00KK53 - My Soft Top 12v GS TUL 90. So a soft top 90 then......

Huddy84 · May 17, 2015

I did it as part of my engine rebuild. U going for engine out or gearbox out?

flat · May 17, 2015

Dunno. Might get a quote for my local garage that does the mot to work to do it.

Prob gearbox out

flat · May 18, 2015

Okay today I had to change the steering drop arm after the ****part one failed after one year and 4 days.

On my way home from work I noticed the steering was getting increasingly vague, it had been for a while anyway but not bad. Anyway when i took it all apart ball joint had worn a kind of groove all round the ball, was lubed up and boot was intact. Not sure what thats all about but changed, did tracking and order is restored.

Even managed to get the steering wheel central!

Huddy84 · May 18, 2015

It's easy but time consuming to do clutch. It's a toss up whether to drop engine or box as to drop the box I believe there are a few awkward connection's. Engine is easy enough to lift up n out.

sp00k · May 18, 2015

I would recommend engine out and use the opertunity to fit some noise insulation and have a tidy around the engine bay.

flat · May 19, 2015

Okay cheers chaps

Varsity · Sep 11, 2015

flat said:
Cheers guys MOT man commented on the Chassis and general condition as being one of the best he has seen in a while

Today I fitted a CB radio as I am hoping to get some laning in this year now the vehicle is sorted.

This is what i did, didnt dash mount the CB as have nowhere really to put it on the dash so I recycled the gun mount bracket thingies and mounted it between the seats on the bulkhead, not the most convenient but its out the way, i can reach it and the one i chose has a nice big display for channel checking.

Wondered for ages what to do about the aerial as i have a canvas roof which gives you balls all ground plane so in the end i used the original military side candle stick mount.

i cut a circle of steel plate and bolted it on with countersunk machine screw and used a mag mount and small springer.

Intially SWR on channel one like this was 1.5 but on channel 20 was 3 and channel 40 was 5!!!

so i shortened the aerial by about 25mm total and it was better but still around 2-3 which is a bit much. I decided it must be not getting a good enough ground plane earth so i ran a solid copper core wire from the bolt on the aerial mount inside and grounded it on the front hoodstick hoop (rear ones didnt give such good results) and now have SWR of jsut above 0.5 on channel 1, 0.8 on channel 20 and 1 on channel 40 which is waaayyy better.

its all removable, its using a cigarette plug at the moment but i am going to wire it direct to the battery with a plug so i can remove it and not have wires all over the dash.

Ed

Also fitted my CB to the bulkhead. My unit is a compact with the display on the hand unit. Only problem I had is wirring it up to the original pineapple on the front wing. Cable diam. are different.

flat · Sep 11, 2015

Varsity said:
Also fitted my CB to the bulkhead. My unit is a compact with the display on the hand unit. Only problem I had is wirring it up to the original pineapple on the front wing. Cable diam. are different.

Yeah I initially ran the wiring down the bulkhead and through a grommet in the seatbox to get to the front wing mount, then I changed to the rear candlestick mount but I have now mounted the CB above the fusebox on the dash and use a mag mount on the front wing TUAAM mount - gets good swr that way and a much more simple cable run

Rob 90 · Sep 12, 2015

Have same ex MOD 90 as yours did my clutch on the driveway in a weekend. I removed the seat base and floor /gearbox tunnel panels (good chance to repair and rust proof under battery box rust area) then put up a simple A frame with some scaffold and used a hand winch (£35 Machine Mart) to take the weight of the gearbox from above. Removed prop shaft then unbolt gearbox then rolled vehicle forward to gain access to clutch. Make sure you buy the small bronze bush that goes on the end of the gearbox shaft. I just needed a hand when rolling vehicle back and lining gearbox up through clutch at the same time, this took a few attempts of jiggling about to get lined up. Did this about a year ago now and had no problems after, for me with the kit I had available this was easier and cheaper than removing the engine.

flat · Sep 13, 2015

Cool, good tip!

Varsity · Sep 16, 2015

flat said:
Yeah I initially ran the wiring down the bulkhead and through a grommet in the seatbox to get to the front wing mount, then I changed to the rear candlestick mount but I have now mounted the CB above the fusebox on the dash and use a mag mount on the front wing TUAAM mount - gets good swr that way and a much more simple cable run

Did you need some sort of adapter? I found the cable from the CB to be a different diam. then the connection in the military pinaple.
Or am I missing some parts??

flat · Sep 16, 2015

Nah I didn't use a military aerial, I just used a normal cb aerial but mounted it on the military mount

flat · Oct 25, 2015

Oops a TDi fell into the engine bay. Luckily it got a rebuild before it did to make it fresh.

Unbelievable difference!!! It's like an entirely new vehicle!!

aaronmorris · Oct 26, 2015

Nice work, looks lovely and clean. Tdi makes a world of difference, did you rebuild it yourself?

lucifus · Oct 26, 2015

Very nice. A genuine Defender 200tdi too

flat · Oct 26, 2015

aaronmorris said:
Nice work, looks lovely and clean. Tdi makes a world of difference, did you rebuild it yourself?

Yes, well me and a mate - stripped it all the way to short block - bores are perfect, can still see hone marks and the crank was good. Head was blasted, skimmed and pressure tested

Changed the cam/rocker setup as a singular rocker had some pitting.

Complete victor reinz gasket set, everything aluminium apart from water pump media blasted, block painted with LR paint. Dayco belts.

Fuel pump rebuilt but not tweaked.

New exhaust, down pipe wrapped.

New AP clutch, bearing and XD fork

All new rad/frame/intercooler/all pipes new genuine.

New engine mounts

RDX electric fan

Defender fuel filter housing
Few other bits I can remember, I reused a couple of bits (alternator, starter motor and a couple other bits but cleaned and checked them before refitting)

Day and a half of work to actually fit but fairly straight forward, only had one exhaust mount that wouldn't come undone so was cut off, the rest were fine.

Aimed for as close to factory fit as possible. Used loads of new stainless fixings and clamps etc though.

Will post some more detailed pics some time of anyone is interested?

Ed

sp00k · Oct 26, 2015

Looks like a very nice job Ed. Do you have a 1.4 transfer box? Mine had a 1.6 which is too low for the TDI.

flat · Oct 26, 2015

sp00k said:
Looks like a very nice job Ed. Do you have a 1.4 transfer box? Mine had a 1.6 which is too low for the TDI.

Yeah randomly it came from the army with a recon one fitted 2005, pulls nice, not sure whether it's worth fitting the disco one tbh as it's working fine for me now

lucifus · Oct 26, 2015

I think it was only the 110's that had the 1.6. I had a 1.6 briefly with a 200tdi. Acceleration was crazy but top speed was limited. I've got a 1.2 right now.

flat · Oct 26, 2015

lucifus said:
I think it was only the 110's that had the 1.6. I had a 1.6 briefly with a 200tdi. Acceleration was crazy but top speed was limited. I've got a 1.2 right now.

What's your top speed? (private roads haha)

I hit 75mph comfortably and it felt like it had more but that was enough thank you!

00KK53 - My Soft Top 12v GS TUL 90. So a soft top 90 then......

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