Thread: 1997 R50 Series II Nissan Terrano Auto - 4WD Operation

Hi all,

As a complete beginner, I'm trying to learn how to work the 4WD on the above vehicle. Owner's manual is in Japanese and Google Translate is somewhat useful, but still confusing.
The most common situation I'll need 4WD is when taking the vehicle on the beach through different sand conditions.
My vehicle has a selector that says 2WD, Auto and Lock. I know what each of these does. For 4WD, I select Lock. But from that point I get lost.

My 4WD lever looks like this


I tried playing around with it and ended up making all kinds of grinding noises.

If I'm at the end of the gravel road with thick sand in front of me, what steps should I take to get me onto the sand? And if I need to shift to a different 4WD gear (e.g. 4H to 4Lo or vice versa) while in the sand or back into 2WD after I get off the sand, what should I do?

Slightly embarrassing to admit such utter noobism, but I would appreciate any guidance.
Cheers, have a good one!

I think with most 4wd you can move /select 4wd H while in motion up to 80kmh.
On mine (1993 Pajero)to select 4WD L you need to be stationary in Neutral.
If you try to force it into L underway grinding noises eminate.
I suspect most brands would be similar.

I would suggest being in 4WD before you think it may be needed and disengage it when you are 100% sure you wont.

Originally Posted by mikee

I think with most 4wd you can move /select 4wd H while in motion up to 80kmh.
On mine (1993 Pajero)to select 4WD L you need to be stationary in Neutral.
If you try to force it into L underway grinding noises eminate.
I suspect most brands would be similar.

I would suggest being in 4WD before you think it may be needed and disengage it when you are 100% sure you wont.

Don't shift into 4WD on the move if the front axle has 'auto' hubs. The front driveshaft will be stationary and some loud noises will emanate as it attempts to get up to speed.

the mrs had a terrano. was suggested to be at standstill before engaging 4wd

I tried playing around with it and ended up making all kinds of grinding noises.

That grinding is noise highly likely you tried to change the gear while the car is moving or you in gear
try to do it when the car is completely stopped and in neutral.

If I'm at the end of the gravel road with thick sand in front of me, what steps should I take to get me onto the sand?

Ideally, lower your tire pressure if you have a compressor to pump it back up
alternatively, put the dif lock on or stop the change to 4Lo

And if I need to shift to a different 4WD gear (e.g. 4H to 4Lo or vice versa) while in the sand or back into 2WD after I get off the sand, what should I do?

same scenario, stop the car put it on neutral, change to H or 4Lo and drive like normal

Try these YouTube links, I saved these 2 links to refresh my memory every so often
hope they make sense and answer all your questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7MF3q0v1hw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SOIUHjf37k

if you are still not sure, more than happy to show you how to do it.

Originally Posted by Snap 4T

...if you are still not sure, more than happy to show you how to do it.

Thanks, that's useful stuff. I wasn't moving when the grinding noises occurred, but I must have had it in gear.

Have had one for a few years, auto box, I turn off engine to select low range 4wd, for high range 4wd, switch on dash, mine will engage while on the move without issues, same for the "lock" option.

Originally Posted by tetawa

Have had one for a few years, auto box, I turn off engine to select low range 4wd, for high range 4wd, switch on dash, mine will engage while on the move without issues, same for the "lock" option.

Same as mine is, 4 h on move less than 80kmh. Everything else need to be stationary, although i do have ability to lock and unlock the rear diff on the move also.

If you are new to 4WDing then try to find an experienced 4WDriver to give you some practical pointers.

If its got auto hubs you need to disengauge them when going to 2wd as well. While stationary select 2wd and then reverse about 5m or so. On come of them you will hear a single clunking noise as they disengauge

sounds like you have the full time 4wd model with the 2wd option on the dash switch you have a centre diff and the lock means front and rear locked together for true 4wd . The lever is high ratio / neutral handy if been towed been a auto and low ratio , put auto in neutral to engage low and lock centre diff switch . leave in auto position all the time youll save fuck all gas in 2wd , auto is great on gravel also you can use low ratio and auto centre for backing trailers etc on hard ground and you get no centre diff bind . if centre wont unlock after being in lock maybe on hard ground drive in reverse for 20 mts to unbind bit hard to explain but like the original rangerover set which works very well , if this system there will be NO free wheeling hubs mitsi copied with their super select box

Originally Posted by tetawa

Have had one for a few years, auto box, I turn off engine to select low range 4wd, for high range 4wd, switch on dash, mine will engage while on the move without issues, same for the "lock" option.

So you actually turn the engine off before shifting to 4Lo? OK, the owner's manual (after I run it through a translation app on my phone) just says "stop the car". I was wondering if that meant just stop moving or fully turn the car off.

Originally Posted by Pepo1

So you actually turn the engine off before shifting to 4Lo? OK, the owner's manual (after I run it through a translation app on my phone) just says "stop the car". I was wondering if that meant just stop moving or fully turn the car off.

No, what you have is a little confusing but the two controls (knob and lever - to differ from the gearstick) do two distinctly different things. The lever is the easiest to manage first - it simply shifts the transfer case between high (road going) and low (off hard sealed road only) with a Neutral in the middle. Only move this when stationary with the main transmission gearstick in neutral if it's manual, or park for most auto's although some models let you move between high and low in auto box neutral (difference being the input shaft into the auto box spinning or not). I expect the lever notation tells you that you need to have pre-selected lever Neutral then 'Lock' on the control knob prior to engaging 4Lo for 4wd Low gear mode. There will be corresponding dash lights in green that pop up to tell you what mode you are in (as against yellow warning condition indicators or red failure indicators).

The knob is what controls whether you are in 2wd or 4wd, and you should be in part time 4wd if you select 'Auto' with the lever in "H" for high range or highway gears. Your vehicle should have two solenoid actuators fitted to the transmission system, the 'Auto' mode locks the front diff/driveshaft assembly somehow so that both front wheels are driven together (in 2wd I expect your front driveshaft is still being driven out of the transfer case turning the front diff to make sure it's properly lubricated at all times but because your front diff is not in a 'locked' condition and the auto front hubs haven't engaged there isn't any effect on the vehicles driveline - it's a bit of a BS way to do this from a purely hardcore 4wd performance point of view and costs you a slight amount of efficiency read extra fuel burn but most modern part time 4wd are done like this now). The second solenoid actuator will be in either the rear diff for 'rear differential lock' (both rear wheels physically locked together which you should not have on highway) OR the transfer case (center lock if it's fitted with a center differential) locking front diff to rear diff with a limited slip diff at the back locking the rear wheels and the front diff in 4wd taking the duties of driveline slip.

This is a little complicated to explain but the end result is in Lever "High" and Knob "2wd" you are in Highway mode, Lever "High" and Knob "Auto" you should be in highway range but 4WD soft surface mode. You should be able to select this moving forwards slowly (up to 30km/H for most electrically selected systems) and also go back to 2WD the same. Any other modes you need to be stationary to select - and you need to select main transmission gearstick "Park" or "Neutral" and then engaging Lever "Neutral" before selecting Knob "Lock", pause then back to Lever "4Lo" - then going back into transmission gear "D" or "1st" etc.

That should get you being able to shift between transmission modes without crunching things - as basically the assembly needs to be not spinning to change between high and low range and for things to stop spinning you need to pause for a few seconds in Neutral to allow this to happen. Try it and see what goes on, but as I said this should get you able to go between modes by following this without trying to reshape expensive bits of metal!

Originally Posted by m101a1

sounds like you have the full time 4wd model with the 2wd option on the dash switch you have a centre diff and the lock means front and rear locked together for true 4wd . The lever is high ratio / neutral handy if been towed been a auto and low ratio , put auto in neutral to engage low and lock centre diff switch . leave in auto position all the time youll save fuck all gas in 2wd , auto is great on gravel also you can use low ratio and auto centre for backing trailers etc on hard ground and you get no centre diff bind . if centre wont unlock after being in lock maybe on hard ground drive in reverse for 20 mts to unbind bit hard to explain but like the original rangerover set which works very well , if this system there will be NO free wheeling hubs mitsi copied with their super select box

You're right mate! I'm glad you showed up or I wouldn't have known. It's a full-time 4WD. Can you confirm my understanding please. Didn't quite catch all you said....

- I can drive in "Auto" mode all the time and it'll detect slippage and engage 4WD as necessary. Will this provide enough traction for getting up the average wet boat ramp? I guess use "L" if needed.

- For full 4WD, put car in neutral, select "Lock" on the dash, then shift into "H" or "L" as needed.

Thanks again mate. MUCH appreciated.

Originally Posted by Pepo1

You're right mate! I'm glad you showed up or I wouldn't have known. It's a full-time 4WD. Can you confirm my understanding please. Didn't quite catch all you said....

- I can drive in "Auto" mode all the time and it'll detect slippage and engage 4WD as necessary. Will this provide enough traction for getting up the average wet boat ramp? I guess use "L" if needed.

- For full 4WD, put car in neutral, select "Lock" on the dash, then shift into "H" or "L" as needed.

Thanks again mate. MUCH appreciated.

No, I don't think so - if you had a full time 4wd you would not have the option of 2wd. I am picking you have a "part time" selectable 2wd/4wd system and refer my post up above for my experience of operating these "neither Arthur (fully electrically controlled) or Martha (fully manually selected)" systems. You have an inbetweener which is partially manually selected for hi and lo range with the 4wd/2wd duties selected electrically and this is why you are getting the metal protesting when you select things in the wrong way/order.

Most of the modern systems just have the knob (2wd, 4hi, 4lo) or the older gear has a lever that has "2hi, 4hi, N, 4lo" and a push button on the dash to lock the front hubs or either manually selected front hubs (have to get out to engage the hubs) or automatic front hubs that engage by the front driveshaft rotation when in 4wd (which means you need to be bloody careful when going between forwards and reverse as you unlock then relock the front hubs in the other direction meaning you can get well and truly stuck...

Originally Posted by Pepo1

You're right mate! I'm glad you showed up or I wouldn't have known. It's a full-time 4WD. Can you confirm my understanding please. Didn't quite catch all you said....

- I can drive in "Auto" mode all the time and it'll detect slippage and engage 4WD as necessary. Will this provide enough traction for getting up the average wet boat ramp? I guess use "L" if needed.

- For full 4WD, put car in neutral, select "Lock" on the dash, then shift into "H" or "L" as needed.

Thanks again mate. MUCH appreciated.

you should be okay I had a r50 3.6 petrol in 07 and for some reason they added the 2wd , may be for drifting haha