Steve King

A guy at the local garage told me about a company that does fibreglass doors. Not cheap, but totally rustproof though! http://www.amaservices.biz/#/ama-grp-designs/4564590506

Or these maybe: http://www.rapidonline.com/Tools-Equipment/Letter-and-Number-Punch-Set-36pc-89-1339/?source=googleps&utm_source=googleps&gclid=CLj-q9XW_7gCFSXLtAodmR4AkQ Sorry, don't know the type height/size or font!

At the end of the day all "farm type" jacks are inherently unstable even with the correct adapter for a Defender. The components and construction of Jackall and Hi Lift are (IMHO) tried and tested. Other makes may possibly be OK or good, but whatever jack you use take care!!!

It is personal choice of course, but I'd go either for a genuine Jackall or a Hi Lift. I had a bad experience with another make!

I've used these guys previously: http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk

Best not leave it to slide around - it could be dangerous in an accident. Strap it to the bulkhead removal bar!

It's not a straight fit, but you may be able to fabricate something. more info: http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=71885

I think you have three choices: 1) Swingaway spare wheel carrier at the rear (good ones are not cheap and cheap ones tend to rust away or fail) 2) Bonnet mount - disadvantage is that you need to be strong to lift the bonnet with the spare wheel in place. 3) If you have a hardtop you can mount it inside on the bulkhead behind the seats.

Interesting! Despite the asymmetric shape, it must somehow still be in balance?!

Three dealers listed in Istanbul:- http://www.landrover.com/gl/en/lr/find-dealer?country=TR&x=t Dunno how good their English is, but many Turkish people speak excellent English!

235/85 R16 on a set of nice wheels should look in proportion even with the 3" lift. I have found Continental 235/85 R16 Cross Contact are pretty good A/T tyres. However it depends on what you use the Defender for and your budget!

Tyre choice is a personal thing, but here's my two penn'orth. Until recently I ran on Rangemasters and was very pleased with them - I had no problems with them and for an A/T tyre they performed pretty well in mud. I had no end of punctures with Michelin XZLs and even had one delaminate in spectacular fashion!

I'm not planning to go up North anytime soon, but if it helps I can collect the bumper and store it until someone is heading up to Manchester.

I have just taken out a policy for my Defender TD5 with Liverpool Victoria. £250 (ish) a year fully comp with 9 years NCD. My renewal from Adrian Flux was slightly cheaper, but I may occasionally (once or twice a year) use my Defender to get to work and LV include this as standard, Flux don't.

or a submarine!!! If you get stuck you might find winching a tad difficult at that depth!!

Depends on the year/model - some don't have them.

Well, I tried and failed to fit the spring in-situ - it is almost possible but not quite and after the 5th attempt I gave up! I tried to compress the spring with nylon ratchet ties and also lengths of solder, but neither was up to the job. the problem is that as you release tension you have got to get the end of the spring securely located in the hole on the pedal and that just did not seem to happen! In the end I decided to take the pedal out and to be honest it is not that hard a job, but there probably is a way of replacing the spring without removing the pedal!!

Haynes isn't a bad starting point. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1850106541/?tag=hydra0b-21&hvadid=9555496389&ref=asc_df_1850106541

I could invest in this, but I have no storage for that amount of stock and I currently don't have the time to advertise it, sell it and ship it! If anyone wants to make a a sensible business proposition then please send me a p.m. with at least an outline of a business plan.

That reminds me of this car I saw in Ithaca a couple of years ago (sorry about poor quality mobile phone pic). http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/9/imgp0342x.jpg/'>

I had the same problem with my previous Defender and it was indeed the dim dip relay that was faulty.

By Jove you are right!! :i-m_so_happy: The passenger door shuts really easily now - even my wife can do it!! The driver's door is much better than it was, but needs a little more fettling.

Will try the silicone spray. Removing the inserts is not an option because it does not have any! The seal has some kind of internal stiffening- almost like the hollow part of the seal has been filled with silicone rubber! It is just the bit around the "waist" of the Defender where it bounces off the door seal. Moving the catch further out does not really work. If you can get it to close easily then you can just yank the door open when it is supposed to be closed. If all else fails I will cut up various door seals to fit around the waist of the defender where the lock is.

My TD5 has always had issues with shutting the front doors and with the current cold weather (down to minus 4 last night!) it is getting to be a complete PITA!!! I changed the striker plates to X-Eng rather tasty X-Trouser and carefully adjusted them so that in the summer the door would close with a gentle pull. The issue is not with the striker plates: it is the door seal. On my TD5 the bit around the curved section is just too solid! The solid bit is nice and compressible in the warm, but the door just bounces off in the winter! Removing the door seals completely does work, but is not really an option!! From memory the 300 TDI had a slightly different door seal with a removable reinforcement. Is this correct? If so part numbers please - alternatively any other door seals that would fit?

I laughed my head off at this, but I do sympathise - when I was 8 or so my elder brother speared my foot all the way through with a garden fork!!! (he said it was an accident) That was bad enough but about 3 weeks later a large black lump was picked out of my foot by Mum with the assistance of a needle - it turned out be a section of my wellington boot!!