Terrano auto 3 ltr ... what do I look for?

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terrythefirst

Active member
Joined
Jul 30, 2013
Messages
34
Hello again everyone,

Well, after 9 months of owning a much loved 2001 2.7 manual 3dr 122k NoSH we have decided to upgrade to a 3.0 auto [54 plate 89k SVE with FSH]. Auto meaning I can get it converted to hand controls so I can drive it, as well as my wife.

Please can you hint at any disastrous things to watch out for, esp with auto box and the 3.0 engine which are new to me.

Cheers :)
 
The only things I know about the 3L is the oil pressure switches (high & low) can play up putting the warning light on the dash & heads can crack but not sure if it was just the trolls that suffered it:confused: Hopefully the one your looking at is a minter:thumb2 & you can get back to driving again:D
Off topic I know but driving with hand controls I found very strange as i've driven quite a few cars with them, felt like a learner driver all over again as it takes some getting use to:augie
 
the auto has a lower max trailer weight of 2000kg, vs 3000kg on 3.0, the 2.7 are
1700 and 2800 respectively.

the 3.0 have the dohc has longer booked times for jobs, head gasket is 13 hours
versus 7 for 2.7, hopefully something will never need but indication that more
labour cost on big jobs.

the 3.0 is more economical, powerful and sounds different. !
 
Thanks, been driving a converted BMW 330d auto for 6 months now... and OH YES it did take some getting used to. Oddly; smooth braking to a halt at the lights is the hardest thing to learn when you brake by pushing with the palm of your hand... eventually you learn to push the brake by extending your fingers (pushing with your fingernails), which are weaker, yet more sensitive and controllable, then follow through with the palm to halt.
 
Thanks for reminding me Thomas-the-Terrano. I forgot to mention; we did our homework on the trailer weight diff, as we tow a horse trailer [@700kg trailer + 400kg pony]. What I am curious about though is how it behaves when you tow. With a manual you can use the gears to slow. Is auto Terry smart enough [mechanically] to do that?
 
Yes I found the braking bit the hardest mind you I also pulled to hard driving off at first:augie but got there in the end once my brain got used to driving with my hand & not my feet. TBH never driven an auto T2 so don't know what the box is like first hand but like most auto's dropping it down a gear to slow down isn't a good thing to do as there is no dampering affect like you get on a manual as you lift your foot up off the clutch so it's really foot brake to stop but if it's a steep hill your going down lets say if you can get your speed low enough or stop & select first or say second gear the gear box will hold that gear & not change up giving you full engine braking if your foot/hand is off the throttle
 
I tow a 1900kg caravan with my 04 3ltr auto and it did so very well considering the car was fully loaded as well. It was my first towing experience (with this car and caravan) and was a 400 mile round trip!
I've discovered that the over drive button on the gear selector is left in for most of the time but when heavy, and needing engine braking, I switched off the over drive which is like changing down to 3rd. Obviously the caravan has brakes which helped. To be honest the 30-40mph up hills were harder, ending up in 2nd on a 17% incline and down to 25ish mph with a few cars behind. That was in the North Yorkshire Moors and was the only time it needed full chat with gritted teeth! Along the A1m at 65mph (on the clock) was easy and enjoyable, just a little quicker than hgv's which was perfect.
Solo, it's easy, just waft along at any speed. Real lazy and love it. Haven't worked out mpg but not really concerned about it.
Had no mechanical problems yet and it's 120k and well used.
Hope this helps a little..

Sent from my C1905 using Tapatalk
 
This one does have the pressure gauge light problem. The mechanic tried swapping the switch but that didn't work, so he fitted a little analogue pressure gauge in the cab, which reads 1.5 to 7 depending on what the car is doing, so looks okay to me? Anyone know how to fix it?
 
Mechanic probably swapped the wrong switch... the low pressure one is really easy to get to as it's just behind the oil filter and is probably where he fitted the sender for the pressure gauge (that's where I fitted mine).

The high pressure switch is the one that fails and is on the drivers side of the engine down near the starter, possibly below it, and is a bugger to get to!

I can just get to mine from underneath my Trol with the sump guard off but it's not easy and while I did manage to unplug the connector (to see if it made a different to the light going on - it didn't :doh) it is not easy and I wouldn't like to try replacing it. I believe it is slightly easier on the Terrano (see the downloads) but as you now have a pressure gauge I wouldn't bother.

Gauge readings-wise (and just to be awkward mine is psi :lol), at operating temp and in neutral you should get over 21 psi/ 1.4 bar at idle; 60-80 psi or higher/ 4.1-5.5 bar or higher at 2000rpm; over 104 psi/ 7.1 bar at 4000rpm. Cruising at about 2700rpm I get around 80psi /5.5 bar.

Official figure for 2000rpm is 78psi /5.3 bar or higher but from speaking with the Oz lads there's quite a few get between 60-80psi at that rpm and have done so for years with no problems. There's a lot of variables can affect oil pressure anyway including grade so as long as your getting in the real world figures above I wouldn't worry - I'm not :thumbs

When I have the time to spare, and the enthusiasm, I plan to pull the dash bulb for the oil pressure :rolleyes:
 
I removed the drivers wheel to get to the oil switch and found it easy to exchange this way.
 
Thanks Barrbeast. You are correct... he swapped the easy one. I shall not worry about it any more :)
 
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