Jimbo1010

Jimbo1010

New Member
Hello there,
Hope someone can help but I’m looking to buy a defender 90 Td5 in the very near future and I’m hoping someone can give me some tips to make sure I don’t buy a pup.
I’m going to be one of those ‘all the gear but no idea’ people so be gentle.

Many thanks in advance.

Jim
 
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/help-buying-my-first-defender.345342/#post-4547980

There’s a similar thread with a buying guide in there :)

I got my first one a couple of months back, sent a few pics of any rust to a mechanic I know... I doubt you will find one with no rust lol... mine has a little bit on the a pillar which I didn’t spit beforehand... and a bit on the chassis, but it is 15 years old... :) also a bit in the footwell but I fixed the leak in there. my front diff broke the first day I had it but that was sorted under warranty.

Be prepared to do work on it, I have an ever growing snagging list of bits to do, but I absolutely love it and it’s made me rekindle my passion for both mechanical and electrical engineering. I bloody love working on it and driving it! This forum is really useful when problems do occur too :)

Pete
 
hi ya ...

we bought our first defender about 6 months ago , we bought from a place in guilford and got a 12 month warranty, with the price ..

I think we were lucky , as we didn't know much about them when we bought her , but I have learnt a lot since .. Im no expert but I would deff be looking at the underneath get one which has a good chassis and bulk head, we looked at a few and the bulk head around the window had rotten through, the guy said its an easy fix ... its an easy botch ...

We decided on what we wanted and what we wanted it for , and looked for the cleanest we could find , especially inside and underneath ..

Good luck and happy hunting ..
 
I would if poss take someone who knows defenders and what to look for - i have always gone for good chassis and bulkhead over everything else.

ps - bpt get your hands dirty lol
 
payydg said:
For gods sake don’t buy the first one you view. Don’t ask me how I know...
Click to expand...
Or buy it blind from an ebay auction! Mine may have been cheap but I dont know where it got it's MOT!

sea27n said:
I would if poss take someone who knows defenders and what to look for - i have always gone for good chassis and bulkhead over everything else.
Click to expand...

^^ This is the best advice, take someone who knows what they are doing and get one with a good chassis and bulkhead. By comparison everything else is cheap and easy to replace, even by someone who is just starting out, with only a box of spanner from halfords and a driveway.
 
39F3F000-16C8-421F-846E-A23D370596C3.jpeg
Thank you all for your responses. I did exactly what I was told not to do, bought the first one I saw, paid more than I wanted but knew it would be sold soon if I didn’t purchase, it was also reasonably local which helped me a lot.
I think it’s solid, drives well, lowish mileage for a Td5 (except for the large wheel wobble at 50, silly Range Rover wheels).

Getting her to a mechanic soon so fingers crossed. Pic of it as my profile pic.

Thank you again and sorry for my late reply I work way too much.

Jim
 
Bear in mind that a pretty, shiny body is fitted on top of a potentially rotten through and through steel chassis due to thetinworm that doesn't affect alluminium, yet feasts on mild steel.
The engine should be well balanced and sound like an industrial sewing machine, there should be no plat at all on the propshafts apart from a bit of backlash at the diffs and geatbox.
Check the bulkhead, especially arounf the air vents and at the bottom of the legs where it bolts nto the chassis outriggers.
Good luck, and welcome to the Big Boys Meccano Club
 
Jimbo1010 said:
(except for the large wheel wobble at 50, silly Range Rover wheels).
Click to expand...

Very silly wheels, rip them off as soon as possible! Get some 16" steels, and it would look much better. Some banded HD rims would look very nice under that!
A wobble could be lots of thinghs depending on how severe it is, I would get underneath with a bar and check for play in all the suspension bushes as well.
 
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