Scotts90

I have the mantec carrier and the gas assist ram on mine, mainly to help my youngest in opening the door if he's in the back. The ram really helps to open even when on hills (265/75r16 km2 on the carrier) but is of no use when closing as it still requires a hefty slam. It's quite surprising how much force the small gas assist ram provides, if the door is let go when opening it picks up a fair bit of speed!

May be worthwhile contacting some of the builders who adapt cars/vans for wheelchair access. Most of these have powered tailgate systems albeit top hinged doors. They may be able to advise on appropriate systems

Your service booklet should have a schedule stating what is required at the service intervals. The intervals can be either mileage or time dependant, this is because some vehicles may not do the required mileage within a year but still require an annual inspection (especially if under warranty).

As long as you've found the problem that's the main thing. The best way to learn is by doing stuff and asking when it goes pear shaped! Always plenty of advice on here ?

Is that spacer the same size as the unthreaded portion on the stub axle? This appears to be the difference between a standard disc brake rear axle stub axle and what you have, are you sure the washer isn't bearing on that oil seal which shouldn't be there?

Are the bearings seated properly in their races and the first nut tight? does it spin freely? The first nut should be inside the flange of the hub assembly, should the seal not be on the inboard (towards the disc) side of the hub or is it different for this conversion? Looking at your pics the nut is pressing onto this seal rather than onto the bearing. From the disc side it should be...seal-inner bearing-outer bearing-tab washer-locknut-tab washer-locknut. The "outer" assembly is sealed with the drive member and gasket so shouldn't need the oil seal there. And copious quantities of grease!

You are correct in assuming AWD is not always on, it activates when required. The -41 indicates the days beyond its annual service date iirc.

Check the door buttons aren't sticking, mine weren't sliding down the plastic escutcheons very well and kept popping back up when locking...a bit of lube and they were fine. My taildoor switch was a bit temperamental, a good clean up to give it a good earth and it was fine.

I've had hella 3000s on my works vans for that past 10yrs now. Currently have two chrome luminator 3000s on it and I hate when I get a different van with standard lighting. So I'd go for Hellas if you can get them or the copies of they're up to the task. You can get Britax 9" spots for about half the price of the Hellas and they look almost identical in design.

I bought the full kit from Ashcrofts including the one piece HD cross pin when I refurbished my LT230. This included the thrust washers too.

How much fuel is in it? Either remove the rubber hose from the rear of the filler and insert the hose down through that or if the fuel level is low enough, remove this completely and insert the hose directly into the tank and syphon. I think I did a combination of both.

Optima red top and an Enduroline cvx1000, the red top only does an amp at the moment but will get more added to it

Ok, try and start from scratch here.... To confirm you have all functioning lights apart from the brake lights? Going from your info that's "yes" So, what we have been trying to tell you is how to verify the brake circuit wiring. You should have 0volts at the green/purple wire until the brake pedal is pressed? Our previous info was to remove the brake light switch from the equation and check it was operating or not. Is the 12v present with no other circuit live? (ie sidelights off?). Is it 12v as measured from a multimeter or just a test lamp illuminating? If it was a true 12v then your brake lights would be on constantly. If it's a dim light with other circuits on then it could be the cause of a bad earth. Older defender wiring is very temperamental and especially regarding earths, try and rig up a decent known earth (eg jump lead to battery -ve and onto the tag for the rear light earth)

So you have tail lights but no brake lights? These use the same earth as the brake light so rules that out, are the bulbs good and fitted in properly? Have you removed the bulb and checked for power at the pin inside the light fitting too?

PM sent ?

I think I've seen them advertise their retrim service on eBay? Looks a very tidy job!

A quick test for the brake light switch...just bridge the two wires. Using a 10a blade type fuse is ideal as it gives you a fusible link...it also means you don't have to get an assistant to press the brake pedal if you're doing the "wiggle" method of fault finding...always a favourite on the bullet connectors on the old looms!

I re trimmed my standards with the exmoor kit, new foams, OE seat heaters etc. turned out fine. They are easy enough to clean and just wipe down Look better in the truck though. LRIsolutions do a centre retrim kit in G4, I've still got to do mine as I was undecided on fitting rear seats and a centre cubby. I have a standard grey vinyl with a black seat cover at the moment as its only usually 3 of us in the truck at a time

Haven't removed one for a long time (about 5yrs ago!)but from what I remember...best to have the tank as empty as possible! Remove the towbar arms, remove the filler neck/breather hoses, disconnect the pipes from the filter assembly on the chassis leg. It's a cradle assembly that holds the tank in place, unbolt and then lower, you should have enough wiggle room to disconnect the fuel pipes from the in-tank pump. The fuel lines are held onto the chassis rails with big plastic clips with fir tree type fittings so just pry off (don't nip the plastic fuel lines though) The last one I did was after a fuel line chaffed through and it was more than half full of fuel. After removal of the filler neck I stuck a hose in and syphoned as much out as possible. It's not the hardest but can be very messy and dirty, it only took a coulple of hours to remove the tank, replace the burst fuel line, refit and prime the system. Done using trolley jacks and axle stands. Hope that helps

Holy Moly...£300 for stainless...plus p&p. They are very nice though

Nice easy fix

Lol...welcome along...you'll have noticed the inherent site humour in the previous welcoming posts! Some of them don't leak too badly....just the odd weep (that may be from the owners)

I just nipped up my belt on Monday as I'd noticed a slight screech when cold. Done a few hundred miles this week as the kids are on holiday (they like the defender better than the VXR...it turns more heads lol) and it seems to be ok. When this goes I'm sticking the 10mm Gates one on to see if it helps

Sounds like a duff battery, take it to someone that can do a drop test on it.

Agreed, my speedglas was worth every penny. It's paid for itself many times over