Terrano - What to be aware of?

[speedwayfan]

Seriously considering about buying a 2.7TD Terrano soon-ish as opposed to another Lada or Suzuki but I have some questions, mainly of things I need to be checking on any I have a look at. Weak points, rust issues (already aware of rust under the rear seats), common problems etc etc all would be helpful.

[smurf182]

Searching with the keyword 'terrano' on this forum produces over 3000 hits, perhaps you would like to try it.

http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/Forums/search.php

[BlakeNZ]

this thread is a good place to start...
http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/Forums/ ... 25&t=37876
they are a popular and common truck, so plenty of knowledge and discussion.

[speedwayfan]

Thanks for those, had a look through some already but a few more I must have missed were on the search.

Have bought a Nissan Mistral (picking it up Monday), bit bigger and alot heavier than what I initially wanted but figure it'll come in handy one day....somehow. Looks fairly standard to me, everything seems fine overall except for niggly things like electric windows/central locking etc which appears to be pretty common for these....don't believe it's been off road much at all, transfer case is very stiff which from what I have read, could mean it's stuffed or just hasn't been used for a long time.

Barring and hoping for no serious mechanical problems in the near future, I think all it's going to need is another set of tyres within the next few warrants. I know it's not much help without a size to give, but can anyone recommend a nice all terrain tyre to fit a standard (will confirm) Mistral?

[Crash bandicoot]

Thanks for those, had a look through some already but a few more I must have missed were on the search.

Have bought a Nissan Mistral (picking it up Monday), bit bigger and alot heavier than what I initially wanted but figure it'll come in handy one day....somehow. Looks fairly standard to me, everything seems fine overall except for niggly things like electric windows/central locking etc which appears to be pretty common for these....don't believe it's been off road much at all, transfer case is very stiff which from what I have read, could mean it's stuffed or just hasn't been used for a long time.

Barring and hoping for no serious mechanical problems in the near future, I think all it's going to need is another set of tyres within the next few warrants. I know it's not much help without a size to give, but can anyone recommend a nice all terrain tyre to fit a standard (will confirm) Mistral?

tyres biggest you can fit with a factory ride hieght is 31x10.5 R15 MT's

other wise pick a tyre any tyre really.

the drivers side window regulator will set you back 300 dollars new. IT is caused by the wire cable getting slightly frayed then going up and down untill it cuts through the nylon runners.

I rebuilt mine using 2 meters of 3mm steel cable from bunnings 3 swashes and a pair of fencing pliers . the hard bit is getting the new cable on to the spool. to three goes to get it right but she's nice and smooth now.

depending on the year you will have issues with the inner top A arm bushes. I think it's just lack of maintenance on the previous owners part.

also big tires plus suspension lift = bent steering idler arm.(they are a D21 chassi after all.)

get under neath it and look at the floor pan under the rear passengers seats...(not the very back ones) and look for any signs of rust.

It's an expensive job to get that fixed if the WOF guys pick it up so if you see any water blast it get rid of any rust/flaking you can and paint under body paint on it.

Otherwise they're a pretty good truck.

Oh and get the auto trans serviced( if its a auto).

This is mine. with a lift, MT's, Winch, Locker front/LSD rear
(factory intercooled)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/101095098@N02/10353838184

[lax2wlg]

This is mine. Locker front/LSD rear

So some pretty confused looking faces on club trips I imagine

"How the f** did he do that??!"

[speedwayfan]

Just picked it up. Pretty happy with it considering it's just clocked over 270,000k. Engine seems good, maybe a bit hot but I'll get it all checked out soon. I'd say the radiator could do with a good clean/flush, the overflow looked pretty gunky/thicker than it should be.

Heard a strange grinding/buzzing/whizzing noise for about 50m, unsure exactly what it is...first thought was the radio not working right but it wasn't on. Thinking maybe it's the alternator, that's about the only thing making any strange noise.

Drivers window doesn't work, will look into it. All others do, sunroof I think 'sets in' a bit too much (should be flush/rubber/foam sealed around the roof yeah?). Central locking works, but the drivers door will not lock at all...could be lucky all these little problems are in one area right? And the rear door can be locked with key, but only way to unlock it is to get in and pull up the locking plug/pin (whatever they call it).

Also moved the rear (middle row) of seats and lifted the carpet, doesn't look as if there's any rust but there's a colour matched I guess sticker/sheet there which I'm going to assume is normal. Haven't got underneath it yet to have a proper look.

[Crash bandicoot]

yeah at 270 it will probably need a good clean out and service.

Heard a strange grinding/buzzing/whizzing noise for about 50m, unsure exactly what it is...first thought was the radio not working right but it wasn't on. Thinking maybe it's the alternator, that's about the only thing making any strange noise.

Drivers window doesn't work, will look into it.

If you take the door card off and just visually inspect the cable and window runner if that is okay get a couple of meters of electrical wire and pull the two pin plug to the window motor and give it a quick power up directly to the battery. if it works the switch contacts will be most likley all gunged up.

failing that the alternator charge(or lack of proper charge) has been known to affect the power windows. something to do with the modulation/pulse of the charge...
Don't ask me to explain further lol. I'm no sparky.

glass should be flush with the roof line, the bolts that hold the rails in place may have wiggled around a bit or moved over the years.

I had the same issue with the locks on the drivers door and the rear door with my 98. the drivers doors tumbler had turned in the door so no matter how much you turned it it wouldn't trigger the lock or the central locking one way. and if you triggered the inside lock the central locking would unlock again as it wasn't lined up properly inside the door.

it is just general wear and tear.

same for the rear door. but should also work off central locking..but may have to get the drivers door working porperly for that to work.

The reason for checking the floor is there is a double skin/over lap panel steel under there, moisture gets trapped and obvious happens.

[speedwayfan]

Yep yep, sounds pretty similar to what's happening re central locking. Tried the rear door and yep it does unlock with the CL. Noticed before when I locked it the drivers door was very hard to open...possibly it's half locking its self? Job for the weekend I'd say. Also as soon as the drivers door is opened/attempted to open, all the other doors unlock.

Sunroof again, makes a hell of a racket when driving along the motorway or the more rougher roads/off road. Looked closer and it appears that the back bracket (I guess) has snapped off and is floating back into the roof cavity. Figure that's what's making all the noise and not the actual sunroof.

Have to look at the speedo aswell, temp gauge doesn't appear to work and the speed is about 15km off. Wondering if supercheap or repco type outfits might have just a dash mounted speedometer. Bit of a mission behind dash clusters, found that out the hard way once

[Crash bandicoot]

When it comes to the speedo nissan have a habit of one size fit's all regardless of diff ratio or tyre size. What size tyre's has it got on? for example if its got a 265/70R15 i'd expect it to be out by 10 or 11 km's

my 98 model was out by 10 km's at a 100 kph according to the GPS. That was solved with bigger tyres. now it's only 1 kph out with 32's on.

As for the temp gauge it's most likely at the engine end corroded plug or broken wire.

In saying that if the temp gauge isn't working and the speedo is out by 15 kph I'd suggest pulling the cluster out to see if its been tampered with, they may have bent some of the pins taking the plugs in and out of the back of it.