Defender security

terry taylor said:

The bolts fit from the outside .ideally a two person job but managed on my own.
Line up carefully and mark the holes ...then check again.
Use a punch to mark a drill hole ,small drill then larger to get a good tight fit..
Same for the window / door bolts but the bolts will need tobe cut. I used steel washers on the inside between the nut .also I ran a bead of silicon on the rear and around the holes just to be sure.
Two hours work job done..make sure door joints are as tight as you can get them.
Terry

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Hi Terry,

Thanks very much for this - very interesting.

I'm wondering whether to get some aluminium rivet nuts and use them instead of the self-locking nuts provided. That way I can do the job alone and also avoid an electrolytic corrosion between steel bolts and the body of the car, if any moisture gets in.

The only downside I can see of doing it this way is that the bars will stand ever so slightly proud of the body of the car due to the head of the rivnut. But sealing along the upper side of the body bar with silicone should prevent any water running down, and the metal bar is plastic coated or something anyway.

You had to cut the bolts for the door? I would have though the gap between the door and the door card is sufficiently deep. But then again, you've done it and I havent!

Am also thinking of getting some plastic grommets to seal up the holes in the bars to stop moisture getting in (and thieves undoing the bolts).

/
As you say mate I used black silicon to stop any moisture the nuts on the inside are lock nuts so can't be undone .

The bolt I was provided are too long for the door and catch the window so had to be cut down .its just another layer ..had no issues with them been on a little while now.

terry taylor said:

/

As you say mate I used black silicon to stop any moisture the nuts on the inside are lock nuts so can't be undone .

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Nice - right, I can see that maybe this is the best solution now. Hmmm ...

terry taylor said:

The bolt I was provided are too long for the door and catch the window so had to be cut down .its just another layer ..had no issues with them been on a little while now.

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What did you use to cut them down, a hacksaw or angle grinder?

Thanks for the advice

Just a hack saw mate ..nice and easy ..angle grinder is a tad harsh ..measure twice cut once....
Terry

So I'm taking it these are recommended guys? Is there one for the rear door? Cheers

I don't think I'm going to fit these after all, I might go for a different solution.

If someone wants them, please do make me an offer - they are brand new with all the bits.

Why so?

bankz5152 said:

Why so?

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Well, there are a few things.

Firstly, the bars are quite heavy. Which would be ok if they served a practical purpose as tree sliders, but they don't stick out enough from the body of the car to really serve in that respect. So for practical purposes, they don't need to be half as long as they are. And I'm not sure I really want to add that much weight to the vehicle. They would look fine, but I'm not sure the look is my primary consideration.

Secondly, fitting them would require drilling big holes in my car - admittedly I knew that when I ordered them, but the bolts supplied don't seem to be the right ones, the heads are countersunk and the holes they go into aren't. Then there's the fact that where the bars bolt on, on the inside of the car is a kind of sloping metal shelf which gets in the way and which I would probably have to take big chunks out of in order for the nuts to screw flat against the inside of the car.

The actual dead bolts I thought would kind of slide and remain in the door piece when unlocked, but they don't - they come out altogether and you have to keep them in your pocket or somewhere until you lock the thing back up again.

For someone who likes the way they make the car look, and doesn't mind fiddling about with all of these issues, I'm sure this product would be fine. But taken together, all of these things are putting me off installing them.

hmmmm put me off as well now... I was actually designing another similar product to this with a different locking system. Just need to find the right kind of lock.

Oh and learn how to weld and fabricate such a product!

bankz5152 said:

hmmmm put me off as well now... I was actually designing another similar product to this with a different locking system. Just need to find the right kind of lock.

Oh and learn how to weld and fabricate such a product!

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I didn't do a great sales job on them, did I? :lol:

The idea of dead bolts is great, and if the product didn't have so many niggling things about it, it would be a good idea. Making it out of aluminium might be a start. Providing the right bolts might be another idea.

Not sure what I can do with them now - eBay I suppose.