Hi

First posting!

I am new to LandRovers but have definitely caught the bug!.
I have been looking at 110 Defender SW's for a month or so without much success.

Question is.......should I be worried about front and rear crossmember rot on an otherwise sound chassis?

This is on a 1993 200TDi with 110k.

Help appreciated. It's a jungle out there!

Depends how much rot, and how much you like welding.

Thanks for the response!!

I "think" it's fairly minimal but I am sadly lacking in any hands on experience.

I suppose the question is.......is a bit of chassis rot the beginning of a slippery slope, or will a good patch up and regular doses of waxoil stop the decay?

It is a 200Tdi with 100k (1993) for 5 grand. Seems cheap to me but maybe it's a dog?

Thanks

It is hard to say. Generally, if there is some rot on the cross members, you will find it elsewhere. It may be covered by mud\underseal\components, but it will there somewhere.

If it is just limited to the cross members, and is not bad, then a simple patch job will do.

You just need to ask yourself how the last owner let it get to that stage. Regular servicing?

the rear cross member is an easy to change thingy if you are not interested in getting out your welder.

generally, if there's rot, there's sure to be other spots you've missed.

check if the vehicle chassis is muddy. if it is, prolly some good washing will reveal more. surface rust is not a problem as like what you said, some waxoil will solve it.

you just have to worry if it's rust from the inside. hmmm. not so easy to solve. have you checked the footwells? the cowl vents? general condition of the bulk head? the door frame, especially the under edges? even a 2003 d90 can have started to rust. the entire door is abt $900 sg to change, excluding glass and trims.

at that price is sounds cheap. yes, the gear box? transfer box? prop shaft? engine? is it leaking oil? is there oil in the air filter? what kinda smoke on start up? is the turbo working?

thanks for the info!

Well...now I am the proud owner so I guess I will have plenty of time to figure out what the lurking problems. I don't think it's the worst I've seen and not the best bust definitely the cheapest. I guess you get what you pay for (usually)!

Watch this space and thanks!