Post by valhalla on Jun 8, 2016 10:29:09 GMT 1
Well, I've started on the long round of work to get this Defender back up to scratch. Fortunately, I had a long journey to become acquainted with its foibles, so a long list was produced of the driving issues, then a longer list of checks to make, then a longer list of parts has now been produced.
Stage one was to get the thing safe and driveable. How it ever got an MoT in March is beyond my comprehension. Notably, all the things it originally failed-on in mid-March, then "got done" for the pass-certificate, were all still there.....
It was all the other things that got missed that were really worrying. Drop arm ball-joint flopping about. Steering drag-ling ball-joint play. Steering damper bushes worn/softened. Front propshaft U/J excessive play. R/N/S hub bearings excessive play, with attendant oil-leak from axle tube onto brake disc (which had originally been noted on the RfR). Lighting switch/es failing to maintain any one state at a time.
So I have spent a few evenings fixing all the big items first, then test-drove it yesterday to revel in its ability to steer a straight line and not shudder when on over-run or under load. The parts for these are so cheap, I always wonder why people hold off from getting things sorted as they happen, so letting a vehicle fall-apart.
I'm now embarking on stage2, which is to make the thing MoT-compliant throughout, and hopefully reliable enough to use for a couple of runs down to the Midlands this summer. I'm quite warming to the vehicle now, it's got a different character to my other Defender, even though they were built within a week of each other. This one has another 100k on my first Defender, but it pulls like a train, still starts on the flick of a key, and seems to be good for smoke emission as well.
Stage one was to get the thing safe and driveable. How it ever got an MoT in March is beyond my comprehension. Notably, all the things it originally failed-on in mid-March, then "got done" for the pass-certificate, were all still there.....
It was all the other things that got missed that were really worrying. Drop arm ball-joint flopping about. Steering drag-ling ball-joint play. Steering damper bushes worn/softened. Front propshaft U/J excessive play. R/N/S hub bearings excessive play, with attendant oil-leak from axle tube onto brake disc (which had originally been noted on the RfR). Lighting switch/es failing to maintain any one state at a time.
So I have spent a few evenings fixing all the big items first, then test-drove it yesterday to revel in its ability to steer a straight line and not shudder when on over-run or under load. The parts for these are so cheap, I always wonder why people hold off from getting things sorted as they happen, so letting a vehicle fall-apart.
I'm now embarking on stage2, which is to make the thing MoT-compliant throughout, and hopefully reliable enough to use for a couple of runs down to the Midlands this summer. I'm quite warming to the vehicle now, it's got a different character to my other Defender, even though they were built within a week of each other. This one has another 100k on my first Defender, but it pulls like a train, still starts on the flick of a key, and seems to be good for smoke emission as well.
) I'm keen to get a better process developed. The problem stems from the old paint over the sealant used at the factory; the whole lot cracks, and seeps water through itself, nothing sticks ever again. My idea of using an acrylic paint to seep into the joint works fine, but the application is messy (if I do it) so it's not a great idea on someone else's pride and joy.... 
