MichaelE

I only noticed The Gardeners on exit. Looks a nice place.

I went yesterday. I've known about it for a while but can't remember where I saw it advertised. Yes it was smallish as far as traders go compared to Peterborough and the slightly disappointing Billing, but ok for a first attempt. It was good to have something local to me and not have to travel 100+ miles. The food struck me down though. Had some fish & chips from a wagon there. My head was in the toilet last night and still got stomach cramps as I write this. I knew there wasn't something quite right about it and didn't finish it.

I fitted these later seals to my 93 D90 last year. The rubber stems on the seal fitted in to the existing holes on the underside of the door. I used PU sealant to help keep them in place. Driver's door was a pig to close. Passenger's was only a bit better. I think that the existing holes place the seals too far inboard. After a few months of futile living in hope that things would improve over time, I ripped them off and have been without for a while. No detrimental effects whatsoever. You wouldn't know they were missing. So sorting this out has gone way way down on my list of things to do.

There was a limited edition of 100 300Tdi 90s called the Eastnor built for the French market in 1996. One featured in the Jan 22 edition of LROI mag.

These 3 videos from Mike [Britannica] tell you all you need to know and have a list of parts required https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8av0vsce8Hg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESOVFRMoyLg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTcSOq-NdJA

If you're not happy with it then it usually means there's something wrong. So do something. Either get the bearing replaced by the seller, or replace the complete tensioner, or try to grease the bearing. I replaced the complete tensioner earlier this year. I hadn't at that time come across replacement bearings alone. The new tensioner made an intermittent knocking noise which soon turned in to a constant noise that was almost louder than the engine. I had a bit of a struggle getting it replaced by the ebay dealer but won in the end. I picked up a bearing from Fourby at Billing. They're a reputable dealer. It was only £5 ish and I'll use it to repair the removed squeaky tensioner and have a spare.

A couple of years ago I had complete electrical failure caused by this very earth. I spent the best part of 6 weeks in and out and under during the constant 3 months of rain we had that autumn trying to track down the cause. I had checked that this earth was secure, and it most certainly was, but that wasn't the problem. It was the poor conductivity. I almost cried with joy and relief when I yanked hard on this cable and heard the wipers start to move [set to on so I could detect when things came alive whilst underneath]. On taking the lead off and inspecting the surfaces they still looked fairly good, but I guess not good enough.

My carrier is similar or identical - a Britpart one [I'm sorry to say - ad didn't say it was a Britpart.....]. It came with 3 big fat washers, maybe 2ins diameter, that went on the wheel mounting studs. They slide back as far as the end of the thread and will stop the wheel hitting the door. This Britpart kit had carp instructions. Photos of a black carrier against a black Defender printed in black and white. Initially I thought these washers were spacers for the hinge mounting point, and did manage to fit one in. Later I worked out what they were for and put them there.

At the recent Billing show I saw something of interest on the Shielder pitch. They had a galvanised bulkhead on display. Not theirs but unidentified. The footwell stiffener - the doubler with ribs on it - on one side, had been removed. In between the two was a big patch of ungalvanised rust. The Shielder bulkheads don't have this doubler. I vaguely recall Shielder having some problems in their earlier days, but I also vaguely recall that they'd made some progress in getting their act together. And they do make a regular appearance at the Land Rover shows, which shows some commitment. And to be fair, I've had all manner of problems with supposedly reputable third party Defender companies at every point, from sales, shoddy product quality and absolutely carp customer support. So pick a convenient supplier, run with it, make it work, and keep your fingers crossed. No, I have never bought anything from Shielder, have no plans to, nor have any connection with them.

I see no harm in using the etch primer before the seam sealer. The primer is thinner and will seep in to crevices that sealer will not. Even paint over the primer too before using sealer, and paint the sealer afterwards. I've used brushable seam sealer from Buzzweld. If you use a gun you're still going to want to smooth it down and force it in to gaps so you may as well just use brushable. A tin may be better value. I avoid guns where possible because of the hassle of trying to seal the nozzle and stop it hardening when left for a while.

Appearance mainly. You either like it or you don't, like a lot of things added or done to Defenders etc. The window aperture remains the same size but there's nothing to stop you enlarging it if you wanted. Providing, of course, sufficient remains for the window bonding to be adequate

None at all. Complete coverage front to back and gutter to waist line.

I'm writing this from memory from last summer on my 90. You need the gutter bolts out all the way to the rear corners. Obviously the blocks securing windscreen frame to bulkhead. Then something substantial to lift and support. I used a trolley jack on the centre cubby box, a suitable length of 2x2 wood or whatever size you have with a square/rectangle of wood screwed to the top to spread the load lifting the roof. It took a bit to break the seals away but then it lifted easily the 3 or 4 inches that I wanted. I had no windscreen in so it was easier. Put in some secondary support, like a block of timber across the body side to side between roof and body/doors, or another jack inside. You may well want a new windscreen/bulkhead seal and you'll be in for one mother of a job getting the front block bolts back in if you do fit a new seal. I ended up having to put a bit of a taper on a couple of bolts to get them started.

As Tim said above. There's an LED with earth wire replacement on ebay from boltonbits for the dash flasher that's supposed to solve it. I got one but it didn't fix my problem. I had to remove the led side repeaters and refit standard bulbs. That fixed it.

I've got GORE bonnet and rear [safari] door hinges. Absolute works of art. Should be mounted on the living room wall. Almost a shame to fit them

One would hope that the bolts are the wrong way round only for the photo. I struggled with these fixings last summer. The new ones that I had were like the OP's old ones - 2 part. Absolutely useless. The nuts on 2 of them were pushed out of the cage whilst trying to fit the bolts. I got some of the other type - one piece - and fitted them without a hitch. I used them on all of the bolts as I know there will be no problem for myself or any future owner removing the bolts. And yes, I use anti-seize on everything.

Further to the above I forgot to mention that the diagonal braces have been bent backwards, ever so slightly, to help clear the oil cooler and give the lower attachments a better angle.

I have just in this past week put my front end together after painting. It too has the oil cooler like yours. By a previous owner, the diagonal braces had been spaced out at the bottom attachments. Three nuts had been used as spacers over a long bolt and when it came to putting it back together I replaced the nuts with tube. The braces had been rubbing against the oil cooler, just a little but enough to warrant attention. I taped some neoprene tube around the braces at the two contact points. The spacer tubes are something like an inch long, maybe a bit more. You can't make them too long as it prevents the front panel from going fully on. It's a balance between the braces not being too hard up against the oil cooler and being able to get the front panel on. My braces with the neoprene touch the oil cooler but not too hard. As for that front panel, mine had a couple or more of attachment holes turned in to slots so I slotted all of them. I don't know what the original config was. This made it easier to fit. As it is I don't think the front panel is fully home but it may just be a mm forward and not noticeable.