Snagger

Spring steel and stainless steel are not very magnetic, at least not compared to mild steel. I don't think a magnet would hold the spring parts with the oil churning as fast as it does. That may be why the drain plug is hollow, forming an undisturbed spot free of oil flow, rather than a magnet filling the void and displacing all fragments into the oil flow.

It was very good, at least until the master cylinder leaked into the servo and I had to use the servo an master I'd just removed from the 109 (Discovery brake upgrade) as a temporary fix, which resulted in much less efficiency than with the original master cylinder (the 109 components were in mint condition, being new Gen Parts fitted during its rebuild and still unblemished when transferred).

Curious. Our 1980 Lightweight had 11" SLS front brakes and 10" SLS rear with dual circuits and servo. I was under the impression that the early brakes were single circuit 10", and the late brakes on 88s dual line and assisted. I must have understood tat wrongly. Then again, there were a lot of things that seemed to be changing over in 1980 that didn't all happen on the same vehicle, with all sorts of mixes of specs. This one was pre-rationalised as far as the flat flat hubs and stub axles. Presumably the later 88s had exactly the same brakes as the 109, then?

Just a thought about the mileage - see if you can get them to include a clutch and clutch fork replacement in the deal; if they have their own workshops, it'll be much cheaper for them to do it at cost than for you to pay a garage, and at that mileage, I suspect the clutch plates will be coming up for renewal and the clutch fork, if the same as on Tdi models, will be near the end of its life.

My studs are all splined at their bases, and their holes had corresponding splines. If the hole was plain, the stud would spin when you tried to do up the nuts. I'd be a bit wary of re-using a hub where a stud had pulled out - there may be more stress damage than just the stripped thread that can't be seen by eye. A replacement hub should be easy and cheap enough to source.

Yep - I put Defender seats in years ago, using the inboard hole pairs vacated by the bolts that secured the "tracks" for the old seat squabs - no drilling, the seat is more in line with the pedals and steering wheel than using the standard bolt holes, and plenty of elbow room. Being a 109 with the bulkhead removed, the leg room is reasonable, though not great. The only way of increasing leg comfort would be the seat rail spacers like Mudstuff's rails, but they'd raise the seat too high for the Series windscreen top edge - I'd never see traffic lights once stopped for a red! The only other thing you could do is fit an auto box to get rid of the clutch pedal, but that'd be a huge amount of work. With this seat position, my 109's seats are way more comfortable than the front seats in my wife's 2009 Defender, which lack elbow room on the door side, leg room against the hand brake lever and knee room against the dash. I may eventually succumb to a P38 steering system, though - I'm not getting younger or fitter!

The insurer not asking for an engineer's report would not be a defence against a police prosecution or the insurers voiding the policy after an accident if there was any suspicion the brakes were in any way involved in the accident, be they too weak, too strong, unbalance or fail outright. My insurers didn't want a report for anything other than the engine swap, but I gave them reports for that, the axle swap (since the mounts had to be fabricated to attach coiler axles to leaf springs) and disc brake conversion. These are the legal and financial industries we're talking about - the most dishonest, weaselling nit-pickers you can find - don't give them any ammunition to hit you with further down the line!

Building extra cabling into the loom is a smart idea for future accessories. I used a new chassis on my 109, and ordered it with mounting outriggers for front tanks in addition to the rear tank I already had so that the chassis wouldn't need its galvanising to be damaged by welding parts on later. I subsequently used those to have three tanks, so it paid off. So, think about the spec you want on completion, but also consider things you may want to fit in the future and wherever possible, make provision for their installation during the build to make their fit easier, neater and less damaging later. Another thing is only use decent parts - as a mechanic, you'll already know this, but many pattern parts are a waste of money and some are dangerous. Gen Parts are usually steeply marked up, so use OEM where possible, Gen Parts where necessary, and higher quality after-market where desired, and if in any doubt over an existing part's condition, bin it; you'll only regret using borderline parts later.

I've had pumps and injectors rebuilt by "DieselBob" and have been pleased with the results. I can recommend him to rebuild yours. He does have heavy duty alternative parts for some of the higher wear prone Bosch parts, and I don;t recall them costing much extra. I think I paid about £50 for a full pump rebuild, and I think that may have included injector overhaul too, but it's hard to remember as it was back in 2008!

It's likely to have been well serviced, but hire cars are badly abused by customers. Condition is everything, so take a thorough look underneath to check for corrosion or mud buildups in the nooks and crannies (take a torch and small mirror to help the inspection), and look for dents in the chassis cross members and diff pans, and for bent steering rods. Also look for any signs of stretching or distortion on the tow hitch assembly and the chassis where the hitch assembly is attached. If they're all good, and the test drive seems good (especially at speed, where the vehicle is likely to show any signs of being thrashed), then you should be alright. I haven't heard anything negative about SHB, and it's in their interests to maintain the vehicles properly to avoid recovery, repair and compensation claims from break downs. Many private Defenders are also abused and thrashed, and many are poorly maintained, most notoriously farm vehicles, so don't be put off by this one's history. Other than that, inspect it like any other second hand Defender - check for operation of all gears and services (lights, wipers, heater, accessories and so on), look for corrosion of the bulkhead (around the vents, foot wells, windscreen clamps and door hinges) and the door frames and skins, cracks in the wind screen frame, movement of the spare wheel on the back door, play in wheel bearings or steering components, pitting of the front axle swivels, brake disc condition, tyre wear patterns, leaks and so on. Listen for a big clunk when driving off - if it only does it when pulling away or braking, then it's probably the A-frame ball joint on the rear axle, which is not too expensive, but if it happens on each gear change, it's the gear box ad transfer box wear (not so common on such a late vehicle, but a hire vehicle that has been thrashed or towed overweight trailers could suffer).

Sounds likely - the earlier single button fob alarms failed with age, especially the fobs themselves, but the two button system is much more reliable. The spider is a frequent fault, though - I had a spare that a forum member used a while ago. As i heard it, the spider failure is usually due to a dry joint, so opening it up to resolder any joints that show damage or corrosion could work. On the Discovery mine came from, it was mounted on the heater matrix housing inside the dash, but I have no idea where it is on a Defender. It's a black plastic box about the size of a cigarette packet with a bundle of black wires coming out of it, as I remember it (I didn't pay it much attention, since none of my vehicles have one).

I know it's not helpful to natas (and I apologise for that), but remember, everyone, that posting information on an open forum how to bypass immobilisers and alarms is not going to help us with vehicle security, especially since Defenders are so high on the theft lists. Please consider carefully the wisdom of posting any information of such a nature!

At least it gives you more leg room in the driver's seat - the left foot well is quite cramped with pedals in it.

I didn't know about that numerical designator - good to know! I think you're wise to go for the high temperature and duration product with high oil resistance - it's astonishing how hot transmissions, especially the transfer box, get.

I would use the proper bearing seating compound rather than a thread lock. I think I used a Locktite product. It cured my oil migration, and hadn't been used by LR (it was a factory recon unit). Sorry to hear it didn't seal your unit, Jeremy - maybe your oil weep is getting through between the oil seal collar and the main shaft, or between the seal and the casing? The ends of the collar and 1st gear bush would need to be very smooth and even to be oil-tight, and if either has any notches, nicks or taper, then oil could get through into the shaft splines and migrate back to the transfer box. Eric, it sounds like all your synchro problems are due to the cage and rings. Distorted baulk rings would cause the problems you have, and could have been due to poor assembly or just from being dropped or hit with a mallet - they're surprisingly easy to distort.

Double check the tappet clearances and the timing sprockets (front cover off) to make sure the valves are opening the correct amount and at the correct time - a tooth out on the cam shaft could cause such problems. Black smoke is usually indicative of airflow restrictions, over-fuelling (unlikely if the settings are returned to standard), advanced fuel timing (unlikely if the engine starts easily) or a bad spray pattern from dirty or mal-adjusted injectors.

Anywhere steel frames contact aluminium panels, use rubber gaskets or duct tape over the primer to isolate the metals - don't rely on the paint or silicone sealant as they break down in time and will lead to electrolytic corrosion. Don't use thick applications of seam sealer for the you either, as it will just distort the skin.

Yep - that's what I meant; the type you see on Rogue Traders and such, preying on OAPs. Sorry if I offended the rest of the industry with a badly written point! In addition to jerboa's post, think carefully about what mods you want, now and potentially in the future - it's easier, cheaper and neater to build them in during construction than to try to fit them later; many later mods not allowed for early on will result in a poorer quality job. A god example was the chassis I had built for my 109 - I had them incorporate outriggers for forward fuel tanks so that I could fit multiple tanks (long range and for dual fuel use). Had they been retro fitted later, it would have been less accurate, the welds weaker and the galvanising heavily compromised inside and out in the chassis rail areas to which they are welded. Modifying the rear tub for a different shape and much thicker floor and incorporating new seating, storage and a bulkhead removal bar was also much better done before the tub was fitted. So, even if not fitting the mods during initial construction, try to have the vehicle built up with provision for the mods to be installed easily at a later date.

That buggers my theory up, then! My RRC has thin flanges and small cone, but 24 splines. The Discovery axle I used on the 109 had the round metal dome flange/shaft ends and 12 splines...

My concerns are related to the snatching jerboa commented on - they are twin leading shoe, and so will pull them selves on to some extent with the pedal pressed in a bit. They may end up too sharp, giving too sensitive a pedal. As said, a brake swap can make a huge difference to the vehicle, but so can the 24st empty vehicle weight difference between 88 and 109V8.. LR used 11" drums on late SIIIs, essentially 109 rear brakes on the front, with 10" drums at the back. In good order, they are very effective. I can see the desire to uprate the brakes for an 88" that tows or load carries a lot, but I think a standard SIII 109 system would have better avoided over braking. Hopefully, these concerns will be unfounded, though. As for an MoT pass being adequate for insurance purposes, it won't. The insurers must be specifically informed about any and all modifications, and an engineer's report would prevent the police or insurers pinning the blame on your brakes. In a serious accident, the vehicle would be inspected with a fine toothed comb, and it's highly likely that any mods would be picked up. That would render you uninsured if not declared, and thus personally liable for any costs or compensation of an accident. It's also good from a safety perspective to have a second set of eyes closely scrutinise a mod, rather than give a cursory MoT inspection. It's not worth the safety and financial risk.

Hah - I'd not noticed before. I'd just assumed you had LHD, being a Clog and all...

Wasn't it the post rationalised axles that had 24 splines? That's what my 1982 axle had, with rationalised hub sand stubs...

If I'm not mistaken, most 200Tdi and earlier Defenders used 10 splines, as did the 200 Tdi Discoverys and era of RRCs. They should be identifiable by the hub drive flanges - if the Defender hub is the thick type with the longer plastic cone, or Discovery/RRC hub is the domed single piece hub/shaft with no plastic cone, then it's an early unit, 300 Tdis and later have thin drive flanges on the front with the short cones and on RRC/ Discovery and 90 a flattish integrated flange/shaft with no cone or the same thin flange and small cone on a 110 (but their rear diff will be incompatible anyway). That's my understanding, and bears up with the vehicles I and my friends have, anyway.

You'll have to change your login name to 80Watt!

I'd be slightly worried about fitting 2.6/V8 brakes to an 88", as they might be too powerful and tend to lock up if you press the pedal too hard. The standard brakes for the vehicle should be able to lock up if the pedal is used very hard, so these could need very sparing use. I'd have recommended using standard 4-pot 109 brakes instead, but as long as you're careful, you should be alright. I'd recommend testing them on an empty road once installed to see how easy they are to lock up so yu can avoid nasty surprises later! It'd also be worth getting them tested at an MoT station and a letter or report written to confirm the installation is safe - it could save you backside legally and financially if you later have an accident.