goldilocks

thats good information, thanks. wish I'd known that before....

Thanks for all the suggestions! I made a video with a borrowed endoscope: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yg4YcxWFKY&feature=youtu.be My faffing around has caused the clip to fall behind the cylinder head bolt you can see in the film. I'm going to refit the rocker cover and see what happens. Can anyone tell me where the clip might end up now?

thanks for the suggestions folks. I don't know what metal the clip is made of, but its not attracted to a magnet! It's stuck about 4 inches down, and the shaft is too small to get the claw thing in. I'll try with a variety of hooks today, and if theres no joy I may get an endoscope as a last resort. I don't think the clip does any harm where it is, but I worry that with vibrations and oil getting pumped around that it could find its way into the oil pump or a moving part that could be damaged. Will keep trying

I'm glad not to be the only one to have done this! Thanks for the kind offer Mike. Unless you live near Austria I won't be able to take you up on it unfortunately. The clip is wedged behind one of the bolts securing the cylinder head. I tried one of the other clips and found that is only very weakly attracted to a magnet, not enough to lift it with. If I can't get it out i'm guessing the head will have to come off, but thats way above my skill level, and now I can't even drive it to a garage.

I replaced the injector seal washers and o-rings, it all went very smoothly. While replacing the metal clips that secure the injector harness plug, the clip slipped out of my hand and fell down a hole into the engine - I attached a photo - I can just see part of the clip, and can't reach it to get it out. So my question is/are where does the hole go? how far would i need to dismantle the engine to get to it? will it cause damage to the engine if I can't get it out? Any help/advise greatly appreciated.

The starter motor is new, (the old one failed while we were in Austria, and the replacement costed over 400€!) I'll have a look tomorrow, and try to post a photo of the "oil" leak. It would be great if I can clean out the motor and get it working reliably again. I'm guessing it will get worse with the cold coming otherwise.

Having read loads of threads, this is my first post on the forum, so hi everyone! Here's my situation: 2 months ago my defender wouldn't start unless I gave the starter motor a smack with a wrench. I replaced the motor, which was covered in oil, which leaks slowly from the rear of the engine. This morning when I tried to start it up, I only heard a click from the starter relay. I tried whacking the starter motor, and then it span fine. other relevant info: Both batteries are charged fully. I think the oil leak was caused by the previous owner way overfilling the engine oil. I fitted a battery isolator switch on the cable between the battery and starter about a month ago. Its started fine everyday since then. I'm wondering if the oil could be causing the starter motor to jam up? I'm hoping that now the correct amount of oil is in the engine the leak might stop?! I've only had the defender 3 months, and any advice or suggestions would be very gratefully received! cheers Matt