Terrano II diesel- any good?

[murcod]

I've done a search and not found much info on the Terrano II.

Does anyone know if the 2.7 litre diesel turbo engine suffers from any inherent design faults / failures? Do they have any other common problems to look out for?

Basically I might be looking at changing to a larger vehicle but don't want to go up to Patrol size/ weight. I also want a manual trans which limits choice when the price range is under $15k (and not wanting anything older than late 1990's.)

More interior space is the main aim and the extra rear seats in the Terrano II seem perfect for two dogs and a baby?

[Offroad-Events]

The Terrano II is a perfect family vehicle that can take a lot of beating if necessary. Frame and suspension is basically identical to the Terrano I /Pathfinder I with the only weak point being the centerlink of the steering wearing out fast when taken offroad or mounting big tyres.
I don't know which 2.7's you get over there, in Europe we had two different ones. The TD27 with 73KW and the TD27i with 92KW (electronic diesel injection and intercooler). Both are based on the same engine and last a lifetime if maintained properly. I have customers with 400k+km's on them without problems. The tranny needs new bearings every 175k or so km's, but that's no big deal at all.
In Europe we got a couple of hundred Terrano II's equipped with the ZD30 out of the Patrol in 2003-2005. This combination totally rocks, relativly light vehicle with a big engine means less than 10ltr/100km and power all over the place. The TD27 takes about 10-12 ltr/100km and the TD27i can be chipped to about 110kw without problems.

[murcod]

Cheers, thanks for the fast response.

The engine in the version we get here must be the TD27i (92kW). A review I've found makes them sound fairly sluggish ( 0 -100km/h in over 19 seconds!)- is that the case?

[Offroad-Events]

Well, it's not the arabic race horse type, more the work horse. Not the fastest, but pulls strong.

[sw1]

Hi Dave

td27's, like td42's suffer very few problems & should last a very long time.

there are chips available for the td27i

second what offroad-events has said about the steering centre link & also manual trans and worn bearings. i have experienced both in a d21 pathy.

other than space is the vitara still going ok? cool to see you might be joining the nissan clan

[murcod]

other than space is the vitara still going ok? cool to see you might be joining the nissan clan

G'day Steve (?), yes the Feroza is still going well. It's had a few $$$ spent on it since we went out touring (gearbox rebuild, clutch, radiator, lift etc) but is sadly spending most of it's time on the sealed stuff these days.

The wife is pregnant hence the research for something a bit bigger. A Suzuki XL-7 is the other thing on my "possibilities" list, but I won't be buying for at least a couple of months. Off road ability isn't a priority given how often it would be used on the "dirt".

How's your engine conversion going, IIRC you completed it all a while back? I can imagine how much better it must perform now!

[sw1]

sorry Dave, i just remeber a few vitaras from that day a few years back
now you mention feroza i remember....

yeh pathy was completed years ago now. it goes like stink, very happy how it turned out. just uses too much fuel, a while back changed job and started doing double the km's a week, so after a short time the decision was made to get another car hence the 4.2 diesel GU Patrol. which i am over the moon with as well. great car - simple rugged & strong, will go all day as long as theres diesel in the tank.

still got the pathy, would find it very hard to let it go after all this time and effort. its just quietly parked behind a fence at the moment. hoping to find a solid axle for the front of it soon, however building a new house at mo. and nothing slips past the minister of war & finance....

[terra88]

hey mate, If I didn't need a bigger 4x4 then I would still have my 88 model, they run the same motor except for the intercooler. mine took a pounding with high boost, big tyres etc etc and never missed s beat ..

just bite the bullet and buy one, but do your shopping for price first ...