Defender Wheel Carrier Review

[D90mitch]

Part number: DA2232

So before I get into this review, this is in fact a Britpart wheel carrier! I decided that because I needed a wheel carrier that opened with the back door on a budget (around £110 for this) - I probably couldn't do much better.

So to begin with - the first thing I noticed about it was the weight. It's very heavy and subsequently seems rather sturdy. It is powered coated black so doesn't look to bad either. All fixings are included with the wheel carrier.

Despite the praise above, the instructions for fitting are a bit rubbish. So expect some time trying to find out how it goes together by yourself.

Another grudge I have about this item is the sliding mechanism that allows the wheel carrier to open with the back door. It is a piston type mechanism that slides inside a tube (not a pressurised tube). There is a small hole in the larger tube to allow air in/out depending on weather the door is being opened or closed. Although this hole appears to be too small as is can require a fair bit of effort to open/close compared to normal.

Unlike more upmarket wheel carriers, this one does not have grease nipples on the moving joints so how long they will last I don't know. The pivot mechanisms do not have any bearings in them but instead use a low fiction plastic insert.

Overall, This product is strongly built and seemingly does it's job by taking the weight of the back door. Unfortunately, corners seems to have been cut in some of the areas of design which I would have thought would have been quite a trivial fix. Would I recommend it? Yes - but only if you are on a very tight budget - there are much better products out there.

(edit) - Applying a little grease to the low friction plastic inserts (upper and lower surfaces) significantly improves operation of the mechanism.

Another quick review on the rear door topic:

Part Number: DA1204

When I was fitting the wheel carrier I also decided to fit a rear door gas strut as the one I had fitted myself which was not a kit for a Land Rover didn't last very long. Anyway - I didn't know what make it was when I ordered it but low and behold it was a Britpart... Not particularly impressed given the price of £60. But that was about the cheapest I could get a kit.

The first thing that really annoyed me is that the shims provided to extend the original land rover bracket on the inside of the vehicle make it stick out to an extent where the original Land Rover bolts (which they tell you to use here) barely reach the nuts on the other side of the body.

Then I measured out the gas strut to the door when it was fully open so I could mount the bracket to the door and rivet it in place. That's what I did and was probably the only part of the thing that went right!

After that it sure enough went down hill again - majorly. I put the gas strut on with the correct bolts - the way I was told to. Finally thats done - too soon. Closed the back door - OOF that took some effort (note that out of the box the strut cannot be compressed by hand it's that stiff). So that required taking some of the pressure out to make it easier to close. That wash't the worst part though. When I closed the door, the bolt that holds the strut to the door bracket does not clear the ridge where the door seal meets the load bed. Had to find my own bolt with a flatter head and a more appropriate size.

Do I recommend this door stay? No.

 

[james6546]

Thanks, very useful.

 

[D90mitch]

Cheers, glad it helps.

 

[Tazz070299]

Part number: DA2232

So before I get into this review, this is in fact a Britpart wheel carrier! I decided that because I needed a wheel carrier that opened with the back door on a budget (around £110 for this) - I probably couldn't do much better.

So to begin with - the first thing I noticed about it was the weight. It's very heavy and subsequently seems rather sturdy. It is powered coated black so doesn't look to bad either. All fixings are included with the wheel carrier.

Despite the praise above, the instructions for fitting are a bit rubbish. So expect some time trying to find out how it goes together by yourself.

Another grudge I have about this item is the sliding mechanism that allows the wheel carrier to open with the back door. It is a piston type mechanism that slides inside a tube (not a pressurised tube). There is a small hole in the larger tube to allow air in/out depending on weather the door is being opened or closed. Although this hole appears to be too small as is can require a fair bit of effort to open/close compared to normal.

Unlike more upmarket wheel carriers, this one does not have grease nipples on the moving joints so how long they will last I don't know. The pivot mechanisms do not have any bearings in them but instead use a low fiction plastic insert.

Overall, This product is strongly built and seemingly does it's job by taking the weight of the back door. Unfortunately, corners seems to have been cut in some of the areas of design which I would have thought would have been quite a trivial fix. Would I recommend it? Yes - but only if you are on a very tight budget - there are much better products out there.

Another quick review on the rear door topic:

Part Number: DA1204

When I was fitting the wheel carrier I also decided to fit a rear door gas strut as the one I had fitted myself which was not a kit for a Land Rover didn't last very long. Anyway - I didn't know what make it was when I ordered it but low and behold it was a Britpart... Not particularly impressed given the price of £60. But that was about the cheapest I could get a kit.

The first thing that really annoyed me is that the shims provided to extend the original land rover bracket on the inside of the vehicle make it stick out to an extent where the original Land Rover bolts (which they tell you to use here) barely reach the nuts on the other side of the body.

Then I measured out the gas strut to the door when it was fully open so I could mount the bracket to the door and rivet it in place. That's what I did and was probably the only part of the thing that went right!

After that it sure enough went down hill again - majorly. I put the gas strut on with the correct bolts - the way I was told to. Finally thats done - too soon. Closed the back door - OOF that took some effort (note that out of the box the strut cannot be compressed by hand it's that stiff). So that required taking some of the pressure out to make it easier to close. That wash't the worst part though. When I closed the door, the bolt that holds the strut to the door bracket does not clear the ridge where the door seal meets the load bed. Had to find my own bolt with a flatter head and a more appropriate size.

Do I recommend this door stay? No.

You shoyld forward this review to Britpart

 

[meego]

You shoyld forward this review to Britpart

So they can ignore it...

 

[james6546]

Maybe we should start a birtpart review thread.

So far:
- Windscreen: OK but had to get some silicon off the glass
- Side lights: Terrible, one was missing one of the contacts, ended up not using
- Lock barrels: OK but not been properly tested
- Aluminium billet windscreen brackets: Terrible quality for the price
- Grille and headlight surrounds: A little flimsy but OK. The grille is a little shiny for my taste

 

[D90mitch]

That door stay really is bad. The door takes a really good shove to be able to make the lock engage. I don't think the door frame will last that long now - even though the spare wheel carrier is on. Cost £50 quid and it's ****e

Dad told me the other day that the lock on the back door had broke but I knew he just hand't shoved it hard enough. There's giving a door a slam and the amount of effort required here I'm surprised the glass hasn't cracked...

 

[Station House]

Had one arrive today

Agree heavy and solid - just a shame only 2 of the 7 bolt holes align with the door!

 

[D90mitch]

Had one arrive today

Agree heavy and solid - just a shame only 2 of the 7 bolt holes align with the door!

Which ones? Do you mean the one for the plate that goes on the door?

One tip for you that helps tremendously with this item is to put a bit of grease on the two moving joints on upper and lower surfaces. Not on the sliding mechanism. Made it so much better to use.

 

[Station House]

Thanks for the tip

Yes, the plate that bolts to the door needs to have a number of holes 'stretched' to line up - bit of a pain

Did yours just line up?

 

[D90mitch]

Thanks for the tip

Yes, the plate that bolts to the door needs to have a number of holes 'stretched' to line up - bit of a pain

Did yours just line up?

They mostly lined up, but a few needed to be drilled out a bit. Make sure you use the right holes for the year of 'fender you've got. I was a little confused at first.

 

[Station House]

They mostly lined up, but a few needed to be drilled out a bit. Make sure you use the right holes for the year of 'fender you've got. I was a little confused at first.

Ta

Mine's a 1994 so will be using the 7 round holes

Think I'll also use the original plate on the inside of the door to provide further strength - otherwise nervous the ali will flex when opening

 

[D90mitch]

Ta

Mine's a 1994 so will be using the 7 round holes

Think I'll also use the original plate on the inside of the door to provide further strength - otherwise nervous the ali will flex when opening

I didn't/couldn't use the inside plate for mine as it was part of the original wheel carrier. When I removed it some water came out so I decided to put a bead of silicone around the new plate before putting it on. Doesn't seem to flex it when I use the door even with the gas strut. My door frame is bent anyway from the decades of having a heavy steel wheel and larger tyre on the back bouncing about.

 

[yellow90]

don't forget that both land rover and britpart have ****e build quality and fitting tolerances

its probably a combination of the landys door being built like ****e and the wheel carrier being built like ****e

even genuine parts don't fit brand new defenders properly all the time as build quality varies so much , chassis slightly different sizes to the next one on the line , bulkheads having an uneven amount of spacers to compensate...... that makes a part made to fit a perfect vehicle not fit ......

 

[D90mitch]

don't forget that both land rover and britpart have ****e build quality and fitting tolerances

its probably a combination of the landys door being built like ****e and the wheel carrier being built like ****e

even genuine parts don't fit brand new defenders properly all the time as build quality varies so much , chassis slightly different sizes to the next one on the line , bulkheads having an uneven amount of spacers to compensate...... that makes a part made to fit a perfect vehicle not fit ......

Thats cos they're hand made and are all a bit different so what do you expect, humans will be humans. The door frame is a sturdy design for its original intended carrying weight - it was never supposed to take that of an offset steel wheel with a heavy oversized mud terrain tyre. The wheel carrier is exceptionally sturdy and high quality, even compared to other wheel carriers. ****part have a reputation of a lot of their stuff not fitting so I wasn't that surprised with the difficulties. Anytime have bought a genuine Land Rover product or high quality OEM, I have never had a fitting issue. Only cheap stuff never quite seems to fit. Including to my disappointment, a master cylinder from Allmakes. Wont be buying anything mechanical from them either. Bearmach seem to be the best cheap parts.

 

[Station House]

Not yet fitted as repainted Landy at weekend so allowing a week for paint to harden, but have offered up all the bits to understand where and how they fit.

I may have been a little over critical.

The bracket thickness and welding is really heavy grade.

The design is quite thoughtful, even if it took my brain a few minutes to work out that the bottom bracket spacer goes against the outside of the cross member (to move the bracket clear of the door hinge) and that the round tube is a rather well designed anti crush cylinder, with a flat handle to help positioning.

The kit even included new bolts and nylocs for the rear plate fixing - I wasn't expecting that so having had to angle grind a few of the originals a pleasant surprise.

Time will tell how good the coatings are, but they look no worse than any others I've seen and easy enough to repaint in the future.

Yellow's comment is probably fair in terms of Land Rover original accuracy in drilling holes - guess it's like having two watches telling different times and not knowing which is right!

On balance, with internet prices ranging up to £200 for this model, £122 from Paddocks is remarkable value. Mantec it may not be but my pockets aren't that deep and my door hinges will be just as grateful!

 

[raywin]

Part number: DA2232

So before I get into this review, this is in fact a Britpart wheel carrier! I decided that because I needed a wheel carrier that opened with the back door on a budget (around £110 for this) - I probably couldn't do much better.

So to begin with - the first thing I noticed about it was the weight. It's very heavy and subsequently seems rather sturdy. It is powered coated black so doesn't look to bad either. All fixings are included with the wheel carrier.

Despite the praise above, the instructions for fitting are a bit rubbish. So expect some time trying to find out how it goes together by yourself.

Another grudge I have about this item is the sliding mechanism that allows the wheel carrier to open with the back door. It is a piston type mechanism that slides inside a tube (not a pressurised tube). There is a small hole in the larger tube to allow air in/out depending on weather the door is being opened or closed. Although this hole appears to be too small as is can require a fair bit of effort to open/close compared to normal.

Unlike more upmarket wheel carriers, this one does not have grease nipples on the moving joints so how long they will last I don't know. The pivot mechanisms do not have any bearings in them but instead use a low fiction plastic insert.

Overall, This product is strongly built and seemingly does it's job by taking the weight of the back door. Unfortunately, corners seems to have been cut in some of the areas of design which I would have thought would have been quite a trivial fix. Would I recommend it? Yes - but only if you are on a very tight budget - there are much better products out there.

(edit) - Applying a little grease to the low friction plastic inserts (upper and lower surfaces) significantly improves operation of the mechanism.

Another quick review on the rear door topic:

Part Number: DA1204

When I was fitting the wheel carrier I also decided to fit a rear door gas strut as the one I had fitted myself which was not a kit for a Land Rover didn't last very long. Anyway - I didn't know what make it was when I ordered it but low and behold it was a Britpart... Not particularly impressed given the price of £60. But that was about the cheapest I could get a kit.

The first thing that really annoyed me is that the shims provided to extend the original land rover bracket on the inside of the vehicle make it stick out to an extent where the original Land Rover bolts (which they tell you to use here) barely reach the nuts on the other side of the body.

Then I measured out the gas strut to the door when it was fully open so I could mount the bracket to the door and rivet it in place. That's what I did and was probably the only part of the thing that went right!

After that it sure enough went down hill again - majorly. I put the gas strut on with the correct bolts - the way I was told to. Finally thats done - too soon. Closed the back door - OOF that took some effort (note that out of the box the strut cannot be compressed by hand it's that stiff). So that required taking some of the pressure out to make it easier to close. That wash't the worst part though. When I closed the door, the bolt that holds the strut to the door bracket does not clear the ridge where the door seal meets the load bed. Had to find my own bolt with a flatter head and a more appropriate size.

Do I recommend this door stay? No.

I am looking to fit a wheel carrier on my Defender 90 and found your review, its very interesting, looking at some of the other wheel carriers, they seem a bit expensive, but this one is still available and reasonably priced.
Having the benefit of using it for a while now, how is it holding up? are you still happy or would it be wise to spend a bit more? would value your help.

 

[D90mitch]

It's still on there and haven't had any issues. But as I mentioned, putting a little grease on the contact surfaces makes it so much better to use. For the price, you can't really go wrong. Unfortunately my install was a bit late for my rear door!

 

[raywin]

Thanks for the update, I have ordered one, good price at LR Direct at the moment, I will put some silicon grease on the bushes and pins when I install it.
Unfortunately I think my door has suffered badly from that great big wheel swinging on it, and will need some help to bring it back in shape.

 

[trax]

fyi, i'm pretty sure any number that starts with DA is britpart