Nissan Terrano II 2.7 td (2002)

[**mugen**]

Just looking a bit of information on he above model, has anyone had any experience with then. Been looking for a jeep around the £2k mark and these seem to come up alot. Is there any common faults or things to look out for when buying?

Any other ideas on a jeep/pickup around £2k thats reliable and could tow a car about but also do as a daily?

 

[paddymcc]

Uncle had one for a few years that was pretty trouble free. I've to stick it up on gumtree today for him but it's more than your budget.

 

[Nicky]

Have 1 at the minute.

Any electrical fault on them is a bastid to diagnose as there's barely a mechanic in the country that has the lead or the software for them, so I have been working on something myself off the back of ECU Talk for that side of things, just trying to get it to work properly with the ABS system now...

Mechanically, they aren't a bad jeep, but they are ridiculously bad for rust now. The chassis has drain holes in it that block up and causes them to rust from the inside out, but you would need it on a ramp to notice, and you can be certain that if it's rusty at all then the MOT will flag it up. I seen a 2005 Terrano II a few weeks back that came in for "a bit of welding work" and it made my 1999 Terrano look mint underneath. Needless to say, it was too far gone to justify spending 3 or 4 days of time at with the welder, grinder and replacement chassis section.

Weaknesses that I've came across is the steering system on them has 6 ball joints and they aren't strong by any stretch of the imagination and wear out fairly quickly. Torsion bar suspension on the front tends to sag after a while leaving it with a nose-down look. Front brakes are a hub off job, so not just a matter of dropping the caliper off to change the brakes. Air flow meters, crank angle sensors and injectors pumps can be problematic, but they seem to be either hit and miss where you get 1 that gives bother with all 3 or else you get a good 1 that gives no bother.

They are pretty much the same as a Ford Maverick, which makes sourcing parts a bit easier when you need them, which I don't doubt that you will, but there is very few Mavericks left on the road now due to the aforementioned rust problem.

As far as pulling a load with them goes, they are great for it and can tow 2.8ton legally, which mine has done and possibly exceeded on a few occasions, with 2 horses in a horse box (over 2 ton in total) or a car transporter with anything from a small car/van right up to another jeep on board being a common thing for me.

Using them daily is no problem, but as with anything that size with a 2.7 litre engine, it will only return low 20's and can drop to low teens when towing as far as fuel consumption goes, and they may be a bit "boaty" to sit in/drive for some people if going from a car. Turning circle on them is hilarious, but again, it's to be expected with a large 4x4, and they are quite noisy too, regardless of tyre choice.

All in all, not the most refined or comfortable vehicle if you are stepping up from a car, and a bit harder on the wallet (fuel, tyres, brakes, maintenance etc).

I wouldn't get rid of mine though, and I'm only looking to buy another jeep as she wants something fresher, safer, more presentable and more reliable.

 

[Bryan]

I currently have a Maverick in the driveway for breaking if you need any parts as well. I have to agree with Nicky - I've never seen a relatively modern car (1994) rust so bad. It is worse than my 1968 Rover P5B.

 

[Glyn]

Have 1 at the minute.

Any electrical fault on them is a bastid to diagnose as there's barely a mechanic in the country that has the lead or the software for them, so I have been working on something myself off the back of ECU Talk for that side of things, just trying to get it to work properly with the ABS system now...

Mechanically, they aren't a bad jeep, but they are ridiculously bad for rust now. The chassis has drain holes in it that block up and causes them to rust from the inside out, but you would need it on a ramp to notice, and you can be certain that if it's rusty at all then the MOT will flag it up. I seen a 2005 Terrano II a few weeks back that came in for "a bit of welding work" and it made my 1999 Terrano look mint underneath. Needless to say, it was too far gone to justify spending 3 or 4 days of time at with the welder, grinder and replacement chassis section.


Reply:
Hi Nicky, We have a 2005 Terrano II with exactly that problem. The chassis is dreadful but the rest of the car is still really good. Two thoughts arise, the first is this, do you think the problem might be potentially fixable in a proper welding shop (as distinguished from a regular garage who'd charge a fortune to do the welding required!)? If so can you recommend such a welding specialist? Secondly, as all of that generation of Terrano, if built in Spain appear to have this problem, do you know if anyone has succeeded in getting any compensation from Nissan?
Cheers G