dave88sw

dont like the new puma's anywhere near as much as the 300tdi. So the arguments for a new defender are slightly better road manners and they're a bit quicker. solution, standard suspension back on the 300 cos the lift wont help the handling and then an overdrive or disco transfer box to get the speed up a bit, you'd be surprised how good they are with the disco box. You then have a defender that will last a life time, won't rust, handles well and is quick enough to keep up with traffic. The puma really isn't as good as its cracked up to be, its still pretty basic inside, just has a fancier slab of plastic for a dash board and its slightly quicker but not enough to make it worth it in my opinion. the electrics have shown problems and i've lost count of the little niggles they've been recalled for. This is by far the cheapest option as you wont get back the money you spent on the 90 whether you px or sell privately and the puma will last till the end of its warranty before it returns to its component parts and rots (zero rust proofing) good luck Dave

theres an adaptor that fits over the spindle on the outside, these wear and cause the wiper to flop about. Worth a look, just pop the arm off and check the adaptor sits tightly on the shaft

on an earlier defender, the adjustment is by 2 nuts on the outer sleeve of the cable underneath the vehicle on a bracket from the transfer box (possible from underneath but if i remember right, much easier to take the access panel off the seat box inside and do it from there. However on a later vehicle the adjustment is indeed on the end of the cable. There is also a brake shoe adjuster, this sticks out the back of the handbrake drum on the lh side of the vehicle (lh from drivers seat). It has a square head and i'd start here, park on level ground and chock the wheels, release the brake and wind the adjuster right in, the drum will lock on, then wind it back till it "clicks" and check that the drum now moves, then adjust the cable to get the required number of clicks on the handbrake lever. If that doesn't sort it, take the drum off, give a visual check of shoes position and the release springs (make sure they're still taught and not stretched) and if everything looks ok then strip down the expander and grease it all up. It sounds like a lot of work but each part will only take a few minutes(although the expander may take a while), i've done it in under half an hour in the past (although everything was very easy to remove and i had a ramp so set aside an hour or two) good luck and hope that helps Dave

i think standard and lifted apply to the springs, i.e. whether you want springs that will provide a standard ride height or ones that will give it a slight raise. Go for standard height, lifted gives problems with props binding, ask me how i know Dave

failing seals in the master cylinder? Dave

the larger threaded hole you can get your finger in could be the bellhousing drain hole? its there to allow any clutch fluid/engine oil to drain without ruining the clutch if the rear main oil seal fails or the slave cylinder fails, it should have a wading plug fitted if you go wading and removed afterwards although if the water is relatively clean the clutch ought to dry off quickly and you should be ok. Hope that helps Dave

take a magnet, ive seen far too many bulkheads filled with newspaper/cardboard and smoothed over with bodyfiller. Dave

if they wanted the vehicle theyd just cut the handbrake cable. But if you want one im sure it couldnt be difficult to make, maybe even just drill a hole through the lever in a convenient place that would stop it moving down? Dave

if you are using a second hand chassis then the vehicle is constructed from 2 different land rovers and is subject to an sva i think. If you use a new replacement that is identical to the old one then its not even worth notifying the dvla in my opinion but if you want to avoid any problems it could be a sensible thing to do. Dave

aren't all the holes already there, the hole the heater blows through (on a rhd) is the hole the steering column passes up through in a lhd and vice versa. Not sure about pedal box holes but im near certain on my dads the passenger footwell has the holes there with a plate over the top and assume this is standard. Dave

Well having drained and refilled the system and changing the thermostat for a new genuine one, my 2.25 has started to dribble it's coolant out around the filler cap when warm. It ought to flow through to the overflow bottle but although the pipe is clear (ive blown down it) it doesnt seem to go down there as the level hasnt changed. Instead it just pours out around the cap. The level is about 1cm below the cap as haynes recommends, the only suggestions i can come up with is that there are some air locks and the air is expanding much quicker than the water would or that the radiator cap is at fault, not sealing well or with enough pressure. Any help appreciated Thanks Dave

does the defender use a square cable end or is it just squashed into an oval? Any help appreciated Dave

i think most original if not all series with rear doors had them, mine does. I'm sorry though, i havent a clue where to get one. Maybe use a bump stop?

Yep, just make a hole in the door for the lock barrel to poke through and bolt in to original holes. Did this on my series cos the latches were all knackered and wasnt much more expensive, doors shut with a nice clunk now which is an added bonus. Dave

but much simpler to reroute the cable . Youre right but this was the easiest way to do it and it works fine for us. Dave

the handbrake cable bracket was in a different place but you can just use the disco bracket and bolt the defender cable in it, much less hassle because the bolts holes werent there on the disco box for the defender bracket. Otherwise straight bolt on. Dave

we've drained loads at work that have been run until they conked out on the wrong fuel, drained and refilled it and it ran for another 150,000 with no problem, the car was scrapped before the engine gave up the ghost. I wouldnt be too worried but as said, do your best to remove it all and be sure to change the filter. Dave

before you order anything, just check that the prop bolts are tight, mine weren't and i got a very similar noise. Otherwise totally agree with the advice. In terms of running like that, you might find the extra vibration from the prop will knacker the diff and trans box bearings if used for a long time Good luck Dave

yep, youre right 2 screws i think through the casting into the switch and it drops out, dad's is dead too but he couldnt afford a new one so i rewired to a sprung loaded toggle switch for the starter and a hidden toggle switch for the coil in the hope that it confuses a potential thief. He would hav fitted a nice starter button if he had one but we made no new holes so we'll change it when he finds one he likes. hope that helps Dave

thats a strange url in ure link there western http://just been playing with a s*** load of wires, and, errm anyone got a weiring diagram handy/ Dave

i know that range rover classic 3 spoke or the 5 spoke fitted to lse range rovers will fit defender rear drum brake axle, so i presume they'd fit a series. Hope that helps Dave

so if you cant drive one until youre 21 on a car licence, whats the youngest age you can pass a pcv test?

if a battery drops below,something around 10.7? volts it can become permanently damaged, i did this to mine, not realising how long i'd had the radio on (and the radio also powered the amp and cd changer so quite a draw) and despite charging it was still dead, took backto battery place (still under warranty and sure enough,it was stuffed. Try swapping out the battery for a known good and fully charged battery, while youre at it, give the terminals a clean up and loosen the earth at the gearbox etc and clean the terminals, you'll be surprised how much better it willturn over. Dave

sorry i assumed youd have drum rears in that case its probably still worth a check but not AS likely. Check the calipers are fully returning and the pistons havent corroded preventing them from sliding back in. Otherwise basically check anything that moves and can create friction Dave

its definately an air con a bar you need, most non aircon would fit but the air con ones bend forward to give room to mount spotlights that stick back towards the grille. Dave