Security Issues

Being completely new to this whole Land Rover game, I did wonder why the Defender was costing me almost double the insurance compared to the AMG badged Mercedes I owned before.....but after an enlightening chat with my mate's other half yesterday and some brief research on here, it seems that doors and bonnets are not only very desirable, but also very easy to steal.

I have owned an M Sport BMW before that had similar issues with front and rear bumpers being desirable and simple to remove - these were held on with two unseen bolts, so I replaced them with some ugly looking, but extremely difficult to remove security bolts.

I've seen the bonnet hinges from MUD - and I guess the £85 is worth it when you consider the price of a new bonnet. I've read however that the bonnet doesn't need to be unbolted, it can just be lifted vertical and then comes out of the hinges anyway, do the MUD hinges also take this into consideration?

Also, are there any options for the door bolts? There seems to be minimal point swapping them for torx or security bolts as most basic bit sets will have these in them. Are there any options that have one way bolts or similar? Or something that you do up from the inside (I've got no idea if this is even possible, just thinking out loud!)

Not sure about bonnet hinges but door hinges you could use nyloc nuts to ensure the bolts to the door can't be removed, where it bolts to the bulkhead you could hammer a ball bearing into the bolt head, or a blob of weld. Simple but effective.

A smear of chemical metal painted over so the bolt heads are smooth would put off the casual scrote and still be possible to dig out to remove in the future.

You can get flush locking pin catches for bonnets.

https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/...currency=GBP&gclid=CIz6gsXOwMsCFRG3Gwodo20N9A

Lock your spare wheel on it, then it will be a 4 man job to lift the bonnet off!

I filled all the door bolt recesses with black silicone.
It looks alright and costs nothing (well, £2 for a tube of silicone sealant) and is surprisingly difficult to get out, even with a stanley knife or screwdriver. If you open the door and take the nut off, it still takes time to get the bolt out.
Try it on one of your door bolts, you will be amazed at how effective it is. (The bolt recess needs to be clean and free from grease before applying the silicone)

If the bolts on the inside are easy enough to access, then wouldn't it be easy enough to find some sort of bolt with a completely smooth head on it and just do them up from the inside?

blue beasty said:

You can get flush locking pin catches for bonnets.

https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/...currency=GBP&gclid=CIz6gsXOwMsCFRG3Gwodo20N9A

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I have fitted these and they work well.
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/aerocatch-locking.297118/

On the doors yes. On 110 station wagons doors and rear frames. Trouble is with the front frame (bulkhead) as you cannot get to the inside, hence the captive nuts.

OK that makes sense re: the bulkhead and captive nuts - mine's a 90, so only the front doors to worry about.

Optimil do totally secure bonnet hinges but they arnt cheap.

Thanks - I'll have a look!

Appreciate this thread is almost 12 months old. Recently had the bonnet stolen off my 110 (parked on the road, 7am, people walking past, 4 others done in the area on the same morning). Looking for recommendations for upgrading security before I put a new bonnet on. Have seen "MUD" hinges mentioned earlier in this thread. Have also seen "Gore" online but with no reviews. Wondered if anyone had any experience with either/or/both. Also any other suggestions in terms of bonnet or door security. Thanks in anticipation.

Was that a tdci? For some reason they get stolen more than TD5 ones.

lightning said:

Was that a tdci? For some reason they get stolen more than TD5 ones.

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Yes, 2012 TDCi. My TD5 is on the driveway.

bazza958 said:

Appreciate this thread is almost 12 months old. Recently had the bonnet stolen off my 110 (parked on the road, 7am, people walking past, 4 others done in the area on the same morning). Looking for recommendations for upgrading security before I put a new bonnet on. Have seen "MUD" hinges mentioned earlier in this thread. Have also seen "Gore" online but with no reviews. Wondered if anyone had any experience with either/or/both. Also any other suggestions in terms of bonnet or door security. Thanks in anticipation.

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I've got the Gore fuel filter housing, lovely bit of kit. Really well made I would assume the rest of their kit is of the same quality.