Ed Poore

Well I suspect many of you may consider me to be bonkers but given the road mileage I've been doing recently I've pretty much decided that the Defender should be replaced with something slightly more comfortable on the road. Annoyingly though I seem to have acquired an itch for a V8, therefore for those and some other reasons (loyalty to Land Rover perhaps being one ) I've been looking at TDV8 Range Rovers... So not being able to justify keeping 2 let alone 3 vehicles I'm thinking of selling the 110 and Series III (88"). Now the question is price and hence the advice... Unfortunately I don't have any photos to hand as they're on the other computer and haven't put it back together yet but broadly speaking: 300Tdi Defender 110 CSW in white: ~141k currently - Currently 9 seater + cubby box but have front middle seat as well - Reasonably new set of BFG KM2 Muds 265x75R16 on alloys (think they've done about 15k from memory) - First Four tubular winch bumper + 10,000lbs winch (cheapo Winch Solutions one but been rock solid) - Disco 1.2 transfer box and new R380 fitted recently (about 10k ago again from memory) - Bullbox Gun Cabinet in boot (similar to MSS box) which fills up space between wheel arches, foam cut for my shotgun and rifle - Comprehensive service history and plenty of receipts - Mantec raised air intake - Heated windscreen available (bought in frame but not got around to fitting it). - Where possible I have used genuine parts over anything else when servicing and replacing various parts - Have fitted standard height HD suspension because I used to be regularly transporting 9 people to and from shoots - Retrimmed front seats (god it made a difference when I did that!) - I'm second private owner (trade dealer was between me and original owner) - Used as daily driver for the last 5 years I've owned it - Bad bits - - Bottoms of all four doors (first and second rows) are rusting but not irreparable (I have not welding capability or time currently otherwise I would have started) - - Rear windscreen elements have burnt out and I've not got around to replacing it - - Scratches here and there and couple of small character dents on the front wings - it has been used off-road but not abused or used competitively I still have the original bumper for this one so can return it back to more or less original spec reasonably easily and quickly. I can basically summarise the 110 as having a few niggling issues but has been a fantastically solid runner ever since I've owned it and just completed a 1500 mile round trip to see parents and grandparents over Christmas without missing a beat. Series III - 88" from 1983, 2.25D hard-top - Galvanised chassis - Rebuilt gearbox - Mud tyres - Roof rack - New doors all round but still (after several years) not got around to painting the undercoat... - Stripped and rebuilt engine - 300Tdi Disco engine available as well - Bad bits - - Again "character" dents on front wings - - Engine runs but smokes a little (little tinkering on the IP timing should be able to get it to pass an MOT, maybe with some new oil rings) Essentially I replaced the chassis on the 88" and then rebuilt the gearbox and engine (minimally with the intention of getting it to pass an MOT which it did for a year). Through lack of use and acquiring a 300Tdi Disco free of charge it has been the intention to replace the wheezy 2.25D with the 300Tdi from the Disco (chassis was shot). The 88" has been started reasonably regularly (every month I think - it lives at my parents currently) but I suspect the lift pump diaphragm is knackered so struggles to start but once it does runs well apart from being a bit smoky. So the current engine is probably workable but to be honest the 300Tdi would transform it for someone who had the time. Of course things would be far simpler with photos and I'll be trying to get some together but the last few weeks have been non-stop. I have a rough idea in my mine of what I realistically might get for them but I would appreciate some second opinions without any biasing from my side. Of course with the Defender going out of production next year I anticipate their value rising considerably Apologies for the rather long winded post... If I was made of money and had the space I'd keep both but alas that's not the case and them V8's been calling...

It *shouldn't* have done any damage to the vehicle electrics since everything crucial in vehicles is supposed to survive reverse polarities. For exactly this reason!! That's not saying a Defender will be the same though...

I've just fitted a 1.2 set of gears into my 110 and I would advise anyone to do it - massive difference. In terms of towing I haven't yet put a decent trailer behind the 110 with the new ratios but have done a run with ~1/2 a tonne of ammunition in the boot in addition to other carp useful stuff which I have done with the 1.4. Overall conclusion is that on big hills (thinking of a couple on the Heads of the Valley's route) it didn't really struggle any more than when it had the 1.2 in but just had to be in a lower gear. It's pretty happy going up the big hills at 60 in 4th rather than 5th. Overall I would have said that in 4th it can accelerate slightly more and maintain a slightly higher speed. But apparently my 300 runs well - as far as I know it hasn't been tuned by the previous owner but does seem to be pretty quick compared to other Landy's (maybe just the way I drive!) but seemed to be coping better than a mate's Tdci today...

I have an old (must be about 7 years old now) Champion Winch (10,000 lbs I think) that I got from Winch Solutions which from what I understand is what the Warrior winches used to be called. I seem to remember paying about £230 for it and for the price it's been very good value. It's done everything I've asked of it - admittedly not much in terms of challenge folk. Been capable of recovering the 110 fully loaded on the farm when I've got stuck, admittedly it's usually had to involve getting a tractor to act as a winching base because I inevitably get stuck where there's nothing to winch off (one particular place coming out of a wood through a bog springs to mind!). Recovered friends' LRs when they've got stuck but used it most for pulling trees and large logs etc. that have been cut up. 7 years on and it's had bugger all done to it - might have cleaned and sprayed the cable once or even twice since I've had it. Works each time I go to use it and just sits outside in all elements on the front of the 110 day in day out. So in summary it sounds like you'd be using it about as much as mine in which case I'd highly recommend it (if indeed they are the same as the old Champion winch).

If you're just loading it up with weight I'd just replace the springs with the standard heavy duty ones (people have mentioned using the 130 springs which have a built-in helper as well). I had a similar issue and just replaced front and back with heavy duty ones (Britpart if I remember correctly) and it's been fine since - albeit currently a bit harsh because I don't carry as much weight around any more. See the attached picture. At the time that photo was taken there were at least two chainsaws, 10 gallons of petrol, gun cabinet, sledge hammers, machetes, various recovery equipment, fencing materials and some logs in the back (probably a couple of guns as well). If I'd fitted a lift at the time then 90% of the time I'm sure the vehicle would feel too high, as it is it's quite good fun watching people trying to get into it as for some reason it seems to sit quite a bit higher than other Defenders that friends have. (Noticed that you're in Surrey - could always pop around and have a look if you wanted) [edit]You'll probably need to disconnect the anti-roll bar if fitted on the rear to fit the new springs in, I cheated slightly and used a digger to compress the spring and then tied it up compressed to slot in place[/edit]

Yeah! If only it were that simple - I finally succeeded in removing one yesterday and the bolt in between the linkages, main-box and front output housing conveniently decided to round itself off (the last one to remove as well)... That was fun trying to remove that. Spongie - I can't remember whether it's included in the 6 bolts but you'll also need to unbolt the driver's side mount that goes into the cross-member. You have two options for that you can either remove the four bolts holding the bracket onto the output housing or you can remove the one nut that holds the bolt onto the cross member bracket. If you do the latter you'll need to jack up the case in order for the remaining thread / bolt to clear the whole. My suggestion would be remove the single bolt as it's simpler. You'll need to break the seal made by the gasket (sometimes no mean feat) and because the chassis bracket is oblong you can get a crowbar between the transfer box and the cross member and use that as leverage to break the seal. That way when it does go it won't go too far and fall out. (Just realised you may have dropped that cross-member already - the removal I did was as I've been breaking the Disco so judicious use of the grinder has been applied to the floor panels in this Disco)...

Thanks for replying anyway, useful to know for the future but hopefully won't be required anytime soon! What was a nice relaxing day initially turned out to be exhausting at the end of it - trying to keep gear changes smooth when brakes are being applied and the car was in gear took a surprising amount of concentration. Particularly as I didn't want the hassle of making it 2 cars that have written themselves on the back of my 110...

Never mind - sorted, after towing it in 3rd gear for ~10 miles (why it was in gear is beyond me) it turned out to be running when we pulled over for a "see how you're doing" so it was driven the rest of the way and left at the garage. Stupid timings and the like but all sorted now.

Basically I got back home about 20 minutes ago and a mate has booked his car that's been refusing to start into a garage in Haslemere tomorrow morning and not really thought it through earlier about how he's going to get it there. So on the off chance - does anyone know of anyone who might have a suitable trailer or fixed tow-bar that could be borrowed at this extremely short notice in exchange for a crate of beer or more? I am suggesting he reverts to just phone the RAC or someone like that but given it's a BMW 3-series we all know how stubborn those drivers can be! [edit]Subject should have been tow-bar - I have plenty of tow ropes that are strong enough![/edit] Many thanks

Now you mention it I vaguely remember that being the case now but the 112 was being promoted as it works in Europe.

Something I found out a while when mountaineering was that if you're phoning the emergency services from a mobile to use 112 not 999 as they can automatically triangulate you from the cell towers. Although use 999 from a land line as they can do reverse directory look up on those.

That's fine - put a V8 in the boot and use that to keep it charged.

Dates dependent I'd be interested - should be fun in a barge despite having a winch... Which would probably make me a yella fella as other than that pretty standard.

I've gone from BFG A/T to MTs and the steering got very very light as a consequence.

I've got a bumper sat unused in the shed.

Same method I use, didn't occur to me to mention it. It certainly catches out people when they try and shut it and face-plant the door...

It might flatten through the sensor wire. Fundamentally this provides the excitation current required by the alternator in order for it to work. I doubt disconnecting it and running the engine would have had any effect on it. When you turn on the ignition the battery is connected through the charge indicator bulb to the field coils of the alternator. These are just wire coils with one side earthed (usually) so without the engine turning these just provide a path to ground hence the bulb illuminates. Once the engine starts the alternator starts turning and then the electro-magnetic effects kick in and the current flowing through the field coil is "amplified" by the alternator (the mechanical rotation of the engine converts mechanical energy into electrical in the alternator). A functioning alternator should be chucking out 14.4V in order to charge the battery properly hence you should check for that. If the charge light takes some time to extinguish after starting the engine then it's reasonably likely that something within the alternator has shorted out (diodes may have fried etc.) with a multi-meter you could open up the alternator and measure impedances if you wanted to help isolate the problem - sometimes it can be fixed reasonably easily sometimes it's not worth the hassle. I had a situation where wet mud had managed to arc-weld some diodes together, that wasn't really worth fixing (could have been done) but for £40 a new alternator arrived.

I concur with ejparrott, had the same issue on my 300Tdi Defender and was a fuse blown in the cabin (indicators went as well).

How about something like the attached? Except that SW1 and SW2 is a single on-off-on switch (couldn't find one in CircuitLab). One switch to rule them all.

I think its one of those that is not required to be there but if it is fitted then it must be working.

Open up the gauge and dab a spot of superglue onto the needle. That should stop it moving around quite so much.

Is it a momentary dip or if you keep your foot on the brakes does it return to normal slowly? I'd expect the headlights to introduce a larger voltage dip when switched on. However once the voltage drops below a predetermined level the alternator should kick in and the voltage should rise to 14.4V. Fundamentally the headlights are 55W and the brake lights are 21W (usually) so you should expect a larger dip when switching on the headlights.

I suspect I'll be heading back to SW Wales for Christmas if there's someone who can bring them to the Guildford area before then? Unless you can sort out something quicker than that then I'm willing to help out where I can. I'll probably pop down to Haverfordwest at some-point to stock up on ammo...

Come to Surrey and find a suitably sized pot-hole, drive over, get in said pot-hole and voila!

That made me chuckle! I'm guessing you emptied the tank in 29m 30s and had to coast the last 30s to the filling station.