Winterising a Defender

[the_wolf]

Amidst all this talk of rad muffs and snow cowls its definitely coming to that time of year when ya wanna start thinking about making our landys a little bit more comfortable to drive in winter. Ive did a search on here and there doesnt seem to be any threads extant on winterising one so i thought maybe we could cobble a load of ideas together in one thread with everyone having an input on their winter solutions.

Cheapest and/or most effective option is always the best and no post after post after post saying 'buy a webasto/eberspacher'. Theyre good but theyre expensive.

To start off:

1. Buy or make a rad muff if required that is.
2. Make sure the heater is properly adjusted and sealed and is actually providing hot air to the right places.

 

[ER1C]

Anti Freeze in the radiator......
Equivalent in the screen wash....

(the most simple but effective and often forgotten options)

 

[666 george]

A thicker coat, hat & gloves.

 

[sible88]

Electric heater!!
Lets face it, in a defender it like a mouse blowing over a candle

 

[ER1C]

You say that... since we have had ours the heater has been the best thing in it...kicking out the heat... so much so when we went to europe we were drying washing in there.

 

[Shifty1962]

Cheap rad muff.
Take some thick cardboard.
Wrap it in a black bin bag to stop it going soggy.
Put in front of radiator behind grille.
Sorted.

 

[captain skellon]

insulate battery box with polystyrene

 

[DEFENDER90-DAZ]

Snow shovel in the back next to the tin of de-icer

Daz

 

[the_wolf]

insulate battery box with polystyrene

Like that one, definitely something i need to do as the old girls struggling to start some mornings

 

[trax]

I'm going to diy a fume curtain (chuck up a blanket) to cut off the front and see if it helps.

Carry a bucket of grit and shovel and probably camping equipment, just incase it conks out.

 

[trax]

Oh yeah, and pray that I don't have to fix anything that involves a lot of time outside, cos I don't have a garage.

 

[DEFENDER90-DAZ]

Oh yeah, and pray that I don't have to fix anything that involves a lot of time outside, cos I don't have a garage.

I know what you mean!
I'm waiting for a dry day so i can do the oil and filter change!

Daz

 

[vilguy]

id forgotten about winterising as the weathers not been bad yet.

Just ordered a muff and a batch of fresh antifreeze.

will be putting in a drybag with thick blanket, petrol stove and matches! bottle of water and some breakfast bar thingies.

also putting in my towing straps for helping other road users

 

[the_wolf]

I love it lol this shows dedication to the cause no other vehicle owner has to go to so much trouble just to drive and be comfortable in winter.

Unfortunately mines is totally unlined so I'm gonna be insulating all panels and doors asap so that hopefully it keeps out some of the cold. Dads getting me some rockwool (I think that's what its called) from work so hopefully that'll sort it out

 

[vilguy]

camping mat or some other foam sheeting mate, much easier!

 

[trax]

I stuck in one of those rad haz wolf things that are on ebay (when they were like 20 delivered) into the 110 hardtop, totally unlined too.. doesn't even have a sunvisor.

Dunno what difference it'll make.

 

[biscuits]

Amidst all this talk of rad muffs and snow cowls its definitely coming to that time of year when ya wanna start thinking about making our landys a little bit more comfortable to drive in winter. Ive did a search on here and there doesnt seem to be any threads extant on winterising one so i thought maybe we could cobble a load of ideas together in one thread with everyone having an input on their winter solutions.

Cheapest and/or most effective option is always the best and no post after post after post saying 'buy a webasto/eberspacher'. Theyre good but theyre expensive.

To start off:

1. Buy or make a rad muff if required that is.
2. Make sure the heater is properly adjusted and sealed and is actually providing hot air to the right places.

whats the best way to adjust heater, my controls seem to click into place and then work own way off setting is this because the cables need adjusting?
what do i need to seal up?
the heater in my 110 is ****e when the car is idling even after a run its a 300tdi, ive been told they are over cooled? will the rad muff help with this.
has anyone used an additional heater eg military style with extra plumbing throught the inside? are they any good?
what about disconnecting the fan is this a good idea?

 

[the_wolf]

camping mat or some other foam sheeting mate, much easier!

Tried that dude but it didnt seem to make a great deal of difference, not to me anyway. But i wanna reline the hardtop, doors, seatbox etc... so ill see how this stuff fairs.

Plugging up all of the gaps and holes might help as well lol. But as for the fume curtain someone mentioned ive just chucked a heavy army blanket over my dog guard, only drove around with it up for about an hour though so im yet to see how much of a difference it makes

 

[the_wolf]

whats the best way to adjust heater, my controls seem to click into place and then work own way off setting is this because the cables need adjusting?
what do i need to seal up?
the heater in my 110 is ****e when the car is idling even after a run its a 300tdi, ive been told they are over cooled? will the rad muff help with this.
has anyone used an additional heater eg military style with extra plumbing throught the inside? are they any good?
what about disconnecting the fan is this a good idea?

As for the rad muff i would recommend it. I run with it half down and at about 5 degrees outside after 15 mins driving the engines almost at normal temp (halfway).

There is a very good guide somewhere telling you how to adjust the heater controls, hopefully someone can point you in the right direction. Ive still got a bit of fannying to do with mine i.e take out the matrix and give it a good clean. The heaters can be good though if sorted out, no need for an expensive one

 

[DEFENDER90-DAZ]

I stuck in one of those rad haz wolf things that are on ebay (when they were like 20 delivered) into the 110 hardtop, totally unlined too.. doesn't even have a sunvisor.

Dunno what difference it'll make.

Any chance of a link mate? **SORTED - FOUND IT**

Can i ask how you fitted it without the rollcage?

Cheers
Daz