Lightning

Yes that’s happened round here. You can take steps to make it harder for the thieves, but the best thing is to make sure you have Agreed Value insurance. Then if it does go, at least you will get the proper value. The “book” prices for Defenders are well below what you actually have to pay, and that’s in the Land Rover magazines! And the insurance company will refer to the “book” which says you can get a mint TD5 for £8,000 Not quite! Although the silly prices being asked by chancers on some auction websites can be ignored.

The TD5 also has a dual mass flywheel and if that needs changing with the clutch it will cost £1,000. Personally having driven both l prefer the TD5, but some TDCi ‘s seem to drive better than others, l drove one that was really nice. You can buy a gear lever kit (called Shift-R) which is supposed to make the TDCi gear change a lot better. ln the end though l would buy on condition rather than type, if you see a really good TD5, buy it....you won’t be disappointed. If you find a nice TDCi then you won’t be disappointed with that either. Be aware that late TD5 and most 2.4 TDCi Station Wagons are subject to the highest rate road tax.

Try holding the lever over to the left for a few seconds while driving, and see if it engages then.

As my post above. Transformed my 110 and the missus’s 90

I would recommend standard SW springs with Terrafirma 4-way adjustable dampers. Set to the softest of the four positions the ride is considerably improved over standard. Also while you are at it, fit Discovery spring isolators to the front for a small improvement in refinement. Every little helps. And if using the vehicle primarily on road, an anti roll bar kit.

Although you can clean up and treat the outside of the chassis, they tend to rot out from the inside, so you need to get any mud etc out of the chassis and then spray inside it with an extension tube. l sprayed the inside of my chassis with spray grease, there’s plenty of holes you can stick the spray extension through. However if you say the rear of your chassis is “truly poor” and it’s beyond a rear crossmember replacement, then l would replace the whole chassis. lt will increase the value of the Land Rover by at least the cost of doing it, so you can’t really lose.

The only time l achieved over 30mpg from my TD5 was on a Spanish road trip, where we were cruising at 55mph most of the time. ln day to day driving l get 26-28mpg. TD5 110 SW.

Well, whether we like it or not, electric cars are coming. l think the govt has specified that all car manufacturers output is electric by 2040. That is only 21 years.

The Rivian looks amazing but look at the front....it’s hideous Could you actually drive a vehicle that looked like that?

As above, take the wheel off and have a look. Be aware that the handbrake is not like a car, it works on the transmission, so if you apply the handbrake then lift one wheel the vehicle can roll. Be sure to chock one of the other wheels.

I had this on my TD5 the engine actually started on mine but the starter motor carried on spinning. Obviously no longer engaged. Fault was the ignition switch as suggested above.

There is of course a kit to install vents in the ends of the dash, although at just over £100 it’s expensive for what you get (no worse than LR genuine parts prices though!) l fitted said kit, it comes with new air trunking (the shaped pieces under the main vents) which are designed to deflect more air to the side vents. ln use it works OK, obviously the side vents are quite small so they don’t work like Puma ones, but on the low heater fan setting they will keep a large part of the side windows clear once you’ve wiped the initial condensation off.

Well, you carry on doing it then..... it’s your vehicle after all, to do with what you want.

The engine is electronically limited as are all engines these days, but l would still avoid driving it flat out continuously!

I know it’s not your question, but why would you be regularly driving the Defender flat out? l mean it will do it, but l wouldn’t recommend it. Much better to back off 10kmh or so from absolutely flat out, surely?

I got two quotes to replace the swivels my 110 TD5. One was £500 the other £800 l went with the £500 one and it was fine, done by my local LR specialist, bill came to around £480 in the end.

OK will do, thanks for the advice.

Problem is the hinge bolts have all had ball bearings hammered into them due to door thefts in this area. So unless the hinges are actually dropped or worn out l don’t want to change them, l just want to try and tighten the loose hinge pin bolts.

I have a rattle on the rear door of my Defender TD5 The door hinges look fine, the door sits perfectly on the latch and has not dropped or gone out of alignment. However l checked and all three hinge pin bolts are fairly loose. Obviously l am going to try tightening them, but how tight should they be. I was thinking tighten up until resistance is felt and then back half a turn. ls there a correct setting/procedure?

Nice looking Defender 110 by the way!

The motor will most likely be fine, and is easy to change anyway without dismantling everything. Replace both wheel boxes and the drive rack. Use genuine LR parts.

The engine should be fine after the short runaway. This guy was not so lucky! But it shows how long the engine will actually hold together and not blow up.

I think the centre seat comes complete and you just bolt it in. That’s what l did with our 90 TD5

Well he was on here yesterday

Second for the Osram bulbs, a straight swap and they are a considerable improvement over the originals