Is this normal!

[Rem]

I had a aspirated Defender, 1985?, years ago which apart from one engine rebuild due to me being dumb, it never went wrong... ever.

So I got this 96 300tdi, and the list is getting ever longer. Windscreen wipers that do their own thing or nothing at all, or even fall off altogether. Fixed I think now...

Doors which open as you go around a corner. Doors which lock themselves when you get out to do a gate or something. Very inconvenient if you aren't carrying a spare key to unlock it again.... Argh.

A de-mister that fogs up the windows worse than you started with. Brakes which don't really...

God only knows why I love these blooming things so much when it spends very little time actually working!

[Mutley]

No it's NOT normal! If it was normal you would have mentioned how it leaks at every joint/seal! How it needs 2weeks notice before the heater begins to work! How none of the wires correspond to any known LR manual! Looks to me like you have dropped lucky!?!..... You only have half the problems the rest of us have. Soooo jealous Mutley

[Snagger]

The heater issues sound normal, but it's worth checking the rubber drain plug i the heater intake duct is clear of debris, otherwise the duct and heater matrix fill with rain water and will be blowing humidified air over the screen. The door locks sound to be worn out or maladjusted - I have no problems at all with mine. Defender wipers aren't great, but they're slightly better than SIII wipers! You might have been having wiring problems or a faulty park switch, and the splines on the wiper arms and bosses can wear, causing them to be slack or fall off, but it sounds like you have already dealt with that.

The truth is that many LRs are old and tired and most are not maintained well. This gives them a bad reputation and many common faults tend to be regarded as normal when they are merely all too common. It's the same with brakes and steering - while hardly precise or sporty, they should be firm and effective, but both have reputations for sloppiness and ineffectiveness because so many vehicles have not been well maintained.

[western]

find the defender heater checks post I wrote in the tech archive index, check/adjust your heater control cables, then that bit will work better.

wipers may need the motor & drive cable removing, cleaning & regreasing, grease goes hard with age & dries out.

[JeffR]

Sounds relatively un-bodged to me....

[Rem]

Hey, thanks for the support

Yer, the wipers, that was an epic in itself. Mainly thanks to ****part wheel boxes which obviously didn't fit. Four days later it was all back together though..... And..... Working LOL

[Snagger]

I had Britpart wiper boxes, which I replaced later with genuine, and to be fair, they appear to be identical.. That Bitpart batch may have been from the OEM. Their wiper cable, on the other hand, was much springier, allowing oversweep on a wet screen and blade damage. The new genuine cable has vastly reduced that.

[Meatslicer]

defender Series-style doors are pretty bomb proof and much simpler. Made on the same jig as defender doors and have anti burst locks which don't jam or lock unless you want them to. They also give more cabin room because they don't have winders or door cards.

I have a puma heater retro fitted to mine which has fixed plastic channels bolted to a steel pole mounted inside the dash. Instead of the standard heater I will be plumbing in a webasto heater which will heat up instantly instead of waiting for the engine to supply heat. the puma blower is pretty good and the switches are more definite so the demister is the only thing getting air when its switched in. Sealing the joins with rubber paint makes them stay in and stay efficient.

Eric

[Rem]

The curved top on the Bitpart wheel boxes weren't curved enough so didn't clamp the cable tube in line with the gear in the wheel box. Even after some fabrication the cable still didn't run smoothly. So it went back together with all of the original bits just clean and greased up.

The motor was something else. Lots of dremel time on the casting where the cable lug sits was quite different to the one that came out.

I'm interested to hear about the Series door conversion as I could see that a little more space would be good in the cab.

[Snagger]

Series III door conversion:

Retain the original hinges and mirrors. You will need the door tops and bottoms, check rod and bracket (this is secured to the A-pillar using three bolts into captive nuts, two of which are already fitted on Defender bulkheads and used for mounting the check-rod rail along the top of the foot well - you'll need to drill and fit a rivnut to the third, top bolt hole using the SIII bracket as a guide). The check rod has a rubber buffer stop and a triangular steel plate to prevent it falling out of the door track when the door is closed. The door top is secured tot he bottom by two large studs, so requires the nuts and washers for these studs. The lock is very similar to the rear door lock and uses similar captive nut and captive stud strip fixings, so get those, and you'll need the correct striker pin for the B-post (you may have to drill new bolt holes).

If you can find the rarer SII door bottoms, they are the same as SIII in every way but the check rod - they have a rod that slides on a bulkhead track like the Defender and is just secured tot he front of the door frame by a clevis pin - this might be compatible, with some creativity, with the Defender check rod system.

The later 110 alloy door tops, as used on MoD Defenders and Wolfs, are much better than the SII and SIII type, so go for those - they're more robust and have better ventilation and alignment.

[Meatslicer]

I got my series-style two part doors from an E Bay seller who makes them on the same equipment as the defender doors (post 1991). They line up with the defender door frames really well and they are made with the choice of anti burst or non anti burst style locks. They also have the door switch actuator panel for the alarm and courtesy light. They are a direct replacement for the defender doors that have door cards and rust prone bottoms. You can drive in summer (!) with just the lower section of the door on, or bolt on the glazed upper section for the (Ahem) winter. The check plate is the standard defender type. They are etch primed grey so just need painting in your choice of colour. £120 the pair. Bargain!

I over painted mine in silver hammerite, three layers on the inner panels to help keep them rust free, the skins are alloy so they will be painted desert cream colour when it comes time to finish them.

Hope this helps

Eric