YET ANOTHER NEW GUY

[FLOYD]

Hi all!!

Firstly, awsome site this is, and what a great bunch of guys, with a wealth of information!!! I have been cruisin the site for a week and it's pretty impressive as a source of help for the newbie!!
I have only recently been bitten by the offroad bug, and am only as far as a good snatch rope! Not to say that I havent been venturing out there though!
Ok - driving a 94 Terrano turbo automatic - any comments/advice on that would be good ie. what upgrades are a must, what's good but not essential etc etc.
AND, those hand winches, the 4mt ones, they are only like 60-80 bucks, are they worth having until funds make for better options????
Thinkin bout snatching, are the factory tow hooks on these trucks heavy duty/HT bolted?
And what about the two eyelets back further, on the chassis, can you snatch off those?

Any comments/ideas/advice would be awesome - plus if you old timers wanna get up me about the truck then hey bring that on too!!!

AJ

[DaveM]

Welcome aboard.
Don't know a lot about the Terrano, (it's a Nissan so it has to be good), but you could probably do a 2" lift (around $200 for coils, and wind the torsion bars up, new shocks). This would give better ground clearance and allow bigger tyres to be fitted.
If you want to do any river work, a snorkel is a must, as is basic recovery gear for any wheelin.
It all depends on what you want to do, so I would start with good tyres and go from there.

If the front hook is the same as the Safari one, it is ok for snatching, but if joining a club, you may need to buy a rated hook.
Do not use any eyes on the truck for recoveries, as these are only tie down points for delivery.
No doubt others will add a lot more.

Any winch is better than no winch.

Where are you?

[DieselBoy]

Go Dave!!!!
Yep, what he said, down to the word.
To confirm, the factory front hook is good for towing/snatching from.
The rear, you can remove your tow ball and use a shackle if you have a tow bar, or just make an adapter to bolt an aftermarket hook from Repco to the Chassis.

So When you've got all that sorted, we start on with Sway Bars, sump gaurds, idler arm braces, bump stops etc etc

Check out the D21 Tech thread i'm putting together in the Nissan Section.
Cheers,
Pete.

[wopass]

yea... what they said.

where you from dude? another southern'er i spose


winch
tyres
real winch
lift
bigger tyres
lockers

just a small shopping list to put on the fridge

[FLOYD]

Welcome aboard.
Don't know a lot about the Terrano, (it's a Nissan so it has to be good), but you could probably do a 2" lift (around $200 for coils, and wind the torsion bars up, new shocks). This would give better ground clearance and allow bigger tyres to be fitted.
If you want to do any river work, a snorkel is a must, as is basic recovery gear for any wheelin.
It all depends on what you want to do, so I would start with good tyres and go from there.

If the front hook is the same as the Safari one, it is ok for snatching, but if joining a club, you may need to buy a rated hook.
Do not use any eyes on the truck for recoveries, as these are only tie down points for delivery.
No doubt others will add a lot more.

Any winch is better than no winch.

Where are you?

Thanks Dave - Im in sunny dunedin!! haha - ok, so the lift, 200 for the coils, and then how much to have it done(me not being the mechanically minded type)? and what goes with it, ie, what needs tweaked to allow for the lift's effect on everything? snorkels, i know its not as simple as just having one fitted is it? what goes along with having one of those put in? from what i have read here they sound hard to seal up properly?
Thanks for ur time and advice mate.

AJ

[FLOYD]

Go Dave!!!!
Yep, what he said, down to the word.
To confirm, the factory front hook is good for towing/snatching from.
The rear, you can remove your tow ball and use a shackle if you have a tow bar, or just make an adapter to bolt an aftermarket hook from Repco to the Chassis.

So When you've got all that sorted, we start on with Sway Bars, sump gaurds, idler arm braces, bump stops etc etc

Check out the D21 Tech thread i'm putting together in the Nissan Section.
Cheers,
Pete.

Hey Pete

Thanks - ok - Sway Bars, sump guards, idler arm braces, bump stops etc etc - can u walk me thru this with costs involved?Bit over my head im afraid - god u guys will get sick of me fast!!
D21 is pretty cool man, nice effort!
I have read a bit about using the shackle technique on the tow bar, but is it prone to being bent doing that to snatch or does it always depend on each situation, angle of pressure etc.?

Cheers Pete
AJ

[FLOYD]

yea... what they said.

where you from dude? another southern'er i spose


winch
tyres
real winch
lift
bigger tyres
lockers

just a small shopping list to put on the fridge

Hey Wopass

Thanks dude, yip southern man, i can feel ur jealousy mate! yeah that shopping list is the go alright but have to win lotto to get it all done with any haste!! grrr, i just want it all done so i can get right into it!!

Rgds
AJ

[wopass]

hah you will have to wait in line for the lotto win mate, im next.

first on my list is a new MX bike, my old KTM is getting a bit long in the tooth, and then my list is like this

lockers
bigger garage
more tools
hoist
383 charged injected and into the cruiser

[FLOYD]

hah you will have to wait in line for the lotto win mate, im next.

first on my list is a new MX bike, my old KTM is getting a bit long in the tooth, and then my list is like this

lockers
bigger garage
more tools
hoist
383 charged injected and into the cruiser

Yeah that 12m last week would have had ur list all sorted!!

:pig: lucky one

[DaveM]

Avoid buying a cheap snorkel like Airflow, these can be a pain to fit and seal, so go for a Safari or similar.

Although I personally wont deal with them, perhaps try Fully Equipped as they should be able to supply coils and snorkel, and do the fitting. Make sure to haggle the price though.

Fitting the coils is straight foward, as is adjusting the torsion bars, so shouldn't cost much, but I would get the snorkel done by someone experienced if you are not confident in doing this yourself.
You could probably get away with your standard shocks, but to get the full benefit of the lift, replace them asap with those suited for the lift (usually 2" for a ifs vehicle).

As always, do some shopping around.


Dave

[albundy]

Hi,
I have a 94 V6 manual terrano and have modified heaps and still planning more. I had a snorkel fitted by 4wd upgrades in CHCH and they did a good job of it and it was an airflow. They just made some mods to it to make it fit. ARB do good suspension upgrades for terranos, lifted mine 2". Have taken all the original bumpers off and replaced with solid steel and good recovery points. There is a site in the USA dedicated to Terrano's/pathfinders(one and the same). They are called NOPRA, have alook. I have also done some panel cutting on the front guards to give more wheel space for articulation and to get the chains on when I need them. Work out whether you have an LSD or not and get it service if you do as it will make a big difference out on the trail. With the auto box you will need more oil in it then what the specs say as they have a tendency to over heat due to some feeder holes being to small, you can find out more on that site I mention or talk with deiselboy as he seems to be the local terrano.nissan expert in these lands.
enjoy the site and maybe we can hit the trail sometime. Where you based?
Albundy

[FLOYD]

Avoid buying a cheap snorkel like Airflow, these can be a pain to fit and seal, so go for a Safari or similar.

Although I personally wont deal with them, perhaps try Fully Equipped as they should be able to supply coils and snorkel, and do the fitting. Make sure to haggle the price though.

Fitting the coils is straight foward, as is adjusting the torsion bars, so shouldn't cost much, but I would get the snorkel done by someone experienced if you are not confident in doing this yourself.
You could probably get away with your standard shocks, but to get the full benefit of the lift, replace them asap with those suited for the lift (usually 2" for a ifs vehicle).

As always, do some shopping around.

cheers for that dave!

so fitting the coils and doing torsoin bars can be done myself?
good advice, cheers.


Dave

[FLOYD]

Hi,
I have a 94 V6 manual terrano and have modified heaps and still planning more. I had a snorkel fitted by 4wd upgrades in CHCH and they did a good job of it and it was an airflow. They just made some mods to it to make it fit. ARB do good suspension upgrades for terranos, lifted mine 2". Have taken all the original bumpers off and replaced with solid steel and good recovery points. There is a site in the USA dedicated to Terrano's/pathfinders(one and the same). They are called NOPRA, have alook. I have also done some panel cutting on the front guards to give more wheel space for articulation and to get the chains on when I need them. Work out whether you have an LSD or not and get it service if you do as it will make a big difference out on the trail. With the auto box you will need more oil in it then what the specs say as they have a tendency to over heat due to some feeder holes being to small, you can find out more on that site I mention or talk with deiselboy as he seems to be the local terrano.nissan expert in these lands.
enjoy the site and maybe we can hit the trail sometime. Where you based?
Albundy

thanx albundy,

how can u tell if u have a LSD? and whats the pros and cons of susp. lift vs body lift?

[DaveM]

Coils should be easy enough to fit. Disconnect rear shocks, and you could possibly use a scissor jack between the diff and chassis to get enough clearance to remove old coil and put in new ones. Torsion bars are easy enough, its basically just doing up a bolt to put more tension on the bars, but mark the positions and count the number of turns, same number each side. Usually best to do a small amount at a time, and then go for a quick drive so they "settle" into a neutral position.

If in doubt as to whether you can do it, your better off paying someone else that has done this before, as it shouldnt cost much, and if you buy the coils from them, you could ask to have them fitted free, or at least at a good price.

Also, when getting coils, make sure you know what you want, as if you have heavy loads and do a lot of towing, you dont want soft coils, but if you carry light loads, and want good off road handling, a softer coil allows better articulation.

Get advice from someone that knows the products they are selling, and if they dont ask you questions like what you intend to do with the vehicle, or what loads etc you carry, then go to someone that aren't just out to sell you a set of coils. You want someone who is selling you a product that you will benefit from.


Dave

[FLOYD]

Coils should be easy enough to fit. Disconnect rear shocks, and you could possibly use a scissor jack between the diff and chassis to get enough clearance to remove old coil and put in new ones. Torsion bars are easy enough, its basically just doing up a bolt to put more tension on the bars, but mark the positions and count the number of turns, same number each side. Usually best to do a small amount at a time, and then go for a quick drive so they "settle" into a neutral position.

If in doubt as to whether you can do it, your better off paying someone else that has done this before, as it shouldnt cost much, and if you buy the coils from them, you could ask to have them fitted free, or at least at a good price.

Also, when getting coils, make sure you know what you want, as if you have heavy loads and do a lot of towing, you dont want soft coils, but if you carry light loads, and want good off road handling, a softer coil allows better articulation.

Get advice from someone that knows the products they are selling, and if they dont ask you questions like what you intend to do with the vehicle, or what loads etc you carry, then go to someone that aren't just out to sell you a set of coils. You want someone who is selling you a product that you will benefit from.


Dave

cheers dave! good advice by the sounds of it.

[DaveM]

how can u tell if u have a LSD? and whats the pros and cons of susp. lift vs body lift?

For the LSD, look on the diff housing near the filler plug, as it usually has a sticker "LSD oil only" on it. If its not there, it doesnt mean it doesnt have one, it may have been pulled off or painted over.
The other way is jack the back wheels up and rotate them. If both wheels spin in the same direction, its lsd, if they rotate in opposite directions its open diff, leave hand brake off, but chock front wheels (I think thatsright )

Some people like body lifts, as they are reletively cheap, and allow bigger tyres to be fitted (or chains).
This is probably a good option for a ifs vehicle since you are limited to how high you can go with a suspension lift unless you want to spend mega dollars with drop diff brackets etc etc, but even then, it will never be as strong as a beam axle.

I would go for the suspension lift first, that way you start with fresh coils and shocks, bothof which will enhance the hadling and drivability on and off road. If you get into it a little more, then go for the body lift and bigger tyres.
After that, buy a Safari

Dave

[FLOYD]

how can u tell if u have a LSD? and whats the pros and cons of susp. lift vs body lift?

For the LSD, look on the diff housing near the filler plug, as it usually has a sticker "LSD oil only" on it. If its not there, it doesnt mean it doesnt have one, it may have been pulled off or painted over.
The other way is jack the back wheels up and rotate them. If both wheels spin in the same direction, its lsd, if they rotate in opposite directions its open diff, leave hand brake off, but chock front wheels (I think thatsright )

Some people like body lifts, as they are reletively cheap, and allow bigger tyres to be fitted (or chains).
This is probably a good option for a ifs vehicle since you are limited to how high you can go with a suspension lift unless you want to spend mega dollars with drop diff brackets etc etc, but even then, it will never be as strong as a beam axle.

I would go for the suspension lift first, that way you start with fresh coils and shocks, bothof which will enhance the hadling and drivability on and off road. If you get into it a little more, then go for the body lift and bigger tyres.
After that, buy a Safari

Dave

cheers Dave!

Man I love this site, all you guys rock!! well i guess i am aiming first to upgrade the suspension then.

[albundy]

jack up the rear wheels and give them a turn in neutral. If they both spin in the same direction =LSD. If they turn opposite ways = open diff. Or sticker on diff if it still on at all. First option is easiest. Body lift for me got panels out of the way and more room for wheel articulation.
Albundy