Hilux 4x4 Forum

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Hi guys. I need your honest advice. My single cab 3.0D-E 4x4's 5L engine gave out on life. 500 000km on clock. Engine has seized up. Now I have options, some more reachable than other.
1) Recon, or get reconned engine. R55 000 minimum. I do not have that kind of money.
2) I can get a second hand 2L, under 65 000 km for R25 000. Would such a conversion work?
3) sell the bakkie as is. Everything else works on bakkie, accept fuel gauge and odometer, but it is minor faults. What would I get for it as is?

Thanks in advance for your advice, looking forward to your replies.

Most likely the cylinder head gasket, this was a problem with 5L engines. There is a Brazilian cylinder head available at a lower price than the original and according to reports, it is a better quality than the original head. Should not break the bank to do that, but if your pistons have seized, then I would suggest looking for a 5L transplant somewhere, much less painful than battling with ECU incompatibility.


-F_D

An ECU on the 5L? Nope...The KZ-TE yes, but the L series engines were very basic, manual fuel pump etc.

I learn something every day! Thought it must have, did not realise that it was that old.

Still, 500k kms is excellent for that engine, so I still think the best bet is to stick to what the vehicle is designed for.

-F_D

Any conversion always cost more than you think. I prefer to rebuild my old engine because I know what I have and how I treated it. If you buy a used engine you do not know what the previous owner did to it. Rebuild will always be my first choice.

The old 5L motors were notoriously sluggish and not very fuel efficient. A rebuild is definitely an option but I would also look at replacing it with a Ford WL 2.5lit motor. Now I'm not a Ford fan but those were good motors that outperformed the 5L in both power and economy (later technology). In addition they should be readily available on the 2nd hand market and fairly cheap to source by comparison to a 2nd hand 5L and from what I understand the conversion is not a problematic one.

Just a thought ......

The WL 2.5 tdi engine is also a very easy conversion with less changes

niclemaitre wrote: ↑Wed Feb 16, 2022 8:21 am An ECU on the 5L? Nope...The KZ-TE yes, but the L series engines were very basic, manual fuel pump etc.

ECU on a 5L? Yes sir!

The first 3000D's was the 5L with old school mechanical pump. 3.0 D-E was the same 5L but this time with an electronic pump. Still slow and sluggish but at least now it had a computer!

We live and learn every day!