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Vanilla are planning an update to the site on April 24th (next Wednesday). It is a major PHP8 update which is expected to boost performance across the site. The site will be down from 7pm and it is expected to take about an hour to complete. We appreciate your patience during the update.
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The Defender thread
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11-01-2010 10:36am#1Hey guys.
Haven't noticed a thread about Land Rover Defenders in general so thought I'd start this one up
About my Defender
Bought this last year and it was in a bit of a rough and ready condition. The RAC inspected it and the engines a good-un.
It's got the 300 TDI engine in it (despite being a 2001 model) so I know it's not got the potential of being a nightmare to work on compared to the newer Td5.
A few niggles here and there.
The bodywork was a bit dented and needed some work
Nice views, you feel like master and commander up in the cab
Bit 'o damage here:
The landrover was previously owned by a drilling company and has a nice open space in the back that is stripped out and is great for stowage. I've got big plans for in here:
Theses are really handy for letting fresh outside air in. When you are at speed you don't need any fans drawing air away from the engine either
Need to see about getting a padlock on here.
I've also started a web-page featuring Defenders from the early days up to the present here:
http://www.squidoo.com/land-roverdefender
Please if you can spare the time take a quick look and let me know what you think of it.
Over the next few days I'll be posting the project work carried out so far...
Friendly feedback appreciated 3
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Nice Defender and nice site, I'll have a proper look later.
Here's my Td5 CSW (old picture, got decent tyres and winch bumper fitted now)
Nothing wrong with Td5s, they are very reliable. Having a Nanocom ECU tool helps with servicing. Get 25 - 28mpg out of mine.
My previous 110, 1984 factory registered military demonstrator
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Although some people might call me crazy I use my Defender as a daily driver (it's either that or the Nissan Skyline!) as it's pretty practical in its own way.
Anyway I've got time to show a bit of the project history so far:
As you can see the back and front bumpers are pretty rusty looking and faded. The rust isn't deep though and is mostly surface stuff.
So with a grinder and a smooth disc I set about grinding down the worst rust bits and sanding down the rest.
This done I used a few coats of rust eater. Once this had dried I started applying black hammerite paint. This stuff is quite expensive but it is specifically designed for metal application and doesn't need any undercoats. You just slap dash it on. You know the saying 'If you can p&ss, you can paint'
Only kidding there painter-folk 
I took off the towing array and gave that a good going over too.
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Mine's a daily driver as well, had Land Rovers for nearly 30 years now :eek:
WRT tuning, piggy back black boxes are a bad idea on Td5s as Bearcat found. If you want a tune get a proper one off Ian (porny on many forums) at IRB. I've thought about it but mine goes pretty well anyway
You can make a 200/300Tdi go a lot better with some judicious pump tweaks, not done it to one myself but it's well documented on some of the forums.
I have a GKN overdrive on mine and have loads of trouble with it, probably going to remove if and fit 1.22 disco gearing. Others have had 1000's of miles of use with no problems though.
Keeping the rear crossmember looking tidy is a pain alright, I repaint mine and spray waxoil every couple of years.
Just fitted Gwyn Lewis suspension kit to mine, already have a 2" lift but kept knocking shock bushes out. Was just going to fit new shock mounts and longer shocks but ended up going the whole hog :rolleyes:0 -
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Every Land Rover ever made suffer from rotten rear crossmembers :rolleyes:
For series Landies you get rear quarter and half chassis. Defenders aren't quite as bad and replacement rear xmembers come with a section of chassis to sleeve over the original, only about the rear 2-300mm is usually affected. Easy on a 110 (that green one of mine had the xmember replaced) bit harder on a 90.
You can buy just about any part of a Land Rover chassis but sometimes it's more economical to stick a cherished motor on a new galvanised chassis.
You can get a repair kit for drop arm ball joints, life varies, I've never had one go. If anyone ever needs to replace a steering box, get one with the drop arm and joint on it, the drop arms are a nightmare to remove off the box (but being Land Rover I've also seen them drop off:rolleyes:)
Skelliser, not sure where you should start here, there are a few around but not the choice you'd get in the UK. For your money you are probably looking at a v good pre 98 300tdi or OK pre 02 Td5, newer may have been abused for that sort of sum. Buy on condition, not age. There may be bargains around though, some don't know the value of what they have. Values are skewed here because of the tax regime, in the UK you'd get a far newer Discovery or an OK Td5 for the same money. Worth keeping an eye on the Ireland section of Landroveraddicts forum and read through Watch Ryder's site. Have you driven one before, not everyone will deal with the culture shock if they're used to cars
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gofaster_s13 wrote: »About 4 weeks as far as I can see:D
* Gofaster has entered the witness protection program* 0 -
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The Next Step
The landrovers interior was a mess from its previous owners.
It was covered in this fine cement dust that would not sweep out nor wipe out easily.
In the end I soaked up as much as I could and bought some green exterior wood paint and gave it the real slap-dash treatment
Just prior to painting I got some filler going to repair the plywood floor. Obviously those heavy bags of cement had taken their toll previously
Then it's down to business and I get painting.
Although it's roomy inside the positions you've got to get into for painting are awkward in places. I even paint the underneath of the overhang near the bulkhead
After a few sessions and multiple coats it's ready.
It's green green green inside the rear cargo area now.
From this dusty place:
To this:
No longer is dust ever present and getting on clothes and kit etc. With the gloss finish on now any muck or debris just wipes off 0 -
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