[Defender fuel tank leaks - better replacement yet?]

16 hours ago, Mo Murphy said:

If it were me i would go for a secondhand 2.4 puma plastic tank which will hopefully come with its original fuel pick up, suitable for use with a Tdi rather than a pump (used on Td5 and 2.2 puma). Saves pennies 😉

HTH

Mo

Oh, so a TD5 and 2.2 Puma have a pump in the tank?
(Another thing to break!?)

[Defender fuel tank leaks - better replacement yet?]

Thanks elbekko & FridgeFreezer, but the chap who runs Foley's old operation in Zambia and another British mechanic down here all said the same thing "all tanks do it here, even the genuine ones" so I assumed most of the others talked about had the cradle as it is a normally fitted part I assume?
I left it off as a protection plate it is pointless compared to the other bash plate I have, which also makes it super easy to use the exhaust jack as its bolted to the rear chassis etc. I also assumed the tiny gap would fill up with sand and dust and water and rust things pretty quickly, so best to leave it off, I didn't realise its supposed to take any weight from the tank - but also seem to remember it wouldn't fit with the huge Safety Devices tank guard I have..

Anyway, thanks for flagging that up, I will add it to the list of things to look at, but will look at a plastic tank now to see if its viable...

[Defender fuel tank leaks - better replacement yet?]

17 hours ago, Arjan said:

I'm happy to sent a spare "plastic" Disco I tank to you to play with if that helps.

Thanks mate, but I'm in Africa so it wouldn't work out...

[Defender fuel tank leaks - better replacement yet?]

9 hours ago, hurbie said:

could it be that the tank breaks because you don't have the cradle installed ?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285396390718?chn=ps&_ul=GB&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-169684-531343-4&mkcid=2&itemid=285396390718&targetid=293946777986&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9063941&poi=&campaignid=20649934318&mkgroupid=153764631759&rlsatarget=pla-293946777986&abcId=&merchantid=6995734&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwMqvBhCtARIsAIXsZpbOA0u2F2CVXYJmRMyUd5C_aHPIUm7eB1zMwBBbtxnZlRlyX71z-bEaAheEEALw_wcB

I don't know. I have a huge thick Safety Devices guard mounted so never saw the need for the cradle, which I assumed was for protection only as well?
Doubt it would help, the Britpart tanks are so wafer thin...

[Defender fuel tank leaks - better replacement yet?]

9 hours ago, Eightpot said:

I had a good look at a new britpart tank today.  The spotwelds for the baffles are very feeble looking, they are quite difficult to see. 

I see you dont have the standard tank guard fitted, but probably a beefier guard that bolts underneath?  The standard guard might actually help if you added some thin rubber or similar padding between it and the tank? 

Thanks mate, yes, they are practically made from tinfoil they are so thin 🙂
But it's all you can buy locally unfortunately, nobody can afford anything else so its not stocked...

Getting a Stainless tank made is possible, but mostly in South Africa, so that would require 5 days of driving, likely a week long stay, plus a weeks break from editing, plus the costs of everything, so quite a expensive all round. I was hoping to be able to buy something decent instead.

My local (German) mechanic is seeing what plastic tanks we can get and what's else I'd need to change etc so thanks for that suggestion - any more details would be appreciated on that front please.

Asking the local LR parts place if anybody makes tanks from stainless and will look to cradle it more with rubber mounts if so etc

[Defender Dash Upgrades]

I wouldn't bother with any kind of music or sat nav device mounted like that.

Instead get a tablet or iPad with SIM card/gps amp and some Ram mounts to hold it in place.
Then a Pioneer or Alpine sub and amp (200 quid) 

Use the tablet for music, navigation apps of your choice, Netflix at night and every other thing you can think of, plus its easy to remove out of sight.
Small boutooth music controller stuck on the steering wheel next to your thumb means you never have to look away from the road to stop/start, volume up/down etc

[Defender fuel tank leaks - better replacement yet?]

A few pictures of my setup... the grey Wurth putty that is circled in black is the previous leaks, now leaking again, plus where I think the new leak is from...
Note how the wing tank is hooked up top and bottom, ideally don't want to replace it as well else ££££!
(I have a 90 tank under the passenger seat which pumps via a switch/12 volt pump into the rear wing tank)

 

[Defender fuel tank leaks - better replacement yet?]

7 hours ago, Sigi_H said:

I did, but never in Europe. Thats why i´d like to know wheter this is a general problem. It seems not.

Doubt it, here it is a common problem...

[Defender fuel tank leaks - better replacement yet?]

1 hour ago, Sigi_H said:

Just a question. Is it really common, that these fuel tanks get leaky?

My original tank went leaky due to rust after 33 years and I had to replace it 3 years ago. I am afraid it was a britpart.

 

It is in Africa when you are driving off-road and on bad corrugations for thousands of km's.
My current one is Britpart, before that Bearmach, seemed the same tank.

[Defender fuel tank leaks - better replacement yet?]

20 hours ago, Arjan said:

My OneTen was eventually fitted with a "plastic" tank for the Td5. Fits OK, you need to make a small mod. but no real issues.

We also fitted a Series filler with the "extension" for easier filling with jerrycans.

 

Thanks mate... what year Landy did you fit it to please?

[Defender fuel tank leaks - better replacement yet?]

3 hours ago, Bowie69 said:

Either that or convert to a TD5 plastic tank.

Yes, I will look at that, sick of these leaking tanks.
Are there any good threads or Youtube on it anywhere please?

[Defender fuel tank leaks - better replacement yet?]

3 hours ago, elbekko said:

Would something like this be a better solution if the sloshing is the problem?

https://www.tanksrus.co.uk/water/water-tank-accessories/baffle-balls

Not sure, but the core problem is the poor quality of the tanks themselves, wafer thin steel, poor quality welds etc

[Defender fuel tank leaks - better replacement yet?]

Thanks mate, as far as I know there are no good tanks unfortunately, the baffles inside are spot welded, and over corrugations and bumps, the liquid sloshes violently, puts pressure on the sport welds that eventually lift off from the tank and sometimes tear a pin prick hole which leaks out...

I was told even LR tanks do this....?

I was hoping somebody had released a newer tank to solve this common (at least in Africa) and annoying issue...?

I'm not sure the coating would survive the spot welded tearing off (I know people have been trying it here, but unsure of the results)

[235 85 R16 Tyre pressures?]

OK, thanks for all of the helpful thoughts...
I'll go for 32 and 48 when on asphalt, the rear needs a bit more than the 44 I have been using.

[Defender fuel tank leaks - better replacement yet?]

{Yawn!}
Another day, another couple of spot welds leaking at the bottom of my (diesel) fuel tank.
It's the third tank I'm on, and time to replace this one as well as now that's 4 spot welds that I will have patched up on this one alone.

Has anybody released a Defender fuel tank (200/300 TDI version) that solves this problem please?
It would be nice to buy one that lasts 10 years, as opposed to 6 months before a sport weld pops and the leaks start.

Cheers!
Darrin

[235 85 R16 Tyre pressures?]

I had an interesting discussion around tyres the other day at a big dealer in Southern Africa. In short, I'm probably under inflated on tarmac.

So if running a 1991 200TDIHardtop and in the 2600-2950kg range most of the time, what tyres pressures should I be running on All Terrain 235 85 R16 tyres please?
I had been running 30psi front, 44 at rear as per the LR owners manual, but that is for the 7.50 R16 tyres I used to use.
With the 235's being slightly bigger I should have higher pressures for tarmac use?

(Save your breath if your answer is to ask the tyre company: they just refer you to the vehicle manufacturer, who refer you to the tyre company again!)
 

[LR engine mounts]

3 minutes ago, miketomcat said:

Stock defender 200 mounts are the round type. They are quite stiff thus lots of vibration, they also have a habit of delaminating which means the engine is no longer attached to the vehicle.

Mike

Yes, had one detach itself perfectly, you couldn't notice it in the workshop it was such a nice lift of the rubber and round bit.
So what is the best slot in alternative please?

[LR engine mounts]

10 hours ago, Maverik said:

Anything but standard 200tdi mounts... 300tdi seem to be a good compromise between size over hardness, I converted the standard 200tdi gearbox mounts to the later square type and even that made a hell of a difference. I'd defo consider td5 first.

For the completely uninformed (me) could you explain why anything but standard 200TDi mounts please?
Do they vibrate much more etc?

If so, love to reduce that a lot without any modifications or upsetting any of the measurements involved please

[Defender parts in the EU?]

1 hour ago, hurbie said:

why would you go with a EU based company , they order the parts from the same UK firms .... LR direct , and some others handle the import duty's for you ...

i'm based in the netherlands , and order trough LR direct , and that's what i pay , no extra shipping or VAT trouble's . and a lot cheaper as ordering in the netherlands .

Answers in the original post mate.
Seeing if there are any options that have quicker/cheaper shipping. Quoted as taking 8-10 days from the UK at the moment, and it does take that long.
Seeing if there is a better option...

Thanks, Darrin
https://www.youtube.com/@roamingyak

[Defender parts in the EU?]

Thanks, but I'm not after a UK based company that ships worldwide.
Asking if there are any good suppliers that are based in the EU 🙂

[Defender parts in the EU?]

Hi all,
Are there any LR parts suppliers like lrdirect.com and so forth that sell genuine LR parts and are based/ship from within the EU please?
Interested to see if there are any good alternatives with cheaper/quicker shipping.

Thanks, Darrin
https://www.youtube.com/@roamingyak

[Quick body measurement please?]

8 minutes ago, Junglie said:

You want me to collect a GPMG for you this weekend? Just to complete the look...

I'm not too sure if that would help or hinder arriving at a border claiming I was an innocent tourist here to photograph their beautiful animals?

[Quick body measurement please?]

16 hours ago, Snagger said:

The Royal Marines had this system for wading their hard tops ashore from landing craft.  The hatch was just a sunroof with a composite or metal panel instead of glass, so it should work just as well with a glass sunroof.  I stood through the sunroof I retrofit to my 109 while working on it.

That's exactly what I have - just a metal plate instead of glass. You can remove it completely with a few clicks of the latches.
But I need to figure out if it would be comfortable to stand and film, rather than being hunched over or stretching etc

[Quick body measurement please?]

6 hours ago, miketomcat said:

Just over 1m from top of seat box to headlining.

Mike

Cool, thanks. I'm thinking of modifying my brownchurch roof rack so I can stand on the middle floor panel and have my arms and head through the sunroof (its big enough - I've lost 18kg since I filmed these first YouTube episodes your seeing now!) and then use the rack as a filming platform, perhaps even with a shade 🙂

[Quick body measurement please?]

Thanks, no need for an actual sunroof, just the height from the floor to the roof is fine thanks 🙂
Then I can figure out what part of me would stick out from the roof and make a plan from there...