Gringo

No, its me who is missing it. I cannot tell from the online photos that I have seen, nor LRs written description, just how the tow ball mounts to that bumper.

When you say NAS rear step with 2" receptor ( thats called a receiver hitch in the US) is that the same thing as the STC50269AA step bumper? It is very hard to tell from the photo I have seen just what the configuration is for the attachment of the tow ball. I am looking for something that spans the entire width of the rear of the Defender, with a step to allow me to reach the top of the canvas to handle the buckles and straps. Also, I plan to put a swing away wheel carrier on it. The design of the STC50269AA is basically what I am looking for, or something similar. The existing, stock, rear bumper leaves the fuel tank exposed from the rear. Rear end collisions are common here, since the advent of cellular phones.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but for PRACTICAL purposes, arent 50mm and 2 inch the same. I am running into the same thought processes....My US made boat trailer has a 2 inch ball receiver hitch. I like the looks of the UK style 50mm on the Land Rover. I think they are compatible. Does anyone know of a good alternative step bumper that incorportes a towing hitch?

Yes, I can certainly do that, but my experience here is that if I can at all isolate the problem it gets fixed a lot quicker. These are good people, some of the best, but to be honest, in most things....they are what we from the Industrialized world would consider somewhat incompetent. I have already contacted the dealer, and while he is forwarding it to his service manager, I will put a meter on it myself. I will most likely know the solution before he even reads it. Now this is going to seem like a stupid question, but I dont have access to the Defender at the moment. Wife is out running errands. But, are the nuts and bolts metric ? I have sets of both SAE and metric wrenches and sockets...but am not sure which you Europeans are using in the UK...I seem to remember another standard, as well....Wentworth I think?

Thanks. This new house we are building has very good water views through about 330 degrees, its on an isolated hill, with only one road in and out. 3.5 miles to the nearest pavement. I have designed in a spectacular workshop area for myself. since this thread is by way of introduction, I thought I would stick in a photo of my "other" other ride, a work in progress. I have a spring-over-axle suspension lift planned as soon as the workshop is done and I buy a TIG welder; I won't bore the rest of you with repeated postings of landscape views here,but if you would like to see a mini-video of a 360 degree sweep from the top of one of our decks, standing on the garage roof over my workshop,you should be able to view it at: http://s119.photobucket.com/albums/o157/fo...nt=MOV01625.flv The lady is my wife, Polly, and the black dude is my best friend here.

Thanks, BogMonster. Yes, its still under warranty. SO, I can get her running, put a voltmeter across the 12vdc battery, and should see something over 14 volts with no load?

I just drove the "new" Defender after dark for the first time last night, and got to acquaint myself with the lighting. One thing that puzzles me, the battery lamp indicator on the instrument panel glows a very dull red, all the time. Its almost undetectable in daylight, but definitely glowing. I turned off the other lights entirely, thinking it might be some glow "seepage" from an instrument lamp nearby, but no....it glows constantly whether the other lamps are on or not. Does anyone know what, if anything, that this might indicate? I did not get the operations manual with this vehicle, and have not had time to order one yet online. Thanks you for any help or suggestions.

Ok...as promised, some appropriate photos, I think. Our new ride, sitting in the driveway at the house site;

Glad you liked them. Photography is one of the hobbies, and over the past few years, specifically aerial photography. the ultralight aircraft was bought for that purpose. hated selling it, actually, but it didnt make sense to bring it down here. Lately have been getting some really nice aerial photos using a helium blimp with a 1 kg. r/c digital camera package with a video downlink and uplink camera control. Looking forward to getting into the 'new' Defender. Just spent an hour online looking for the rear step bumper, a good front bumper/nudge bar, a swing-away wheel carrier, and a roll cage to replace the soft-top support cage. Am still struggling with some of the different terminology between UK terms and US lingo...little things trip me up. Your 'Undershield' is what we call a skid plate, etc. It goes far beyond boot and bonnet....I have discovered. Just more new tricks for an old dog to learn...

We are on the water just about every day. We keep the boat in the water year round, and can be on it and outside the reef in minutes. We fish a lot. We dive a lot. We search for old shipwrecks from the 1600-1800's. We found and recovered a 300 lb. UK Admiralty anchor dated around 1800. Heres part of the stone ballast pile from a European wreck, circa 1720, dated from bottle fragments and fire brick: wife coming down to join me searching for firebricks..lobster, or whatever; back end of a cannon, from that earlier misunderstanding called The War of 1812.. Wifey and I just before we left the USA for the British West Indies. We sold the Ultralight to move. I guess this all comes under the heading of introducing myself, where I live, etc. but Unless you particularly want boating, fishing, and beach type photos, I will restrict future postings to LR and offroad stuff...soon to come.

Well, that makes me feel better. Subtract $1500 shipping costs, and another 40% Import Duty, that would make the portion of that $ 30,000 that actually went toward the Defender itself about $ 16.5K so that probably looks a little better. In any case, we were glad to pay it. I am presently on Pine Cay, a small private island a few miles from Providenciales, which is where the Defender is located. We are boating back over this afternoon, and will take some photos. In the meantime I could fill in with some nice beach, clear water, or boat photos???? Heres a baker's dozen of Queen Conch wife and I picked up out near the reef yesterday to feed wife and I and four visiting teenagers: Heres the US Ford 4x4 that has now been replaced in our hearts by the Defender 90 LR; We even have an English dog, This is the main, paved, most improved road in the entire nation after a rainstorm did I mention that over the years I have bought junked motorcycles and have rebuilt, driven, and owned a BSA 441Victor, a BSA 650 Thunderbolt, a Triumph 650 Bonneville, a Triumph 500 Trophy, and my favorite, a 73 Norton 750 Commando? I am not unfamiliar with the names 'Lucas' and 'Amal". I PROMISE you I will send some proper Defender 90 photos as soon as I can get back to it, later today most likely. We are due to go out to the new home construction, and that will give you a real good idea why we bought the Defender. I am not shy about photos, so be careful what you ask for.

After reading this, maybe it should be called the Defendant.

You guys would love this place. The inspection consists of a govt. employee walking out to the parking lot, having you turn on the lights, directionals, step on the brake, set the handbrake, try the windshield wipers, and beep the horn. Thats the sum total of it. I am not even sure a windshield is required, but if you DO have one, you need at least one working wiper. Last year on the Ford the hand brake wouldnt keep the truck from moving in gear. I told him I needed to tighten the cable, and he made me promise. I did promise. And it passed.

Thank you. It's good to hear that I bought a good motor, even though I did not know one LR engine from another when I made the offer. Its moot now, and I realize that something is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it especially in a little third world country such as this one I live in, but do you think 30,000 USD was a reasonable price for it? I know they are a lot more in the US, but then I believe they havent imported any Defenders since around 97, which would drive demand up. We were pretty happy with the way it handled a very rough road on its shakedown cruise, although to be honest I think those rear seats are a hazard to man and beast. I also am going to need some help trying to figure out all the straps, ropes and buckles on that soft top. But so far, we love it.

Ah, thanks. So, in the esteemed opinion of the many experienced LR experts here, is the 300 Tdi a good engine? Someone has said, elsewhere, that if you let one overheat it destroys it. I didnt get any other details, but I would imagine that possibly the turbo is the susceptible part in that. Not that anyone would let one overheat on purpose, but we DO have a very warm climate here year round. Last winters low temperature was something around 63 deg. F. We actually had to crank down a couple windows on the windward side...

Do they put vehicles on dynomometers over there, to run them up and check emissions?

A guy buys a lottery ticket on his way to the office, and later in the day discovers he has won several million dollars. He phones the wife and says "I just won the lottery, and decided that my life is going to change for the better. I want you to drop everything, and pack up for a long trip, probably never returning to this town". She says "Wonderful! should I pack for a warm climate, or a cold one?" and he replies (drum roll) ' I really dont care where you go, just be out of the house by the time I get home..." (sorry, Les, but you started it) Its definitely a four cylinder, so that rules out the TD5. Besides, they told me it was a Tdi, available only in "certain markets" outside Europe. What other Tdi choices are there than the 300? How do I determine which it is? Also, a question on the mounting on the bonnet for the spare wheel. It flexes a lot when hitting these bumps. I moved the spare to inside the rear box, but ideally should be on a swing away carrier on the back. I am thinking of removing all the mounting studs, etc on the bonnet, and covering it with a plate. Is this common? i dont see any advangage to having the heavy wheel there. It makes it pretty troublesome to open the bonnet, with all that weight, too.

I am not in Jamaica, I moved from the USA to the Turks and Caicos Islands almost two years ago. Wife and I are building a home here. Its a real adventure. This is our first LR. I am not new to off-road driving. I have owned Jeeps, Ford trucks, and Suzuki Samurai's. I am building my second Samurai up for offroad now, in fact. I drove a LR diesel in Pakistan for three months back in the 70's, a Jeep Wagoneer in the jungles of Guyana for two months, and a Toyota LandCruiser in NW Australia for two months. I restored an early Ford Bronco ( '74 model) from the frame up, including roll cage, headers, intake manifold, cam, and lifted a fiberglass body two inches. So I know the basics and what works and what doesnt. We imported a Ford Expedition down here a year ago, and quite frankly, the local 'roads' are kicking its ass. Whoops. Sorry. Bum? We dont have nice pine needle covered forest roads here. We have hard scrabble exposed limestone boulders. The road bed itself is quite often exposed bedrock. About 20 % of the roads here are paved. Its more like W. Australia or Utah than anyplace else I can think of at the moment. Beautiful ocean though. We were looking to replace the Ford with a Jeep Wrangler, a new one with the 4 doors, and I was looking seriously askance at how they designed the lower shock mounts, when we spied a new-looking used LR on the lot for sale. We looked into it. It's a 2005 Defender 90 with a Tdi turbo diesel and full soft top. I dont know much about the LR engines, but this is the one that is no longer available in Europe. It has 6200 miles on the clock. The original buyer got transferred off-island and had to leave it with the dealer to sell for him. We made an offer of US $ 30K for it, not knowing much about LRs, and he accepted. We picked it up Wednesday. Do you think that was a good deal? An unmarked '05 Defender 90 with 6200 miles for 15,000 quid (about)? Theres no sales tax, road tax, etc. here,so that was the full price ready to go with half a tank of fuel. So far we have only driven it maybe 20 miles, with maybe four miles of that on pavement. We were used to driving on the left, but this LR is full UK syle, with the steering on the right. Biggest change for us is shifting with the left hand ( its a 5 speed). I know I will end up modifying it, and am very interested in roll cages, a step bumper, a tow ball to haul my boat, etc. I dont have a photo yet, and I am presently on another island, but will be glad to take some photos this weekend.

Just this week bought my first LR. A 2005 Defender 90 with a Tdi, and soft top. I am interested in possible sources for roll cage, towing package, tire carrier, and decent bumpers. Only about 20% of the roads in this country are paved, and we are building a new home in a rugged location, overlooking the sea. Hoping to learn more about the vehicle and modifications.

I am not sure if this is proper, or the place for it, but I wanted to introduce myself as a new LR owner, and new to this forum. Is that alright?