Tony Clark

On my 2002 Prado, the fuel transfer pump has a fuel filter which can block, causing increasingly less fuel transfer between the tanks. It may be the same for the Cruiser too. I have not yet had an issue with mine even at 250000km, but that is low mileage for a 2002 Prado. I hope that you have a filter that can be easily replaced. It could save you a pump replacement.

Unless you can identify which engine your Hilux has now, you may be better off finding a good 5LE engine and return it to stock. Nice to have a Turbo diesel though. Have you tried taking a photo of the engine and posting it so others can advise what engine you have. It may be better to have your engine overhauled. If you can locate the engine number (should be on the registration papers if the engine swap was done legit), you might be able to ID the engine that way too. Do you know why the engine seized? It may be possible to overhaul your engine cheaper than replacing it.

The safest way to downshift when going down hill is to use the gear shifter to select the appropriate gear for the conditions. No Automatic transmission will downshift when going down hill, unless it has a cruise control that will downshift if exceeding the set speed at zero accelerator pedal depression. My 1996 Mercedes C250TD had such a cruise control and it worked well.

The radiator cap was faulty, not pressurising the coolant system and causing coolant to be expelled when the hot engine was turned off. Replaced rad cap and all OK.