dirty harry

I managed to successfully drill mine off too without damaging the wheel box (didn't need any Plusgas or WD40 - just lucky I guess). But what I would say is the grub screws that came with the new adapters were useless! The thread disintegrated on both when I tried to tighten it against the spindle so I ended up replacing both with a decent screws/nuts from my box of goodies

And it says 1 previous owner, yet he states he is the only owner from new! Something is definitely not right here!

Paul Appreciate the tip. Fully aware of the timescales and I'm ok as the MOT was done on 19 Jan and there is a 3 month deadline to report corrosion problems on an MOT. Supposedly if I ring VOSA tomorrow, they will offer an inspection FOC within 5 working days! We'll see

I don't believe the two businesses are related, the dealer said he uses this MOT station along with two others depeneding on how busy they are. The dealer seems genuine enough and it may well be that he asked the MOT station to fix the faults and issue the certificate, but somewhere along the line communication was lost and in fact no-one at the MOT station actually fixed them. I have asked the dealer to look into this as I, and I am sure he too, are interested to know what happened. I note your comments re naming the parties involved and I have deliberately not named anyone I genuinely hope the dealer sees sense and offers to pay for the repairs because I am very happy with the rest of the vehicle and, apart from the chassis problems, for what I paid I don't think I'd get another one with the spec I have and the mileage (86k on a 1986). So there is always the possibility that if he doesn't offer anything then I shall have no option but to go down the VOSA/Local Trading Standard route and maybe seek a full refund. Tomorrow should be an interesting day!

I know, and the frustrating thing is, I've bought a MIG welding kit but have never got round to trying it out. Not sure fitting a new rear crossmember is the best way to start practising

Thanks Les. Appreciate your comments and agree about the crossmember. Am aware of a company in Warwick who will fit a new one for c.£370 which seems reasonable to me. Wish I had the skill to do it myself! Greg

Crikey! All I wanted to know was whether the corrosion on the xmember was an MOT failure! Didn't realise it would generate this amount of interest. Briefly, I live in Leicestershire and bought the 90 from a dealer in Huddersfield "over the phone", so I fully accepted that there may be some of the usual Defender glitches. Never had a problem with that and as this is my 3rd Landy I was prepared to do all the little jobs that are always needed. So I had not viewed the vehicle beforehand, a risk I was happy to take. However, the dealer told me that the only failure on the MOT was " no fluid in the washer bottle" and a "leaking power steering". I therefore assumed both had been fixed so as to get it through the MOT, although there was an advisory on a front wheel bearing. There was no mention on the MOT advisory about corrosion anywhere on the vehicle. Since taking delivery 5 weeks ago, amongst other jobs, I have cleared a blockage in the washers (it had been overpainted), replaced all the wipers, fitted a new bulb to the off-side rear lamp, tried to fix a power steering leak but am yet to fix the fog lamp. It was only when I came to try and fit rear mudflaps that I noticed the corrosion and realised there was no way I could fit them. I then checked the MOT documents as it seemed odd that so much corrosion had gone unmentioned and to my astonishment amongst all the paperwork from the dealer, was the original MOT Failure document listing:- no fluid in washer bottle fog lamp not working offside rear lamp not working leaking seal on power steering. But no comments about corrosion. It then dawned on me that none of the failures had been addressed and yet still a "Pass" certificate was issued on 19 January I know the guys at my local MOT station and yesterday in a quick 5 minute inspection, he uncovered more corrosion on the chassis, at the rear where the crossmember joins the chassis, and a hole the size of a golf ball near the offside coil spring (see photos below). It does not take a genius to realise these are definite MOT failures and should have been picked up at the time of the MOT and THEIR view is the vehicle is not road-worthy and I should get VOSA to carry out their check and let them decide as to where this goes next. I have, however, allowed the dealer this weekend to respond with an offer to sort it out BEFORE I get VOSA involved. Seemed only fair. So, to the idiot who reckons I am a "DO-GOODER" by reporting an MOT Testing Station for issuing dodgy certificates are, words fail me.

I have since found out that corrosion is covered for 3 months from the date of the MOT and, if proved to be a failure, VOSA will take action against the MOT testing station. I have done what you said and left it with the dealer to come up with an appropriate solution.

Sorry, devil's advocate or not, I'm afraid I have to disagree with you. With regards to the windscreen the MOT testing rules clearly state:- "Includes all items affecting the driver's view of the road: the condition of the windscreen, the wipers and washers". Furthermore, the bulb hadn't blown in the off-side rear lamp, there was NO bulb in it!! And the fog lamp bulb is fine, I've tested it, but the lamp still doesn't work, so presumably there is an electrical fault somewhere. So the MOT tester should have failed the vehicle, no questions!

Thanks for that - you've confirmed exactly what I thought. Would you be surprised then if I told you that an MOT station passed the vehicle last month, which along with the above mentioned corrosion, has the following faults:- Windscreen washer not functioning (jets blocked) Wipers not clearing screen on drivers side (wiper arm and spindle worn - both sides in fact) Power steering leaking from lower seal Off-side rear stop/tail light not functioning (no bulb!) Fog Lamp not functioning (not sure why it doesn't work yet) ..........not to mention the corrosion on the crossmember! Methinks I'll be going back to the dealer that sold me the Defender!! Anyone that wants an MOT testing station that will give you a dodgy certificate, let me know - I can recommend one. I've recommended them to VOSA already

Could someone confirm ASAP if the attached photos showing corrosion of both ends of the crossmember and the battery tray are an MOT failure? I suspect the crossmember is, but not sure about the battery tray. I could do with an answer this morning if poss Thanks guys.

Hi Paul I'm learning as I go along but, according to page 393 of the official Land Rover Parts catalogue, it would appear to be this one for an LT77 Gearbox:- http://www.lrseries.com/shop/product/listing/3345/BH108201L-BOLT-HEX-HEAD-M8-X-100.html?search=bh108201&page=1 But I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong! Greg

You're not kidding! The wife is ever so pleased I've found this website - especially now I take the laptop to bed and read the techy archives I've got loads of jobs to do on my recently acquired 90, and I know this website is going to be invaluable. Cheers

Hi, thanks for that. I'm a newbie to this forum and didn't realise there was a parts section! Cheers for the info.

I've had to drill out the two bolts that hold the upper part of the rear door handle in place and now need to replace them as well as the two retainers. The retainers themselves I can trace (female ASR2668 and male ASR2667) but I cannot find the 2 matching bolts that go into the female retainer - i.e. this one: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Land-Rover-door-lock-retainer-female-ASR2668-/360312905401?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item53e4529eb9 Does anyone know if they are a readily available LR part? Or are they just a standard bolt that I can get from a decent DIY store, albeit with a large Philips No.3 head?! Thanks