Defender Build Thread "A Long Road Ahead"

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Mini Update

A wading kit would not be complete without the purchase of one of these, its kind of a christmas prezzie to myself for all the overtime i have been working.

I know i could of gone for a cheaper alternative from ebay but i just love the look, the build quality and finish that safari produce.

After shopping about for a week for the best price i finally plucked up the courage and pressed the ''buy'' button.



As far a fitting it goes i am pretty confident of drilling holes in the landy but what is the general sensuous for the best silicone to use? Do i silicone the pipes that join together in the engine bay as well?

Thanks in advance for any info.
 
Thread Update

I managed to get some time on the landy during the course of the week and today to get it as close to finish as possible.

After i had fitted the slam panel last week i noticed that the bonnet release cable didn't work so a new one was ordered during the week and thankfully it arrived on saturday ready for fitting today.


So with the cable, the radiator and all the plumbing done i was starting to see an end to all the work :) I couldn't help but forget to put the fan cowl on the first time i fitted this all up together lol.


I then fitted the grill and surround which was a bit of a tight squeeze for some reason but it went in in the end.


Next up was to get a few little bits done and out the way so first up was the wind deflectors.


Then replacing the knackered seat belt stalk and rebuilt the interior that i took apart in a blind fit of panic when trying to take the passenger wing off. I was convinced it was held by bolts internally lol.


Then last but not least the RTC steering damper. I have read some good and bad reviews but i thought i would give it a go.

Firstly the old one had to come off which ended up being attacked with the angle grinder after the stilson/socket combo failed.


The fitting bit was easy just straighten the wheel and put in place.


That was my lot for the day, all i have left to do now is:

- oil change
- coolant
- connect battery and hope alternator is connected correctly
- fit snorkel and wading kit (but not a priority)

Oooooo yeah and start planing for the winters additions :D

As always thanks for reading.
 
Stonesinboots, Kwak lad and Landyfox thanks for the comments, its been good fun mucking about with it. It is becoming a bit of an addiction lol
 
Right guys.

I am having a few issues with the landy, got everything done to get her started up oil, battery etc. Went to start her up and it idled fine so i thought bonus timing must be correct. Went to rev it and it wont rev past what sounds like 2000rpm and there was a fair amount of what seems like white smoke coming from somewhere as well. Took all the hoses off to see if there was a blockage and they were fine.

Any ideas? I was thinking fuel lift pump as it was not spitting out fuel via the bleed hole in the filter but would this explain the smoke?

Many thanks.
 
Most was coming from the exhaust as it was filling the garden up but i could see smoke rising from the bay but only a little amount. I must admit fault finding and diagnosing in the dark is not the best idea.

Ill have a look tomorrow and see what else i can find.

Thanks for writing back mudhunter
 
Mini Update

Sorry guys no pics today as this week has been a right faff trying to get it to run right.

Problem 1

I had my first hint of a start up on tuesday night and it wouldnt rev past 2k so we had a look around the engine and decided the first port of call would be to change the fuel lift pump mainly because it didnt work and also with the hope that it might sort it.

After getting the lift pump we fitted it today and gave it a start up, a bit lumpy and a bit hesitant but it then idled fine. After a few minutes of pressing the foot peddle it sorted itself out and cleared the system which seemed to be chocked. It did continue to pump blue smoke out hummm.

Left it on tick over for a while as we checked around it then took it up the road, the first few miles it was smoking white/blue smoke until i gave it a flooring once warmed up (10 + miles) it didnt smoke unless it was on half throttle in 1st or 2nd which seemed white-ish smoke.

Came back home and reported my findings to which we decided the smoke maybe due to being laid up for 4 months and it may need a good driving to get back to normal.

Problem 2

After deciding to use it for my commute to work to see if it runs itself in i had a look around it to make sure all lights were working correct ready for monday morning.

Passenger rear turn signal wasnt working so first off we tried a bulb and nothing hummmm. Maybe no feed getting to it, yep there was feed. So we tried a bulb and holder that we knew worked and nope nothing.

Moving to the underside to see the state of the wiring and noticed that it was all in a mess, wires everywhere and also wires beginning to melt on the silencer. So we decided to cut the crappy tow bar loom out and go from there. Once removed we then tried the light and nothing, we tried direct linking from the live, we tried new earths we tried everything. This is the point in which the light started to go and decided to pack up for the night.

Problem 3

Well not a problem more of a stupidity on my behalf, not tightening the bolts on the steering damper spring retainer before going for a drive and coming home to see a nice new scratched shock :( .

So the plan now to get the landy on the road is:

1. To trace this illusive red and green indicator wire and find out why it is not working.
2. To repaint the steering damper.
3. To find out why when cold the engine wont rev then once warmed by leaving to idle it will rev.

As always thanks for reading.
 
Thread Update

After last weekends struggle to find life in the old girl i spent most of the week researching different solutions to different problems.

If anyone can shed any light on the problems i would be very grateful.

I bought a set of these as mine were faded and needed replacing.


Problem 1

As the same from my last post when first started up it doesnt want to rev past 2k with added white/blue smoke pumping from the exhaust.

So todays enquiry into the problem started looking into the actuator valve on the turbo and making sure that was working correctly. My next port of call was to start the motor up and see how she was. It took about 10 seconds of foot hard to the floor before the rev's picked up, after that initial strangle/chocking and has a bit of warmth in the engine it is fine in regards to rev's raising but the white/blue smoke is still there hummmm.

We decided that i should go for an hours drive to see if it clears the system and returns back to normal. By the time i got home i had found that the smoke only appears on half throttle and only when the turbo is spooling so if i had it on half throttle in say 4th or 5th gear it is fine with no smoke but up the speed/rev's until the turbo kicks in and smoke appears, even more hummmm.

Going to be seeking technical info from 2 places near me to see if they can shed light on it.

Problem 2

The turn signal problem seems to have sorted itself out, we tried everything to get it to work but in the end it needed nothing to get it working other then leaving it alone lol.

As i bought the new lamps and the wiring in the rear end is crap i thought i may as well rewire it into a junction box and run new wire to the lamps as the original wires are past there best and messy.


Problem 3

This was the stupid mistake of me not tightening the bolts on the spring retainer on the steering damper, so that came off today to get ready for painting.

After the test drive today it highlighted some areas i need to address;

- The brake peddle is pulsing so they need looking at, probably where its been laid up for a while rust may of built up on one or more of the discs causing a sort of warping affect.
- The steering wheel is 90 degrees out of rotation so that will need to be taken off and corrected. (ooooo i wonder if i can justify a new wheel as well lol)
- The drivers swivel ball is leaking so that will need overhauling soon.

Thanks for reading guys
 
WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Its fixed, well so far only had it idling on the drive but i will have to go for a drive to double check but cant go to far as the bloody fuel filler cap lock has decided to stop working lol... One day i will drive it in anger :)
 
Unfortunately for me it was my fault :(

When me and my dad did the cambelt i was the labour who got underneath and put the drill but in the fly wheel. Although it went in it was in ****ed, and having it only a little out made a massive difference to the timing.

I am kind of glad it happened like this as i have learnt more from my dad fixing it for me this time to when we first installed the belt

Thanks guys
 
haha yeah the chassis is bad and after crawling around it over the past few days it has highlighted that i have beed repairing the good bits lol.

I was thinking new chassis as well but have decided against it has i will be making a weld in cage next year and didnt want to pay for a part galvo chassis other wise i would be all over a new richards chassis :)
 
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