Hi All,
I now have two identical white Defender 110 300tdi's from 1996 but boy are they different and i have a few queries...
One is a 'Special Vehicles' edition with plating and seems to sit a lot higher than the county. it also has a slightly better interior and the turning circle is so much better... is there any way i can find out what other upgrades it has had done to it?
The county is also A LOT faster... with a massive inter cooler, its funny how much difference that does make.
here is a pic of the twins for your pleasure:

Now, in the ice the other day, i tested the diff lock and im not sure if its working so well...... i got to a point when i could spin the wheels on ice and could get out and look at the car with out it moving..... on inspection of the vehicle, only two wheels were turning one front and one back. so to make them all turn (with the diff lock) i engaged it, the light came on but nothing changed, the front one and diagonal opposite back wheel turned with the other two remaining stationary. i then realised that the diff lock lever seemed to go from left to right quite easily, in fact too easily, it feels like its loose. The lever can be moved side to side and there is no click, crunch or noticeable difference to the turning wheels sadly. i think something may be a drift..... is this a common problem? i need the diff lock every now and then in the snow and it doesn't seem to be working... any help or tips would be appreciated!
Thanks
Mark

Just a point regarding the diff lock.. It is a centre differential, so you are guaranteed drive to at least 1 front and 1 rear wheel. If you want to spin all 4 wheels then you need locking axle differentials.

With the extra plating, the special vehicles model will be heavier, compounding the power/weight issue with the County having a bigger intercooler and potentially a tunes fuel pump.

it looks like the wheels on 1 vehicle are offset further,this allows more lock on the steering,use off set wheels and adjust the stop bolts to allow the wheel to turn further...this makes the circle tighter

Thanks guys, Diffs do confuse me...so what i am getting is normal..... i presume. thanks for the tips on turning circles, handy over here in the mountains!

i am still a little concerned that as the wheels are turning i can move the lever over from doff lock to normal without feeling anything or getting any grinding noises... its as though it does nothing... just a thought.

doynk said:

i am still a little concerned that as the wheels are turning i can move the lever over from doff lock to normal without feeling anything or getting any grinding noises... its as though it does nothing... just a thought.

Click to expand...

jack one front wheel up and push over to diff lock then try and turn the wheel if it turns its not in lock ,lever tensions a spring in the t/box to enable difflock to engage when output shaft and diff align it helps with engaging whilst moving as long as you dont have a spinning wheel,diff lock switch wound in too far can stop selector working as can worn or incorrectly adjusted linkage