reb78

You will need to put a whole day aside for that one.

I got my first ever pair of prescription suglasses last year. They were aviators (fake ish ones) but I could use them because they were prescription. Maybe I am ready for a Pretender....

Yup, Mo knows me well. Walk away Gary and buy a 9/16" ring spanner and crawl under the truck yourself. If you need a decent garage AJD at Hoddesdon is worth a shout. An abbreviated version of a conversation with your 'specialist'.... just for a laugh... Me - I need a fan belt for a 200tdi Defender spec engine Them - What year is the vehicle? Me - It's 1989 but that isn't relevant as I have changed the engine Them - But I need the year to work out the engine and the belt you need Me - But I already told you, it's irrelevant as I have changed the engine. It's a Defender spec 200tdi Them - Is the turbo high or low? Me - It's a Defender spec engine so high turbo Them - So you need a fan belt for a Defender spec 200tdi engine....? I only go there when I am desperate have a lot of time for the nonsense above and cant wait for mail order.

Very nice. Very satisfying job. I am having a beer with you.

Thats a good point ^^^ the UJ's are replaceable so unless the sliding joint has gone or there is play where the caps have spun then it may be fixable (even the latter can be mended with a punch).

Depends on the propshaft you need but just to give you an idea - for a 300tdi 110 rear prop (you dont say 90 or 110 or front or rear prop) - https://www.lrdirect.com/FTC3905-Propshaft-Rear-110-300Tdi-V8/?keep_https=yes The Hardy Spicer, Bailey Morris or GKN options would be good although I am sure I have read somewhere that Hardy Spicer isn't what it was That's the part cost and the labour is to undo and 8 nuts, remove and replace prop and tighten up 8 nuts.... So it shouldn't break the bank... Given your location, I am curious as to the 'specialist' you are using, because there is one local to you who will make a big palaver over a simple job like this and probably charge over the odds with a britpart/non branded prop thrown in.....

I think lo-fi is right. A lot of people wont bother checking so you have done more than many! Remove the play but just as far as it spins easily....

I will buy it when it drops sub £10k secondhand (if any get there and they arent scrapped due to electrical failures that cost the earth). Probably to replace the current disco 3 we have or the L322 I would love to replace the D3 with next. I spend a max of about £7k on these vehicles, but buy carefully, own them outright and maintain them myself. These are all for use mainly on tarmac though, occasionally wet fields, with a fair bit of road towing. The D2 and the 110 will still be running throughout all of this though as none of the above are real replacements for them. These are the best value for money in terms of longevity and ease of maintenance. I expect the 110 to outlive me. None of the others will!

That looks tidy. Its a ****ty job to do but good to have it done! I have a new bulkhead for mine because I cant bring myself to do the repairs you have done! Now I cant motivate myself to do the bulkhead swap because I may as well do a chassis at the same time. Then I think I know what will actually happen and the 110 will get stripped to do a panel by panel re-spray and rebuild!

This was mine -

I cant tell easily from your picture but i think you are going too hard on it. I would just recover onto what you have.

Hatfield seemed embarrassed to be selling the last of the original defenders when we went in there in about 2014. Tucked at the back of the show room in a dusty corner. Tea boy on duty to show it to second rate customers like myself.... They didn't seem to know the vehicle at all. Certainly didn't want my crusty 25 (at the time) year old 110 parked near their forecourt!

Yep ^ as Ralph says - the hole will have crusty antifreeze in it/show a visible leak if it is coming from there.

Same. The video 'review' in the next post about the new 'Defender' from the bloke sat in a chair in front of a webcam who hasn't seen it or driven it or done anything with it is the same too. JLR perpetuate the nonsense though by calling every LR series ever produced the Defender too - even they don't understand their own product!

My water pump on the 200tdi went just like this, but there was a tell tale smear of blue down the front of the engine where the antifreeze had dried off and left deposits. It will get blown about a bit where the fan pushes air back. Best time to look is after a run when the system is hot and still pressurised. I had a further weep on the thermostat housing bypass hose. It was old/original pipe and the connector had rusted a little on the pipe to the back of the head allowing it to leak a little. It was hard to find as the drip was onto the exhaust manifold stud beneath so it dried when running, but left the bolt head wet when it was cool enough!

I get dirty every time I touch my land rover! You are right though - painting the surface that is seen from the back would be wise - even with crappy paint you will see when it needs re-doing.

I kind of gave up with paints - every 'i like this x' answer to this question was followed by 'x is rubbish' by someone else so there never seems to be any agreement. On my chassis, I steam clean and waxoyl straight onto the dried surface. Its held up rather well really, any rot is from the inside where you just cant get a waxoyl lance easily (on the 110 on the higher sections of the A frame cross member).

If the o rings are at fault the level wont stay stable, it will continue to rise. Was the right amount of oil added and are you checking it on the same ground/level ground each time?

Is that the power steering reservoir at the front? On my 200tdi that is the other side so the cylindrical air filter housing can sit in the space then?

One of these with a grinding stone? Probably still too big...?

Will a plasma cutter get in there and blast carefully around the edges of the hole!!??!

What about a long round file?

Fridge - can you recommend a good quality ratchet crimper, preferably one that doesnt break the bank if thats possible. I have a JCB branded one I paid £35 for from B&Q years ago but I am never sure it does as well as it should (or I use it wrong - not sure how).

They were good times! I have thought we are heading down the skynet route for some time!!

You are right ^^^. Best of all worlds then and the current tyre choice on the OPs vehicle would probably work quite well. My 110 200tdi on 265/75/16s with a GKN overdrive and a 1.4 TXB cruises well at 70-late 80’s. Very happy at 80 on long runs (across France of course ). There would be more there but the gearing gets too high for the engine without a tail wind!