Defender 90 rear storage/toolbox fitting

[TobyMellin]

It's been a while since I've posted on here, probably about 5 years! 

 

I'm a truck mechanic and work at a main dealer, but on my days off I do a lot of plant/truck repairs. I've got sick off hauling my top toolbox in and out the back of the Defender twice a week and keeping everything in boxes and bags.

I had these van drawers lying about after a mate wanted rid of, so I've put them to use, and I think they work pretty well!

 

I firstly unbolted the drawer section from the base and removed the wooden worktop that was bolted to it. Measured everything up....

 

I then got it bolted in with some handy brackets from work. Two either side and also bolted down through the tub with plate on the opposite side.

 

I then moved on to modifying/narrowing the lower section that will support the weight somewhat and also be handy for storing jump leads etc

 

 

All mounted up, pretty happy with it, except my OCD going haywire with the fact the squares stop part way along, but I'll see how long I can live with that 

 

All done and dusted, drawers in. Just need to sort some decent drawer liners, mount my inverter somewhere and figure out where to mount small compressor that feeds my chassis mounted tank.

 

That's it for now, I'll hopefully get some more time this week to line the back out and mount some LED strip lights as it's pretty dark in the back!

 

Toby

 

 

Edited December 26, 2017 by TobyMellin

[Arjan]

Nice !

 

[Ed Poore]

What about an engine driven compressor? Recently installed an AC compressor onto my 300Tdi and the output is pretty impressive. Mounted a small tank (off a mates P38) behind the passenger rear wheel in my 110.

If you happen to have a 200Tdi I've got on sat in the shed gathering dust...

[TobyMellin]

10 hours ago, Ed Poore said:

What about an engine driven compressor? Recently installed an AC compressor onto my 300Tdi and the output is pretty impressive. Mounted a small tank (off a mates P38) behind the passenger rear wheel in my 110.

If you happen to have a 200Tdi I've got on sat in the shed gathering dust...

The only engine driven ones I've look at are the VMAC underhood compressors, but these are pretty pricey!

I do already have a small chassis mounted tank off a Scania bin wagon on the O/S chassis rail

What are you able to run off an AC compressor tool wise? I only really need it for an air blower, short use of a die grinder etc.

I'm afraid mines got a TD5 in it

 

[Bowie69]

The Sanden SD-709 is fitted to many LR, and comes with V and multi-V belt options, can find them on ebay for around £30 when I last looked.

I'm not sure what the TD5 used, though I suspect it is a more modern version. The beauty of these older ones is they need very little lubrication and can run power tools very easily without even a tank to back it up.

[Ed Poore]

2 hours ago, TobyMellin said:

The only engine driven ones I've look at are the VMAC underhood compressors, but these are pretty pricey!

I do already have a small chassis mounted tank off a Scania bin wagon on the O/S chassis rail

What are you able to run off an AC compressor tool wise? I only really need it for an air blower, short use of a die grinder etc.

I'm afraid mines got a TD5 in it

 

From my experience pretty much any tool can be run (only had the compressor fitted since September though). My tank ~15 seconds to fill from empty (9l according to online sources), I've made the intake side of things 10mm bore air line and the output stage (for simplicity) 6mm as the Ashlocker and the P38 tank had a 6mm bore fitting already. If you attach a blow gun and hold the trigger down venting at the maximum rate everything allows the compressor keeps cutting in and out as it's being limited by the 6mm bore pipework.

When I was in France I managed to get some logs stuck between the rim and the tyre so let all the air out and with someone jumping up and down on the tyre managed to pull out most of it. Re-inflating the tyre from empty to 35psi took <1 minute. Again I suspect the 6mm bore limiting things here.

So in summary I think it'll be more than enough for what you need - also probably a damn sight quieter, the only significant downside is you have to run the engine unless you have a suitably large tank. But all in I reckon I had a breakdown of the following costs:

• Compressor (eBay): ~£35
• Genuine bracket to mount onto 300Tdi block (eBay): ~£30
• Idler pulley & arm (Bearmach): ~£40
• Belt (Bearmach): ~£10
• Tank (friend): free
• Compressor manifold (eBay): ~£30 (typically knew I had one lying around but only found it after I'd ordered the new one)
• Pipework - 10m of 10mm, 10m of 6mm (eBay): ~£20
• Various push-fit fittings & oil feeders, filters etc: ~£40

I was up against it on time to get the thing assembled before my trip to France so paid over the odds for some stuff to get it faster (e.g. I could have built a bracket for nothing to hold the compressor). So ~£200 all in plus I have probably about 18m of pipework left but I thought it'd come in useful elsewhere so ordered a decent length. I also had a slightly more complicated setup as I needed a regulated 65psi output for the locker but also thought I might as well fit an unregulated PCL output for running tools / filling up tyres.

I don't think there's much to compare against an engine driven compressors and the benefit is that on most Land Rover engines they had the AC option so if you don't already have air-con then it's really simple to mount it. If you do then there are several threads on here showing various mounting solutions.

I'd have said that it's probably better at driving tools than my 2.5hp 100l compressor in the shed. Again when I was in France most of the Frenchies had aired down their tyres and when we were packing up after the weekend my 110 reinflated 4 vehicles (16 tyres) before one of the others with a twin cylinder ARB style compressor had finished their vehicle. Also very useful for blowing dust out of the vehicles after high-speed runs across gravel tracks! Getting BBQs going is another good use :-)

The downside is once people realise you have one they'll always be pestering you for the air supply rather than breaking out their own equipment.

[TobyMellin]

29 minutes ago, Ed Poore said:

From my experience pretty much any tool can be run (only had the compressor fitted since September though). My tank ~15 seconds to fill from empty (9l according to online sources), I've made the intake side of things 10mm bore air line and the output stage (for simplicity) 6mm as the Ashlocker and the P38 tank had a 6mm bore fitting already. If you attach a blow gun and hold the trigger down venting at the maximum rate everything allows the compressor keeps cutting in and out as it's being limited by the 6mm bore pipework.

When I was in France I managed to get some logs stuck between the rim and the tyre so let all the air out and with someone jumping up and down on the tyre managed to pull out most of it. Re-inflating the tyre from empty to 35psi took <1 minute. Again I suspect the 6mm bore limiting things here.

So in summary I think it'll be more than enough for what you need - also probably a damn sight quieter, the only significant downside is you have to run the engine unless you have a suitably large tank. But all in I reckon I had a breakdown of the following costs:

• Compressor (eBay): ~£35
• Genuine bracket to mount onto 300Tdi block (eBay): ~£30
• Idler pulley & arm (Bearmach): ~£40
• Belt (Bearmach): ~£10
• Tank (friend): free
• Compressor manifold (eBay): ~£30 (typically knew I had one lying around but only found it after I'd ordered the new one)
• Pipework - 10m of 10mm, 10m of 6mm (eBay): ~£20
• Various push-fit fittings & oil feeders, filters etc: ~£40

I was up against it on time to get the thing assembled before my trip to France so paid over the odds for some stuff to get it faster (e.g. I could have built a bracket for nothing to hold the compressor). So ~£200 all in plus I have probably about 18m of pipework left but I thought it'd come in useful elsewhere so ordered a decent length. I also had a slightly more complicated setup as I needed a regulated 65psi output for the locker but also thought I might as well fit an unregulated PCL output for running tools / filling up tyres.

I don't think there's much to compare against an engine driven compressors and the benefit is that on most Land Rover engines they had the AC option so if you don't already have air-con then it's really simple to mount it. If you do then there are several threads on here showing various mounting solutions.

I'd have said that it's probably better at driving tools than my 2.5hp 100l compressor in the shed. Again when I was in France most of the Frenchies had aired down their tyres and when we were packing up after the weekend my 110 reinflated 4 vehicles (16 tyres) before one of the others with a twin cylinder ARB style compressor had finished their vehicle. Also very useful for blowing dust out of the vehicles after high-speed runs across gravel tracks! Getting BBQs going is another good use :-)

The downside is once people realise you have one they'll always be pestering you for the air supply rather than breaking out their own equipment.

Cheers Ed!

 

I've just had a look on eBay, and TD5 air con pumps are coming in around £40, brackets about the same. I've already got a belt after being supplied the wrong one and never returned it. I've got plenty of plastic air pipe and fittings.

 

Is you air con clutch wired up to a switch on the dash?

[Ed Poore]

10 minutes ago, TobyMellin said:

Is you air con clutch wired up to a switch on the dash?

Sort of...

It was but I wanted to take the 110 to my parents for Christmas rather than the L322 and it was being stubborn at starting. Found out for some reason I've lost the supply to the fuel shutoff solenoid. In despair because I really couldn't be bothered finding out where the cable was damaged I looked around the engine bay any my eyes lit up when I saw the compressor. So I've dutifully nicked the 12V feed to the compressor (luckily couldn't be arsed with wiring it from an switched feed) and I am still using that to switch the solenoid.

Extra security feature... - have to switch this innocuous switch on the dash to start it, although I have jumped in in a rush recently and forgotten to switch it the 'compressor' on and wondered why the engine isn't starting. Equally when I remove the key why the engine is still running...

Apart from fixing that one thing I need to install is a non-return valve after the compressor. I forgot to order one before heading off to France so the 110 sounded a bit like a steam train going up the tricky stuff when I activated the diff as the compressor would switch off when it reached pressure and then sufficient pressure would leak back through the pump that it would start up again so did a good impression of a steam train as it kept kicking in and out.

[Bowie69]

You'd normally wire it through a pressure switch as well

[TobyMellin]

3 hours ago, Ed Poore said:

Sort of...

It was but I wanted to take the 110 to my parents for Christmas rather than the L322 and it was being stubborn at starting. Found out for some reason I've lost the supply to the fuel shutoff solenoid. In despair because I really couldn't be bothered finding out where the cable was damaged I looked around the engine bay any my eyes lit up when I saw the compressor. So I've dutifully nicked the 12V feed to the compressor (luckily couldn't be arsed with wiring it from an switched feed) and I am still using that to switch the solenoid.

Extra security feature... - have to switch this innocuous switch on the dash to start it, although I have jumped in in a rush recently and forgotten to switch it the 'compressor' on and wondered why the engine isn't starting. Equally when I remove the key why the engine is still running...

Apart from fixing that one thing I need to install is a non-return valve after the compressor. I forgot to order one before heading off to France so the 110 sounded a bit like a steam train going up the tricky stuff when I activated the diff as the compressor would switch off when it reached pressure and then sufficient pressure would leak back through the pump that it would start up again so did a good impression of a steam train as it kept kicking in and out.

ahhhh yes, of course, I overlooked the non-return side of things. How much water is your AC pump producing in the tank?

 

43 minutes ago, Bowie69 said:

You'd normally wire it through a pressure switch as well

I think my best bet will be to find someone locally breaking a Disco TD5 with AC, as I'm going to need the pump, bracket, pipework at the pump, pressure sensor. I'll run in a new loom and fused relay.

[Ed Poore]

3 hours ago, Bowie69 said:

You'd normally wire it through a pressure switch as well

That's what I meant by compressor manifold, in hindsight not the right term.

Regarding pipework off the back and at least with the 300Tdi pump I just sanded a big ol thick piece of flat bar flat, drilled and tapped the appropriate holes. Cut a piece of welly as a gasket and bolted it all up. The pump I got (a Denso one) had two threaded holes for holding the manifold on, two big holes for input and output and two locating pins.

I can try and take some piccies if I remember in daylight. But from input to output I have:

K&N filterr -> Oiler -> Compressor -> Basic filter / seperator -> manifold.

Manifold has pressure release valve, pressure switch, unloader port. On the output of the manifold I have the tank and a separate regulator for the 65psi for the diff's. The tank had a T piece to split off for a PCL connection inside the back door.

The switch inside sends power to the pressure switch which in turn fires the compressor (or fuel solenoid at the moment) as required.

The bit I'm missing at the moment is the non return valve.

One thing to consider is if you want to run the engine all the time. If not something like a suspension compressor off an L322 which is electric might be an alternative with a big enough tank. They're about £140 new I think from Steve at Advanced Factors. From memory the mine will do two complete raises of the suspension on the tank alone which is about 6" in diameter and 4 to 5ft long on that so a reasonable volume of air.

With regards to water never seen any in the trap but chances are its evaporated there. Test will be to run the plasma off it which is very fnickerty, really didn't like Wales' humid climate over Christmas with Dads big V twin compressor. Think its because its a pilot arc version and it was shorting in the torch.

[Bowie69]

Yep, cool

These make it pretty simple to get the pressure switch, on/off switch and unloader all in one, plus two outlets, one regulated:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F292159648376

 Non-returnable would complete things this side of the compressor as you say

[TobyMellin]

16 hours ago, Ed Poore said:

That's what I meant by compressor manifold, in hindsight not the right term.

Regarding pipework off the back and at least with the 300Tdi pump I just sanded a big ol thick piece of flat bar flat, drilled and tapped the appropriate holes. Cut a piece of welly as a gasket and bolted it all up. The pump I got (a Denso one) had two threaded holes for holding the manifold on, two big holes for input and output and two locating pins.

I can try and take some piccies if I remember in daylight. But from input to output I have:

K&N filterr -> Oiler -> Compressor -> Basic filter / seperator -> manifold.

Manifold has pressure release valve, pressure switch, unloader port. On the output of the manifold I have the tank and a separate regulator for the 65psi for the diff's. The tank had a T piece to split off for a PCL connection inside the back door.

The switch inside sends power to the pressure switch which in turn fires the compressor (or fuel solenoid at the moment) as required.

The bit I'm missing at the moment is the non return valve.

One thing to consider is if you want to run the engine all the time. If not something like a suspension compressor off an L322 which is electric might be an alternative with a big enough tank. They're about £140 new I think from Steve at Advanced Factors. From memory the mine will do two complete raises of the suspension on the tank alone which is about 6" in diameter and 4 to 5ft long on that so a reasonable volume of air.

With regards to water never seen any in the trap but chances are its evaporated there. Test will be to run the plasma off it which is very fnickerty, really didn't like Wales' humid climate over Christmas with Dads big V twin compressor. Think its because its a pilot arc version and it was shorting in the torch.

I was thinking to obtain the original pipework off the breakers TD5, cut them off say 6 inch from the pump and join them to air pipe via push fittings.

I'm not too fussed about the engine running, as I will only be using it for short periods of time on site.

My tank has a drain valve anyway, so I'll keep an eye on it, and if need be I'll fit a water trap just before the tank.

What sort of oiler are you using? And what sort of oil?  

What sort of pressure does it build up to? 

 

16 hours ago, Bowie69 said:

Yep, cool

These make it pretty simple to get the pressure switch, on/off switch and unloader all in one, plus two outlets, one regulated:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F292159648376

 Non-returnable would complete things this side of the compressor as you say

That's a pretty good idea! 

I should be collecting everything this weekend from a guy locally, original TD5 bracket aswel which will make things easier!

Thanks for the help!

Edited January 3, 2018 by TobyMellin

[Ed Poore]

On 1/3/2018 at 9:53 AM, TobyMellin said:

I was thinking to obtain the original pipework off the breakers TD5, cut them off say 6 inch from the pump and join them to air pipe via push fittings.

I'm not too fussed about the engine running, as I will only be using it for short periods of time on site.

My tank has a drain valve anyway, so I'll keep an eye on it, and if need be I'll fit a water trap just before the tank.

What sort of oiler are you using? And what sort of oil?  

What sort of pressure does it build up to? 

 

That's a pretty good idea! 

I should be collecting everything this weekend from a guy locally, original TD5 bracket aswel which will make things easier!

Thanks for the help!

Regarding pipework - if you can do that then it's probably worthwhile - I didn't have anything as I only had the compressor.

The main issue I've seen with our normal compressors with water is not actually water but humidity which a water trap doesn't really help with. Although I'd guess with a hot engine the humidity inside the engine bay (if you take the intake from there) should be relatively low. I think the issue with water in the tank will be more build up over time rather than anything else.

Oiler - just a cheap inline tool oiler off eBay - oil I didn't have any, I was going to use the recommended oil for tools, but instead squirted loads of WD40 into the compressor befoer I closed it up and then I've been filling the oiler with WD40 instead...

Pressure is limited by the compressor manifold switch - in excess of 100psi, I think about the 130ish mark is when the switch cuts out, cuts back in about 90 I think.

Oiler: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-4-BSP-MINI-AIR-LINE-FILTER-WATER-MOISTURE-TRAP-IN-LINE-OILER-FOR-AIR-TOOLS-/272765855132?hash=item3f821ca59c
Filter: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-AIR-BREATHER-FILTER-BLUE-12mm-Neck-Clamp-/170609451135?hash=item27b91da07f
Pressure switch: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AIR-COMPRESSOR-PRESSURE-SWITCH-SINGLE-PHASE-PRESSURE-GAUGE-SAFETY-VALVE-/173040942701?hash=item284a0b3e6d

[TobyMellin]

On 1/4/2018 at 10:41 AM, Ed Poore said:

Regarding pipework - if you can do that then it's probably worthwhile - I didn't have anything as I only had the compressor.

The main issue I've seen with our normal compressors with water is not actually water but humidity which a water trap doesn't really help with. Although I'd guess with a hot engine the humidity inside the engine bay (if you take the intake from there) should be relatively low. I think the issue with water in the tank will be more build up over time rather than anything else.

Oiler - just a cheap inline tool oiler off eBay - oil I didn't have any, I was going to use the recommended oil for tools, but instead squirted loads of WD40 into the compressor befoer I closed it up and then I've been filling the oiler with WD40 instead...

Pressure is limited by the compressor manifold switch - in excess of 100psi, I think about the 130ish mark is when the switch cuts out, cuts back in about 90 I think.

Oiler: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-4-BSP-MINI-AIR-LINE-FILTER-WATER-MOISTURE-TRAP-IN-LINE-OILER-FOR-AIR-TOOLS-/272765855132?hash=item3f821ca59c
Filter: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-AIR-BREATHER-FILTER-BLUE-12mm-Neck-Clamp-/170609451135?hash=item27b91da07f
Pressure switch: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AIR-COMPRESSOR-PRESSURE-SWITCH-SINGLE-PHASE-PRESSURE-GAUGE-SAFETY-VALVE-/173040942701?hash=item284a0b3e6d

I'll just keep an eye on the tank and drain water every now and then when I remember!

I have a decent supply of compressor oil (from work) so I'll use this. If it turns out it's not good for the pump, we'll soon find out 

That pressure is higher than I thought one of those pumps would do. Picking everything up tomorrow, probably won't be until next weekend that I get chance to fit everything though as I'm in work Mon-Thurs. 

I'm hoping to spend next Friday mounting the air system and my inverter.

Starting to think it might be a good idea to get a 110 

Toby

[Ed Poore]

11 minutes ago, TobyMellin said:

Starting to think it might be a good idea to get a 110 

Definitely...

In all honesty it's (in my opinion anyway) the far superior vehicle. Unless you're doing tight twisty off road all the time I find the extra length makes it more capable off road. Equally it's much more planted on the road and you get a lot more space inside. You've got to remember it's not much different in girth and length to a typical saloon like a Mondeo which shows you how compact the 90 is. A work colleagues XKR is both longer and wider (ignoring the spare wheel on mine). 

[TobyMellin]

25 minutes ago, Ed Poore said:

Definitely...

In all honesty it's (in my opinion anyway) the far superior vehicle. Unless you're doing tight twisty off road all the time I find the extra length makes it more capable off road. Equally it's much more planted on the road and you get a lot more space inside. You've got to remember it's not much different in girth and length to a typical saloon like a Mondeo which shows you how compact the 90 is. A work colleagues XKR is both longer and wider (ignoring the spare wheel on mine). 

I've got 4 kids and work a lot, so I don't get much chance any more 

I'm going to see how I get on with the 90 over the next few months, as I do like the compact-ness of it. I'll be getting a TD5 110 if I do anyway so everything will easily to swap over.

 

Thanks for your help Ed, I'll keep you updated!

 

Toby

[AV8R]

On 4-1-2018 at 11:41 AM, Ed Poore said:

Oiler - just a cheap inline tool oiler off eBay - oil I didn't have any, I was going to use the recommended oil for tools, but instead squirted loads of WD40 into the compressor befoer I closed it up and then I've been filling the oiler with WD40 instead...

To get stuck things going WD40 is great. Once it is all moving I clean it off real well and use the appropriate lubricants. I have found that WD40 leaves a thin coat of rust on ferrous surfaces, it is not a very good preservative. For your air compressor any thin oil will do a better job than WD40, I.E. PAS or automatic trans fluid. Air compressor oil is not very expensive.

[Ed Poore]

13 minutes ago, AV8R said:

To get stuck things going WD40 is great. Once it is all moving I clean it off real well and use the appropriate lubricants. I have found that WD40 leaves a thin coat of rust on ferrous surfaces, it is not a very good preservative. For your air compressor any thin oil will do a better job than WD40, I.E. PAS or automatic trans fluid. Air compressor oil is not very expensive.

Was better than nothing as it was all I had in the back of the Land Rover in the middle of France...