Scotts90

Hope you guys enjoy your new toys when you get them. 'Er indoors is due a new company vehicle (she's a quarry manager) and another pickup is on the cards. It's a choice between the rodeo, ranger and amarok at the moment. I drove an Amarok when they first came out (180 Highline) but they had huge waiting lists at the time so ended up with an L200; has to be one of my least favourite vehicles to date. Looking forward to a pic of Boydies all spec'd up in its expedition clothes ?

All the best for 2017

Mine do exactly the same, not worried at all about it. Most modern headlights have this issue.

'er indoors told me my recently purchased LT230 and rebuild kit from Ashcrofts was my present...better than socks

There are loads and I suppose the old mantra "you get what you for" rings true. i bought a 24" eBay Chinese special and fitted it to my works van, it's been there now for almost 2years and has worked faultlessly. No dead LEDs, no fogging or misting and is ideal for single track lanes. It doesn't have the reach of dedicated spotlights (I ran Rallye 3000s prior to the light bar). It was about £58 iirc. However if you check out the reviews on YouTube against the expensive ones then there is an very clear increase in performance. If you can justify the £500+ price tag then go for it! link to topic

And here I was, avidly clicking on the Evoque forum to see if someone had bought one again... But no, just some abuse lol

I've replaced both battery and tool box side on my seatbox with the YRM kit. If you're not planning on removing the seatbox then I'd imagine it will be easier to build the panels in one at a time as it may prove a bit unwieldy once riveted up. I used Cleco pins to do mine but some small nuts and bolts will allow you to loosely assemble prior to riveting This is the battery box assembled... old one beside it... Battery side Cleco pinned in place....quite easy to fit with nothing else around it as you can see. I etched primed and painted mine as part of the rebuild and a few years on it still looks factory fresh. Seam sealer on the joints will help keep it dry too.

So do you have a stumpy 380 fitted then Mav? I did the Ashcroft calculator and it showed there to be little difference in the Rev/mph tables between the 77 and the 380. I assume the calculator is using defender spec ratios, but I know you can buy the parts to convert the long nose variants. Again like most it's something I'd like to do as it seems to be a belt and braces upgrade....in all honesty though I have no issues with the use or selection properties of the LT77. The only issue I had was the gearbox detent spring getting gummed up and making reverse selection very temperamental, after a clean and lube it's actually very good now.

So to summarise if I drove like an idiot in something considerably more pokey than my tdi it'd be worthwhile. I don't and it's not I'll rebuild the 1.22 and see how it goes, if it's no use then I can see about adding the roamerdrive to the 1.41 whilst it's out....although hiding the £1500 price tag from SWMBO won't be quite so easy....

Thanks Nige, I'll save my pennies for when the axle diffs require some attention then. I know you are most knowledgable when it comes to all things "diff'd" PM sent

I'm running 265/75r16 BFG KM2s, stock diffs in the axles and an LT77. Putting the numbers into the ratio calculator on Ashcrofts site my standard setup puts the revs at 2450/60mph and 2860/70mph. Altering to the 1.22 gives 2123/60mph and 2477/70mph. Not a vast reduction in revs but it should help a bit. There was no difference in fitting the r380 into the equation. My main reason for rebuilding the 28D is twofold: if it's not suited I can swap back and I'll also have a spare box if required. I just thought adding the ATB would be an ideal, fit and forget upgrade.

When I rebuilt my 90 I refurbed the existing 1.41 LT230 with all the recommended parts (cross drilled input, HD cross pin and all the bearings) and it's been performing fine. However the old 200 is revving a bit when pushed along the bypass and rather than stripping my own to fit a gear set I have a 28D 1.22 from a D1 awaiting a rebuild.... So whilst in the process of ordering stuff from Ashcrofts and drooling over some lockers I noticed they do an ATB for the centre diff. Anyone on here have one? I don't do any extreme off roading with field work being the worst it will see. Opinons/thoughts welcome Scott

I've got the full wipac setup, however prior to its MOT and doing the usual lights check I noticed the fog light was missing a few illuminated LEDs....still good enough to pass but I wanted it changed. I ordered one from boltonbits/eBay and it turned out to be a wipac one in the box, it appears to have better chips than the older version. Very quick delivery from them and I'd also recommend their led relay. It's not cheap at £30 but the one that came with my wipac kit would never flash the trailer icon consistently with just an initial "flash" when indicating. No amount of twiddling the knob would make it work. The RDX one works as it should. I'll be ordering a set for the brother in laws new 110 puma from them.

I assume that's the cheap quotes with a telemetry box fitted? What were the non-big brother ones??

Nicely put. Can't argue with that

Ok, so if I prefaced my statement with "it's an Old Land Rover thing..." I can reel off countless recalls for other manufacturers too, but we aren't discussing them as far as I'm aware. The general content within this thread has been one of displeasure at the current model line up, and with the company as a whole. I assume all the negative detractors would rather have seen the company fail in British hands than prosper in foreign ones? I can't really think of any large manufacturer that has the enthusiast at heart, they all play on their heritage to sell current models. I can't see why JLR should be any different, it's not as if they have the monopoly on heritage. Although you have no love for the modern product, there clearly are some who do as shown by the volume of owners groups and forums dedicated to the newer models. I still rate my D4 as one of the best cars I've had, it fulfilled its role superbly. If I had the need to buy another family car then the RRS or new D5 would be top of the list...my money; my choice. My 90 is my toy, but in daily use. It tows, does the dump run and school run with equal aplomb. It turns heads and heaven forbid another owner may give a nod or wave of appreciation ( which seems to be frowned upon oddly enough). But, in the end these are my thoughts and opinions. Each to their own.

In a decade what has changed though? The defender gained tdci engines, better dash layout and heaters crammed into the same unchanged package. If the package was the problem then why continue purchasing throughout that decade?

In 3 pages we've all had a whinge about LR and its current tack, and we've all had a rose tinted view of past products (defender/d1/d2/fl) but at the time they had their own foibles. K series meltdowns, VCU failures, td5 loom failures, the "3 amigos" to name but a few. My D2 had a loom failure, the D3 had EGRs go, the D4 never skipped a beat... Dealers are just that. Dealers. Once they've prized your hard earned and delivered their product usually they have no continuing interest in your wellbeing or car-karma. This is not LR specific, its inherent in most dealerships regardless of marque. Having owned a plethora of different makes and models I've received substandard service from most and warranty work is the worst. So what do we do? We are on this forum because wisely or not we seem to have an affinity for LR. A large number of us have rebuilt and refined where LR did not and made reliable where LR could not. A recent price search found a last of line defender at £69k....seriously £69k?? A mate just bought a Td5 90 (last of them on a 56 MY07) for £14k and it's not pristine by any stretch. Regardless of reliability and build quality these are sought after vehicles, to further quote Top Gear they picked Alfa as one of their "best" car builders....and anyone with a knowledge of cars will know how reliable they turn out to be. A private car purchase is not a purely logical thing. If so we would all drive the same über reliable boxes and it would be regarded as a means of transport pure and simple. My other car is faster, quieter, more economical, comfortable, reliable ...it was built by robots in Russelheim not sweaty men in Solihull. However if it came to it and the fleet had to be reduced then the 90 would stay. Its a Land Rover thing.

Going by the images it's not the worst thing on 4wheels, will reserve judgement until I see one in the metal. As previously stated its a trend that all the major players follow....how many can pick out a 2/3/4/5 series BMW? I like many have worked through the ranks of the green oval ownership and enjoyed most of them (although one D2 tested my patience), but would I have a new RRS, FFRR or D5? I probably would, SWMBO misses our D4 greatly and as a luxury vehicle the Range Rovers (excluding the evoque) are better than their competitors. I recently had an X5 and a ML350cdi to tinker with and wasn't overly impressed considering their price point and their standing as rivals to the LR. Materials and finish were lacking in quality from what is perceived as the class leaders in SUVs.... Which is what these vehicles really are now, they aren't utility vehicles like the defender was. Comparing them to a 90/110 is akin to comparing other icons like a Spitfire against a eurofigher. Time and technology moves on and it's not always going to please everyone. The LR brand is successful and I'm sure their shareholders are ecstatic...has anyone mentioned the defender replacement yet?

I made two little right angle brackets to hold the td5 prop, these just welded onto the top of the tdi radiator brackets and does the job. I did purchase a set of td5 rad brackets but it wasn't worth the hassle to strip it down!

It's called "ownership" lol Has those issues numerous times with the inlaws' farm 110, I only get to see it come MOT time unfortunately

I had a "LOL" moment reading this, on my rebuild I ordered an OEM mirror head to find the same slightly distorted hall of mirrors effect on the replacement. I've got used to it over the last year or so...it's on the "will get round to eventually list"

If you fit full 300tdi looms and have converted to full 300 spec then there shouldn't be any major issues as defender electrics are pretty basic, even if going to county or XS spec with all the toys. If you are handy with a wiring diagram then you could go down the td5 loom route and make an engine specific one to suit. TD5 looms seem to appear quite often on eBay and it's a waiting game, the only looms I had to purchase new from LR were for the doors and tailgate for central locking and electric windows. You do become a bit of an anorak deciphering LR loom codes though....

The 300tdi ROW looms would be the ideal upgrade...all the decent multi plugs the same as the td5 looms. Replacing the chassis loom through the box section (OE style) can be time consuming but most tend to run new looms on top of the chassis rail now. I did this when upgrading my 200 to td5 XS spec looms throughout. Mine originally had a glass fuse system. If you're going down the rebuild route with the rest of the truck then it makes sense to replace the electrics too (or at least upgrade/refurbish)

Genuine foam ones, survive a pressure washer blast with no leaks