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

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.