Bailes1992
Member
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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!
What about the front vents. Does this drivers side vent look closed to you lot?
In terms of interior trim. What do you call this piece and where can I get a new one?
Is there something missing on the front of this? And why would it have an OBD port?
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?
Apologies for the long post. I'm sure there will be more questions to come.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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!
What about the front vents. Does this drivers side vent look closed to you lot?
In terms of interior trim. What do you call this piece and where can I get a new one?
Is there something missing on the front of this? And why would it have an OBD port?
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?
Apologies for the long post. I'm sure there will be more questions to come.
