Snagger

Then again, look at the SRS, total brake failure or full throttle with no way to shut the engine down in an automatic recalls that Toyota have had, and the fire related recalls of Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango, just for example. That is why LR should be making more effort to see the dealers support the customer after sale. I don't. I have no love for the modern company. Tata specifically turned it's back on the enthusiast. I don't have any ill will for the workers, other than that they were so feckless on the Defender line, but the company is just another one in the blancmange of the industry now. I am only interested in their older vehicles, only those with beam axles, and not really even the P38. No, it's an enthusiast thing. Exactly the same behaviour is shown in followers of Triumphs, Jags, Jeeps, Reliants and even Allegros. It's about us and the specific car we love, and at a stretch, the people behind making them, not the modern company.

Land Rover do have appalling service, but that is because they are too hands-off with the franchises, which are not LR employees. They also have suffered from years of terrible build quality, with (Clarkson quote) a quality control standard of "That'll do". Quality improved dramatically with the new models, but that was probably largely through robotic construction; standards on the Defender line remained deplorable to the last day. It saddens me to say it, but too many of the workforce just don't care, from line workers to cost engineers and bean counters - look at the bad paint, panel misalignment and rust on Defenders in show rooms, and look at how flimsy the HEVAC servo motors, ride height sensors and other such things are, all to save a few pennies per vehicle, pennies that the buyers would pay many fold for to buy a quality vehicle. Those bean counters destroyed LR's reputation in most markets worldwide, nearly destroying the company. And I'm sure they managed to make it all look positive on paper and earn bonuses and promotions.

There is a thriving Land Rover scene in Malta, and he's in the thick of it. He has a white 109 rag top with 200Tdi and Defender transmission - I'm sure you'll come across him.

I agree, but I think the L322 looked better, and the classic better still, but the 405 is more becoming than the other new models. I just wish that LR would retain its heritage and core while also chasing the cash with the bling stuff. It's not only possible, it's complimentary. Their reputation rests on their rugged, go anywhere, dependable image, and once that is consigned to history, then where will that credibility be? How can you show adverts featuring Defenders and earlier vehicles waist deep in mud, fighting fires and delivering aid supplies if all you make are Chelsea Tractors? None of the new breed hold the slightest interest for me, which is not atypical of the enthusiasts, and isn't that a bit sad?

Both of the leaks you describe are from the same source - the output seal is failed. It does happen that the area of the output flange that the seal runs against is scored or pitted, in which case a new seal will not work well and will soon be worn out too, but let's hope not. You'll find out when you dismantle it. You can either eeplace the part or have the old one sleeved by an engineer's workshop. You can buy seal and gasket kits that contain everything for a full overhaul of the oil leaks. The Britpart gaskets are fine, but their seals are a contradiction in terms - they don't even seal when new. But Corteco or Angus seals, or Bearmach, who do decent pattern parts. There is a felt seal on the transfer box output shaft, which is cheap enough as a genuine part. You will also need the split pins for the output shaft nuts and for the hand brake linkage. Park the vehicle on level ground, engage low range first gear (to lock the front wheels, as you will be removing the hand brake) and chock the wheels. Drain the oil from the transfer box. Remove the rear prop shaft and the transmission brake drum. Remove the split pin and cotter pin from the hand brake linkage where it connects to the L-shaped relay, and don't lose the anti-rattle spring from the cotter pin. 9mm spanner works well for me, I don't know what the correct Imperial spanner is. Give the shaft a hard tug around in every direction to check for play. Remove the big split pin from the nut holding the output flange on the transfer box output shaft, then the nut, its washer and pull the flange off. You will notice a felt washer that seals the splines behind the big washer - that is the one you will replace later, though I have re-used mine many times with no problem, but if the nut and washer and front end of the prop shaft were oily, it needs a new one. You will now see four studs and nuts holding the oil catcher ring (a roughly square pressing that sits around the output flange nose). Remove the nuts and locking washers and pull the brake assembly and oil catcher as one from the transfer box. Now you can see the oil seal and replace it. You will notice a vertical slot underneath it - this is the drain for the oil catcher ring that tries to keep any oil leak away from the brake. Clean out any muck from it, and separate the oil catcher ring from the brake back plate and give everything a good clean. The shoes can probably be cleaned well enough by scrubbing in hot very soapy water or running through the dishwasher with a couple of tablets for strength. Refit in reverse. If you also have leaks from the shims between the speedo housing (the casing between brake and transfer box) then you need to disconnect the speedo cable, undo all the nuts and slide the housing off. Then remove all the shims and carefully clean them. Any burrs or rust should be removed with fine wet and dry paper, then lightly smear each shim completely in light grease before refitting one by one. If there was significant play, you can leave one shim out and re-assemble the speedo housing and just the flange and nut to check again for play, select neutral on the red lever (after making sure the car cant roll) and turn the shaft over by hand to check the bearings aren't to tight. It's better to have a small amount of play than overtight bearings, but you can buy thinner shims and you may also want to check the bearings if there is much play - the rear bearing outer race can easily be pulled out to have a look. Given your location, I suspect you know Patrick (Gremlin) - say hello to him. He'll also be able to give plenty of good advice- he knows his way around Series vehicles and Defenders well.

I think it's very telling that JLR is now not only supporting the classic Jag market, but announced that they are also going to support the classic LR market. Maybe they're waking up to the idea of the enthusiast being an asset and a great boost for the brand's heritage and credibility, as well as a good source of direct revenue in the spares market. I wonder if they're starting to realise they have missed an opportunity in moving the entire range so up the designer market.

That's encouraging, that at least the testers and engineers still prefer the capable, more basic and more honest vehicles. If only McGovern and Tata would move on...

You know what I mean, Shak - bling is for pop stars, footballers and drug dealers, ie new money with no sense of decorum. That's what I mean by class, not the old class system of upper, middle and lower - I could never make it up those ranks. But remember in Four Weddings how the aristocrat drove a tatty old SII 88"? That's not unrealistic - the truly wealthy stay that way by not wasting their money, and they know the difference between class and brass!

A lot of Land Rover engineers still think the best Range Rover was the Classic. I suppose from their perspective it's because it was a car built for a task with style added, and not a car designed by the fashion gurus and then left for the engineers to make it work. I prefer the older stuff for their design integrity too, plus their relative simplicity and sthe way they simply have more class - classy folk don't show their money, and the modern stuff is all show.

88", Jon? For some bizarre reason, 88" drivers seem to get away with it while 109 drivers don't - my UJs only last 500 miles several times before I went back to the standard shackles, which cured the vibration problem and transmission damage. I still recommend against it on 88s; while the vibration with that prop length and angle may not be obvious to the driver, the unequal UJ deflections will still be hammering the system and accelerating wear or damage.

Not that cheap, and easy only in name!

Wow, that must have taken some persistence on your part!

It was embarrassing coming from a Range Rover - they're meant to be particularly "sophisticated"! It's a good idea to swap them around and ditch the coils - they could prevent full pad retraction with newish pads, causing wear and overheating. Set the other way around, the spring ends will still be well clear of the friction material and disc.

Changing shackle lengths without altering front mount heights screws up the diff pinion angle, which screws up prop shaft geometry and causes vibration problems. On the front, it can cause the front UJ to bind, and will also cause the steering castor angle to be changed, altering steering loads and stability. It's basically a very bad practice, so bad that an LRO technical editor recommended it in the magazine.

Oh no. I don't do orange - I had a terrible employer far too keen on the damned colour!

If the central locking is only working with the key, then the alarm/immobiliser/central locking ECU is faulty. It was already prime suspect, but as soon as I read that, it became almost only suspect. The seats can't be powered without the ignition on, and I think the same is true of the EAS (my soft dash was factory fitted with coils, so I can't compare directly on that system). The STS (airbag) system could be draining as it is permanently live, but it would be an unusual failure. The final possibility is the stereo, as they can often malfunction and draw a few amps instead of the sub 0.5A current they should take for retaining the memory presets. The alarm ECU is a common failure on such an old vehicle, and it can be replaced with the later Discovery two button unit with an adaptor harness, supplied as a kit bt Remotekey.com, which also allow the ECU to have a few other settings that LR blocked. I was very pleased with their kit.

Fitting a set of parabolics from Rocky Mountain would seem the obvious thing to do, especially since your on the west side of the pond. They'll be an easier swap with no modification and will give a comfier ride and better handling than 109 springs will. Some people go for the two leaf rear springs for softer ride and more articulation, but for road use with a load, three leaf rear springs are probably going to be more appropriate and last much longer - the only occasion I have heard of RM springs deforming has been on one guy's trailer (much modified), and he kept bending the same corner spring and it was two-leaf. I'm pretty sure front 109 springs will fit without alteration, but the rear springs are considerably longer and would need new mounts on the chassis.

I have a tin of it, if you'd like to buy it. £200 per litre, but shipping is costly as it has to travel via both poles to be correctly magnetised, so that's £400 per litre. But I did put "4x4" on the label, so it's worth it.

It's not only wheel bearings that suffer increased forces and susceptibility to failure because of spacers or high negative offset wheels. Steering components also suffer, from swivel pins to rod ends and steering boxes. The other option to replacing the axles with something else from a breakers would be inserts between the axle flange and stub axle at the rear or axle flange and swivel housing on the front, with extended half hafts and steering rods. Not cheap, but it be as safe and reliable as a standard axle and wheel combination and you wouldn't need to be inventive with the modification. You could use it as an opportunity to uprate the shafts and steering rods, too.

The calipers are wider on vented systems - there are inserts between the caliper halves, the calipers being otherwise identical. That means the vented kit's pins will be too long. The split pins should be the same. The coil springs may fit, but might not - their compressed length may be too long for the gap between the pads in a non-vented system. But those springs are useless anyway - the pads rattle terribly. Read the other thread about "decent brake pads" and you'll see a recent post showing an alternative spring that clips around the tags on the pads, its ends under the retaining puns, forcing the pads down towards the hub centre. They apply some force, unlike the pathetically weak coil springs of the standard kit, and should fit vented and non-vented calipers alike.

Glad to see someone fix the rattle - my RRC front pads do the same, with the weak coil springs doing exactly nothing to help. I always preferred the pressed leaf spring affair like on the back calipers.

They're a very good price. It just demonstrates again the markup on the 4wd market - so many of us are mugs and don't look at retailers from the commercial and motorhome markets.

The Defender heater, introduced on the 110 with the 10J engine before the 12J and later 19J and Tdis came along, has a diverter flap so that the incoming air is directed through or around the heater matrix. I always believed that to be for two reasons: a) the airflow has less resistance with cold selected, so a far greater airflow is available for cab cooling in warm conditions, and, b) the water control valve on the SIII engines was a known failure point, often seizing with rust and scale, and even when selected open created a flow restriction which reduced heater matrix performance below what it could be with the valve removed. The valve was removed from 110 2.25 petrol and diesel engines of near identical spec to SIIIs, and the 2.5 versions of those engines well before they started dealing with major revamps and redesigns. I honestly don't think fitting the valve to the Tdi will do any harm.

Those two point are actually coincident - the reason premium car manufacturers sometimes use electric fans is the same reason many of us are forced into using them on retrofits - alignment or physical space. Most electric fans are used on transverse engines, where engine drive is impractical. Otherwise, it's where an engine driven fan wont fit because of the engine's various pulleys not being in a position suitably behind the rad or we cant find a way of making a suitable shroud. It's not because of reliability, performance or economy. Engine driven fans are superior and electric fans an act of desperation! All that said, I heartily agree with the rest of your points.