithuania

Its running flawlessly still and at this rate it actually seams like Mongolia is a realistic goal. The only issue is that it has used about 1 litre of engine oil but considering that is over the course of 2000+ miles I am not worried.

[cozmcrae]

I was going to start a blog soon but actually wanted to have enough to blog about before starting. I was mainly posting on this with regards to how the car holds up throughout the whole thing. It was originally going to be on my prep work on getting the car ready but I completely forgot to take pictures and a note of what was done when.

[cozmcrae]

I actually haven't planned the route exactly yet. The Russian/Mongolian borders that a UK national can actually pass through seem to change all the time so I'm going to decide when I am in Moscow. I don't want to drive for 6000km over 80 hours just to find the boarder is closed. Last time I checked, one of them you can't pass through because there is a uranium mine nearby so I'll need to avoid all that good stuff.

It probably will be chilly. Can't really say anything else about that except that I will remember to bring a blanket . I do have mud/snow tyres on the hilux so nothing will stop me!

[cozmcrae]

Quick update. In St Petersburg amongst the suicidal drivers. By the time I reach Mongolia I'm going to have enough footage to make one of the dash cam fail montages at this rate. Hilux is doing really well with no changes although I was freaking out today when I went to where it was parked to drive to Moscow and it was gone. Spent the whole day trying to find it and eventually ended up at a impound yard towards the outskirts with one hell of a language barrier to overcome. I've not seen any cranes on their flatbed trucks so I am concerned that they might have just dragged the hilux onto the bed when they took it which is not the best thing with it being an automatic but it's driving fine.
On the bright side, diesel is between 30p and 35p a litre here along with everything else costing next to nothing after Putin's antics in Ukraine so its not so bad in the motherland just now.


I'll try get some pictures of all the mad soviet cars trundling around with bits falling off them that I didn't even know existed.

[cozmcrae]

Thats me reached Mongolia. I sold the car to a guy at the border and took a bus to Ulaanbaatar which I realise now was a horrendous idea. It was good I sold the car but the bus took 50 hours and was the worst experience of my life and I'm not even exaggerating. Anyway, here is a picture of the hilux in Siberia.

[cozmcrae]

fivetenben said:

Close; I'm actually FiveTenBen! Can't quite afford a V10 just yet...

This looks like a great adventure - Russian driving really has to be seen to be believed. Any more photos?

Ben

I'll try get some up soon. My camera is acting up. I've actually found sitting in a taxi in Ulaanbaatar to be worse than Russia. Whats the story with your book? I've just run out of reading material and travel journals/blogs are right up my street.

Lefty said:

Why did you sell it?!

Ben

Basically its almost impossible to get it into China so my plan all along was to sell it in Mongolia. I looked into what was required to take it into China and it would involve a lot of money (several times more than what the car is worth), a lot of documentation and a guide would have to accompany me in the car whenever I was driving it. Not to mention the car only has half an exhaust left, ran out of insurance somewhere in Russia, no tax and I don't have a carnet de passage since they cost a lot. It is a shame since I would have kept the car otherwise but China decided to be a dick.

giuliatz2 said:

I thought a small part of Russia around Riga is controlled by Islamic State?

Riga is in Latvia

[cozmcrae]

Keith, the 3.0 engine is much stronger. Although they do crack heads rather than blow head gaskets, they are nowhere near as bad as 2.4s. I was getting anywhere between 20 and almost 30mpg and that was running it on straight veg oil so they can be run on the cheap. Still it was in no way fast, think the fastest I ever got it was just over 90 and that was going downhill but really you wouldn't want it over 70 or its screaming with the big wheels.

[cozmcrae]

Just if anyone is still interested, I made a video of the Hilux driving through Russia

https://youtu.be/uWh5jeteFRE

I'm actually looking for a new (used) car for some adventures in China and the surrounding countries but its been very time consuming getting though all the red tape to actually buy a car and get a license here. I'm at a crossroad just now whether I should go for something cheap/reliable that car be fixed anywhere for little money and travel long distances/to other countries (old e-class or vw jetta) or just get another old jap 4x4 or a jeep so I can explore the wilderness. They actually make a complete copy of the hilux surf here but I'm very scared of Chinese cars so thats no on my potential list.

[cozmcrae]

I've been in China for the last 9 months. I'm trying to get another car so I can explore this country but haven't managed yet