Soarer Surgeon

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An annoying issue that some 1UZ-FE motors develop usually due to suboptimal oil servicing and/or high mileage is the val...
11/04/2026

An annoying issue that some 1UZ-FE motors develop usually due to suboptimal oil servicing and/or high mileage is the valve clearance going out of specification through small amounts of wear so a tapping sound between the cam lobes and valve shims is made audible.

In the case of this motor with approx 200,000kms the oil varnish build up suggests it didn't have the best life as far as oil servicing was concerned and had subsequently developed the tapping noise around the cylinder number 7 area on the passenger cylinder head, the most common place for a 1UZ. With the correct service manual procedure the clearances can be measured with a feeler gauge, in this case one of the exhaust shims was slightly out of specification, the likely culprit making the noise.

With the camshafts in place the shim can be removed from the retaining bucket using Toyota special service tools (SST) pliers part number 09248-05410 (A) used for pressing the bucket down, and retainer part number 09248-05021(B) used to hold the bucket down resisting the valve spring tension. From there sufficient clearance is provided allowing the shim to be removed with a magnet or hooked instrument in the oil hole. Sometimes they can be stuck and hard to remove due to the surface tension of the oil creating a fluid stiction effect, though with the right persuasion they do come out.

In this case the offending shim was replaced with the correct part number shim corresponding to the required thickness. Upon reinstalling the clearance was checked and found to be correct and within margins. Once the cam cover and ignition leads were reinstalled the engine was started and sounding smooth with no more tapping sound, a job well done!

This unit came in with a not so sound prior repair, it was decided to redo all prior work done to eliminate the possibil...
18/01/2026

This unit came in with a not so sound prior repair, it was decided to redo all prior work done to eliminate the possibility of any continued issues. Here a few before and after comparisons of one of the areas that needed attention, fortunately it cleaned up well and will provide sound reliability going forward. It's always important to remember not all repairs (aka 'rebuilds' / 'recaps') are done to the same standard, the right attention to detail is critical to effectively repair damaged circuits in all the affected areas.

01/01/2026

Happy new year to everyone, all the best for 2026! 🥳

16/12/2025

The ultrasonic mirror function was designed to vibrate rain drops or condensation off the glass to avoid having to wipe it. After the ultrasonic function stops the heated mirror function runs for 120 seconds. After 30+ years in many cases the rigid glue adhering the glass to the ultrasonic transducer fails so many only make the high frequency noise without the mechanical vibration being transferred to the glass properly so not much happens, though in most cases the heated elements still work well all these years on.

17/10/2025

Notice: The postal address of Soarer Surgeon (Redrive Limited) has changed mid October 2025 so if you are planning on sending any components for repair please message and confirm the correct details prior to shipping :)

This handy temperature gauge chart notes what temperature range each segment block corresponds to. At normal operating t...
26/09/2025

This handy temperature gauge chart notes what temperature range each segment block corresponds to. At normal operating temperatures the middle position (Number 6) is where you will want to see it, this covers coolant temperatures of between 80°C & 110°C. Under normal conditions if you ever see it below or above the middle point it may suggest there are cooling system issues such as a faulty thermostat or blocked radiator core. In some cases false readings can be caused by electrical/resistance issues with the sensor, wiring or grounding points to the engine block.

I decided it was time to check the UZZ32's hydraulic active suspension nitrogen pressure on all 4 suspension assemblies....
28/08/2025

I decided it was time to check the UZZ32's hydraulic active suspension nitrogen pressure on all 4 suspension assemblies. The car hasn't been used as much in recent years but when taking it out now and then I wasn't totally satisfied with how the car rode, it seemed too firm and fidgety - not in line with how a UZZ32 should perform. Sure enough testing the pressures revealed they were down on all corners, both fronts 190psi (Target 250psi) and both rears 140psi (Target 215psi). This wasn't too surprising as these systems do gradually loose nitrogen pressure over time, to the best of my memory the last recharge was done in 2018. Fortunately it only took 45 minutes to regas them to spec, followed up by a test drive to confirm it was the problem. The ride quality is back to a more supple, comfortable experience as well as enhancing the smoothness when turning into a corner hard, letting that active magic eliminate virtually all body roll :)

02/08/2025

Last month I finished working on an updated exhaust system for my V8 UZZ32, all things considered I am pleased with the results. The new setup follows on from pre-existing hurricane 4-2-1 headers, running stainless steel 2.5" OD tube to a pair of catalytic converters, short bullet resonators and a balancing resonator that runs a 10mm ID H pipe inside sourced from a C63 AMG. My previous plan was to run a rear muffler from an LC500 however after trialing it I found it did not meet the sound expectations I had in mind. As a back up plan I decided to return to using pair of modified Audi RS4 rear mufflers previously fitted. I always liked these for a variety of reasons, they have a 'bi-modal' function with bypass valves that alter the sound tone & volume. Here's how it sounds with the valves open and closed stationary. It's quite a significant difference especially in person under load, with the rear valves closed you mostly hear the induction note only. This audio clip was recorded with a Zoom H1N stereo recorder giving a reasonable representation as far as recordings go, it's best listened through quality headphones or on a proper stereo rather than cellphone or laptop speakers that have a limited frequency range.

25/07/2025

When you have a near full tank of fuel, the digital dash doesn't output a to the liter fuel number, instead it just displays 'fuel full' until it falls below a certain level. However the actual fuel level can still be obtained in EMV fitted V8 Limited models. When the diagnostics channel TC and E1 is bridged (custom switch in this instance) the EMV diagnostics menu can be accessed, navigating to the vehicle signal menu will display the to the liter fuel level as shown here, 73 liters. This menu also also supplies some other information such as voltage, traveling speed and whether or not this setup has a reversing camera installed :)

As you can see this computer was in a rather bad way with various running issues, the main relay would randomly switch o...
10/07/2025

As you can see this computer was in a rather bad way with various running issues, the main relay would randomly switch off, stopping the engine without warning and also preventing the transmission shifting gears correctly. It was certainly a confusing ordeal for the owner but fortunately with a bit of TLC I was able to repair it accordingly getting the vehicle running perfectly once again!

Currently working on a custom trial exhaust system for the 3UZ-FE UZZ32. The goals of this project are to implement a co...
02/05/2025

Currently working on a custom trial exhaust system for the 3UZ-FE UZZ32. The goals of this project are to implement a corrosion free system using stainless steel materials, reduce emission using a pair of high flow catalytic converters, and to provide a sporty sound characteristic throughout the rev range that can also be made quiet when required using a valved rear silencer from an LC500. For further adjustment a valved H pipe balancer will be used that can change the balancing characteristics altering the overall exhaust tone produced. Once the fabrication work is completed a custom headshield will be made to suit the new arrangement along the length of the driveshaft tunnel and boot floor area. Aiming for completion through the month of May, stay tuned for more photos and video/audio clips of how it sounds in the various modes, stationary and under load :)

07/04/2025

Notice: The postal address of Soarer Surgeon (Redrive Limited) has changed so if you are planning on sending any components for repair please message and confirm prior to shipping :)

Address

Auckland
2473

Telephone

+64223082594

Website

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