DEFENDER BUYERS GUIDE

I can't, and won't take credit for this, all I have done here is joined up the words everyone else told me when I was looking to buy my Defender. Most of this was sourced via two Land Rover forums I found at the time (LRO and LR4x4). There are many others you can try, (Difflock, ORRP, Landrovernet etc....)

In many ways the Defender is rather simplistic. That doesn't mean I recommend you buy one on your own if you know nothing about vehicles. If at all possible try to take someone with you who at least knows about how a car works!

Here's how I started to look at mine. I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying this is what I looked at.

CHASSIS

Prone to rot at the rear (look here to see a replaced one), cost £200 to £500 to replace depending on how bad it is and who does it. Out riggers rot also. You can see them underneath under where your feet would be. Front dumb irons can go also. Below is a picture of a chassis, I have highlighted the main areas in blue, be warned that on older vehicles bad rot can be almost everywhere. My rear cross member lasted 13 years, the rest of it is in excellent condition. Waxoyle is a bonus, if its on top of good steel!

BODY

Of course its bent, it's a Defender.... Aluminium alloy panels don't rust, but they do oxidise and turn to dust. Blisters are common as is reaction where steel meet alloy (hinges, bolts, etc). Ally also is very soft, you can dint it easily. But it's true, if you bent your Audi you'd cry, if you bent the Defender...it's character. Dints rarely detract from value, unless its a complete dog that's been thrashed with a hammer.....

• Doors should all work, if your lucky they will fit and close without slamming them. Open the door and rock it up & down on the hinges - it shouldn't move if it does (often do) then it will need new hinges. Seals often are tired and require replacing. Locks often are very poor and can be opened with a 5p coin. Door frames are steel, the steel rots, they ALL rot here...that's why new front doors cost £250 and decent second hand ones are hard to find.

• Bumper, its about £30 for a new one. Don't worry if its rusty, only needs changing if its rotten or bent beyond use.

• Glass - not much to go wrong. Make sure window winders work fully, and expect the rear sliding windows to rattle.

• Sunroof - if fitted often leaks. can be a bit of a pig to get watertight.

• Chequer plate - individual choice really, but just be aware of what it may be covering up...especially if fitted to the rear cross member!

• Roof - often leak at the joins. An easy fix is builders caulk or silicone.

• Bulkhead - worth paying attention to this bit. It goes from under the front screen, down to the front of the footwell. They rot out in the edge near the wing mirror and its a job for a welder. Here's a one removed, typical rot is on the outer edge and what would be the door post (A post). The other picture is the passenger footwell seen from the seat, the floor plate is removed (screws in place) in this picture.

INTERIOR

What there is of it. A County has the most, and much of that may be wet from all the leaks... Carpets don't last well. Rubber matting is much better. Seats are comfortable enough in the front but tend to sag with lots of use (as in 100,000 miles plus.) Lots of aftermarket trim is available, but brand new seats are not cheap. Middle row seats are not so comfortable, rear bench seats are bloody uncomfortable and often removed or replaced with inward facing or forward facing fold up seats. All plastic clips, trim, winders etc are easily available on "on-line auction sites" or from the likes of Paddocks or Cradocks. Headlining often sags with age. Replacement with a new one isn't cheap either. If you look at a Defender without carpets, door cards and a headlining then don't worry. They were made like that! You could add them yourself, but depending upon your use for the vehicle, why bother. Heaters often don't work effectively, usually because of the adjustment on the levers. Poor lighting on the dials can mean you need new a bulb or two, easy fixes. Remove the seat bases and look in the under seat compartments, you should have a battery in there, and not too much rust.

RUNNING GEAR

Front Diff - rover unit (round), last well (200,000 plus) and easy to come by second hand if required. Can leak from input shaft seal. Remove prop, pull out old seal, drift in new seal, job done. Sometimes caused by blocked axel breathers also. At the back of the engine you may see some black pipes bent over, there the end of the breather pipes.

Rear Diff - rover unit or Sailsbury on 110's (more square in shape). Sailsbury renowned for long life and plenty of slack in the drive line. Not a DIY job to rebuild!

Prop shafts - should be greased via nipples. Should be no play in them when you get under and try to push/pull/swing on them. U/J's wear and you will hear them. Replacement easy enough and not expensive. Wedge with a large screwdriver and see if they move. Should be easily spotted.

Half shafts & drive flanges - a common cause of excess slack in the running gear. Look here to see me chasing the slack on my 110, it might give you some ideas.

Bearings are much the same as other motors, should be adjustable (unsure of that on TD5's though?) front swivels do pit and leak. Here's mine getting replaced so you can see what your looking for.

Brakes - disks all round from early 1993 onwards. Should stop well for a big vehicle, shouldn't pull to one side.

ENGINE

I only know of the 200 & 300 tdi's. Late 300tdi's have ECU, the rest are very basic on the electrical side (to say the least...) Well looked after can last for ages. In excess of 250,000mile is not unusual for a tdi. Check oil level, state of filter (air also) then start. A puff of smoke is normal. There not quiet (particularly the 200) but there should be no top end tappet rattle. Gear box can cause a lot of noise. When warm it should not push oil out the dipstick hole, it should not breath when you remove the rocker cover cap, that indicates excessive wear in the motor. There not quick, but don't expect every one to tear past you. My 110 with 160,000miles on it will sit at 70mph, top out at 75, but quieter at 65mph. Big tyres make pulling away a touch slower. Problems with timing belts on 300's should be sorted by now, the 300 had some head problems also, often related to coolant. check to coolant and oil for any signs of contamination/mixing. Service history is a good idea. Many Landy owners are fairly hands on so don't be surprised to hear "I service it myself every 3000 mile"....some people do. If the whole engine bay is immaculate & jet washed....why? Timing belt should be changed, where's the proof of this? If no proof then budget to get it done ASAP. Injection pumps wear out eventually, there not cheap. Smoke on running can be anything from a worn motor to a dodgy injector or bad timing. Water from the bottom of the water pump is a sign of a new pump needed. Viscous fan may or may not be there. It's rather popular to replace them with electric fans, but by no means is this essential. As with any engine, you really need someone who knows a diesel to have a look for you. You get V8's, but there of limited availability and no where as common as the diesels. Diesels average anything from 26 to 36mpg.  I get 30-32 consistently in a 110 with A/T tyres and no roof rack, put mud terrains on a roof rack & fill it with winches and you will probably get it to drop a bit. For more specific engine traits I'd recommend asking on any of the forums. Just don't take everything you read as the only truth. We all have our own views/experiences.

GEARBOX & CLUTCH

Clutch is the same as all hydraulic activated ones in cars. Drive in 2nd to high revs then drop it in 5th and boot it, if it slides then its heading out. Heavy pedal action, you'll get a bigger leg in time. Gear change can "snag" somewhat if you push it. It gets better when its warmer. 300tdi's has R380 gearbox (reverse near driver), 200tdi's had the LT77 (reverse up part 1st gear away from driver). R380 favoured as the better choice by many. Both have issues with output shaft getting poor oil supply resulting in loads of back lash in the gearbox. Budget £400 to buy a rebuilt box, but many have been done by now. Quite common to have a recon box in a defender, they often acted up within 70,000 miles. Gearbox often noisy when driving, but not excessively. Shouldn't leak, but they often do. Transfer box is generally very strong. Some times leaks from output seals. Can get noisy as it ages (I have a recon box but a 160,000 transfer box, you can hear the transfer box when you drive it). Engage diff-lock and drive forward, the light should come on the dash. If it doesn't its often because the levers jammed through lack of use. When you disengage it you may need to reverse a few yard then go forward again for the light to go out. Note the light goes on when its actually engaged, not just when you move the lever. Don't drive on tarmac for far at all in diff-lock, you'll wind it up and something will go bang. Take someone with you who knows about it, or even ask the seller to go through it with you. Try low box also, that should be fairly straight forward.

ELECTRICAL

There's not much of them, but that doesn't mean that they will work! Common problems are melted wiring (esp lights) badly added extra lamps, bad earths will be a certain.  A classic example is flashing you lights and the wipers start. All just needs tracing back to the earth then cleaning & refitting. Not unusual for the light switch stalk to break on the steering column, another cheap fix. If it doesn't stop running when you turn it off, then the fuel pump stop solenoid is usually broke. An easy fix. Indicator lamps are about £3, head lamps about £15. So none of it is mega bucks. Glow plugs fail, more noticeable in the winter, but again a cheap fix for new ones.

HANDLING

Should feel sound and stable when driving. Weaving about is associated with worn suspension bushes quite often. Springs & shocks take a beating off road, particularly on something so big, so check for wear. Sometimes notice a little roll as the vehicle wallows onto one side in a corner, but then it should sit there and not bounce about during the corner. Not a race car, don't throw it into a corner until your used to driving it, particularly on a test drive. A Clunk at the rear on driving off can also be the rear A frame ball joint wearing out. Knackered suspension on Defenders is usually fairly obvious in my limited experience. Tyres are personal preference, I use A/T as I don't seek to drive through mud every day and I'm off road about 5% of my miles. BFG are the favourite for many, at £110 a corner there not cheap, but you should see 60,000 mile from a set.  Remoulds can be had for £55 a corner and can see 50,000 plus from a set also. Mud's may "look better" but there noisier and hold the road less in the wet. Personally, I won't have them unless I really need them or they come fitted to the motor.

That is basically what I was armed with when I viewed Defenders. People pointed out that 110's were cheaper and not so roughly treated in general. That was utter bollocks in my experience. I found loads of good tidy 90's, but every 110 was heavily used as a work horse. I ended up travelling 350 mile to buy mine, one last thing, if its well cared for, then don't be put off by the mileage. You'll see plenty beaten up 90's thrashed to death in fields with 80,000 mile on the clock. Its the rarely off-roaded, full service history 140,000 miler that I'd have for the right price.

Don't just take my word for it, ask around and read up on them.

Good Luck!

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