Buying defender with 2" lift

Thinking of buying a defender - the one I'm looking at has a 2" lift. Would rather it didn't tbh, going to be using it more on-road than off-road and wouldn't want to compromise the handling, but everything else looks good so I'm still interested.

What should I be looking for to check this mod has been done properly? I know if done improperly it can cause a lot of other components to fail. Things I'd look at would be brake lines being fouled on due to being too short. Are there any other things?

If I wanted to revert to standard lift, I'd need to change the shocks/springs - is there anything else that would probably need changing? I know the answer to that depends on how exactly the lift was done, but are there any usual components changed during a lift, e.g. propshafts, that would need reverting to standard?

I notice the propshafts have also been replaced on this defender. I wonder if this was due to suspension-related stress damage...

Why not just buy another that you don't need to do as much work on? It might look good but I'm willing to bet that it's had all the gear added on to it on top of its lift. You could spend money changing the suspension to standard, or you could buy another defender and spend the same money doing it up a little just how you like it.

So many potential ways to do it ..

For example, just one issue with lifts can be caster correction. Some people don't bother and just run the vehicle and put up with potentially sharp turning and vagueness at speed. It can be 'cured' in a number of ways, easiest is to replace the front radius arms for a set with a 3 degree angle on them to correct the axle rotation. Some do it by drilling the swivel mounts to correct just the steering ends, some do it by removing the radius arm mounts on the axle and re-welding them on after rotating the axle 3 degrees (ish!!) Rotating the axle also moves slightly the spring location at the axle so they work slightly better, or rather, aren't pre-stressed slightly.

Almost everything that can go wrong can be done in so many different ways that the best way to get a lifted vehicle back to standard is to get 'someone who knows' to have a proper look and advise you what's needed.

Most 'lifts' I've seen are simple shocks and springs and brake line extensions though ... indeed some are just simple blocks under the springs with no other mods!!!!

The majority of +2" spring lifts cause no issues. I believe its when you go above this then you should also add cranked radius arms ans suchlike. If your unhappy with what you have then just replace with standard. Simple enough job to start wit and then get a few bob for your lift.

Can't you just change the springs back to standard? Will cost you £40?

td5landy said:

Can't you just change the springs back to standard? Will cost you £40?

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Yeah I might go down this route if it is just simple springs/shocks and no other parts to change. It would be a fairly easy first modification to get me familiar with DIY landy mechanics

Would the brake lines need changing to shorter ones again or would they be ok as the longer ones?

As far as prop shafts are concerned, its possible they or the uj's on them were changed because of extra stress due to lift but could also be due to neglect, ie greasing. How old is the motor andw hat condition is it in generally . Does it look well looked after or just kept on the road on the cheap?

I've not seen it yet - I'll be giving it a good inspection when I get there and was wondering what kind of stuff related to this lift kit to look for.
From the pictures it looks like its been well taken care of but it is a 1984 (!!) model. Its had a 200tdi dropped in as well which made it appeal to me, plus its from my year of birth New rear crossmember recently, no galv chassis but it has been welded in patches (to be expected on a vehicle that old). Goes without saying I'll be giving it a good prod with a screwdriver.

JebLZ said:

I've not seen it yet - I'll be giving it a good inspection when I get there and was wondering what kind of stuff related to this lift kit to look for.
From the pictures it looks like its been well taken care of but it is a 1984 (!!) model. Its had a 200tdi dropped in as well which made it appeal to me, plus its from my year of birth New rear crossmember recently, no galv chassis but it has been welded in patches (to be expected on a vehicle that old). Goes without saying I'll be giving it a good prod with a screwdriver.

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Not sure if youve owned one before but thre is a link to buying a defender and what to look for which i cant find but some one will post it soon enough. Worth a read. There are very obvious places to look at for problems. Good luck

I've not owned one before nope. I've trawled this forum and youtube/the internet in general for defender buying guides - theres quite a lot of info so I'm lucky there I guess. Found quite a good PDF checklist somewhere and I'll probably change that a little and take a printout with me for the inspection.

As far as I understand the main things to check are chassis(+rear crossmember), gears/diff/transmission, engine(gasket and general leaks, off-colour smoke) - if they're all good then general MOT-type stuff like steering play.

Youve obviously done your homework, The main areas are as youve said, rear x member, all chassis especially behind rear axles and all "dips" in rails that will hold water. Patched up wont mean bad as long as its been done right and im sure it will have been patched. Lift up mats and look at footwells for rust. All outriggers. Take special care on baulkhead on the top corners beside the windscreen hinges. Oil dripping from wading plug hole in gearbox. Make sure all electrics are working correctly as its bound to have been butchered at some stage. Also you usual, how long has he owned it, is it in his name, any receipts for work done. Sure ive missed loads but its an old motor so unless its had a full rebuild you will find problems which you can use as bargaining tools. And if all that hasn't put you off, good luck

td5landy said:

Can't you just change the springs back to standard? Will cost you £40?

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Is this a valid option?? I'm thinking of do the same as the OP and this seems like a nice(cheap!) solution. What's the downside, stiffer ride I guess but can't be much worse is is at the minute!

Not necessarily a stiffer ride, a firmer ride with better road handling would be one option, you could have a soft ride too at the expense of some cornering stiffness. Swapping springs is easy. Starts becoming expensive/pointless if the lifted Landy has been modified properly, then you'd need to spend money putting it back to standard. Might as well buy standard!

ScottL said:

Is this a valid option?? I'm thinking of do the same as the OP and this seems like a nice(cheap!) solution. What's the downside, stiffer ride I guess but can't be much worse is is at the minute!

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Not necessarily stiffer as this depends on the spring rates not height. Reduced length of travel is the only certainty.

I'd prefer on-road handling ability I think - but until I test drive it I won't know how much it bothers me, if at all.

Unless it looks horribly bad I'll probably get it - its a fairly cheap (£3200) defender 90 that seems in good nick. Its on autotrader here: Land Rover 90 2.5D County SUV 4WD The dealer has about 5 defender 90s in stock in my price range, and that one is the one that appeals to me the most.
If its just shocks/springs I'll happily change it back, but as its just had new propshafts I'd guess they'll be wide angle propshafts that would need swapping back to standard (is that correct?) if I revert to standard.
The reason I'd prefer not to buy one of that dealer's non-lifted defenders is that they are also original N/A engines - I think they'll just be too low power for me. This one has a 200tdi, a far better engine.

JebLZ said:

I'd prefer on-road handling ability I think - but until I test drive it I won't know how much it bothers me, if at all.

Unless it looks horribly bad I'll probably get it - its a fairly cheap (£3200) defender 90 that seems in good nick. Its on autotrader here: Land Rover 90 2.5D County SUV 4WD The dealer has about 5 defender 90s in stock in my price range, and that one is the one that appeals to me the most.
If its just shocks/springs I'll happily change it back, but as its just had new propshafts I'd guess they'll be wide angle propshafts that would need swapping back to standard (is that correct?) if I revert to standard.
The reason I'd prefer not to buy one of that dealer's non-lifted defenders is that they are also original N/A engines - I think they'll just be too low power for me. This one has a 200tdi, a far better engine.

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It does look nice with the bells and whistles, i just wonder how much he is putting on the price for the stuff you want removing as opposed to buying a bog standard one. I couldnt get the report up ( dodgy tinternet but has it a fresh mot and a new cambelt?
Just got rest of write up. sounds ok just check cambelt

I really only wanted a Tdi upgrade fitting as it's a bit much for me to take on myself at this time.
The problem with the ones he has that are unmodified but have turbos is that for some reason insurance seems to be more than double - maybe they are just new enough to no longer qualify for classic car status or something? The 1984 came out as £230, the 1992 unmodified one was £570! But I suppose 300 quid is nothing compared to repair costs caused by bad modifications and general abuse.

Anyway, I'll know more when I go to see them tomorrow.

JebLZ said:

I really only wanted a Tdi upgrade fitting as it's a bit much for me to take on myself at this time.
The problem with the ones he has that are unmodified but have turbos is that for some reason insurance seems to be more than double - maybe they are just new enough to no longer qualify for classic car status or something? The 1984 came out as £230, the 1992 unmodified one was £570! But I suppose 300 quid is nothing compared to repair costs caused by bad modifications and general abuse.

Anyway, I'll know more when I go to see them tomorrow.

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I think to get classic insurance it would need to be twenty five years old, so that would figure.

As some have posted, removing a lift kit isn't difficult, and new springs and shocks give a lovely ride.

So if it is a sound motor, and you like it, that probably isn't a bad price, these old landies are rising in value at the moment.

Being a 84 vehicle it isn't a defender 90, by the way, just a Ninety.

Update: I went to see the defender (and several others) but didn't buy it as it was extremely rotten underneath. Screwdriver found holes everywhere - even the rear cross member which had supposedly been replaced....maybe it had about 7 years ago!
Mechanically it seemed OK apart from quite a lot of vibration in the power steering aux belt, it was flapping all over the place. Track rod ends gone, springs quite rusty but acceptable.
Large sections of the cabin bottom were peeling off due to rust.
In my (admittedly inexperienced) opinion it needed a rechassis and a few minor things doing, but I can't justify spending £3.2k on something that I'd then need to pay to have the chassis changed on!

Some of the dealer's other defenders weren't too bad but generally quite a bit too expensive for the age/mileage/condition.

JebLZ said:

Update: I went to see the defender (and several others) but didn't buy it as it was extremely rotten underneath. Screwdriver found holes everywhere - even the rest cross member which had supposedly been replaced....maybe it had about 7 years ago!
Mechanically it seemed OK apart from quite a lot of vibration in the power steering aux belt, it was flapping all over the place. Track rod ends gone, springs quite rusty but acceptable.
Large sections of the cabin bottom were peeling off due to rust.
In my (admittedly inexperienced) opinion it needed a rechassis and a few minor things doing, but I can't justify spending £3.2k on something that I'd then need to pay to have the chassis changed on!

Some of the dealer's other defenders weren't too bad but generally quite a bit too expensive for the age/mileage/condition.

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Well done! :clap2: If it is trouble, just walk away. Plenty more fish in the sea