Mossberg

Well you have had some bad luck there. Let's hope that this current chassis gives you many years of service.

Both sides better than I expected. I need some rust inhibitor in there ASAP.

I started with the rear crossmember today after doing the RH bulkhead outrigger. It came off OK and I was surprised at what I saw inside the chassis leg. I was expecting more crust than a hovis delivery van, but instead was presented with an internal that still had paint in places - definitely not what I expected. I think I need some rust prevention in there to preserve what I have. I will try to get the crossmember back on in the next couple of days, but hopefully before then get some treatment in there.

Front right hand dumb iron, outside face. Mine is very lightly stamped so if its got any coating on it may be difficult to find.

Wow, you are on a second galv chassis on a 28 year old vehicle? May I ask what the lifespan of your different chassis has been as it would be interesting to see a comparison between the original and the galv. I thought a galv chassis would have a 25 year (ish) lifespan which, with a bit of preventative maintenance, could be significantly increased. My Defender is on its original chassis, though it is on its second set of replacement bulkhead outriggers (as you can see from my post), replaced the rear outriggers last year, and I am just about to fit a replacement rear crossmember which has already been replaced before. I don't expect the chassis to last too much longer so your experience with galv chassis will be valuable. Many thanks. Mick

Galvanised if you can........... Looks better now though.

I agree about the wiring colours which is why I liked the trailer cable option. I know it's not Land Rover standard colours but it is standard colours so easy to reference through the Internet etc. Infact, when I was trying to identify the wiring, I used the wiring to the trailer as a great reference as it is really easy to find trailer wiring colours. And I can say Northwards, even if I don't follow your suggestions, your input is valued and appreciated. And also, whilst you are commenting on my questions, I have gained much insight through reading advice given to others.

Having it on the top will mean I know where it is so when cleaning and treating inside, or indeed any welding required. I will have to make sure I treat underneath the conduit first as I can see that collecting crud.

Thanks Western, as always your comments (and those of the other contributors) makes doing doing these jobs so much easier for those inexperienced and unsure such as myself.

On removing my wiring loom to allow replacement of my rear crossmember I have realised it has seen better days and replacing it with trailer wiring cable would be viable. I cut the loom at the front as I couldn't pull the loom through. My current loom has 10 wires wich are 7 for the lights, 1 permanent live plus 2 for the fuel tank (pump and sender). I don't have a rear tank so those wires are redundant- do you think it is worth adding these anyway? I can't really see me adding a rear tank. I have ordered the 13 core trailer wire so I do have spare wires, but my thoughts are to stick to the trailer wiring colours where possible as this will simplify identification in the future. This will mean I have provision for the addition of a switched live, a dedicated earth for the lights plus a dedicated earth for each of the live circuits. It will slso then have one spare. So what are your thoughts on connections at the rear. Is there a suitable terminal block available, do I use spade or bullet connectors or is there something else? Where the loom passes from right to left rear j will solder those connections. I will use the same type of cable here but not connect the right hand only wires. My intention is to route the loom along the top of the chassis in a spilt convoluted tube with P clips. Your thoughts and experience would be welcome. Many thanks. Mick

If you have the spare cash and the time then a galvanised chassis will significantly reduce issues around corrosion in the future and give you peace of mind - plus I would expect it to add value to your vehicle. I am currently doing repairs to my chassis and as I am doing the work myself I am keeping the costs to a minimum. So far I have replaced the tubular rear outriggers, remade my dumb irons and replaced one bulkhead outrigger. I am currently replacing the other bulkhead outrigger and the rear crossmember. I have been lucky enough to be given a rear crossmember, however if I was buying all the replacement parts it would be around £600+ That cost does not include labour and I am still only replacing steel with steel so does not have the protection of galvanising and I can expect corrosion on them in the future- the bulkhead outriggers and rear crossmember have been replaced before!! If you do go for a new chassis then it is probably worth considering giving some of the other parts some care and attention too. If you are going to do this then look into electrolysis for rust removal. I have used it on quite a few things and it is now my preferred method for removing rust from anything I can fit in a 200ltr drum! I have used it on my rear axle case (I replaced the original due to the brackets corroding), front radius arms, pan hard rod, swivel housings, hubs, brake shields plus lots of other little brackets etc. I will do my A frame and trailing arms when I come to do the bushes. It takes a bit of time for the electrolysis then painting so now would be a good time to do it. Good luck with your project. Mick

I can only agree with you there. I have decided to bite the bullet and fit a length of trailer cable to the back. It would not be my preferred option but the loom is quite stiff, which I presume is age related, and the tape wrapping it is not as adhered as it once was. I have decided to route the loom along the top of the chassis so I feel a multi core cable with its own outer sheath would offer better protection. My thoughts are to have this in split convoluted tube P clipped to the chassis. I don't like diverging from the standard LR wiring colours, but at least with using standard trailer wiring the colours will be a standard in the main.

Thanks Western, I really appreciate that. Well the Purple certainly wasn't live when it got to the rear! Also the loom has obviously had a join in the past.

I am trying to understand my wiring loom and wondered if you folks can check what I have and perhaps fill in the ones I am missing. I have unwrapped my wiring loom where it enters at the front (just in front of the bulkhead outrigger) to travel toward the rear. The colours I have are as follows: Purple - Red/yellow - fog lights Red/Orange - RH Tail light Red/Black - LH Tail light Green Purple- Brake lights Green/Red - Left indicator Green/Black - RH indicator Green/White - Green/Brown - reverse White/Purple - Fuel pump So what is Purple and what is Green/white? Thanks for your help Mick

Ah - that makes sense then. I was going to pull the loom through the chassis, but this is proving difficult, so I am looking to cut the loom where it enters the chassis at the front. The rear part of the chassis loom has so much going on it just doesn't want to move through the chassis. I have taken the drivers floor out now so that I can solder it from above - I don't fancy doing it on my back! Many mottled moments today. Thanks for your help guys, I would be lost without you folks.

I have a 1993 90 with a 300tdi fitted. I am just pulling the loom so I can repair the RH bulkhead outrigger and the rear crossmember. I have prepared the loom for pulling but I have an unused plug on the loom going from rear right to rear left. Any ideas what this is for? I can see it being a pain when I pull the loom so may just remove it, but would like to know what it's for first. Wires are white/purple, green/black and 2x black with one being thicker than the other. Thanks for any help. Mick

A sad day for our country. An honorable lady who had my respect. She was a statesman for us beyond our politicians, which is a true asset. Let us also not forget she was an old lady, mum, grandma and great grandmother. A 96 year old lady that worked for us till her death. Is Charles going to follow on in her footsteps - a hard act to follow!

Many thanks Stephen. From that I can see where the grip will come from. I can see where a similar grip on mole grips would be useful.

If you could post up some close up pictures of the jaws (side and end on) that would be interesting. Also a real opinion and description of your use would be valuable. I was in Mutley mode again today when trying to undo the screws holding the P clips for the wiring loom to the rear crossmember. I am not sure how good these would have been though as the screws were a pozi flanged pan head, so the edges were very thin and tight to the P clip - I even struggled getting the chisel under the edge!

One more thing, beware of the torque settings in the manual for some of the bolts. I think it is the M8s in the bottom pin - the torque stated is way to high and people have been known to snap the bolt - I am not sure if it is this bolt or one if the others. If you look at the size of the bolt and then look at a standard torque setting for that bolt you will see which one it is. I think either Britannica Restorations or trailer fitters toolbox highlight it in one of their videos. Definitely check this as you don't want to snap a bolt!!

I was advised to soak the washer in ep90 before it went in.

Be aware that Railko bushes have a different preload to bearings - I know as I set mine wrong!!! Can't quite remember the preload for each, but I think the bearing type is about 1.6kg where the Railko is about 4kg. Mine has Railko and I set it too light!

Please don't apologise, it has taken no more effort than I expected. I was originally thinking of plasma cutting it but decided that cutting discs would be more accurate. The only additional cost was a broken hole saw, but that was me originally using too much force. The reference to cost was if someone was having the work done. I think the cost in labour would be to excessive due to the cost per hour, but for me that isn't a problem as I have spare hours to use I knew the roll bar brackets were plain steel and painted but thought it was a good opertunity to show people how such a good paint job with quality marine paints can be a haven for rust when the paint is compromised. I would certainly think twice before painting a chassis and relying on it for rust prevention. I have now stripped the paint off those and will paint with zinc rich primer and a top coat, but also a regular coating of Lanoguard or something. I am pleased with the state I have managed to get the crossmember in, however I can't say I am looking forward to fitting it! Nigel, thanks again and the offer of help if you need it is always on the table.

Well I collected the crossmember from Nigel on Tuesday. Its a pleasure to speak with nice people and he and his good lady invited me to sit and share a coffee with them as we sat in the sun and chatted about things that LR owners chat about. So, onto the crossmember, it's in good condition but had been removed from a tired chassis, part of which remained securely welded to it. It was a pain to remove it certainly wouldn't be worth supplying in that state to a garage to fit for you as the labour element required to remove the old bits whilst retaining the integrity of the crossmember wouldn't be cost effective. The extensions had been welded to the chassis on each four corners of each leg plus plug welded. The corner welds required two cuts each with the grinder and the plugs to be drilled out using a hole saw. It took quite a few discs to cut and completely destroyed one hole saw. It also required lots of hammering and chiselling but eventually it parted company with the old bits without too much damage. However, my advice to anyone buying a 2nd hand crossmember off ebay would be don't unless you have a really good reason to. Its not an easy task, it's messy and you won't know what you will be left with until you complete the task. Nigel had painted the crossmember with good grade marine paints and he had obviously taken care whilst doing so. However, on the parts that weren't galvanised, where the paint had been damaged, moisture had started to do its thing and corrosion had started. This just shows how even good quality paint applied with care is no solution to preventing rust. Whilst it may prolong the time for rust to start, it can also provide that moisture holding pocket that rust thrives in whilst being hidden - I will take this as one of the many lessons I am learning during my land rover ownership. Anyway, a few images so you can see the work involved in separating the pieces. The crossmember as collected You can see that even with marine grade paint, once damaged a pocket is created for corrosion to start. You can see a galv crossmember after 7 years is still in good condition. Identifying where it was plugwelded. Inside the attached chassis bits. First one removed. First leg free of the old part. Both parts out. The removed bits. This crossmember is in decent condition due to it being galvanised. As I am time rich but cash limited, Nigel giving me this has been a great plus for me. The main effort has been removing the old chassis sections. It's taken about 10 cutting discs a couple of flap discs and wrecked one hole saw, it's messy and has taken a few hours of my time. Thanks again Nigel for your kindness and hospitality.