I fitted a Bearmach spare wheel carrier over the weekend (£115 delivered from Island 4x4). Just to give you an option and see what is involved. As you can see from the pics its 265/75 R16 so very heavy..... I used the original reinforced plate on the back door and just cut the bolts off for now as I will be replacing the door and will use the plates that came with it on the new one.
The bottom bracket fits onto original holes (grab handles) on the crossmember and 2 holes need opening up by 2mm. The top bracket fitted over 2 original rivits on the body cappings that need drilling out. The body cappings are steel and will rust hence I rough coated with hammerite before fitting. 4 holes drilled into the reinforced plate attach the carrier to the door.
As you can see this type of carrier opens with the door and can be opened from the inside so no issues with safety. But once fitted no going back but you wont be left with a defunct door carrier (but you can get blanking plates) and a heavy wheel on the bonnet that could head your way in a shunt.
A Land Rover fitter could do it in 2 hours max.... took me much longer :)
 

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MrJC said:
I fitted a Bearmach spare wheel carrier over the weekend (£115 delivered from Island 4x4). Just to give you an option and see what is involved. As you can see from the pics its 265/75 R16 so very heavy..... I used the original reinforced plate on the back door and just cut the bolts off for now as I will be replacing the door and will use the plates that came with it on the new one.
The bottom bracket fits onto original holes (grab handles) on the crossmember and 2 holes need opening up by 2mm. The top bracket fitted over 2 original rivits on the body cappings that need drilling out. The body cappings are steel and will rust hence I rough coated with hammerite before fitting. 4 holes drilled into the reinforced plate attach the carrier to the door.
As you can see this type of carrier opens with the door and can be opened from the inside so no issues with safety. But once fitted no going back but you wont be left with a defunct door carrier (but you can get blanking plates) and a heavy wheel on the bonnet that could head your way in a shunt.
A Land Rover fitter could do it in 2 hours max.... took me much longer :)
Click to expand...

Hi Mrjc thanks for that i will definitely do this, it'll be easier having it on the back just incase i need to get access to the engine in a hurry!
island 4x4 sound slightly cheaper than paddocks. i'll see if its a job i can do myself, if not i'm going to try & find a non land rover, landrover specialist to do it. nice wheels by the way :p
 
If you take the door card off you can remove the inner plate complete with the long wheel mount studs from the inside leaving the outer plate in place. Just use some bog standard electrical blanking grommets in the holes and viola you dont have to destroy the wheel carrier. It also leaves the outer plate in place which gives a strong fixing for the carrier.
I've already done this bit and will be fitting the carrier as soon as it turns up.
I'm going to spray the existing mounting plate the same colour as the door and I dont think it will look too bad especially as it will be behind the new carrier and wheel most of the time.
 

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Shifty1962 said:
If you take the door card off you can remove the inner plate complete with the long wheel mount studs from the inside leaving the outer plate in place. Just use some bog standard electrical blanking grommets in the holes and viola you dont have to destroy the wheel carrier. It also leaves the outer plate in place which gives a strong fixing for the carrier.
I've already done this bit and will be fitting the carrier as soon as it turns up.
I'm going to spray the existing mounting plate the same colour as the door and I dont think it will look too bad especially as it will be behind the new carrier and wheel most of the time.
Click to expand...

Nice job..... I never thought of removing that rear plate :doh: oh well:) The carrier comes with 2 plates (inner and outer) and they are substantial. They are pre drilled with nice shiny nuts and bolts so you have options.
 
Just fitted a shiny new Bearmach carrier from Island 4x4 £115 delivered within 24 hours of ordering. Now thats what I call service.

Took me two hours from start to finish including stopping for a brew. Simple and easy to fit. I'm well pleased. Thanks MrJC for the heads up on the Island 4x4 deal.
 
MrJC said:
I fitted a Bearmach spare wheel carrier over the
SNIP

you wont be left with a heavy wheel on the bonnet that could head your way in a shunt.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't believe in that horror story too much mate. You'd have to be in a head-on with a lorry to get to that stage of play ;)
 
Shifty1962 said:
Just fitted a shiny new Bearmach carrier from Island 4x4 £115 delivered within 24 hours of ordering. Now thats what I call service.

Took me two hours from start to finish including stopping for a brew. Simple and easy to fit. I'm well pleased. Thanks MrJC for the heads up on the Island 4x4 deal.
Click to expand...

Hiya,
just bought one from Paddocks for £130 worked out £9 cheeper than island 4x4 (had to get the more expensive 1 because my landys a 2007)

fingers crossed i can manage to fit it myself with the aid of all your helpful hints & pics :)

next job is the passenger seat belt... it failed its MOT because it has a slight nick in the centre of it where someone trapped it in the door... landrover wanted to charge me £300 for parts & labour... LMAO !!!!!
so needless to say i politely declined that offer & am going to try & do it myself. Have any of you guys fitted one before?
 
Yes, I fitted replacement ones in my last 90. I thought I would go for replacement ones rather than original. Big mistake... quality was below average and slightly different fittings. If you dont buy Land Rover it is likely you will have to replace the bit it clicks into as well.... thats when you may get problems.
All you will have to do is undo the belt on the door pillar and replace.... just make sure the 'male' bit is the same as the one you are replacing :)
 
If second hand will suffice..... defender 90 / 110 n/s/f seat belt on eBay (end time 16-Jun-10 12:02:18 BST) ..... new...BTR6561 INERTIA SEAT BELT LH FRONT | shop | www.lrseries.com | L. R. Series belt&page=2
The ebay one looks the same as my 1997..... yours being newer I am sure some of our member with similar to yours will help.
For a simple job you need the correct one (obviously) as you dont want to messing about fitting the buckle end as they can be a pain... have a look at yours and see what you think.
 
MrJC said:
If second hand will suffice..... defender 90 / 110 n/s/f seat belt on eBay (end time 16-Jun-10 12:02:18 BST) ..... new...BTR6561 INERTIA SEAT BELT LH FRONT | shop | www.lrseries.com | L. R. Series belt&page=2
The ebay one looks the same as my 1997..... yours being newer I am sure some of our member with similar to yours will help.
For a simple job you need the correct one (obviously) as you dont want to messing about fitting the buckle end as they can be a pain... have a look at yours and see what you think.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that your a star! i have dropped them an email to see if it will be compatible with my landy or not i also saw this one on the Paddocks site SEC500/30 Intertia Lap and Diagonal Belt for outer front seats of Defender hardtop vehicles. what do you think? i think its the right one but looks a little too cheap to be right!?! :confused:
 
I would avoid the Paddocks one Kitty... for the extra money get a genuine replacement for the year of your Defender. It will be a simple replacement for you. If I am not mistaken thats the kit I bought and it wont slot into your existing buckle.
Okay... £64 is steep (shop around you may get cheaper) but look at it as saving £240 from the dealers price for fitting. Go for new from lrseries or similar making sure the belt will fit straight into your existing buckle (I guess you mailed them rather than the ebay one) then if it aint right you can send it back... should be okay being a genuine replacement.
 
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MrJC said:
I would avoid the Paddocks one Kitty... for the extra money get a genuine replacement for the year of your Defender. It will be a simple replacement for you. If I am not mistaken thats the kit I bought and it wont slot into your existing buckle.
Okay... £64 is steep (shop around you may get cheaper) but look at it as saving £240 from the dealers price for fitting. Go for new from lrseries or similar making sure the belt will fit straight into your existing buckle (I guess you mailed them rather than the ebay one) then if it aint right you can send it back... should be okay being a genuine replacement.
Click to expand...

Thanks mrjc, I emailed the eBay member so just waiting for a response. They had a few in stock so if I miss that one, but it's the right one, I should still be able to get one the same from them.
Unfortunately the seat belt is now the least of my wories... The gear box apears to have given up the ghost tonight! I am very glad it is still under warranty for 2 more months... I'm guessing this would be a costly fault to fix! I'm glad we were literally at the corner of our street when it happened... I had dogs, food shopping on board & riding kit on which is not made for walking! Bad timing though we missed the 1st goal in the England match...! I was not popular... Lol :rolleyes:
 
kittykat said:
Thanks mrjc, I emailed the eBay member so just waiting for a response. They had a few in stock so if I miss that one, but it's the right one, I should still be able to get one the same from them.
Unfortunately the seat belt is now the least of my wories... The gear box apears to have given up the ghost tonight! I am very glad it is still under warranty for 2 more months... I'm guessing this would be a costly fault to fix! I'm glad we were literally at the corner of our street when it happened... I had dogs, food shopping on board & riding kit on which is not made for walking! Bad timing though we missed the 1st goal in the England match...! I was not popular... Lol :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

:eek: the kids or the dog have not been messing with the diff lock have they? Are you getting any movement/noise or nothing when you let the clutch out?... if its the latter check the diff lock is not in 'nuetral'. Have seen a few cases of that on here.
Keep us posted.... shame the warranty didn't cover the result last night:doh:
 
MrJC said:
:eek: the kids or the dog have not been messing with the diff lock have they? Are you getting any movement/noise or nothing when you let the clutch out?... if its the latter check the diff lock is not in 'nuetral'. Have seen a few cases of that on here.
Keep us posted.... shame the warranty didn't cover the result last night:doh:
Click to expand...

No kids & dogs are safely behind a dog guard... Husband is often left carelessly in the cab to cause mayhem... Has also started bad habit of asuming ownership of the keys before journeys!!! I fear I may need to start stowing him in the back with the dogs safely behind the dog guard also :D

no unfortunately it's not the diff lock... We've had that scenario when I first got it, before I fitted the dog guard.
This time I can't engage the hand brake & there is no power when I try to put it in gear but alot of noise. Land rover sent out the Aa to tow us & he thought it was the gear box but to be fair he didn't have a look at it he just went from our description & the noise it made in neutral when it was being towed!
I wonder if copello could claim compensation for green under the 1974 trading standards act, on the grounds that he was of a substandard quality, not sold as advertised & not fit for purpose!?! :p
 
Doesn't sound very good.....Noises when towing? I just hope the AA man was towing it with all 4 wheels on the road or if a front end lift he removed the prop shaft? :eek: Thank goodness for the waranty!
It's a shame John Terry didn't sleep with Robert Greens wife:p
 
MrJC said:
Doesn't sound very good.....Noises when towing? I just hope the AA man was towing it with all 4 wheels on the road or if a front end lift he removed the prop shaft? :eek: Thank goodness for the waranty!
It's a shame John Terry didn't sleep with Robert Greens wife:p
Click to expand...

Hey mrJC,

hope you were happier with tonights result!
Finally have landy back, aparently it was the rear drive shaft that had gone... They also reckon that the hand brake went at the exact same moment because it had dust in it...! Sounds a bit like a suspect little britton sketch to me! The have fixed it all under warranty & landrover are arranging for it to go to another registered garage for a once over to check that everything is ok before the warranty runs out... So fingers crossed!
 
After some time thinking about it, should I, shouldn't I, I ordered one of the ISLAND 4 X 4 spare wheel carriers last Friday, at £125. inc VAT. for my 1987 90, it came Tuesday, and I fitted it yesterday ( wed ), it took about 2=5 hours to fit. and I must say, it looks very smart, and already it feels very smooth in operation. .GET ONE. I even managed to refit the offside lower D grab handle in place. all I have left to do now is just fit my 750 = 16 spare wheel..

Question, it was quite difficult to fit the spare on the old door fitting, ( standard L R ally wheels), having to rely on wheel nuts to centre up the wheel, are there any backing nuts around to make fitting spare any easier.
 
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