NZ Terrano Owner

Some trans tasman ribbing... I thought I'd better get in first Is it a story about an Aussie with his three girlfriends out on a date?

There is a company in Australia that makes what looks like an awesome tent for 4wding. The are called OZTent RV and their website is http://www.oztent.com.au/default.asp. It takes only a minute to put up and is expandable. Don't know if they have a distributer in the US but could worth a look. Cheers Al

When I do mine, I don't bother to take the wheels off. It is easy enough to reach the nipples from underneath. If you did want to take the wheels off then removing the rear ones first and then the front ones would be OK. If your bleed nipples haven't got a rubber cap on them, they may be blocked with crud. Remove them and dig it all out with a needle. Reinstall and pump away.

Thanks guys. Not my original idea though. A couple of guys from the 4wd club I'm in did it first, hopefuly willl get better life out of the steering parts. Check out cr4wd.orcon.net.nz for our club's trips and info.

Nice work! :confused: How did you calculate where to drill the hole for the new panhard rod mount? I see that the rod is good and level at rest so you've obviously got it about right. Cheers Al

Try Chamberlain Suspension in ChCh. They make a heavy duty spring and a longer heavy duty . Costs around $250. I am running Dobi-sports springs in mine that are just the standard length, but heavy duty, that I bought from Butler Autos. they are OK. Will hopefully get the longer Chamberlain ones soon.

slider plate sketch

Finally got my film developed. Hope the photo's make it a bit clearer. Remember that you are looking at the left side of my truck, - it is a right hand drive! The sketch is of the plate. Make one for each side. Be sure to round off the ends to prevent them from fouling on the UCA's and inside of wheels. This simple mod should extend the life of your tierods, idler arm, etc

I like the idea of the angle to strenghten the LCA's. Will definetly do that to mine as well. We do alot of driving in rocky river beds here in Canterbury NZ and bent arms are common. Not to mention sumps and transmissions. :furious: Would I have to lower the Panhard rod mount for a 2" lift? Or is there enough leeway that a 2" lift doesn't throw the rear end out.

:cool2: Thanks for the tip. Now its off to Cheers Allan

How do you get those Smilies onto your comments? I tried clicking and dragging but that doesn't seem to work. Just new to this computer stuff, so hope this isn't too stupid a question.

You don't say if you are doing the back as well. Just lifting the front will give you a very nose up ride I would have thought. Longer Springs and shockies at the back at the same time will bring it back to an even keel. Lots of info here about rear end lifts.

Petrol has just gone up here in NZ. The govt put a 5c a litre tax on to pay for more roads! 91 Octane is NZD1.28 and 96 Octane is NZD1.34. The poor old Kiwi only buys about 70c US so that makes it about 90c US and 94c US respectively. Now times by 3.8 for US gals - USD3.42 and USD3.56/gal

If the fluid is low, find out why! There must be a leak somewhere. I doubt it has evaporated.

Will have to get cracking and finish the roll of film pronto. Hopefully the photo's will make it all clear. (Picture worth 1000 words and all that) I might need a hand to upload the photo's. I'll see how I go.

I have installed home made "slider Plates" under the chassis, above the steering draglink/tierod end/steering, idler arm area. The idea is to prevent the draglink/tierod end from being pushed up when the suspension is being forced up by a rock or log when steering is at full lock. This will hopefully increase the life of these parts. I used 6mm x 80 MS flat, 230mm long and 2, M10 x90mm bolts for each side. To attach the plate under the chassis you can either weld it directly to the chassis, or, as I did, weld another plate (80mm long) at a right angle above the slider plate, drill 2 holes mid way for the M10 bolts and then bolt through the chassis just in front of the top UCA's, in line with the draglink. I also added a gusset to strenghten the whole deal. The slider plates need to be placed with about 125mm sticking out the side of the chassis. If you go out too far they will rub on the inside of the wheel. so just far enough to cover the inner tierod end bolt at full lock. I had to grind a bit off the rear edge of the plates to stop them interferring with the UCA's. When drilling the holes for the bolts, be careful as on the inside of the chassis on the steering box side is a flange that could end up right in the way. I was lucky and just missed it. I have taken photos of mine installed, so will post as soon as I finish the film and get it developed onto disc. We went for a run up a very bouldery riverbed last weekend, and I could hear the plates being hit, so they were doing their job. My friend who has had his installed for awhile has a definite groove where the draglink/tierod has been rubbing. I figure that for the small amount of work involved, if it even makes the steering parts last 50% longer it's got to be worth it.

Hi from NZ, down under, the Patrol/Safari are very popular here in NZ and Australia. Alot of people use them as the basis for a serious off-road vehicle due to the coil springs and live axles. Heaps of mods available out of Aussie for them too, so no probs getting maximum lift and power out of them. ARB and Old Man Emu do good kits for them - 4" lifts on suspension and body, Bullbars, etc. They go real well with a turbo on the 4.2 litre diesel.

Hi there from down under. Suspension lifts are pretty straight forward. New longer shocks and springs will sort the rear, and you can get a bit of lift on the torsion bars at front by turning them on the spline. The body lift is a bit trickier, but you just have to be methodical and lengthen everything that runs between the body and the chassis/motor. Sounds like there are kits available in US that will probably address these issues for you. The benefits of even a moderate lift are well worth the effort. Go to it! Cheers Allan

Hi there Earth1, I did a body lift last year on my 95 Terrano and it has been great. I only went up 50mm ( 2" ). I didn't have a "kit" so just made up some spacers and brought the longer bolts, etc. I don't know if your kit comes with new bumper mounts but I had to cut and weld the front one to lift the bumper, and just redrilled the rear. The plastic covers on the bolts under the carpet are a pain. they are impossible to get off intact. I just did the best I could and when I reinstalled them packed them with silcone. You may find that the transfer case lever may be a bit tight going into low range. There is also a loop around the drive shaft that needs to be removed and remounted. Watch the brake lines on the firewall. I had to remount the radiator shroud as it fouled on the fan. The air intake may need to be eased as well. Good luck.

Looks great. Saw a similar thing done to a Navara well side utility in a magazine here. Probably won't follow your example though as I have just had mine lifted. My partner would appreciate not having to climb in and out of it. (she's vertically challenged) Cheers Al.

Hi there all you Pathfinder(Terrano) owners. My name is Allan and I live just out of Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand. I have had my Terrano for just over a year now and am really loving it. I have given it a 2" body lift, uprated the suspension and put some bigger tyres on (31's). I see from my short browse that over in the US you mustn't have such strict legal controls on your tyre sizes as we do here. I am a member of a 4WD club based in ChCh. Canterbury Recreational 4WD club. We organise trips about 2 or 3 times a month. They range from easy scenic trips over the local hill country and rivers to fairly difficult, mud and rutted trips in the back blocks. There are about 6 or 7 Terranos in the club and we always have alot of fun pulling out all the stuck Toyotas! Looking forward to reading all the forums and viewing the photos and videos. Cheers Allan