Nissan Elgrand E52 Lowdown

One drawback for the new E52 Elgrand models is that they are not ideally suited for camping or camper van conversion.  The older E50/E51 cars have more flexibility in seat arrangements or seat removal which can provide a good big space to create sleeping space, or to fit units in.  Or do they!! I wanted to see how much space you could create in an E52.  By removing all 5 headrests from the rear two rows of seats you can actually make a relatively flat area.  Some E51 owners do the same in their cars and they place foam/board over the top and then a thin mattress on top of that. I am 6 foot 2 inches tall and I was able to lay stretched out in the 'flat' area in the back on my E52.  My E52 is a Rider and so it has different seats to the Highway Star model, and I think the HWS might actually be easier/flatter if you do the same. If you are camping and want to make the E52 into a bed, then it seems to me that it is possible after all.  Leave any headrests you don't need at home

Unfortunately, there is a common issue with the power steering pump on the earlier E52 models.  It seems that the pump can leak power steering fluid due to issues with the sealing of the pump itself. In Japan some people have replaced the pump with a newer type model, but also a few outlets in Japan supply replacement o-rings to repair the pump yourself. Although this issue doesn't affect my Elgrand, it seems to be common enough to write about and hopefully help our my fellow E52 drivers. The older and newer style pumps are pictured below and I believe that the new one should not have the leak issue If you do have the leak and can source the o-rings (we have some on eBay here ) then there is a handy video on youtube showing a Japanese mechanic taking a pump apart to replace them. When you remove the pump from your car often the body of the pump which is the yellow plastic and silver aluminium parts, are oily from the leaking EPSF.  You will need to remove the four bolts and then yo