StuWhitby Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 So I've had my 1991 Defender 200Tdi SW for about 18 months now, and I figure it's time to start fixing some of the things that have been bugging me. I've got work to do on some of the rattles, but there are a couple of other issues where when I've asked I've just had people look at me and say "It's a Defender" as if that answers absolutely everything. But I'm sure they're issues, so... Steering. I'm guessing that a healthy 200Tdi would generally straighten up if you turned and then took your hands off the wheel while moving. Mine simply keeps going the direction it's been pointed and needs a heavy hand to get it back in line again. There's about a 45 degree area of play on the steering wheel before it gets properly heavy. Trying to weave anywhere at speed can be properly dodgy - especially with the body roll thrown in Is this normal? I tried a 300Tdi that steered really sweetly at one point, so I'm hoping not. Power steering pump needing replaced? Indicators. No auto-cancel. I'm guessing there's a bit of plastic on the side of the steering column broken or similar. Or do they simply not have an auto-cancel? More indicators. What's with the trailer light flashing once when I put on the indicators, whether there's a trailer connected or not? Diff locks. I don't feel anything when I shift the selector knob sideways, and there's no diff-lock light coming up on the dash. Could be just exceptionally smooth and the bulb's bust, but given that "It's a Defender" I think it's more likely just not to be doing anything. Can someone confirm that there should be some sort of clonk when the locks engage? Rear lap belt. The mount for this currently comes up from the floor in the rear on a twisty bracket. That bracket sticking out of the floor is horrible, but I'm guessing that's bolted straight to the chassis. Is it possible to shift this to the back of the rear seat box without compromising the belt's integrity? Smoke on startup. I get a puff of black smoke on startup, and heading downhill when cold there's white smoke (engine retarding, not under power). I've had the turbo rebuilt last year, but while it cut down the smoke a lot it didn't get rid of it entirely. It doesn't seem to be using water at any notable rate though, and temps are normal as per the guage. Is a head rebuild the most likely fix here? Is it better to simpliy replace it with a gasflowed one rather than have a local garage rebuild it (I still need it to get me around - can't afford the downtime to do it myself I'm afraid) Any thoughts welcome. Cheers, Stuart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 Steering and body roll could be worn out parts, but the lack of self centring sounds like a ballsed up suspension lift that didn't include castor correction. The indicators should self cancel, and that is usually a fault on the plastic part of the indicator switch, but moving the switch up the column may work. The trailer repeater sounds like a bad trailer socket or wiring to it. The start up smoke is probably normal, but the white smoke isn't. Keep an eye on water levels, but it could just be a leaky injector letting fuel through on the over-run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 6 minutes ago, Snagger said: but the lack of self centring sounds like a ballsed up suspension lift that didn't include castor correction. Either that or very knackered swivel pins! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stambecco Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 Regarding the diff lock light, hold the lever to the left and drive forward a couple of feet. The light doesn't always come on when static. I would check all the track rod ends and drop arm ball joint. I don't think there is any problem relocating the seat belt anchor, providing it has a heavy duty fixing with a thick front and back plate but I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 1 hour ago, Bowie69 said: Either that or very knackered swivel pins! Or seized steering uj's. Indicator trailer single flash is normal on a discovery so could be your flasher relay or it may be normal I've never really noticed on our 110 either way I wouldn't worry about it. Self cancel. I bet you have an aftermarket steering wheel that doesn't have the pin sticking out of the back of the boss or it hasn't been lined up with the groove in the self cancel ring. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 Trailer tell tale flashing once is normal. Smoke doesn’t sound excessive, don’t worry about that for now. Steering sounds like the biggest issue. It will never handle like a sports car but that is excessive play and vagueness. Check all the joints in the steering arms as suggested and also axle bushes. If you pop up your rough location you may find someone with some more experience is willing to come have a look for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy996 Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 Black smoke on startup is absolutely normal; it's an analogue engine, so the first squirts of fuel do not combust. The white smoke suggests some fuel leak down if it is not steam. My diff lock light only ever works intermittently - the longest it has worked consistently is only a month, (and my gearbox was an Ashcroft rebuild). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 I posted about the indicator & trailer light operation on the forum a while ago, puff of black is normal on start up, my 200 does it every time, nothing to worry about. steering should self centre fairly easily, as others have said, could be worn joints or swivel pins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuWhitby Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 Thanks all, I'll take the time to check the steering this weekend. Historically I've generally been using the Landy for shortish runs or occasional longer trips or towing. It's now a commuting vehicle though (100 miles/day) which makes a difference to what you'll do to make things livable. Location is northern Aberdeenshire (just off the A96 near Moray). I see other people have this in their profile, but apparently I don't have permission to edit mine! I don't see the location in the standard pages either, and I'm not linking in to anything else (Microsoft account). Yep, after-market Moto-Lita steering wheel, which I love - it's a 3 spoke wheel with 2 of those spokes at quarter to three, which is a great place to rest your thumbs when driving. You get used to not having the cancel, but I'll take the plastics off soon and see what's there. Sadly, I bought this particular one after seeing it in a rebuild blog on pistonheads (4 years down the line) where the pictures of the rebuild are all now gone. All looked good from the blog, but tbh that doesn't tell you whether it was actually put back together with everything in line and leak free, or that someone else hasn't messed about with it since. The guy who serviced the turbo (John at Turbo-RS near Newcastle - cracking service btw) was asking if someone had it off previously due to misalignment, and I could confirm that it had been rebuilt, but not that it hasn't been messed about with since. Personally I figure with the steering something's got to be near siezed (was thinking about it in depth last night on the drive home). I think the first thing I need to do is go looking for grease nipples or disintegrated boots (probably all of them). The body roll itself is fine, I'm just used to something more sporty historically where weaving at speed wasn't an issue - I've gone through 205GTi, 405Mi16x4, Morgan, Civic Type R, Supra and now a 200Tdi. Which is the only one of them that so far hasn't been crashed, apart from the 405 which died due to the engine being mostly in the sump. No crashes in the Defender yet, though that reminds me - I need to repaint the Audi sliders on the side of it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe1joe Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 Steering could be castor related due to lift, but sounds a little too severe for that. could be seized ujs, which if not caught earlier enough can nacker the steering colume bearings, could be tight steering box if someone has tightened up steering box slack in straight ahead position? Would get tight when lock is put on as box wears in straight ahead position more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe1joe Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 Did the 405 die through the oil starvation they suffer with !? Had a 205 for 8 years, great cars, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 The first thing I would do with the steering is drown the two column uj's with wd40 or similar and work them a bit. If that improves the steering then new uj's are on the cards if not then start checking other components. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuWhitby Posted April 19, 2018 Author Share Posted April 19, 2018 23 hours ago, joe1joe said: Did the 405 die through the oil starvation they suffer with !? Had a 205 for 8 years, great cars, Err, kinda. The Mi16 had an oil pressure (temperature? can't remember) guage which, when you turned the ignition on, would show you the oil level, which just looked better and better. Turns out that the sensor had been wired the wrong way, so a healthy oil level really wasn't. It did mean I found out what was going on when all of the dashboard warning lights going on when cornering hard meant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe1joe Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 They suffer from oil surge at the best of times, so very low oil wouldn’t have helped ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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