Heart over head?

Hi all
There seems to be a theme running through these introductions, naivety and heart over head…

I have just bought a 1993 110 Land Rover from a Defender specialist garage. I had thought that I might get a reasonable one that way but… in the space of three weeks it has been on the road for a few days. I love the truck as do my kids (not wife though) but will need quite a bit of advice and help I am sure.
The mechanic I use does not share my enthusiasm for land rovers…

Any suggestions for who to take it to for mechanical, body, electric etc. in the Lancaster (Lancs) area will be gratefully received. I am not handy at all with a spanner. I really hope to keep it but I am already finding out they are not for a novice…

Hello welcome they just giant mecarno kits honest

My Rover went into hibernation mid-winter of it's first year with me and wasn't obliged to awaken until spring. That's the way they are.

Dump your mechanic and find another with a more Zen attitude, because attitude is everything when dealing with a Landy. Welcome.

Hi as above if you have a crappy mechanic who "Cant fix that mate" youll have a crappy truck chop him in for a DIY book

Sorry i dont know.

Give it a go mate. Google and here is your friend. my first job on my own was rebuilding the steering, google, youpube, here, all the info needed, videos, advice, tools needed... stock up on beer and cakes.... you may even get offers to help you out!

i am in IT so far from a mechanic, my renualt goes wrong and it pains me no end!

Slap him with a wet fish

To be honest, I think Defender ownership demands at least some basic spannering skills and as v8geoff has said, they are basically bolt/unbolt simple to work on. If you have to give it to someone else to do any work for you, you are going to find it an expensive vehicle to look after. Even something as simple as changing brake disks (on a modern car) is a bit more fiddly on a Defender. Local independent garages will have no trouble with normal stuff like servicing, brake work, engine work etc but most won't know too much about the specialised stuff like steering swivels, how to do the tracking, proper chassis repairs etc.

Everyone is a novice to start with. If you really love it and want to learn you'll find it a rewarding vehicle to own, especially if you take it off road.

Oh, and welcome.

id never wielded a spanner on a car till i got my 90 ..... bar completely failing to change the pads on my first car and snapping my G clamp....now see my thread in the defender section.....(i will admit im not totally handless with tools as i was a bike mechanic for 10 years during school)

plenty help on here/youtube/lr4x4/retroanaconda - not so much haynes manuals though.

top drive said:

id never wielded a spanner on a car till i got my 90 ..... bar completely failing to change the pads on my first car and snapping my G clamp....now see my thread in the defender section.....(i will admit im not totally handless with tools as i was a bike mechanic for 10 years during school)

plenty help on here/youtube/lr4x4/retroanaconda - not so much haynes manuals though.

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i could have sworn you said you welded a spanner on your 90. i was thinking some bizarre emergency repair

thats not happened yet - but its also not to say it wont happy.

I have just bought a 1993 110 Land Rover from a Defender specialist garage. I had thought that I might get a reasonable one that way but… in the space of three weeks it has been on the road for a few days.

Did you not get any help from the "Specialist" garage,
might be worth naming and shaming them if they leave you abandonded.

adies_v8 said:

Sorry i dont know.

Give it a go mate. Google and here is your friend. my first job on my own was rebuilding the steering, google, youpube, here, all the info needed, videos, advice, tools needed... stock up on beer and cakes.... you may even get offers to help you out!

i am in IT so far from a mechanic, my renualt goes wrong and it pains me no end!

Slap him with a wet fish

Click to expand...

me slaps adies with a wet trout

Thank you for the welcome everyone. I think it is time to buy some spanners and a Haynes manual and learn to do a few things myself.

In answer to Chris’s question, there were a lot of serious issues with the truck, such as it should not have got an MOT, steering dangerous etc. After two days of trying to get through to the guy that sold it, I managed to find the owner who collected the truck and delivered it 10 days later with many of the issues fixed. It must have cost them £700 for all the work. Thus despite me not being entirely happy I sort of think they rectified some of their mistakes, through a lot of pressure, and thus I do not want to name them.

Latest discovery is luckily relatively minor, a UJ joint which will hopefully be done tomorrow and I will be back on the road. Based on searching this forum, I have a sneaky feeling it may also be the CV joint but one thing at a time…

Hello and Welcome