Jimmy Two-Jacks Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Hi All, Yesterday I finally got the doors on my 90 sorted out. After a bulkhead outrigger replacement the passenger door wouldn’t even close so I tried jacking the door and post up with a farm jack, slacking the b/head bolts off and tried undoing the door hinge bolts and “oddsing it up” on the bolts but as I have found out that most older defender hinge bolts either spin the nuts in the cage fixings or are seized tighter than a camels eye in a sandstorm. These were seized solid; even bought some of that fancy “Freeze and release spray” hmm yep it’s a gimmick. In the end I used a 14mm blacksmith’s drill and a power drill and drilled the heads off making sure not to go past the bolt seating or straight through the hinge housing! This worked fine and with the help of a gas torch I got some mole grips on the remaining bolt shanks and twisted em out. A few cage nuts and matching bolts later job done, I had been dreading it as I had got to sort it out as one of the last bigger jobs remaining for the MOT. So far that’s been new outriggers, new rear cross member with legs, chassis patched, new seatbelts, windscreen wipers, cambelt, wheel bearing oil seals door hinges and many many other things all on a vehicle purchased with a current MOT!!!!! Anyway my new problem is with the plastic cowl in the engine bay that covers and directs the airflow from the fan as it keeps touching the fan and keeps dropping even after re-positioning and drilling and fixing in place. Has anyone else had this problem? I thought of perhaps a shaped conforming stainless band to change the shape of the cowl aperture or even more drastic cut the cowl to just miss the fan tips as the 200tdi seems to run cold anyway. Any help gratefully received thanks. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Hi James done a lot of work since I saw you at Xmas, all sounds good. the plastic fan cowling shoulf be sat in 2 small right angle clips at the bottom of the radiator frame & held by 2 8mm nuts on to studs on the top cross plate of the radiator frame, this should hold it lear of the fan without the fan touching the inside. this photo of mine shows the 2 8mm nuts [in yelow rings areas] I don't have a photo of the bottom edge clips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Two-Jacks Posted July 5, 2009 Author Share Posted July 5, 2009 Hi Jamesdone a lot of work since I saw you at Xmas, all sounds good. the plastic fan cowling shoulf be sat in 2 small right angle clips at the bottom of the radiator frame & held by 2 8mm nuts on to studs on the top cross plate of the radiator frame, this should hold it lear of the fan without the fan touching the inside. this photo of mine shows the 2 8mm nuts [in yelow rings areas] I don't have a photo of the bottom edge clips. Hi Ralph thanks for the reply.It seems very similar exept my cowl is self tappererd on I think the problem is the clips may have bent when they put the 200tdi in as a replacement for the petrol unit I will try and bend the clips over but yesterday we tried all manner of combinations ..well its probably like all LR problems experience and persisitance is the key. By the way the 90 smokes when started and run very hard do you think this is because its not been started all but about twice for about 5 mins total for the best part of six months as It didnt smoke when we came all the way back on the M6 from the frozen north in December? Their I go again seeking re-assurance Cheers for the help I will keep you posted. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 probably needs a good long run with some injector cleaner added to the tank, get the engine fully warmed to normal operating temp, most tdi's have a puff of moke at start up, normally it's the bit of extra fuel pushed in during the cold start, once started it should clear fairly quick, mine sometimes smokes a bit white after being sat all day & moving away at part throttle. sounds like your cowl is a bit bodged on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 If you have the 200TDi conversion, then the fan will hit the cowl as you will have lowered the radiator in order to get it to fit. This then puts the cowl lower down in relation to the fan, and the fan will then hit it at the top or passenger side. When I've done this conversion - I've either left the cowl off or trimmed the fan blades so that this doesn't happen, or fitted a leccy fan. Either method will work fine. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Two-Jacks Posted July 5, 2009 Author Share Posted July 5, 2009 If you have the 200TDi conversion, then the fan will hit the cowl as you will have lowered the radiator in order to get it to fit. This then puts the cowl lower down in relation to the fan, and the fan will then hit it at the top or passenger side. When I've done this conversion - I've either left the dowl off or trimmed the fan blades so that this doesn't happen, or fitted a leccy fan. Either method will work fine.Les. Thanks Les, I will give it a try. Cheers James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyboy Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Hi Minime, I have the proper Defender 200Tdi and my fan touched the cowl too. It had deformed on the drivers side at the top, I think the underbonnet insulation rested on it and this may have deformed it over a period of time. I cured it by fitting an electric fan . I had noticed that it was worse when the engine was cold, yet the viscous fan should not really drive in these conditions, An electric fan should give better fuel economy too so it was a win win situation for me. Mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Hi Minime,I have the proper Defender 200Tdi and my fan touched the cowl too. It had deformed on the drivers side at the top, I think the underbonnet insulation rested on it and this may have deformed it over a period of time. my 110 is a retro-fit 200TDi kit [genuine] & the fan/cowling doesn't foul at all, the under bonnet insulation pad shouldn't be anywhere near the rad cowling as the bonnet pin/buffers on the front inner edge should keep the bonnet clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyboy Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 my 110 is a retro-fit 200TDi kit [genuine] & the fan/cowling doesn't foul at all, the under bonnet insulation pad shouldn't be anywhere near the rad cowling as the bonnet pin/buffers on the front inner edge should keep the bonnet clear. Hi Ralph, I think the insulation has sagged, much like the headlining, The fan cowl had a definite oval shape set into it, it was like that when I bought the car. I didn't bother trying to repair it as it was always my intention to fit an electric fan. Regards, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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