Defender 110 3.5L V8 1991

Camping Trailer - nearly ready for its first outing.

2020-06-06T07:41:00.001-07:00

Back on to the trailer, the next task was to make a new bulkhead at the end of the trailer.

For this I used a bit of box section welded on to the tub cappings.

Which were reinforced with some angled sections either end.

Which were welded into place.

And riveted to the door stays.

Next up I set about mounting the lights.

This included extending wires.

I wasn’t able to complete all connectors and light mounts as I brought the wrong type of connectors for the brake lights and also didn’t get plinths for the fog and reverse light.

The sankey trailer also didn’t have a reverse light, but it does have two fogs so I’ll change one to fulfil this function.

But at the end of the day I hooked it up to the Defender and tested it all out.

Starting to look good!

The next day and this is what awaits!

The tasks were to change the plug and lead to 13pin type, add in front indicators and side lights, and change one fog to reverse.

Done!

Attaching the new plug.

Fixing the new lead into place.

I then pulled the permanent live and ignition live up into the trailer.

Then to swap over the Defenders 7 pin to a 13 pin! What a pain. I had to create an ignition live as there wasn’t one at the back.

I’ve also decided to relocate the trailer sockets from the demountable tow bars to the underside of the back, just above the chassis rail.

The original idea of having demountable sockets was good, but with the move to 13pin it would be a bit of a faff.

That was a day and half of work! But the electrics are now done, and also fitted the remaining lights.

Next task - the front end panel. To fit this I would need to remove the flange to the front that the door seals would have attached to.

Done

Then out with the old bulkhead.

I was waiting for metal at this point so moved on to fitting the bumpers are the back.

To install these I would need to overcome the issue noted earlier where I would not have access to two bolts at the back of the cross member due to chassis position.

For this I installed a captive nut welded into some tube.

These holes needed enlarging.

One done next one lined up.

All done.

And ground back to smooth.

Bumpers on.

I then wanted to tidy up where the old bulkhead was removed.

I then moved to the rear door for the last task of the day, as a window will not be needed a metal panel will be welded into place.

Next day I mounted the door to the body. And fitted the lock body.

Then the roof went back on, and the door seal was fitted.

I then moved onto install the front panel to the lower section, a sheet of aluminum was cut to shape.

And it was fixed into place using already available holes. The top where supports for the door reveals, the bottom where where the tub is fixed to the cab of the Defender. These had rivet nut fitted into them.

The cappings were next.

I was then able to fit the last of the lights.

I was then out of parts so returned to the failure of a brake line. At this stage I wasn’t able to identify what thread was required for the brake fitting so I decided to make my own elbow.

This would be made from a section of round bar I had that was just the right size! Bit of luck.

On the lathe I drilled a 3mm hole within, then a bigger hole part way down, which was tapped at 12mm x1, then a chamfer was added to one end, part parted off, and chamfer the other end.

Not a bad match, but mating surfaces were next.

A hole was then drilled and hey presto!

I then had to make up new brake lines, I hate this bit.

But with the new elbow installed the brake lines turned out better than before so all good.

Next task was to cut the side panels to angle.

One down:

Bending the edge, without a press brake.

And the other side.

The end of the panels had a fixing arrangement that had to be modified. Here you can see the sections.

All mounted and in place.

Top panel next.

A lot of measuring took place prior to cutting and it was still oversized, but better than being undersized!

I installed aluminum angle to the edges as a capping, and was in two minds whether or not to weld the lower and upper sections together - though it might be a risk with my bad welding skills, but when they sat next to each other it didn’t look right so I gave it a go. What's the worst that could happen!

That leaves only one side to fix, the top.

Time to replace the rear quarter glass

Some electrics

Time for a few small bits while parts arrive.

Lighting strip

Bottle opener

At this point I planned out how to wire the electrics of the trailer.

Door gas strut.

Then the battery arrived so made up a simple battery tray out of some aluminum angle and an old strap. This will be riveted on to the tub. It was also a good chance to practice a bit more TIG.

Another part came in and got fitted, 240v inlet. I made a cardboard template for this.

Then this was used to create the opening in the front.

Fitted - of course it rained just before I finished.

Next day, next task - mud flaps! On a Defender this is an easy task, but this is not a Defender…..

The issue with the sankey trailer chassis is that the ladder beams are much further apart which means the mud flap brackets are too long. The are also too low. So to overcome this a new hangar was required.

I left them long just in case the hanger isn’t strong enough. If they prove to be OK as is, I’ll trim them down. I’d also add that the bottoms of the side panels needed repairing as a lot of the aluminum had pulled or rotted away. So this was done at the same time, and the stiffening bars refitted.

Isolator and battery charger fitted - at this point I’m waiting for some cable and a relay.

Trailer on charge via the hook up.

Side by side. Looking good, but would be better if it was painted.

A few finishing items, fitting a plug holder.

An access door for the electrical items.

First I made a template

Which was used to mark out the opening.

Then the hole was cut and the door mounted

Only a few jobs left to tackle before the maiden voyage!

Odd Jobs

2020-04-24T12:41:00.001-07:00

The COVID-19 pandemic, while filled with uncertainty and misfortune for everyone has had some positives when you look beyond the obvious.

I was made Furloughed a few weeks into the situation, which wasn’t ideal as I was working on a reduced salary, but I was able to commit all my time to my projects! This meant I was able to spend far more time on the Land Rover than I would have been able to normally, and perhaps ever!

So I tackled some jobs that I had been putting off.

In truth these jobs started mid way through part of the trailer project which will appear in the next post, but this post will be nice and quick and the other is still developing.

Direct to battery Anderson connectors - I’ve always had the idea of installing Anderson connectors front and back to allow jumping / charging of the battery without the need to get at the battery. Well well messing around with trailer electrical connections (next post) I install the front.

Next on the hit list: Tachometer. I’d used this before for testing but never installed it so here we go! First I set it up to make sure I had the right connection points.

Ran all the cables and mounted in, turned out to be fairly easy.

Binnacle mount - just like most Defenders mine suffered with broken plastic binnacle mounts.

So off with the old.

And here is the new.

This is why this job is a pain.

Forgot to get a fitted picture - maybe later……

Alpine seals - when I re-built the Defender all those years ago I didn’t realise that the apline seals came in two parts - outer seal and filler. As a result I used the old filler which was pretty poor back then, really bad now. Since then I’ve always had a slight leak in the cabin, which I suspected was from these poor seals. So time to change out for new.

New installed - with a bit of a clean up too.

And then I’m pleased to say the old girl got a much needed clean.

Making the most of a bad situation.

Interior Trim

2020-04-24T12:07:00.001-07:00

Now that the head lining is in, I’m able to fit the interior trim to the walls, I’ve got my old trims and the idea is that these will be covered in material to make them look new.

But first I finished off the sunroof trim which I was missing clips for.

This is the material opted for, is a leatherette type material.

I cleaned off the trim cards, have been stored for 10 years they’ve picked up some dust.

I then started fitting the material with glue, this did not go well. The straight runs were fine but in the corners and edges it was impossible to get the material to sit right. I tried cutting it into runs and even this didn’t work.

In the end I pulled the material off and cleaned off the glue. A new plan was needed. I did a lot of research and was fairly convinced that Raptor was the way to go. However I called up Buzzweld and they recommended something different - plastics in one.

B Pillar trims ready to go.

First coat to first batch, looking good.

The next day after drying I compared the new and old finishes

At this point I’m really happy the trims look like new, and very original. However the next challenge awaits, the trims i have have picked up some damage through use, the idea of the raptor was that the thick paint would coat over these marks, but plastics in one is a very light paint. To fix the damage I used glue which was sanded once dried.

This is the finished result, I’m so pleased with how it ended up, the damage that was repaired with glue is almost invisible, if you look close enough it can be seen as it’s smooth while the rest is textured, but you really have to be looking.

On to the install - after sufficient drying time! First removal of seat belts.

Then horrifically, I had to cut holes in the new roof lining to fit the trim, not a nice job!

At this point i also remembered I broke one of the retaining clips, so a new one was needed. But this part is not available! Typical.

So I needed to make a new one, I cut out a bit of steel to match.

And needed to put a bend in the end so found a socket that was the same radius.

And weld into place without melting the trim! And set at it with a hammer. This is the end result.

Now to weld it in place without melting the trim. Damp cloth at the ready.

And that's as good as I'll get.

Both window trims in place.

Middle roof trim with handle added in.

And the other side

With the dog guard in place.

All done! Trim for the first time in 10 years!!

Continuing with the Camping Trailer

2020-03-28T11:32:00.003-07:00

Following on from where I left off: the front body mounts. I’m going to mount outriggers to the trailer in the same place where they would have been in the Defender. As can be seen below, the metal in this area is pretty poor so will need to be made good at some point in the future.

I started by cutting to sections of plate to fix behind these parts, positioning and marking the holes to be drilled. The steel i’m using is recycled / scrap material from work, so there were already some holes.

These were drilled out.

Cleaned up ready for welding and bolting into place. At this point I made sure the body was sat in the correct position on the trailer.

From here I clamped the steel support to the plate.

Tacked it in place.

And then unbolted the body and pushed it back a bit, welded them fully and slapped on some Red Oxide.

Onto the rear cross member, where the frame meets the cross member is directly in line with the two bolt holes for the rear steps, so will need to weld in a captive nut at some point, but not yet. I mounted the cross member.

And with a bit of cardboard I made some templates for part of the mounting, marking the cross member in the process so I can clean it.

I then unbolted the cross member for cleaning and stripping back paint in prep for welding. The steel sections that would have mounted the cross member to the Defender chassis needed to be removed. Luckily this is a Britpart cross member and they knocked off with a hammer.

I then mounted the cross member to the tub and got underneath to tack it up. At this point I ran out of welding gas, so it looks awful, but it was strong enough to hold it in place while I took the body off.

I then made up the other sections of the plates, and tacked them into place.

And fully welded.

And then another session with the red oxide.

The next task was to strengthen the front outriggers so that if they contact the ground, or surroundings off roading they put up a bit of a fight. Cleaned the metal in prep for welding.

Cut a section of plate and support in place.

And welded it up.

I also wanted to strengthen up the newly extended section, initially i was going to fit a welded cross section of box, but instead opted for 10mm flat plate in an H Shape, this can now also double as a storage tray.

And fully welded.

And some more red oxide!

The tub then went back on, and got a clean.

Then the side panels were stuck on.

From here I needed to work out what angle was needed on the front of the panels. This is required to allow enough distance between the top of the trailer and the top of the Defender so that when tackling slopes the two won’t clash.

Once this was decided on, the length of the roof was known, and it was time to cut it to this right length.

Front cut off and starting on the rear.

Then mounted the two sections in place.

I used panel clamps to retain the two sections while they were welded.

Now my welding ability is not the best, my TIG welding ability is worse, and aluminum is really hard if you have no skill. So after burning a nice big hole on the edge of the panel I set about riveting a section of aluminum on the inside, which would be removed after.

Which worked OK, I still can’t TIG but I can grind it back.

At this point my gas bottle fell over and destroyed the regulator, so that stopped that. Hopefully I can get a new one before Corna stops everything.

But I had other stuff to do, so I moved onto the brake line extension.

After getting the extension in, mounting all the new fittings I learnt that the new fitting was not the right one, so thought I'd use the old one, but to do this it would need some repair as it was mullered while removing.

The plan was to bore out a nut and weld it on.

This worked well, for about 30mins, but the weld did not hold and the nut came off. Back to trying to find the right part!

Head Lining Trim

2020-01-09T05:55:00.000-08:00

Just before Christmas (7+ weeks before), I treated the Defender to something I'd been looking forward to installing for some time. A new head-lining trim! The old version was removed some time ago now and even then was in poor condition as these things tend to be, especially when the previous owner fitted a roof rack by drilling into the roof, letting water in. Even back then when it was removed I knew what I wanted to fit - LaSalle Trim.

As it's been such a long time since then and now, that LaSalle have expanded their offerings to include different finishes. After consideration I purchased the full 110 CSW lining in the luxury finish RAL 9005 - Jet Black.

The product is sturdy, strong and has a fluffy finish. It's made from a Glass fibre product with the finish sprayed on - I've seen this finish before but can't think where. I like it a lot. The black I chose is very very black, it looks great, but is so dark it's difficult to take pictures of! Either way very impressed so far.

The first part of the install was to fit the front section, my Defender has a sun roof, and fortunately I had the foresight to save the original lining from this area so I could trace in the opening and cut out the new. This is probably the most well planned thing, that I've remember during this whole time!

The only way I was able to accurately marked the head lining was to fit the original on the finished side, mark with a pen, and drill the marks. This meant I was able to use the jig saw to cut from the other side without damaging the finish.

Next up I removed the lights I had temporally wired in.

And fitted the new section, which in this photos was held in place by the (scabby looking) mirror bracket.

There was a small bit of trimming to do, so it came down to enable this. At the same time (as time with my assistant was limited), I got the back section into place.

Temporally screwed into place, with hole for the lights and cable.

I then put back in place the front section, and drilled the centre section to allow the fitting of the light.

Here we have all 3 sections in place, with door trims, final black fixtures, and lights fully mounted. Trim around the sunroof, and refitting the dog guard will be another post.

I'm really pleased with the result and the way it looks. Makes the Defender a much nice place to be. When I opened the packaging I was a little worried that the surface would be really hard to clean, but during all the works I've learnt that it's pretty easy. I found an airline or lint brush does a great job.

The process of install was fiddly, but the instructions were clear. Definitely worth having another pair of hands on the job!

Up next will be the side trims - recover and fit!

Slick Shift Install

2019-09-12T03:34:00.000-07:00

Today I’ve done something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Install a Syncro Gearboxes Slick Shift. The reasons I’ve not been able to do this before is they did not make a slick shift to suit the LT85 which I have in my Defender. But recently they released a new version!

I won’t go into too much detail on this install as the YouTube instructions they have are very good. Y first task however is not normal. And that is to cut the transmission tunnel back further to allow access. Normally this would not be required, but I have and R380 tunnel tube in place, so that later I can fit the Exmoor moulded matting system to the front – again LT85 not being very popular meant there is a matting system for this type of gear box / vehicle combination. As you can see in the pictures I can’t access the top of the shift box.

So out with the Dremel. A tool a seldom use as it’s pretty useless, and surprisingly very poor quality – it’s already whining and splitting in two after very little use. However, for this job it worked well. Its not the neatest of jobs, but when I reshape the top of the tunnel, I’ll take care of this.

Removed the old parts ready for cleaning.

These screws where a pain – as suggested in the video. I got a bit of heat into them and they eventually came out.

All nicely fitted.

Although between the last two photos was a lot of messing around. Once fitted – with grease and silicone sealant, I couldn’t get reverse. I tried this a few time, cleaning and refitting grease and silicone multiple times – very messy! In the end I worked out that if I fitting all parts, lightly tightened the bolts that hold it down, and then select reverse, and fully tightened, this solved the issue and it worked find.

I think this issue is just a by-product of my old worn box, and a difficult reverse. Either way, it’s all done now and a great improvement on gear changes!

Sankey Camping Trailer project.....

2019-09-12T01:53:00.000-07:00

In a slight deviation from the Defender project I’ve started a camping trailer project too! Why finish one project when I can have multiple on the go! I’ve always planned on doing this, but was planning to do so after the Defender was complete. But things have switched up a bit as parts of the build have come available cheap on the net, and the desire to want to use it now that investment has started.

I was wanting to recreate the classic back of a Defender on a trailer, so wanted to have something which would have similar wheel base / size to a Defender. So, it started off that I was going to use a ¾ ton Sankey Trailer as this fits the bill, which I got fairly early on as I could use it as a normal trailer until the time came. But the more I used it, the more I got to thinking how I would miss it once it was converted. And so the plan changed again, keep the Sankey, and look for a second trailer…..

Shortly in to 2019 and I spotted a frame trailer, ex-military used for transporting water tankers, Nato hitch, 2t capacity, and a lot cheaper than the Sankey was! And same wheel track /size. So I thought that’s that done, brought it and got it home.

I then started thinking about how suitable the new trailer would be for the purpose of camping trailer. A few of the points which raised concern were:

1. The new trailer has a much higher load rating

2. It has less suspension travel

3. And it’s frame / overall height is lower

The issues with these points are that fact that as a camping trailer it would never be loaded close to its rated load capacity, which would mean the suspension wouldn’t be compressed, and operating fully (if at all, unloaded it bounced down the road when I collected!). If the suspension wasn’t working, and it bounced all the time, it would shake everything up and make it worse to use off road, or at all.

The lack of suspension movement would limit its stability off road, and the height of it would mean the Defender body would need to be stuck on large spacers to ensure the trailer body line matched that of my Defender’s body line, and possibly due to the hitch height may be at a steep angle.

So, a new plan was needed. And what you see below is the start of this new plan. The idea is that I will take part of the Sankey – tub, rear cross-member and transfer to the water trailer. This will give me a Sankey-ish trailer with a higher load rating that I can use for transporting stuff and waste.

Then mount the Defender body onto the Sankey frame and build from there - as originally planned.

So the start, a perfectly good 3/4 t Sankey.

And a perfectly good water bowser trailer. With the support legs removed.

Off with the Sankey tub

Then off with the cross member and lights within.

Then removed the wheel arches, and welded on some extensions on the front and braces to the centre of the water bower trailer to support the tub.

Cut the back-marker triangle off. A welded on some plates to allow the trailer frame and Sankey cross member to line up.

Weld the Sankey cross member on.

Popped the body on and bolted it up.

There is still some work to do to finish this but it works for now. Jobs to complete for work trailer: wire electrics, replace jockey wheel, and re-fit lashing points inside.

I then moved on to the camping trailer. I offered up the body and worked out what needed to move. There were two eyelets on the front that had to be cut off, and the brake reservoir needs to be relocated. There is enough room in the back to mount the new cross member, but the front A frame needs to be extended by about 400mm to give clearance of swing from the tow vehicle. The body also needs to be raised up to get the line correct.

Here it is with the body sat on the trailer without the packing to achieve height.

I then took the body off and began work on the chassis extension. I started by cleaning the area to be cut, and marking it with pen. I opted for this point as this is the max width that will fit under the front part of the Defender tub, and it also means that the brake reservoir would be moved also - which needed to happen and I don;t ave to mess around with the brake linkage, just extend the brake line.

Then on to the point of no return: cutting.

I then offered up the two new extension pieces, clamped them in place and tack welded.

The end section of the trailer was then stripped of all parts, and clamped, followed by some tack welds.

The whole thing was then fully welded after some tweaking to make sure everything is where it’s meant to be.

I remounted all the front end kit (jockey wheel / tow Point), then gave it a quick spray to stop it rusting.

Once I’ve mounted the body fully I’m come back and weld some plates top and bottom to stiffen is up as has been done on the rest of the trailer.

The next task was to mount the rails the tub would sit on. Firstly I test fitted the body on some loose bits of metal. I started with 75mm, after measuring the tub and it’s recesses. It lined up fine.

The next task was to weld in the bars that the will tub sit on.

I found some red oxide so gave everything a coat for temp rust prevention while it’s being worked on. Mounted the rubber pads to the bars to stop vibration. Normally these are mounted to the underside of the tub, but I opted for this way.

Stuck the body on to make sure I was still happy.

Which I am, looking good so far. Next is the front tub bolting points, and the rear cross member, and that should be the body mounted. But that is all for today.

Rear Axle Air Locker Install

2019-08-06T06:36:00.000-07:00

As noted in the prior post, I opted to complete the rear locking diff install at the same time as I did the front. Jumping between the two when parts / time permits. I completed the front relatively quickly, along with compressor and other bits, as these were comparatively easy jobs. The rear diff was more involved, and as such I’ve only just completed it. As with all things in life, it’s easy when you know how, unfortunately I don’t have a clue!

You may note that this diff is being installed into an axle that is not fitted to the Defender, which having just finished it I’m glad of as this would have been a complete nightmare to do if fitted!

The reason the axle is off is because this is another axle, new to me. I brought this as I noted an error in my welding of the brackets to the other Sailsbury, which meant the axle did not sit square with the chassis. Resulting in a crabbing vehicle. Making it more of a challenge to drive, and near impossible to align all the wheels, again adding to the drive-ability. So this was brought, cleaned and painted, stored ready for fitment. The idea is I’ll pull everything off the old(ish) axle from the stub axle and stick on the newer axle which is still relatively new.

So here it is, the new axle ready to have it’s transplant. Unfortunately, it’s taken a bit of beating in my garage so the paint needs a refresh.

And here is the shiny new ARB Air Locker with the install kit.

There are a few special tools that the manual, both LR and ARB, advise are needed. And not only are these hard to get but also expensive when you can find them. To combat this, I’ve opted to make my own. These are diff spreader, pinion flange brace, DTI holder, and precision height gauge.

First up I made the diff spreader. The LR part for this is really hard to find, the ARB version is over £300. The idea with this part is that it pulls the diff apart by 0.5mm to ease the install of the diff into the case.

This was made up of a steel plate either side to act as the spreading structure.

Made up with brackets to support threaded rod to spread the diff. The plates were drilled to allow citing bolts – these bolts do not take the horizontal load but stop the plates from rising up under load. Lugs were welded into the bottom to fit into the spreading holes within the diff housing.

I left the bolts used to create the lugs long and used a welded nut to mount them, this enabled a bit of adjustability. Once the correct depth was determined these were welded into place, and the frame stamped to indicate direction of use.

This is the frame with all parts fitted and ready to use. I went a bit overboard on the treaded rod size, but it make it easy to spread the diff.

The first job was to measure the existing backlash for future records.

Then the diff was spread (spreader working very well), and diff removed.

Now the new diff was assembled and ready to fit, I started making the next tool, Pinion flange brace. This was just a section of angle with bolts welded into it to hold the pinion flange while the nut was undone.

Once that was made the pinion was removed, and the old bearing race removed also. Allowing the new bearing to be installed.

The pinion was then reinstalled using the correct shim value. Which was obtained by using the last two special tools. Precision height gauge, which for a Salisbury is 30.93mm. I had this made by a small engineering firm as they could get the required tolerance. The other was the DTI holder.

This process involved using a flat plate and the gauge block to get zero and then measuring the bearing race cups from a DTI that mounted to the pinion gear, splitting the difference and determining shim value. This took a lot of messing around, so I ground down the older bearing race so that the new race did not need to be fitted and removed multiple times, as this is a very tight fit. The ground down race dropped in and out with issue.

Pinion now in.

Then the pinion was covered over with cloth, and the new hole in the diff case for the airline was made.

The shim and backlash calculations were made as advised in the ARB instructions and the diff fitted. Airline bent into place.

The last few steps above made the fitting of the diff sound quick and easy, but the reality was far from it, there was a long time of fitting, removing, working out shims that went into the above. Coupled with other jobs, limited time on this, the whole process ran into months. I consulted forums and got good advice, such as only use genuine Timken bearings. And retracing the process from the start revealed a small mistake that caused issues later on. But nether the less it’s in.

Then I repainted it to make good to the damage that occurred during this time, and added the final fittings ready to be mounted.

Next step was to start the swap, firstly by removing the old(er) axle.

Bit of a crappy job, rolling on the floor, undoing rusty nuts under a propped vehicle. But went well with the exception of the self-levelling unit, which spilt in two and poured oil all over me. Seems the internal bar that goes through the centre has damaged thread. Another small issue was that a brake pipe fitting ceased and twisted the brake line, so this will need to be re-made.

Then I started to remove the components from the old axle.

And on to the new. At this point I also fitted the Ashcroft half shafts and drive flanges.

And repeat for the other side.

A rolling axle!

The axle was then rolled under the vehicle, springs and shocks connected. I also bolted into place the new trailing arms. I decided to switch the X-arms as these look to be a good products.

Once both arms were fitted I moved on to the a frame, minus the self leveller. Looking around on the net, the general consensus is to remove the self leveller permanent once it's failed and fit stiffer springs, or the 130 spring assisters. The springs I brought were intermediates so I'll run with these and either try and repair and fit the self leveller, or fit spring helpers if needed. The new brake line was made up and both sides fitted.

I also had some more goodies to fit. New diff slider, and an X-Deflect anti roll bar system. I did consider the ARB / D44 weld on pan, but thought this was a bit extreme for what I intend the Defender to be sued for, and the sliders are a good compromise. Similarly the X-Deflect will hopefully make the Defender a lot nicer to drive on the road, lifted with bigger tyre can make it a hand full sometimes.

Diff slider in.

And then the X-deflect in.

Job done! This bit has been in the making for some time, so it’s good to have it done. Now… what to do next?

Front Axle Part 2

2018-09-12T11:55:00.002-07:00

So the last installment saw me start the repair / refurbish works to the front axle, and as with most jobs I undertake on my Defender, it has expanded to a much bigger undertaking. This part probably more so then any other.

Towards the end of the first period of works I realised that I needed a new diff to fit the Ashcroft shafts, and so a purchase was made, I opted to get the diff pegged and to have the Ashcroft locker added.

Some may think that a locker is an odd choice considering what I have planned for this vehicle – i.e. not a hard-core off roader, especially considering the combined cost of the front and rear locker with compressor. But having taken part in off road bits and bobs what I’ve noticed is the Defender does mostly fine with open diffs, but in situations where wheels lose contact with the ground a more committed approach (floor it) is required. And while this does the job it does open the vehicle up to greater chance of damage, whether that’s body or drive chain.

Looking at videos of drivers off roading with lockers installed, they can use a much slower steady pace to get over obstacles other have to drive at hard to get over.

I also considered E lockers, or Auto lockers, limited slips, but these don’t seem to be as good an option for off roading.

How the E-locker works is via a magnetic pin that scales a ramp to push in place a locking plate. It works well, but if you change direction, due to the ramped design, the diff opens up again. There are a couple of YouTube Videos demonstrating this. While this particular side effect isn’t a huge problem, it’s not ideal. The cost of E lockers seems a lot higher than that Air Lockers (based on Aus website prices, can’t find a UK dealer). A positive is that an air compressor and airline is not required. But typically it’s useful to lower tyre pressure and then increase again when going on and off road, so some form of compressor is needed, perhaps a cheaper portable version from Halfords, but on board air is plus.

ATB’s, Auto’s and Limited Slips, all take an amount of slips to take place before locking, which loses its effectiveness off road, and also allows wheel speed to be rapidly increased and then stopped by the automatic action (during wheel lift), which could potential introduce shock loading. Once again various YouTube clips show this in action.

There are other brands of air lock, but I know ARB & Ashcroft, have done since I got into Land Rovers, so with the tried and tested theory, it was ARB & Ashcroft.

Well the above is my logic behind my choice, I’m sure some will disagree, and have better ideas. Which is fine, but for me, that the plan!

The front Locker is an Ashcroft unit, as this is where I got the diff from so makes sense to get it all in one hit, and the install of this will be noted below as it’s just a bolt in job now the hard work is done. The rear will be an ARB as Ashcroft doesn’t make a locker for the Salisbury (Dana 60) Axle; so keep posted!

But now on to the continuation of the works. Firstly I finished off the brake callipers, new seals and paint top up, while waiting for the new goodies to arrive. Looking shinny. Let’s hope they work!

Then the big day came, and my new front Diff arrived.

The fitting of the diff while a little awkward was straight forward, if you had a ramp and transmission jack this would have been a doddle.

Back on with the diff guard. Done this before.

And run in the airline to the location of the compressor – a future post on the fitment of this will be uploaded. I topped up the oil and that was that for the diff.

My attention now goes back to the rest of the front axle. Its clear to see I’ve been putting this off, and the reason for this is that while stripping axle apart the two bolts that hold in the LHs calliper were seized solid. I had to drill them out, unfortunately in doing so I also drilled the thread pretty much wrote off the swivel case. This turned out to be a night mare to get hold of. In the end it was trip to a scrap yard that saved the day. But all the above took some time, hence why the ends are only being built up no. Though I would add this is, as recently I’ve looked back over my posts and noted that I’ve noted very little about the troubles I faced during these works, of which there are many! I will make a better effort to include this going forward.

First task was to fit the new bearing races to the hubs.

Then stuck the discs on the hubs.

Next was to install the swivels, upper pin in loosely first, and then the lower pin, with gasket. Tighten to full torque, remove the upper pin and add shims. Pull test with a spring balance to achieve correct figure, more or less shims to suit, and then tighten top bolts to torque. Don’t forget mud shield and brake brackets top and bottom.

Mud shields on.

Next up, CV’s and half shafts. Nice Ashcroft unites being installed, at this point I also connected the steering links.

Then on with the stub axles and stud mud shields.

I then packed out all 4 bearings with grease and installed into the hub ready for I fitting, along with the seal.

Stick the hub on, spacer and lock nut, DTI on to check free movement, adjusting lock nut as needed. Once at the correct value, lock ring on, not bent at this stage, 2nf lock nut, then re-DTI again to confirm all is good. Bend over the lock ring.

Drive member installed, again another Ashcroft item. Stick on a shim and the circlip, DTI half shaft movement. Adjust shim thickness to suit.

Stick on the drive member cap, and then on with the brakes with new pads.

Stick grease in the CV, as recommended by Ashcroft I used Morris K48.

Wheels back on, bleed the brakes – job done!

That took a while, starting end of July, complete early September! I still need to centre the front axle with the adjustable panhard bar, I will also re-test end movement on the half shafts, and hubs once it’s had a run just to make sure nothing has fallen out of tolerance. All tracking and steering needs to be set up too, but I will most likely take it to a garage with the correct equipment to do this.

ARB Compressor Install

2018-09-12T11:50:00.001-07:00

With all the adventures of the front axle and the requirement for installing a new diff, with air locker I’ve decided not to wait to install rear locker and compressor at the same time. So this post will cover the install of the compressor. Before I go through the details, I will note that I was very impressed with the comprehensive kit and instructions that came with the compressor, it made the installed very easy.

Firstly I decided on a location for the compressor, after a bit of through I opted to install under the drive seat, in the seat box. Have testing the location and marked it out, I drilled 4no holes.

Then made sure it was the correct size by offering up the backing plate.

Then drilled holes for wires, and airlines and fed in the wire.

Then mounted the compressor in its new home. I opted to fit the fuse and relay to the side of the box with captive nuts.

Then set about installing the pressure sensor and airline fitting to the compressor.

I cut a hole in the seat box cover so the airline fitting could poke out, which allows the use of the airline without lifting the cover. More on this is another post.

I also opted to relocate the air filter of the compressor so it’s not stuck in the seat box.

Last job was to run the wiring to the battery, and then to the dash and install the buttons.

As you can see from the picture I only have 4 switch spaces left in the dash, which will be used by the Windows and seat heaters. Leaving no room for anything else. I planned the dash and installed it a long time ago and things have moved on from these days so I think I will be calling Raptor for some new fascia’s, and I also have another plan to improve the dash, but more on this another day!

Seat Box Covers - Modification

2018-09-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

The seat boxes of Defenders have two storage boxes underneath, the passenger side houses the battery, and in my case batteries and aux fuses and relays. The driver’s side is empty, at least for me, not sure that’s the case with all models.

The covers for these storage areas are a slide in type that has a latch externally. The lids have guides on the bottom, and the seat boxes have a lip at the back to hold the cover in place – which I have removed.

I was never keen on the latch that they come with as they sit on the external face of the seat box, behind the driver’s leg, and the locking system is a padlock. So I’ve decided to modify the covers to take an internal latch and lock.

Opting to do this has presented some challenges, such as needing to bring the seat box cover upward through the seat base as the latch prevents it from sliding. And in turn the corners of the cover clashing with the lower seat frame. I’ve overcome this by trimming the corners of the cover, as you’ll see below. I also cut an opening for the new latch – passenger side.

To allow fitment of this catch.

As I had removed the lip at the back of the seat box, I welded in taps on the cover.

Then a bit of box section was added to the underside of the sea box to ensure the latch engages firmly. Drivers side.

Then a hole was cut into the drivers cover for the lock unit.

Then two bits of flat bar were bent to shape to hold the lock into place, then drilled and tapped to accept bolts.

Then theses were welded on to the cover.

Bolts added to hold the lock into place.

Cover test fitted, drivers side.

Then all the parts were painted.

Latch unit added. Passenger side.

The foam sealant to stop any rattling

Fitted in place. And as you can see where the corners have been trimmed there are holes in the seat box.

These were filled with painted aluminium. Passenger side.

Driver side.

I’m pleased with the result, and this was a job I’ve had waiting for some time so good to get it out the way with.

Bits for Sale!

2018-08-28T05:36:00.000-07:00

Here you will find a collection of bits that I've brought, that are now for sale as I no longer need them. So come take a look.....

As this project has ticked on, and purchases have been made, a number of parts are currently sitting in my garage as I’ve either ordered the wrong part first time around, decided not to use it, or ordered too many!

I’ve had a go at sticking stuff on eBay to clear out my garage, but I thought I’d stick all the bit’s on here just in case someone spots something they need / want. I’ll create a link to the side of the main page leading here as well.

If any of these items take your fancy, get in touch through the comments section.

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********************SOLD*******************SOLD***************************
Part Number: FTC5297 Outer Swivel Pin Housing – Defender / Discovery 1 Passenger (LH) side for Right Hand Drive Vehicle

~~From Chassis Number VA104815. This SuperSeeds: FTC3309~~

~~Genuine Land Rover Part – Ex Stock.~~

~~I bought this thinking it was the correct part for mine, but it’s not. I needed the older version. Includes oil bungs.~~

~~Having a look on the web, it has limited availability, but is priced between £200.12 to £257.59 (at the time of posting this).~~

~~£150 ono, plus postage.~~

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********************SOLD*******************SOLD***************************
Part Number: 571755 Outer Swivel Case Oil Seal Retainers.
~~From Chassis Number VA104815. This SuperSeeds:RRY500180~~
~~Brought from YRM, but wrong type for my Defender. Newer style to suit the above.~~
~~Brand New, Un-used.~~

~~These are £8 each from YRM. Looking for £8 the pair. Plus postage.~~

~~Blurb from YRM:~~

S/S 316 SWIVEL OIL SEAL RETAINER Land Rover Defender, Discovery 1 & Range Rover Classic Swivel Oil Seal.

~~These are made from stainless steel 316 grade 1.2mm thick and are laser cut.~~

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********************SOLD*******************SOLD***************************
Part Number: RBI100000 Defender Panhard Bar, with New Poly Bushes.
~~This SuperSeeds: NRC9729~~

~~Used, muddy, rusty - as you'd expect from a part situated under the vehicle.~~

~~But straight and perfectly usable, with brand new, unused Polybush Red bushes, worth £23.35 (not fitted).~~

~~Brought the bushes as part of a pack, but the new adjustable panhard bar I also brought comes with bushes fitted, so not required.~~

~~As noted above, other than superficial condition, and deteriorated bushes, is in good condition.~~

~~May be able to paint this / install new bushes for the buyer if required, cost / time scale to be agreed, please ask~~

~~Looking for £20 as it is, plus postage.~~

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Part Number: FRC6139. Defender Hub Front - Genuine Land Rover
Used part that's been cleaned up, painted, and had the bearing races removed.

£45 plus postage.

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********************SOLD*******************SOLD***************************
~~Part Number: STC3435S. One Shot CV / Swivel Housing Grease.~~

~~Brand New, un-used. 2no £5 plus postage.~~

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Part Number: FRC3891. Defender Front CV and Half Shaft Left Hand Side. 10 Spline.
Take from a 1989 Defender 90. In good condition, with no visible damage. Has been left whole, but can be split but new cir-clip would be required after. Is clean from grease, but will be slightly oiled to prevent rusting.

£30 ono, collection preferred. Postage TBC

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Bonnet Release cable.
Fuel Sender.
Detail to follow....

Odd Jobs Complete During Down Time

2018-07-28T10:40:00.001-07:00

So while the axle works were underway I took care of some jobs I’d either started and not finished or just had on a list to do but never got to.

Firstly installing a trim to the rear tub that holds the seal in place. The trim came from YRM, nice stainless item. The only snag I had was that the trim is designed to be installed on to a flat tub with a build up of just carpet or rubber mat, so as per my build up which is sound deadening mat and checker plate. This has meant the trim is at an angle, but it looks and works fine so all good.

The other job was to install a locking latch into the battery box cover. This latch.

So the cover was cut to be able to get in and out of the hole, as it would no longer be able to slide in and out as before. Then tabs were welded onto the back section to prevent the rear from lifting. A hole cut for the latch.

At this point the main panel is read for painting, which will take place a bit latter when I have a few parts to do, photos of the finished item will be included in part two. Then the seat box needed to be modify to ensure the latch engaged snugly and it didn’t flap around. For this I welded two section of angle together to get the right dimensions, and riveted it into place.

As part of these works I discovered (may have been around ages, who knew) (edit: in fact, I have already tried a rust remover gel when I first started, with somewhat poor results) a product that claims to be a rust remover. So I will be testing these as part of this. Firstly the branded version - Evapo-Rust

And the Frost home brand rust remover.

So this rust removing liquid, if you believe the hype removes rust, and the longer you leave items soaking the more hard-core the rust can be - I’m sceptical and best. And at this point I would say this stuff it REALLY expensive. So £25 will get you 3.75L (US Gallon) or 5L of the home brand. And when you think about what you need it to do - submerge the whole item - that’s a lot! There is a Gel, which will “stick” to the part to do the same things, some say you can add water, and they all say they are re-useable. But I will touch on these at the end. For this I will be testing the products on the callipers - control subject. One side per product. And the stub axles, as these are chromed items, that if I wire brushed them, wouldn’t fare so well, plus a few random bits. The willing test subjects:

Here we go…..

After 24hrs.

I must say, I’m impressed. It's safely remove a vast majority of the rust. This would have been a hard, grim, noisy job on the grinder. Which you also could not have done on something sensitive.

However, it’s not without fault:

It’s not perfect. Some things I put in for another 24hrs, and then I still got the wire brush out. Another thing to consider is that the chromed stuff come out dull, dusky coloured. It’s odd to describe, almost like it was sandblasted, It wasn’t chrome any more, clean but not shiny. Not sure if this is better or worse. But it did mostly remove the rust, which was impressive considering how little effort it took. And with the other points - adding water - this meant the liquid lost its rust removing capability a lot quicker, which makes sense. Can re-use it for multiple jobs - I found after a good job, something really rusty, it had little to no effect, and if you left it in there for an extended time the parts were left covered with a yellow paste, which was a pain to remove. Another thing to consider is that the part needs to be fully submerged, which rules our really large parts, unless you’re willing to spend a lot of money on buying the remover. I did get a 25l tub of the Frost branded stuff for £100, which was the best value, but really it wouldn’t take a huge part as the bigger the part the bigger the bucket to put it in is. Also the gel which is used to stick to parts that can’t be submerged, was very ineffective, and also hard to apply and take off. Its form is that of a very dense slime, and for £10 the bottle is tiny. I’d suggest if you need this then get out the grinder. The instructions do state that for larger items cloths should be soaked and left on the part, but I didn’t try this method.

In regards to the Branded and own brand battle, both seem to do the job as well as each other, so I’d go back to the Frost stuff each time, as it’s cheaper.

So in summary - great product. But it’s only really better than an angle grinder with a wire brush when - the part is sensitive (but even then see above), or it’s a nightmare shape that is not wire brushable – or you don’t want to annoy the neighbours with the grinder use. But I guess this will depend on your budget, and preference.

Front Axle Overhaul - Part One.

2018-07-24T00:13:00.000-07:00

My how the time has flown by, but here I am again, back in the saddle, working on the Defender. This time around it’s the front axle - removal, strip, paint and rebuild, with newer better bits. Somewhat prompted by necessity, in that having recently loaned my friend the Defender to run an errand the “noisy” CV became the extremely broken CV. Should have known this would have happened, as this particular friend is known for breaking everything. Nevertheless it was broken, and not only did it loose drive to the front (later to be found, front right), it also lost the ability to turn right beyond 2 degrees. Which I’m told, made for an interesting drive.

So while it broke down, and it’s a pain, it does give me an excuse to get the spanners (and wallet) out to get things right. And I will be treating this repair as I have done with the whole build so far - good parts, and full overhaul. I’ve opted to fully complete the axle side of things while I’m at it, so that includes Ashcroft shafts and CV’s (those of you with more knowledge of Defenders may spot an obvious issue at this point, as it seems I’m very much lacking! But more on this later). Also, new radius arms, trailing arms, springs, X-deflex, diff guards, Panhard.

Within the above shopping list, there have been some changes - firstly the trailing arms.. Originally I’d fitted cranked arms, but after much reflection I have decided to fit the X-arms to compliment the X-deflex. And the other change is the springs, very early on I had brought Terrarfirma heavy duty springs, but holded off fitting them, as without the load they can pull the shocks apart, and make the ride really stiff. Reason for heavy duty is that when I first started I wanted to fit an external roll cage, but as I’ve got older, and perhaps more realistic? I’ve changed my mind, so I’ve now got some medium duty springs and will fit them during this. I went medium duty as a still plan on towing with it, and having a winch.

So first up is to get the old girl in the air, properly supported so I can work underneath without being crushed. This time, instead of using logs, and will use proper jacks - mmmm safety.

Then I messed around underneath trying to remove everything before I felt it was too tight at which point I took the wheels off. I hesitated initially as it would have been good to roll it all out in one lump. So out came the axle stands, and off with the wheels.

Once everything was removed I then, put the wheels back on with just a few nuts to roll it out. In hindsight I would have left the drag link in place, as this would have prevented both wheels from, “flopping” independently from one another. As this was a massive pain to move it around.

So the the axle was off and so I again took the wheels of, leaving the axle on stands. I then asked for some help to lift it on to a bench to work on - at this point I realised how much heavier the front axle is to the rear.

So it was destined to stay on the floor for the time being, I’d need to remove a few bits first. So I started with the stub axle nuts.

After the hubs with discs and then out swivel casings where removed to was much lighter and I was able to move it up on to the bench for the works to continue. At this point the half shafts were also removed, and the culprit was found….

I set all the parts out ready for cleaning and overhaul, as you’d expect from a vehicle this age, they weren’t great.

They did however look a lot better after a good clean. Degrease in the parts washer and wire brush.

I then set about cleaning up the axle, firstly degreasing, then wire brush, sanding, degreased again, and washed with water.

Then the painting begins, first coat to go on - rust converter for any bits that weren’t fully back to metal.

Then on to the undercoat.

In between coats another job was to mask up, and get the other smaller parts ready for rust treatment. Some of the parts in this photo where treated with rust remover - see later post for details.Within these small parts where the D44 shock turrets I had previously installed. One issue with doing this work as I go, is that some of the new parts start to look slightly older. The turrets weren’t too bad, mostly just some splitting plaint at the edges. So while I had the spray gun out I gave these a blast.

Undercoat to small parts.

Brake calipers also got some paint.

And once painted, and while I’m waiting for other things to dry, I started tom refitt the calipers with seals and cups. This was a pain to do, I see why a special tool it required. Went through twice the amount of seals that should have been required, to the extent where I'm waiting for parts to finish! So the completion of these will be picked up in part two. Left to do, fit most the seals and cups, internal seals, bolt them back together, quick touch up, and change the bleed nipples.

In the theme of re-doing previous work, the rear cross member picked up some damage during use - raming a sankey trailer into wasn’t the best idea. So this was sanded, filled and painted - undercoat.

Top coat.

After a few days of spraying and drying time, this is the end result for the axle.

Ready to start to be rebuilt. From my earlier lesson on front axle weight, I won’t go too far with it until it's in place - clever.

With the inner swivels and the seals that required to go on first in place, it was time to fit the bearing races. To assist with this I heated the area little first.

I then assembled the disc and hub.

Something else I decided to do was to rust cost - Dinitrol the chassis where the shocks had been removed as they were looking scabby.

Area cleaned, masked up and sprayed with rust convertor.

I then sprayed it with Dinitrol. After a decent amount of drying time, for everything, it was time to start reassembly. First Shock turret and cone.

Then I shifted the axle into position under the front.

Now it time to start refitting - shock mounted into turret.

Spring at plate loosely fitted.

Then all bolted up - another mistake by me at this point.

Radius arms ready to be assembled.

Bushes fitted.

At this point I realised the above error. When I took the axle off it was shocks and springs, then radius arms. It should have gone back like this as once the spring and shocks are on it was near impossible to move the axle to get the radius arms into the chassis. So athen spent the next few hours, undoing all the work I had just done, and then fitting the arms, and redoing the work. In the frustration I didn’t take photos. So with the magic of the internet - finished….

Panhard bar fitted. I will need to check this is correctly distanced once back on the road as there may be some adjustment required after movement. As it is it’s about 2mm off centre.

Diff guard fitted.

It was at this point the biggest mistake of the whole process was spotted, as noted at the start. Ashcroft shafts and CV’s only come in 24 spline. Now, I knew this, so I checked. But me being thick checked the shafts from the rear axle (that’s what was lying around at the time of order), of course the rear axle is the a later one, because I had already swapped it! The front axle was of course 10 spline.

So back on the net to get a new 24 spline diff. While I’m at it Diff locker, and pegging! Which was going to happen at some point, now's a good a time as any I guess.

And lets start undoing some of my new works. Diff guard off.

And off with the diff so it can be swapped out when the new one arrives.

Casing left covered.

And that’s as far as I’ve got for now. Hold tight for part 2, which will be fitting a front locker too!

The above work was carried out over a series of weeks, and due to errors ordering parts, and incorrect deliveries, there was a fair amount on non-productive time. During this time I ticked off some jobs that I had on the list but never found time to do. Also as part of these works I discovered (may have been around ages, who knew) a product that claims to be a rust remover, so I will post the results of this the other works on to separate posts.

Durite Tachometer Gauge LED bulb Modification

2017-09-06T02:56:00.001-07:00

So during the last lot of works I needed a rev counter to help me tune the carbs (on going issues I’ve been doing bits to for a while now). I’ve always planned to fit one in the cab so as part of this I decided to buy the Durite Tachometer now and install it at a later date, but rig it up to work for the testing. The gauge comes with a back light, which is a clear standard bulb. For my Defender, somewhere along the line I’ve decided to use blue lights on all my dash, and during the install have been converting the dash to blue, such as all the Carling switches and the clock – this has created a bit of work for me but so far have been relatively easy. Carling switches are a LED to replace (I will post the process for changing these up here at some point), the clock was a simple push in bulb on the back.

The new gauge however is a sealed unit. A quick internet searched came back with no results on how to change this bulb so I decided to experiment (risky option, as the gauge was £50!). The results of this I’ve post for you all to see.

This is what I started with, it has a clear bulb – so slightly yellow light when on.

The worst part of this whole process was separating the gauge housing. The metal bezel around the edge, at the back is pressed closed around the internal plastic holder, external case, and glass. So the only way to get it open was the pry this apart, so care was taken to carefully to pry it open, bit by bit. Lengthy job, but worth doing slowly. Once the bezel is sufficiently bent, it removes from the main body along with the glass and internal spacer. At this point I’m pretty sure there is no more warranty with this product!

Once this is done there are two small nuts on the back holding the internal mechanism in place, take these off and it comes out.

I rigged up a battery and some test leads to start testing the bulb. It was a normal bulb inside that was getting full 12v, so a resistor would be needed for the new LED.

Next was to identify which way the current was flowing, as LEDs only work in one way. So I cut out the current bulb, leaving its tails in place, and connected a few leads with a resistor and I had the answer.

Then I took off the circuit board to the back for access and soldered in the new resistor.

Then the new LED.

Then connected the LED to the resistor, then refitted the board back to the unit.

During the fitting of LED and resistor I used heat shrink to guard the open connections to avoid shorts. The last section was a closed section so this was wrapped in tape. Then the internals put back inside, bezel reflated.

I’m happy with the end result, the light is bright and as you can see, blue. If you look at the back of the unit, it’s clear it has been opened, but this part of it won’t be seen when its fitted into the dash, so all good.

Steering Upgrade and Repair and CB Radio

2017-08-29T04:18:00.002-07:00

It’s been over a year since I last took a spanner to the Defender. And at this point I’m sure I’ve used all the excuses that I can, so I will just leave it at this.

In between this time, the Defender has been used for hauling things around, and the occasional trip out and about, without issue. A few friends and I decided it would be a good time to go do some more lanes in Wales as we did in 2015, and while the plans were made and time booked off I noticed that the power steering box sprung a pretty serious leak. Bad enough to empty the reservoir – which I class as only the second mechanical failure during my 7 years (can’t believe it’s been so long!) of ownership. There have been other problems, but these have been caused by my own interference. I also needed to fit a CB radio, to aid communications on our trip.

So firstly I did the sensible thing and fit the non-critical item first, while I pondered the thought of running a total loss power steering system. It was a simple job to do (makes a change) and I found a nice spot for the unit on the side of the cubby box. Antenna is mounted on the front bumper – for now.

After this, and a few days had gone by, I’d come round to fitting a new power steering box, as the already bad leak would only get worse, and it’s not right to leave large puddles of oil on the roads and lanes of Wales. I opted for a recon box from Paddocks. And after starting to work on the Defender again for the first time in a long time the bug soon got back to me, and I also ordered new HD Sumo Steering bars, and a new steering damper.

First job was to remove the old, very oily box. And of course the oil was melting the Denitrol wax coating, making this a very dirty job. Firstly I took off the reservoir, and two fluid connections going to it, and allowed it to drain. While it was draining I removed the UJ from the steering column. Next up, removal of the steering bars, or at least as much as I could. Lastly the bolts holing it in place.

Then the fight was on, the box was a bit of pain to remove, partly because it was heavy, and mainly because it was too big to fit through the gap available. On the diesel Defender, the box seems to just fall out. Not the case on the V8, it catches on the oil filter so it had to come off too. But it was finally off!

Once all was off, everything was given a clean to remove oil and wax ready for the install. But before I could install the new box I needed to remove the drop arm and replace with a new one, as I’d purchased the Sumo Discovery drop arm conversion kit. So a puller was used to remove it.

Now the easy bit….. or at least so I thought. It seems lifting the heavy box above my head through a tight space was a bit harder than I thought, but I got it in! After it was fitted the reservoir was topped up and steering wheel connected. The instructions that came with the pump advised the best way to bleed it was to do so with the engine on, so that was it for the day until my new oil filter turned up! Once the filter arrived bleed process was completed.

I then went about fitting the new drag link and steering damper.

Next task was to fit the track rod bar. Simple job, would have been a pain if I didn’t have a ball joint separator.

The finished job.

Not a bad job all in all, bit of a pain for some of it, would recommend having a friend on hand for the relocation of the box, but I managed to do it myself. For anyone under taking the same job I’d recommend some specialist tools:

Two leg puller for removal of drop arm.

Ball joint separator for the track rod ends.

Without these there would have been a lot of hammering / prying that would have led to a lot of damaged.

Really I should have reset the steering angles, but I'm opting to do this at a later date, as the front axle will be coming off for refurb. So for the time being, all steering bars where fitted with the wheels in contact to the floor to limit any movement on original settings - I'm aware this is not best practice.

2016-07-21T09:31:00.003-07:00

After my last lot of work to the Defender fitting the checker plate to the rear load area, I found myself with some more time and though I would finish the checker plate work.

I started by fitting a catch to the storage box in the rear.

My next task was to create speaker housings for 4 speakers I plan to use in the back. Firstly I started with the mid set by creating a cardboard template for the checker plate.

Then I cut out the checker plate to the same shape as the cardboard, ground down the edges and polished up. Also at the same time marking the hole for the speaker to fit into.

The it was simply a case of cutting out the hole and bending the plate, with a hammer and straight edges clamped into place, and fit into place.

Repeat again for the other side.

Fit the speakers.

Then repeat the process for the rears.

They have a couple of screws in each to stop them flying around, and foam tape where they butt against the metal work to stop vibration.

At some point I’ll wire them in.

2016-01-28T12:52:00.001-08:00

Recently I found myself with a half day spare, and a set of heated mirror elements for the Defender. So I thought I’d make the most of both of these and fit them. Of course it turned into a much bigger job than I expected and ran into another day. The outcome of this over running is that I neglected to take photos of my work. So this post will only have 4 photos……. pretty poor, even I’m disappointed.

I opted for the Mud Stuff heater mirror elements and kit, as couldn’t be bothered to source parts. Nice kit, comes with some twin core cable that’s pre-contained so looks presentable when exposed.

The first part was to disassemble the mirror and make it suitable to run cables through, this part of the fitting is detailed in the instruction supplied with the heating elements, also on the Mud Stuff website and from www.xtremelandy.co.uk, which they borrowed it from. The most challenging part was removing the rubber ring from the mirror, it was very tight. Once off the glass can be removed and cleaned so the heating element can be stuck on.

Next was to modify the mirror arm to allow the cable to pass through it, first hole was downwards / upwards through the mirror ball.

Then sideways into the mirror from the arm into the main vertical section. This gave the cable a route from the back of the glass through the mirror arm to the hinge. So next the newly installed hinges needs to be cut back to allow the cable to pass through into the door. This was not pleasant to do considering how much I just spent on the hinges. But I got on with it. The first side I used only a die grinder attachment, which works OK, but took a long time. Second time I drilled it twice.

The used the die grinder to remove the rest which was a much better result.

Then it was simply a case of drilling the door and putting the cable inside the cab, then refitting everything.

Almost couldn’t tell! I decided that I would put connectors on the cable so that if need to take the door off (which I will), it will be easier. From here it was a case of connection to power, earth and the switch. The blank spaces on the Raptor dash are filling up (I will get a picture of this!). What I will add is the Mud Stuff instruction end and getting the cable through the door and putting it into the A pillar. However I found it impossible to go anywhere from this point unless I went down under the body, so I remove the cable back to the internal side of the upper hinge a bridged the gap from here to the back of the dash. I must admit it doesn't look OEM, but I think it better than going under the bulkhead, across the outrigger, up the outside of the bulkhead and into the dash from here. Personal choice I guess.

That’s all, hopefully next job will be the headlining or lighting……..

2016-01-07T15:33:00.002-08:00

Already another blog! Well this is actually catching up from the last year. In May of 2015 some friends and I went to Wales to do some green laneing, and tackle the notorious Strata Florida.

Overall it was a very enjoyable trip.

Our day started very early, and involved heading down the M4 to Wales.

Once in South Wales met up with the other two in our weekend party and headed north through Wales to the edge of the Snowdonia National park.

Unfortunately just before reaching the first Lane of the day, my Defender lost drive. Applying power resulted in lots of noise. My friend noted the props were still moving, so I assumed I’d lost a diff as I had no loud noise as if a half shaft had given up – fortunately note the case, but more on that later. At the time I pulled over to remove the prop and half shafts (to avoid further damaged to the diff), we had determined it was the rear when we pulled up.

Once complete I stuck it in diff lock and off we went! Albeit slightly disadvantaged by having a front wheel drive Defender – but it could have been worse.

A short drive later and we were at the first green lane, which happened to be a fairly steep but not aggressive uphill section, which I instantly got stuck on. As all the weight shift to the back the front wheels lost traction and dug a hole. Not a great start. So my friend pulled my Defender plus his own up. This would be come fairly familiar over the weekend.

The day flew by and we tackled many fun lanes around Wales on the approach to the big one, Strata Florida. Some of which my Defender had to be assisted……

We even stopped for a spot of lunch on the side of a hill, accompanied by some sheep.

Then on to more lanes.

At the end of the first day we made camp in some woodland. This is what the camp site looked like when we pitched – it look very different at 3am in the howling wind and pouring rain as our tents fell in on themselves!

The next day came, and the very next lane was the start of the Strata Florida, the part which I was fearing somewhat. Initially my fear was borne from taking a Rover V8 through a river – which they hate, and it’s generally consider a bad idea, unless you have spent some time and initiative water proofing the V8 – which I hadn’t done (not even WD40 or some form of petroleum jelly!!). I now also had the additional worry of only having front wheel drive! So not ideal, but regardless we trooped on, and she did great, made it through all sections without aid.

Was a great weekend, and I much prefer the Welsh lanes to the scratchy, boggy lanes in England. But it did generate some work, which turned out not to be the diff, but more worn half shaft and drive plate, so a nice simple fix (didn’t get pictures sorry, but I’m sure you can work it out).

That’s all for this post, but what I would say is, what remarkable vehicles Defender’s truly are. While mine was half what it should have been, my friends Defender pulled my Defender plus its own weight over some fairly tricky obstacles – which was very impressive. And even though my Defender spent a fair time on tow, it still did some impressive obstacles FWD only. I can’t help but be impressed. I’m probably biased.

Exhaust Noise

2016-01-04T13:55:00.000-08:00

When I installed the exhaust I intended to put up a video of the noise it makes, but never got around to doing it. Then it failed to upload.

Well now it works, so here it is:

2016-01-04T13:36:00.003-08:00

So 17 months since my last blog – this is a record. Once again the reason for my lack of progress is my home, which thankfully is extremely close to completion, and just as close to being put up for sale! With this almost new found freedom, I have found some time to get out and work on the Defender – I also had to do some work as its MOT is due.

First Job I got stuck into was fixing the driver side door, which would not stay latched – causing it to fly open around corners, or over bumps. The classic bungee cord between the door handles has done the job up until now, but I’m not sure this would get past an MOT inspector, the problem had to be solved.

Not long ago I had replaced the latch to the driver’s door (Jan 14), my first error was buying a copy part, second was not noticing the level of play in the hinges. This play, and the poor quality of the part has led to the latch being damaged so much that it does not hold the door closed, but simply gives up under a bit of pressure – whether its locked or not. So new latch and new hinges.

The old latch was removed and the new genuine part installed – the difference between the two is easily noticeable. The construction of the genuine version is far superior and the gauge of metal is also thicker – but it did cost twice the price…..

Then the hinges where removed.

And replaced with solid aluminium Optimill Hinges, I opted for these for a number of reasons: cost wise at £260 they were more expensive then genuine hinges, but they don’t need painting as they are anodised. The Britpart equivalent were £10 less, so with that in mind they must be a bargain! The quality is superb, the pin that joins the two sections is twice the size of that of the genuine items. They also come with security fixings, which are far tougher than the stainless bolts they replace. All components are either stainless or ally, so no corrosion, and they look very nice. I’m very pleased with these, and there is zero plan in the doors now, in fact when you lift the door the whole Defender moves. The doors close smoothly and far easier.

I also found some time to fit the checker plate to the rear load area. Now I’m not a huge fan of checker plate, and this will defiantly be the largest area of the stuff on this vehicle. But it does offer protection and grip, while also looking half decent. But this is it! Only the wing tops (maybe bonnet not sure), in black will be covered in checker plate going forward.

So firstly I did the easy bit, the floor area. It was made up of two bits and held in place with lashing eyes and some rivets.

Next I moved on to the wheel arches, which was more of a pain. Firstly the material was cut into two sections, left and right.

I wanted each side to be one section as this would look much neater. This presented the problem of trying to bend 3mm checker plate, without a bender or press……

So it was clamped down, with uni-strut on the bending edge.

Then 3 ratchet straps where set up after the bend was started. In this picture the straps have actually done most of the bending seen here, it only needed to be just started.

After much swearing, and hammering on the corner along with huge pressure from the straps, it came out quite nicely! Note if you are going to do this – protect the straps from the edges of the checker plate otherwise it may eat in to and damage your straps. Luckily I had some plastic angles just for this job.

On the left side a lid was cut into the plate for the storage box I made earlier, with hinges.

Hopefully more to come soon!

Heated Screen

2014-08-10T03:31:00.000-07:00

Another task that I completed recently was to wire in my heated screen, that I had installed when I swapped the bulkhead. It’s been on my list for a while. The first task was to start running wires, as you can see it looks like chaos, which always seems to be the case when working on the Defenders electrics.

The relays and fuses will live under the passenger’s seat.

And will be switched from the centre console.

All complete and looking good, I also put in to 12v power outlets – one each side of the console.

Mud Flap Modifcation

2014-08-06T14:32:00.001-07:00

Mud Flap

So the fitting of the new exhaust system did throw up a couple of issues. One of which was the extent the pipe sticks out the side of the vehicle, this isn't too much of an issue so for now it stays as is. The other is that the exit of the pipe completely stops the mud flap and bracket from being fitted.

So a custom map flap bracket was required. I worked out that if I altered the shape of the original design and mounted it slightly further rearward on the outside of the vehicle it could work. First task was to make a cardboard template. The picture below is after a lot of trial and error, but I’ll skip the boring bit.

This template was then transferred onto a sheet of 3mm steel.

Which was cut out with the plasma cutter.

The rough edges were then ground down and the unit polished.

The locating tabs bent into position.

The holes were then drilled out, and the mud flap test fitted.

And then the flap and bracket were tried for size. The mud flap it's self needed to be trimmed so not to rub on the exhaust. In the picture below the exhaust is pushing on the mud flap.

Then it was painted, dried and final fitment.

Job done.

Green Laning

2014-08-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

It’s been a while since the Defender went of road so me and an friend met up and did what we thought would be a quick few light green lanes – but it ended up being more like the Camel Trophy (well not really, but closer than I wanted it to be)! The first lane took us 2 and half hours.

The first lane was too badly abused, we shouldn't have gone down it. But my mate was eager and we neglected to walk the course. So once stuck there was no choice, won't be going down it again mind.

Being stuck was also quite interesting - as we both were running the same type and size tires, but my mate struggled a little more than me. Might be the lift, or the wheel base not sure.

Never the less we still had fun, as you will see. After the Camel Trophy section there were some proper green lanes and a ford so interesting day.

I did however get a few scuffs in new paint work and glass. Both of which I think I can polish out. Annoying none the less, but to be expected considering.

New Exhuast

2014-08-06T14:16:00.002-07:00

Its been a very long time since my last post, and you may have noticed a pattern here. The cause for this pattern is my other project - full house refurbishment. I'm pushing this on to completion so the Defender and this blog has taken a bit of a back seat. Neither the less, I have worked on the Defender, and the below was written shortly after my last blog, but I've just not had time to upload it........ So back to it.

Since my last post I have done some green lane-ing. In fact it was the next day as the prior post suggested, but more of that in the next blog.

Next day at work I ordered a new exhaust, as there was an insane level noise coming from the Defender. Double S full Sport on its way……

Which arrived promptly. So first task was to strip out the old.

Which went unbelievably well, up until the last bolt I undid snapped off…..

Proper pain. It took about 3 hours of drilling an abusive language to get this thing out. I brought two different types of stud extractor all of which failed. In the end drilling it out was the only option. There wasn’t much left by the time it was out, luckily there wasn't much damage to the block thread.

But in order to get it out I had to take off the wing, which i was hoping not to do.

But once that was sorted I set about installing the new system.

As you will see from the above the bore on the end section is much bigger, and there is no silencer….. J

All in all not a bad job to do (other than the snapped bolt), the exhaust fits together very well, looks good and sounds great.