Terrano reliability

[Rusty Spanner]

Hi all
Been a Land Rover man for the past 30 years, from series 1 to td5 fenders and discos but to be honest I'm sick of spending my money fixing the things, I've been looking at the Terrano for quite some time, and they seem quite impressive from what I've seen,but how do they hold up for reliability. I'm going to be doing quite a few long distance runs 1000 mile plus trips so need a truck I can just jump in and turn the key (that rules out anything with a green oval)
Hopefully going to pick one up before christmas any advice on what to look out for :nenau thanks in advance guys

Glenn

 

[macabethiel]

Terrano r3mR Auto

My wife had our imported Nissan for 5 years and it never let us down driven to France 3/4 times a year and used daily cost £3000 and sold for £500.

The vehicle of choice whenever we went on holiday in the UK it was a sad day when we parted with her as she was getting on a bit being an N reg:

We now have a Santa Fe it will be a hard act to follow.

 

[rustic]

Hi Glenn welcome to the club, I have had my Maverick, Nissan Terrano in disguise for well over 18 years from new.
Why... ? it has been great all this time, no serious problems, and always started first turn of the key.

ALL the things I have replaced in 18 years...
Rear wheel bearing.
Rear wheel brake cylinders.
Washer pump front and back.
Front drop links on ARB, a few times, less than £20 the pair.
Last year was the most expensive, £30 for a replacement fuel tank.
Usual stuff, brake discs and pads, tyres, (still on original rear drums.) Battery and exhausts. A few bulbs.

Most parts are really cheap and easily available.
Most fixes are easy and some are free just a bit of grease here and there.
Mine is drip free, as I keep it in a garage on a painted floor, so easy to see if there was.
No oil leaks, burns no oil and virtually rust free.
But then again I have looked after it, lots of waxoyl on the underbody and chassis. I have done all the servicing and repairs for the past 14-15 years, after the 3 year warrenty ran out.

Best vehicle I have ever owned by far.

My late father had a disco, and left more oil on the drive than the oil spill in the gulf of Mexico.:doh
Leaks from :- Front and rear diff, gearbox, engine sump but most from both swivel hub bearings...
Add to that wet carpets all over...


Best regards,

Rustic

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

Their main downfall is the Tin worm... You do need to have a good look round them before you commit. I would have a read through old threads, and look for the common places, and if you are not able to do it yourself, get someone who can give it a really good once over from underneath.

Other than that, very nice reliable cars. We got our 14 year old one as a stop gap, as my V70 was written off, and we were very tight on funds, but we love it so much, we went out and bought a second one for the wife... That one is 23 years old, and still runs a dream.. I am currently trying to sort out some rust on the nearside rear brakes on hers, from where the previous owner stored it in the corner of a muddy field for 2 years.

 

[Rusty Spanner]

Thanks guys endorsing what I've already heard :thumb2
To be honest I'm yet to find somebody with something bad to say about them . Quite used to tin worm being a Land Rover owner, one gets quite acquainted with the dear old mig torch .
Will have a good look at past threads see if I can identify the weak spots. Going to be difficult leaving Land Rover I did fancy another td5 disco but like you say Rustic they leak more oil than an oil can and the last one I owned left me stranded more than once.
I haven't got a massive budget being just before christmas about 3 - 3.5k , will try find the best I can around that price

 

[cncfabs]

Some of the best terranos ive seen have been the early ones around 1993.Dont assume that newest ones wont have rust issues ive got one from 2003 and its got rust like you wouldnt beleive.Its all down to past use get one thats never been off road if you can

 

[stinka]

I'd just replace cv boots, and the wheel bearings, that's everything covered that could possibly cause a breakdown in my experience.

Keep an eye on service items and that's it.

Mine is on 150k and runs like new, uses no oil and there's no smoke whatsoever

Gearbox is rattly but still very smooth and has been like this for 2 years

 

[stinka]

Agreed, body's are shite from about 2000 on

My '02 had some surface rust all over the place until I attacked it with the grinder and sorted it

I'd have a nice 99 if you can find one, stronger/larger rear diff in those too

 

[Terranical]

Mine is a 1994, pre-intercooler. Had it four years, 145,000 miles on the clock. Still uses no oil (I've actually only ever put in a total of 2 litres apart from oil changes in the entire 4 years). Also totally oil-drip free (I did have a transfer box output shaft oil seal replaced a few months ago, it had been leaking very slightly since I bought the car, the mechanic said there was still a pint or so of oil in the box!) Small amount of rust in the usual places, wheel arches behind the plastic trim and the rear end of the door sills. Does about 26-28 around town and 30-33 on a run.
It's generally held that the pre-intercooler model was the most reliable as there is far less electronics than in the later ones, the electronics being the bugbear with the post 1996 models. Mine had done 110,00 when I bought it. I then drove it to southern Spain where it now resides, being used daily by my daughter when I'm not over there, up and down a 2 mile steep and rutted track.
Altogether an utterly reliable and bomb-proof piece of kit.

 

[thesilkster]

I bought my Maveric SWB 1996 last year for £250. had brand new decent clutch put in her £320.

in July I have spent £30 to put it through the mot (rear bushes)

I had to pop down to Devon on Sunday from Doncaster to see my dad he is poorly 65-70 all the way down and back not a problem.

I put decent 265/70/15 tyres on her ready for the snow a decent sony player with a big amp and sub the stock speakers are great.

i love her? my kids hate her? i don't care

cheers

 

[jims-terrano]

Had mine 11 years now and it's a 96. Had a new clutch fitted around 130k. Odd bits and bats have gone faulty, most costly after clutch I guess would be Crankshaft Sensor. Had a starter and a battery, battery was 10 years old so I'll forgive it. Biggest hassle is the tin worm, wish I had the skill to strip it down and replace all the weak spots and it'd do another 17 years I'm sure.

I'd have another one tomorrow no problem. It's carried allsorts in and on it. It's towed and driven all over. It doesn't do many miles but I'd not think twice about jumping in it and driving down to cornwall.

 

[Ogri]

I'd have a nice 99 if you can find one, stronger/larger rear diff in those too

Sorry for hijacking the thread but that caught my eye - I'm looking myself and kind of thought that newer is better. Not the case?

I'd be interested to hear opinions.

 

[Rusty Spanner]

Sorry for hijacking the thread but that caught my eye - I'm looking myself and kind of thought that newer is better. Not the case?

I'd be interested to hear opinions.

Me too
Just read some of the rust related posts seems the rear floor pan suffers pretty bad is that quite common .
Hope I'm not jumping out of the frying pan into the fire no good having a reliable truck with no floor
Going to have to go over the underneath with a fine tooth comb me thinks

 

[solarman216]

few rear floor pan issues in my experience, main points are 2nd row seat belt mounts on rear wheel arches, (easy fix) cills inner and outer, both front body mounts, particularly OS where battery sits, (not so easy) front wings (but they are not a fail point if no sharp stuff) tape over if so, front inner arches go at the rear, can be difficult if bad as limited access inside to stop fires when welding, chassis does not usually suffer but can be bad if it does, Rick

 

[stinka]

Ricks covered it ^

The later terranos from 2000 on we're made with Renault. The under sealing and corrosion resistance is poor compaired to 1999 ones and previous. Also those French twats put a cheaper rear axle on, and got rid of grease nipples on axles and stuff.

Now this isn't to say that post 2000 aren't tough as my 2002 has been absolutley hammered and nothing's broke other than service items, a few engine electrics and cv joints that were my own fault for fking up the driveshaft angles

But if I had my time again, and was buying a base for an offroader, rather than paying £2k for a 2002 newer plate like I did 2 years ago, I wish I had waited and found a mint 98/99 low mileage truck and paid £2k for the older plate, and arguably stronger base vehicle

But, my truck is mint, rot free and tough, it just took a lot more work to get to this point

 

[stevo]

I've had a lot of Landies, predominantly Defenders and Disco, and I can honestly say that the issues are the same.

Both are rugged 4 wheel drives (albeit part time in the Terrano), and both suffer from rust.

What you are getting from the Terrano is a more modern car, more comfort and warmth, and, dare I say, more luggage space than a Defender 110. The Terrano swallows all my camping gear where the 110 struggled.

Parts are a bit harder to find at a good price, but Millners seem to be the dogs cohones, and cheap.

And, you'll get a 2002/2003 Terrano for half the price of a 93 defender

Let go of the Oval, and spend less time fixing, more time driving...

 

[rustic]

...
But if I had my time again, and was buying a base for an offroader, rather than paying £2k for a 2002 newer plate like I did 2 years ago, I wish I had waited and found a mint 98/99 low mileage truck and paid £2k for the older plate, and arguably stronger base vehicle...

Oh does that then mean that my 1995 LWB Maverick, with no structural rust, no welding, and waxoyled from new, and still in pristine condition, with less than 97k miles is worth more each year...? It's book price has been low for a few years, it can't drop anymore, so it must be appreciating. Well I appreciate it anyway...:lol:lol

After 18+ years of ownership, I doubt I would want to sell it, and I wouldn't even do a swap with a newer model, even if they paid me extra.:doh

Ok nice to have the extra power, Air con, ABS, but all these extras means higher costs over the years in maintenance and repairs. I also think that Ford in the early days, 93 onwards, insisted on better under seal, as this was their first ever UK vehicle to have 3 years warranty, to match Nissan.

With reference to the rear floor pan, from what I have seen on this site, you cannot get a good idea how bad the rear floor pan is from underneath unless it is really bad, due to the double skin. A good way, for example on the LWB, is to raise the second row of seats, and lift the carpet and look towards the rear at the seat belt mount, and on the floor where the seat locking hoop is, this will probably be the first place to go.

From my experience, and the only item on mine to suffer from the tin worm was the forward seam of the fuel tank, this is where it sprung a leak. But it took 18 years to show. You will probably find that ALL Terranos and Mavericks have started to go here, judging by how difficult it was to find a good second hand one. So have a look here too.

Front ARB joints go regularly, but an easy fix, to test your vehicle, if safe to do so and on level ground, handbrake off, and rock the car sideways, with the driver's door open, push upwards on the inside part of the roof, if you hear a few clonks, it is likely to be those OR other suspension components. Grounds for a price reduction...

While you are under there, check out the universal joints on the prop shaft, the rears have 2 nipples, and should be regularly greased. Early ones had 3 Nipples on the front prop shaft, but since they were rarely used ie only in 4wheel drive, due to the free wheel hubs, Nissan decided that these nipples weren't really necessary, however another department then decided that the Auto hubs weren't really required, and put fixed hubs in, which meant that the front prop shaft was doing as many miles as the rear...:doh. However without proper lubrication, ie no grease nipples, then wore out really quickly.:doh

Well I think we have aired most of our dirty washing, basically these truck are brilliant, spend more time on the road than on the hard shoulder:augie

Like all vehicles, avoid launching boats in salt water, if it means going up to the axles.
Regularly wash mud from under the wheel arches and rinse underneath after salt on the road.

Rustic

 

[Bedhead1157]

I've owned mine since last October, but I've driven it for about 6 years, I bought it off my boss and in the whole time he owned it, there were zero mechanical issues, only preventative maintenance, the gearbox was stripped and rebuilt because he was a it paranoid with a noise, and a new clutch fitted, apart from that only droplinks and bushes and a battery,

It had some welding for the last MOT and for this one will need a couple of patches, luckily I know a good 4x4 man so he knows how to make the welding last.

This is a jeep that works bloody hard, it's pulled a trailer with a Massey 135 on it from Edinburgh to Belfast, it's pulled trailerloads of scrap, pulled trailerloads of turf off road and I use it as general workhorse, the only problem I've had, touch wood, has been a corroded fuel line.

I've had Suzuki 4x4's and they have been awful, guzzle fuel and dissolve before your eyes.

 

[puddle hoppers inc.]

ive put 20k miles on mine in the last 12 months of owning it, 03 2.7. only problem ive had really is the cv boots(bitch of a job). it was a toss up between an 01ish disco and the terry but, after looking at 7 disco's (all rotten) we chose the terry. starts on the button, runs on upto 80% veg oil in warmer times, tows brilliantly and , although the rear 2 seats really are emergency seats, it has a huge boot(lwb). would prefer a cd player to a poxy tape player given the year but hey ho! good luck!

 

[Rusty Spanner]

I've been to look at 4 cars know RUST RUST and even more RUST, I thought Land Rover had a bad reputation for the brown flaky stuff, Every one I've viewed has had issues with the sills. Is it really worth looking at the 1999 cars is there that much of a difference, The ones I've seen have all been 2002 plus I'm having serious doubts now :nenau