ldtopham Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 I thought I would just note that I have had some excellent service from The Huddersfield Land Rover Centre today I've had my Defender nigh on 3 months now and have gone through allsorts of repairs and modifications carried out by yours truly. After overhauling the front and rear brakes/ swivels/ bearings/ drive members/halshafts etc etc, changing cambelt, de-coking cylinder head, rebuilding brake calipers, re-build turbo, remove egr, t/c manifold, fit new wheels, underseal chassis, fit galv roofrack, fit 12v power sockets, paint wheel arch eye brows,fit new carpets (a little embarrassed as I know they're a bit sofftie for a real LR!), Exmmor seats, fabricate a steps suitable for disabled entry to the passenger front sea but to name a few jobs I've done ........Mid week this week my steering box dropped it's guts . I found a recon the same day and finished fitting it last night, on the drive in the dark......set off to work to give it a 6 mile shakedown this morning as I been down to the wire on getting it completed only to describe what could be best described as towing a bag of spanners behind me type noise. I phoned the HLRC at 15:00 to check that they had a couple of front prop U/J's in stock as this was all I could find after re-checking all the abvious. I promptly raced over to get them. As time was real short and I wasn't sure that this was the only source of noise (sure it wasn't but they were in dire need of replacement) they found time to change them out for me. I took it for a quick drive and the noise was still there. At this point most of the mechanics had gone home and locked the place up. Without any issues the chaps still left got my Defender back on the ramps and took the rear wheels off. All we could find was slack fitting pad retaining pins. We tire wrapped between the 2 to diagnose if they were chattering and after a quick drive down their lane all was well. I got home and fitted a spare kit I had and all is now perfect. I have always done all my own work on my vehicles and as I was so pressed for time and needed to diagnose any further issues felt like the Huddersfield Land Rover Centre came up trumps. Thank you to Mark and Michael (I think it was Michael ) Now ready to fully laden it for our hols in the morning! BTW I have no connection just felt they deserved a mention. Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulN Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 It appears that there is not much love abound in here for them that's called 'Main Stealers' - I'm one of those cynical b*****rs too! For whatever mark of vehicle one has at the time there is a problem, and your in deep plop, you will encounter a generally a lack of empathy or enthusiasm to do anything properly for you except to make a strong case to take as much of your hard earned cash as possible. However just occasionally the is a real gem of a person that is worth his or her weight in gold beavering within the annals of some of these places. It's all down to the individual at the end of the day and (good on you for reporting it) - you seem to have found a couple. There ought to be a system whereby one could report these few to the relevant Authorities as and when they're found -- so they can get a free start up grant and begin life anew as Independents on their own terms!!! Well done again for giving some good news its due feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldtopham Posted August 18, 2009 Author Share Posted August 18, 2009 Well, just returned from an excellent week away in Somerset. The Defender didn't miss a beat, not one issue. Considering the amount of work I had done prior to this little jaunt I was well chuffed. It had all the ingredients of a disaster waiting to happen, wife, 3 kids under 4yr and the mother-in-law meant any hiccups would be the least of my troubles I managed to fill the rear to the roof with kit and also half the NATO roof rack. Cruised at 65mph no worries, EGT's never went above 608 deg c (bit of room for pump tuning) and returned 21.7mpg when laden. Did a total of 800miles in the week and had a blast. The Exmoor seats made a big difference to the comfort in the rear I fabricated a step for the mother-in-law to manage getting in and out with(she has mobility problems and there was no way she was getting in with the standard step) to save on having to take two vehicles and that worked great, you can just see it in one of the pics. HD springs may be the order of the day as it's too soft as it is. Since returning home I have acquired a new fault which I will start a separate thread about. Oh and I do seem to have one serious problem.......there doesn't appear to be any leaks any more is this normal Looks like my little Audi may be up for sale soon as the LR now has it's seal of family approval and is loaded up again tonight awaiting tommorows tip run! I haven't asked a lot of questions in my short time on this site but have gleaned plenty of good info using the search facility. Many thanks, Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Tonkin Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 It appears that there is not much love abound in here for them that's called 'Main Stealers' - I'm one of those cynical b*****rs too! For whatever mark of vehicle one has at the time there is a problem, and your in deep plop, you will encounter a generally a lack of empathy or enthusiasm to do anything properly for you except to make a strong case to take as much of your hard earned cash as possible. However just occasionally the is a real gem of a person that is worth his or her weight in gold beavering within the annals of some of these places. It's all down to the individual at the end of the day and (good on you for reporting it) - you seem to have found a couple. There ought to be a system whereby one could report these few to the relevant Authorities as and when they're found -- so they can get a free start up grant and begin life anew as Independents on their own terms!!! Well done again for giving some good news its due feedback. Argh, comic sans! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulN Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Nice story and nice truck.! Feels like more of an adventure somehow in one of those...... Love the neat steps too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldtopham Posted August 18, 2009 Author Share Posted August 18, 2009 Nice story and nice truck.! Feels like more of an adventure somehow in one of those...... Love the neat steps too! I think your spot on with the adventure journey's as I don't think it will see a great deal of off road work whilst I own it but either way the kids and the missus love it and as I'm into all things mechanical it gives me an excuse to get out the house an into the workshop on a regular basis! I had the foresight to add x3 12v power sockets before we set off so the kids were set up for DVD's and the DS console........don't know how we'd have lasted 6 hours on the journey without those in any vehicle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alantd Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 He He. Great adventure. I did a similar thing - 4 adults and a 2 year old + luggage up to the roof - up to Scotland and back. Just over 1200 miles round trip with no issues. Everyone loved it and it was much more fun than traveling in a convoy of cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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