Soon to be new owner of a 1997 terrano swb 2.7tdi se! with gaffa tape on wing mirrior

[dsgrnmcm]

Hi team!

In 4 weeks time i wil be the proud owner of my girlfriends uncles p reg blue swb terrano! its all standard with side steps and a cracked drivers wing mirrior! i have a few question though, and hopefuly you guys can help me out!

so here goes:

1. Is there anyone from the north devon area? as i live in bideford.

2. Are the 2.7 tdi engines gear driven as opposed to belt or chain?

3. What sort of MPG can i expect from the beast?

4. How do i remove the side steps, in order to increase ground clearance?

5. If i replace the air filter with a K&N cone how will it affect fording, is the nissan one sealed?

6. Her uncle says every year he has to get the front bearings re-tightened and the rears are sealed? anyone else have this?

7. Does any one have a mong proof guide ti putting in spot lights and a roof rack?

Many thanks dan!

(soon to be dan the nissan man)

[zippy656]

Originally Posted by dsgrnmcm

Hi team!

In 4 weeks time i wil be the proud owner of my girlfriends uncles p reg blue swb terrano! its all standard with side steps and a cracked drivers wing mirrior! i have a few question though, and hopefuly you guys can help me out!

so here goes:

1. Is there anyone from the north devon area? as i live in bideford.I think so

2. Are the 2.7 tdi engines gear driven as opposed to belt or chain?
gear

3. What sort of MPG can i expect from the beast?
28 is about right

4. How do i remove the side steps, in order to increase ground clearance?
unbolt from under car, at front and back, then sell on ebay

5. If i replace the air filter with a K&N cone how will it affect fording, is the nissan one sealed?
some people have done it ( ian jones ) but not wise

6. Her uncle says every year he has to get the front bearings re-tightened and the rears are sealed? anyone else have this?
search forum


7. Does any one have a mong proof guide ti putting in spot lights and a roof rack?
search forum


Many thanks dan!

(soon to be dan the nissan man)

oh Ps HI Dan and welcome

[lacroupade]

Originally Posted by dsgrnmcm

Hi team!

In 4 weeks time i wil be the proud owner of my girlfriends uncles p reg blue swb terrano! its all standard with side steps and a cracked drivers wing mirrior! i have a few question though, and hopefuly you guys can help me out!

so here goes:

2. Are the 2.7 tdi engines gear driven as opposed to belt or chain?

4. How do i remove the side steps, in order to increase ground clearance?

5. If i replace the air filter with a K&N cone how will it affect fording, is the nissan one sealed?

6. Her uncle says every year he has to get the front bearings re-tightened and the rears are sealed? anyone else have this?

7. Does any one have a mong proof guide ti putting in spot lights and a roof rack?

Many thanks dan!

(soon to be dan the nissan man)

Dan Dan the Nissan Man!

A couple of add-ons t what Zipp has said:

Timing is direct gear driven, straight off the crank - no belts or chains so you can forget them forever - this engine is also fitted to the London Fairway black cab - 300-400k miles is the norm for those beasties...

Removing side steps-there are three pairs of bolts each side, front, middle and rear. Quite possible on an older truck that some of them will be seized, so my advice would be plenty of advance soaking in WD40 but still be prepared with a small disc-cutter/grinder to cut the tops of one or two. But you're right, makes a lot of difference to ground clearance.

Also, if the front of your truck is more than 1-2 cms lower than the back, then the torsion bars need adjusting upwards - theres a workshop download on the site to help. Also helps with ground clearance. And if you can afford them, you can fit up to 31-inch diameter tyres to give you another bit of height. Wheel fitment is Jap standard (details on here somewhere) so Hilux, Shogun etc; all sorts will fit providing wheel offset is adequate (lots on here about that too)

K&N filter is great, improves performance a bit as well as adding 1-2 mpg. When you fit it, you remove the entire airbox (which takes its air from inside the nearside wing which of course can fill with water just as easily)...so look at the height at which the cone will then sit in the engine bay and ask yourself if you'll ever go that deep - if you do then I suggest you need a snorkel!! Nissan recommended wading depth is 0.5 metres I think but you can go a bit deeper providing you're sensible.

I've had a Mav and two Terranos (two of them from new) and covered more than 250,000 miles in them - never heard that stuff about bearings but it never hurts to carry out preventative maintenance. Rears aren't sealed to my knowledge.

Re spots, unless you have an A-bar (which reduces front ground clearance and approach angle) lots of folk just mount smallish spots (6inch) straight into the front bumper using large washers either side to spread load.

Re roof rack, I'd recommend you just buy a pair of Thule-type roof bars that clamp straight on (side to side). You can get roof rails (front to back) which take a bit of fitting but then you still need to buy the bars to fit them for carrying stuff and unless you want the 'roof rail' look, the Thule roof bars are the most flexible option. Loads on FleaBay.

Join up and we'll give you the secret link to the on-line maintenance manual!

[zippy656]

Um lacroupade you said...

Join up and we'll give you the secret link to the on-line maintenance manual!



but hes in BLUE so he has..


must look under mind then thought side steps were only front and back.

NB cant take mine off as short wife


Zippy

[lacroupade]

Originally Posted by zippy656

Um lacroupade you said...

Join up and we'll give you the secret link to the on-line maintenance manual!



but hes in BLUE so he has..


must look under mind then thought side steps were only front and back.

NB cant take mine off as short wife


Zippy

Sorry DAN - must have been too early for me!

Give him the link then Zip!!!

And yes, six bolts each side. Front and middle pairs bolted to side of chassis, rear pair bolted to side and top....takes ten minutes to remove them if the bolts are not seized.....so next time you go to salisbury plain, whip them off - makes a lot of difference to ground clearance when going over humpy bits! And oil the bolts before refitting to make it easier next time...

[zippy656]

http://bebrs.pie-dabas.net/Webs/Terrano/R20/fwd.pdf

YES BOSS

[lacroupade]

Originally Posted by zippy656

http://bebrs.pie-dabas.net/Webs/Terrano/R20/fwd.pdf

YES BOSS

Zip you KNOW you are i/c the manual link! stop shirking your responsibilities....

[dsgrnmcm]

Bloody hell thanks guys, loads of info, as far as i know it is all standard, i would like to rais it a little, bull bars do i really need them? spots i would say yes.

with the nissan NATS alarm is it good enough to reduce car insurance or not really?

dan

p.s. i only know of 2 terrano 2 owners in north devon, any one else?

[zippy656]

you can lift the back by putting LWB springs in.. then wind the front up a bit with the tortion bars, ( search ) as i dont understand that bit!

ebay for A bar Bull bar.

lights oh yes, getting some too. well when funds alow that is.


zippy

[lacroupade]

Originally Posted by dsgrnmcm

Bloody hell thanks guys, loads of info, as far as i know it is all standard, i would like to rais it a little, bull bars do i really need them? spots i would say yes.

with the nissan NATS alarm is it good enough to reduce car insurance or not really?

dan

p.s. i only know of 2 terrano 2 owners in north devon, any one else?

To be honest Dan, no need to go mad - you'd be surprised what the standard SWB can do. If you want to avoid insurance issues (having to advise mods) I would (i) lose the side steps as their absence makes a big difference to what you can drive over), (2) check your levels (the front should only be 1-2 cms lower than the back, if not, raise it with torsion bars), and (3) think about some bigger tyres. All of those will give you plenty of height and the SWB already has excellent approach/depart angles.

You don't want a bullbar, it loses clearance but that and the bumper are the only way to mount spots sensibly, unless you want to stick them on the roof...

[zippy656]

I'm not to sure about the A Bar thing.. it don't poke down below the front cross member, YES is dose change the approach angles though


but i think bigger wheels / tyres will get that back some what

[lacroupade]

Originally Posted by zippy656

I'm not to sure about the A Bar thing.. it don't poke down below the front cross member, YES is dose change the approach angles though

watched a vid on Youtube just this morning where some chap graunched his shiny new bar on a dirty great boulder, and what with the view some insurance companies take I don't think its worth the trouble TBH....but of course, if you're Mr Bling, oh you ARE Mr Bling!!!

[zippy656]

well. blink is my middle name...


want chrome lights on the a bar.. too

also a few other lights

[lacroupade]

Originally Posted by zippy656

well. blink is my middle name...


want chrome lights on the a bar.. too

also a few other lights

Think we should change your name to Bigfoot on account of your carbon footprint aspirations! LOL

[zippy656]

Originally Posted by lacroupade

Think we should change your name to Bigfoot on account of your carbon footprint aspirations! LOL

big some thing any way