For as long as I can remember (I'm 24 now) my Father has always wanted a Defender. 2 years ago he tracked a really nice 1996 90 County 300TDi. Trying to explain to him that these things need constant attention, TLC and money spent on them was met with deaf years and since he bought it he has only used it for tip runs and doing the weekly food shop. It hasn't even been cleaned!

When he bought it I gave the engine an oil change (Chevron Supreme 10w40 A3/B4),changed all the engines filters and changed the oil again 12 months ago even though it had only done 1500miles. Other than that it's been to a mechanic who I'm sure bought his indentures for a clutch, slave and timing belt.

Looking through the service history it seemed to be meticulously looked after until it was about 10 years old. After that it's had around 5 owners including my Father and there's very little in the way of bills.

Earlier this year my Father got caught drink driving (don't worry, I think he's a tool too!) so I decided to adopt the Defender for the next 2 years until he gets his licence back and I picked it up at 5pm yesterday.

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First thing I done though when I picked it up was check the tyre pressures and tank it up with diesel. I parked it up in Tescos carpark and walked across town for a haircut. When I got back there was a puddle of diesel under the drivers side of the car. It would seem that the tank is rotten around the centre line and is weeping and I ended up driving it up and down the motorway for an hour trying to drop the fuel level somewhat!

My only other experience driving a 4x4 is driving my Mothers 2013 Suzuki Jimmny which at just 4 hours old I dunked in the Ogmore river! The Jimny is underpowered, slow, 'wandery' and generally crap to drive. I was quite surprised when I got in the Defender. It feels very solid, it doesn't wander and even cruising at 'outside lane' speeds it's very settled even though the engine is screaming it's tits off!

Today, I threw the keys at my Missus and we drove from Bridgend up to Ebbw Vale to pick some garden bits up. My Missus absolutely hauled it up the A4060 which is a 4 mile long STEEP dual carriageway at full throttle. Half way up the hill I can smell a horrendous burning and told her to back off convinced the engine was getting a bit hot. A few miles later and the smell wasn't getting any better so we pulled over on the A465 to find the bonnet lining on fire just above the turbo!

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I ripped out the burning lining and threw it on some wet grass on the side of the road before making sure it went out, stuffed it in a bin and continued on our journey!

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My Missus usually moans driving anything other than her own car but 50 miles in a filthy, smelly and wet Defender she didn't moan once! Not even about her soaking wet feet where water was dripping under the dash or having her hair in a mess as you HAD to drive with the window open because it smells so bad.

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So 24 hours with a Defender and I certainly have fallen for it's charm. I love the low down grunt of the 300TDi and the general agricultural feel of it. I'm sure my Missus is won over too but she's staying very quiet about it and not admitting anything.

I think it's obvious though that I need to do some work on it. It drives lovely, no worrying noises. It was a good truck when he bought it but I think if it isn't given some TLC soon it's going to turn into a dog very very quickly. My Father has agreed to pay for anything within reason and I don't mind stumping up for a few bits and bobs.

The car was waxoyled early on in life and has been done every few years since. I've had a poke around and the only rust I can see is on the rear crossmember.

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What do we think of this?

I've only managed to punch a hole in the N/S and the rest feels solid. I was planning on attacking the crossmember with a wire brush on an angle grinder, treating the whole thing with Bilt Hamber hydrate 80 and a coat of weld through primer for the time being. I was going to get the rust on the bottom of the crossmember patched up. I was then planning on stripping off all the old waxoil and treating the entire underside and bulkhead with bilt hamber products.

Or... do you think I should just get the crossmember replaced?

With regards to the water in the car. Where do you start looking? I'm sure there is a leak from the roof however the sunroof seems to be sealed fine. Is there any drains from the sunroof that may be blocked of defective? I'm also sure water is getting in behind the bulkhead but have no idea where to start looking. From what I can see the bulkhead is in good shape. The only dubious bit I could find was this in the drivers door shut. It's wet too!
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What about the front vents. Does this drivers side vent look closed to you lot?
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In terms of interior trim. What do you call this piece and where can I get a new one?
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Is there something missing on the front of this? And why would it have an OBD port?
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And last... fluids.

I don't think the transmission fluids have EVER been changed. The gearchange is a bit stiffer than I would have liked too. The manual calls for ATF II but I've also read you should use MTF 94. What's best for the R380? What about the diffs and transfer box?

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Apologies for the long post. I'm sure there will be more questions to come.
 
I found once you have tackled the problems on a Defender they are quiet reliable. Providing the jobs have been done properly with good replacement parts and not so much of these cheap Chines parts.
Mine often goes for long stretches without any problems. Mine is a 1990, 200 tdi. It has crossed the Sahara several times with the previous owner who was a friend of mine. He had it for 18 years and used to boast it had never been cleaned.
For some reason which I don't understand, my wife also loves it. We have a couple of cars between us and she has always said that if we have to get ride of some of them.the Defender stays. I recently did a 60 mile round trip, I thought I would give it a blast. It held 80 mph all the way. I would feel confident to jump in and drive it to the UK and back as I did a couple of years back without any problem. I firmly believe if your going to do a job on it, do it once and do it properly.
 
Is it my eyesight or is that a hole in the rubber engine cover? if so you most likely have a blown exhaust/inlet manifold gasket and thats what set your bonnet trim on fire, if you think about it, it cannot be the turbo as its so low down and the washer bottle would have gone first.
If so remove the rubber cover asap to keep it rolling then get gasket done.

X member rot get out a small hammer and get lightly tapping, but as its gone from the inside out I wouldnt hold out to much hope, can be bodged for mot and as its only yours for 2 yrs thats what I would be doing, if you make it to good he will defo want it back!
 
I'll get at it with a hammer and see what it's like. My Father has no issues paying for the crossmember to be replaced but if we can get it patched, properly painted and get another 5-10 years out of it I should have a nice double garage and the whole chassis can be replaced.

There's no blows and the turbo sounds and boosts fine. The dark mark is where my Father seems to struggle to get the oil in the hole when topping up. It only needs topping up because the rocker cover is a bit leaky. I can only assume maybe a bit of oil got on it, maybe some dry dust and dirt over the years built up and caught alight. IT didn't sag and was nowhere near the turbo so I think it's strange myself but it's the only logical explanation.
 
I bodged my rear x member up for a couple of mots and decided it was time for new when it started to bend when using the hi-lift jack, the problem with chassis rust is it can get scary fast.
I doubt very much you will get 5/10 yrs out of a bodged one, a lot more effort yes it may last, but for that much effort you might as well go new.
But I would do whatever it takes to get it past the annual test and do some security stuff/basic servicing ect before getting into deep/expensive stuff which may put you off the car.

Rocket gaskets easy to replace the cheap britpart ones work fine, about 3 quid iirc.

Forgot to say difflock site shop their syn gearbox oil for the r380 gearbox is the mutts nuts dear but worth it, any make 80/90 is fine for transfer box and diffs
 
That looks like a very nice landy, you'll be pig sick when you have to give it back. Rust on the chassis or bulkhead is a continual nightmare, I'm a bit surprised the rear crossmember looks like that if it has been under sealed as often as that but nothing stops the dreaded rot for ever. If it was mine, my main priority would be that under bonnet fire. I would want to find the cause of that as a matter of priority don't just assume it was because of the heat from the turbo, if that was the case, they would all be on fire. You didn't say if you have replaced the bonnet soundproofing. If not, as the heat affected the bonnet paint yet? I know many owners spend a fortune getting the old landy in showroom condition but for me that takes away much of its character. An older landy should have a dent or two and a bit of mud splatter. Enjoy it while you have it and good luck.

Col
 
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I'm unsure I'll be giving it back as such. ;)
I was chatting to my Uncle on Thursday and he's pretty convinced my Father is going to end up giving it to me, especially if I put a lot of time into it. I'd like to do a 'rolled on' paint job as the current bodywork is peeling everywhere and bubbling up. I'm thinking I may go for a nice ice white with the modern grey/silver front end to modernise it a little bit.

My Father's not into cars but has always had nice motors. Prior to me being born my parents had XR2's and XR2is. Once I was born they had an Orion Ghia Si (basically a posh XR3i saloon) and an XR4i. Between '99 and '08 my Father had Mondeo ST24's, ST200's and ST220's as company cars and then in '08 left company car scheme and bought a brand new Volvo V50 T5 R-Design. He now owns a '12 BMW 320d Sport which he leased from new but ended up buying as he liked it so much.

The rocker cover gasket I replaced 2 years ago with a Britpart item and I cannot get the thing to seal! I may have to try with a OEM/Land Rover gasket. I think a trip to Bearmach in the week is wise!
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when replacing the rocker cover gasket, don't over tighten it - it squashes the seal too much and then leaks. Clean all that crap off with a spray cleaner first, and replace the cyclone o ring (the black thing with the braided hose attached).

As for the leaks - there is an official Land Rover document on how to cure the leaks. Start at the top, check the sunroof drains. These from memory run down the A pillar trims.

The pic of the door seal: those 3 bolts undo and the bracket on the front comes off - often the seal leaks and runs through the bolt holes. Silicon sealant is your friend. Reseal and refit. Notice that when it rains, the outside gutter on the roof runs water directly on to the bracket.
 
Just found the document. I may just work through it and do every single fix.

Is there a torque setting for the rocker cover gasket? I may do the valve clearances when I'm at it as I'm unsure they've ever been done.
 
Just found the document. I may just work through it and do every single fix.

Is there a torque setting for the rocker cover gasket? I may do the valve clearances when I'm at it as I'm unsure they've ever been done.
looks like 10Nm...
 
That looks a nice truck - and with such a low mileage it's definitely worth some effort getting it back to top condition. :)

SWMBO's D1 has the R380, and I run that with Carlube MTF94 in it - flushed when necessary with ATF. IME, some '380's seem to like ATF, and some like MTF - use whichever feels nicer to change and keeps the box noise down...

I'm a user of Bilt Hamber stuff myself, :)and can highly recommend their products - your idea of scraping all the waxoyl off is a good one - but, IMHO, only if the chassis is worth it - which you will know when you have cut out the rotten bits and replaced with new steel...

Security is a serious concern for deafeners now, and I'd strongly suggest that you get a tracker on it ASAP, and don't make it too attractive - personally, I'd keep it original colour and deal with any corrosion properly - if it's too shiny, it might "grow legs" a bit quicker than you'll like :rolleyes:
 
That looks to be a nice 110 you have there.
l have a 110 TD5 that l drive all day every day for my work.
l would tackle the jobs on yours one at a time rather than looking at everything at the same time.
Fir instance, fix the diesel tank then once that's done move on to the crossmember.
My friend bought a running MOT'd series 2a recently, he got stuck in to everything at once with the result that

a/his missus is fed up with it
b/it's not been useable for weeks
c/he's getting fed up with it
 
That looks to be a nice 110 you have there.
l have a 110 TD5 that l drive all day every day for my work.
l would tackle the jobs on yours one at a time rather than looking at everything at the same time.
Fir instance, fix the diesel tank then once that's done move on to the crossmember.
My friend bought a running MOT'd series 2a recently, he got stuck in to everything at once with the result that

a/his missus is fed up with it
b/it's not been useable for weeks
c/he's getting fed up with it


Pretty certain its a 90.
 
I'm unsure I'll be giving it back as such. ;)
I was chatting to my Uncle on Thursday and he's pretty convinced my Father is going to end up giving it to me, especially if I put a lot of time into it. I'd like to do a 'rolled on' paint job as the current bodywork is peeling everywhere and bubbling up. I'm thinking I may go for a nice ice white with the modern grey/silver front end to modernise it a little bit.

My Father's not into cars but has always had nice motors. Prior to me being born my parents had XR2's and XR2is. Once I was born they had an Orion Ghia Si (basically a posh XR3i saloon) and an XR4i. Between '99 and '08 my Father had Mondeo ST24's, ST200's and ST220's as company cars and then in '08 left company car scheme and bought a brand new Volvo V50 T5 R-Design. He now owns a '12 BMW 320d Sport which he leased from new but ended up buying as he liked it so much.

The rocker cover gasket I replaced 2 years ago with a Britpart item and I cannot get the thing to seal! I may have to try with a OEM/Land Rover gasket. I think a trip to Bearmach in the week is wise!
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Did you change the 3 rubber seals on top of the cover itself?
 
nice landy my wife loves driving ours
im lucky if I get to when we are both out in it, good luck with the jobs in hand
 

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