Advice on landy purchase! Help!

Hello, me and my friend are buying a land rover to drive to our medical elective in west Africa. As total novices we have done as much research as pos and have found a few options on autotrader and land rover magazines.

We were wondering what you experts thought of this one?


A 1991 (H reg) land rover 90 defender, 131000 miles, diesel, 5 speed Tdi manual (without overdrive).

The guy selling it is an RAF pilot, he's had it for 5 years and done a fair bit of work to it himself, with the exception of one major work professionally.

Rear seats removed and back is aluminium clad. He's owned the car for the last 5 years, covering 35,000 miles, and it has been serviced regardless of expense. In that time it has had a new rear cross member, new shocks and springs, new water pump and cam belt, new battery, new front brake calipers, front brake flexible hoses, nylon suspension bushes throughout. The car is fitted with a front bar and two 100 watt driving lights, clear front lights, electric radiator fan with manual adjustment, fuel pump kill switch, towbar, rear fog light, front wing aluminium panels, aluminium side kick panels, BF Goodrich tyres on pressed steel wheels and a sunroof. It is taxed until Jan 13 and has 12 months MOT remaining. Most of the work has been done roughly 5000miles ago, but in the past 5 years the owner reports no breakdowns, and it has never failed to start. The rear bearings are good, but have never been replaced.


It's not been used for any off-roading during his ownership (although the vehicles history prior to this is unknown; bought from a dealer in the peak district). It reaches 70mph quite comfortably.

It has it's original gearbox and clutch. He reports that there is some play in the gearbox but it has never locked or slipped out of gear, and there is no slipping/sticking of the clutch. Would an original gearbox in a vehicle of this age be expected to still have some longevity in it?

The stuff we are a bit worried about is that it's had the back 1/3 of the chassis and rear crossmember replaced due to corrosion which would have required some serious welding, which was done professionally. Does this kind of work mean that it's now unfit for a serious adventure? Or is it reasonable work for a car of this age?

What would be your assessment of such a vehicle? The impression we get from the owner is that much of the work has been out of passion for the vehicle and it's maintenance, and not brought on by any major failing of the vehicle.

Thankyou for your time in reading this, and we appreciate your expert advice


David and Scott

ah i see , you want something thats ultra reliable, reasonably comfortable, wont rot and will get you there with minimum of fuss?

buy japanese

vilguy said:

ah i see , you want something thats ultra reliable, reasonably comfortable, wont rot and will get you there with minimum of fuss?

buy japanese

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Er... What we want is a landy! Like pornography, japanese just doesnt have the same feel. We are just wanted some advice on whether this is a reasonable purchase or if we should keep looking?

It's £4500 as well btw. Forgot that important detail

Poilts only know 1 speed........... a clutch and pto shaft would be a good start. Learn how to fix things and put together a good tool box. Send a PM to james martin and he can give you some of the best advice on what to get and what parts to carry with you. With out all the **** taking.

Try to find a expedition forum they are out there and would be a great help to you both

well seriously 4500 for a 91... unless its seriously tidy.. is on the expensive side.

There are some right bargains around for half that.

find one from a good enthusiast thats got most of the stuff on that you want already and you can save yourself a small fortune. (see i can do sensible) :focus:

and yes japanese porn.. aside from alot of it being quite freaky and weird... does tend to be rather rubbish

Aslong as you have some mechanical know how, and have a landy you will get there!

Hard to say just from text how good it is, it only gives an idea of it. The only real way to tell if it's any good is to see it. Trouble is as well, the only way to say if it's any good for what you want to do is for you to look at it too!

Any Landy of that age that hasn't had to have some welding done has never been driven on UK roads .. so long as it was well done, it shouldn't be anything to worry about.

As for serious adventure, frankly any vehicle that's reasonably solid to start with should travel 10k miles or more with just minimal maintenance. Even if it's mostly off-road then extra oil, fluid and filter changes, a few spares like alternator (etc) belts, UJ's, CV joints, half-shafts, steering bars etc should easily see you through unless it's a major disaster, but then you can't guarantee anything, even if it were a brand-new vehicle!

Go with your gut feelings, and the help of someone who knows Landrovers ... put where you're from or where the vehicle is and someone off here might offer to have a look at it for you.

Have fun ..

How about an ex mod 110, for that money you could get one in good nick and serviced well, it won't have all the extra bolted on bits but do ya need them?

That's great advice thanks guys. We could prob get him down a bit but it would still be around £4000, which is expensive I know. It's well maintained on the outside (see below), with a few dents, which are to be expected?

Land Rover Defender Station Wagon 7 Seater Tdi 90 Swb Diesel 1991

I'm a bit worried about the chassis and the welding, is there any way a novice like us could do a basic assessment in the work?

Also, he mentioned that the fan was a manual fan that you turn on when pulling a trailer etc... Is that a bit weird? Would a thermostat fan not be better?

we will def message James!

The landy is in south Lancs near Grantham? We are based in Suffolk.

Thanks again everyone this is really helpful advice

That's great advice thanks guys. We could prob get him down a bit but it would still be around £4000, which is expensive I know. It's well maintained on the outside (I can't post a web link until the moderator lets me ), with a few dents, which are to be expected?


I'm a bit worried about the chassis and the welding, is there any way a novice like us could do a basic assessment in the work?

Also, he mentioned that the fan was a manual fan that you turn on when pulling a trailer etc... Is that a bit weird? Would a thermostat fan not be better?

we will def message James!

The landy is in south Lancs near Grantham? We are based in Suffolk.

Thanks again everyone this is really helpful advice

:nopics::nopics::nopics::nopics:

wiltshire landyman said:

:nopics::nopics::nopics::nopics:

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I can't put up a web link, I get a message saying it needs moderator approval

regarding having a switch for the fan, i believe thats pretty normal modification, thinks it to try and get a bit better mpg, as it saves another pull off engine and also for wadding , can turn fan off so it doesn't spray water all over the shop

Hi if it's a 300 tdi then it should have a viscous coupled fan fitted , there is no reason for an electric fan really ! It's a fix for a worn viscous coupling !! Some people remove the standard fan to save a horse or two but its best as standard !! You have to remember to switch it on and off and the stat that works ti can be cheap and unreliable too !! Depends on the quality etc !! Your gearbox should be a r380 and shoul change gear smoothly with no clunks or bangs etc ! These noises are symptoms of a worn gearbox!! Input splines baulk rings , bearings etc ( expensive bits for your wallet ) if you have experience of these things and a good tool kit it won't be too bad, but if you are planing to pay for repairs etc then you could be talking a thousand pounds plus !!!! Welding on these trucks is normal rear chassis is usually the first to rot , but if replaced correctly is not an issue at all ,infact it saves you doing it later!!! Try to find someone who knows about these things to look over it! It's worth the trouble !!!!!!!! Beware there's good landrovers and there's good landrovers that are not so good if you know what I mean !! Good luck. ...

Thanks for the gear box advice, it's probably going to be just me and my friend looking at it, we don't really know anyone that could come with us. We have read through all the excellent forum posts on what to look for when buying a landrover so hopefully we will be able to pick up any obvious problems.

What do you all think of the price and the age?

D

ferretboy said:

Hi if it's a 300 tdi then it should have a viscous coupled fan fitted , there is no reason for an electric fan really ! It's a fix for a worn viscous coupling !! Some people remove the standard fan to save a horse or two but its best as standard !! You have to remember to switch it on and off and the stat that works ti can be cheap and unreliable too !! Depends on the quality etc !! Your gearbox should be a r380 and shoul change gear smoothly with no clunks or bangs etc ! These noises are symptoms of a worn gearbox!! Input splines baulk rings , bearings etc ( expensive bits for your wallet ) if you have experience of these things and a good tool kit it won't be too bad, but if you are planing to pay for repairs etc then you could be talking a thousand pounds plus !!!! Welding on these trucks is normal rear chassis is usually the first to rot , but if replaced correctly is not an issue at all ,infact it saves you doing it later!!! Try to find someone who knows about these things to look over it! It's worth the trouble !!!!!!!! Beware there's good landrovers and there's good landrovers that are not so good if you know what I mean !! Good luck. ...

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I doubt its a 300tdi on a 91

if its not had a clutch at that mileage i would be looking at a new one, if you cant do the job yourself it can be expensive

Hello again,

Just thought i would say we are now the proud owners of a land rover defender 90!

Thanks for all your help and advice.

Dave and scott