How to make the back door stronger...

The rear door on my 1985 90 seems to be becoming quite rattly when out and about. It has the spare wheel attached to the back and im worried that it might fall off at some point! Is there any way to strengthen/reinforce the rear door?

weld it up

The frame will have cracked att all the welds round the spare wheel carrier. Take the door cover off and have a look. it'll need welding and reinforcing..

you could just buy a swing away wheel carrier to take the weight off the door

toutie said:

you could just buy a swing away wheel carrier to take the weight off the door

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I am looking into this for the future. There seem to be comeing down in price nicely and your still getting a decent product.

Or you could take the inner door card off and replace it with chequered plate - I did this to the inside and the outside with stainless steel bolts going right through and now my door is as solid as a rock.

adies_v8 said:

I am looking into this for the future. There seem to be comeing down in price nicely and your still getting a decent product.

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better you buy one before the 20% vat starts ,or you'll find there cheaper now than on Jan 1st

Just take the spare off full stop. Much better off road and easier to see out of. I took the long bolts for the spare out from the inside then just put some ordinary bolts in the holes.

khaos said:

Just take the spare off full stop. Much better off road and easier to see out of. I took the long bolts for the spare out from the inside then just put some ordinary bolts in the holes.

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How does taking the spare off the back door make it better off road then

I have a spare pair of rear door supports that attach to the frame.

Brand new.

put the spare on the bonnet

90boy said:

How does taking the spare off the back door make it better off road then

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A few years ago I removed the whole rear door and wheel when the springs bottomed as I dropped down a steep bank.Never fancied mounting it there since.Inow carry spare bolted to the bulkhead behind front seats.Weight is nice and central.Shame to damage 90boys vehicle it looks so clean and tidy

just fit a swingaway on mine,everything now feels smoother and less rattly.door frame still good after 12 years of carrying wheel but outer skin is coroding well and looks a mess

Its worth checking that the hinges are in good nick too, cos mine was rattly and I found that the spring in the top hinge was missing. That pre-loads the hnge and stops a lot of rattle too. A hinge repair kit is cheap, so I got one, fitted the spring to my existing hinge and hey presto, no more rattles.

When you say ' rattly ' what do you mean exactly? Is the glass secured? Do the hinges have any play?

If you remove the door card you'll see that the door is designed to take the weight of the wheel with 2 main struts running vertical either side of the wheel carrier.

Rust usually appears in either lower corners and around the lock mechanism area, if you can weld, then 2 triangular pieces of steel on each lower corner will give you some strength back.

Check the lock mechanism bolts, also remove the glass and reseat with frame silicone and bolt the aluminium trim back on with silicone under that as well.

Lastly, is you remove the door card, take some pics

Putting a spare wheel on the bonnet is fairly straight forward:

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/1184945-post46.html

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/1187706-post64.html

Paul, in response to your sig, totally unrelated, but if its 1988 it aint a Defender.

Pedantism over.

Ah, a man after my own heart - nothing better than a bit of pedantry (Don't get me started on spelling, grammar, etc. !)

Landie_Man said:

Paul, in response to your sig, totally unrelated, but if its 1988 it aint a Defender.

Pedantism over.

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Umm no actually, what it says is ' 1988 Model 90 Defender ' So in essence it is correct and forward thinking....

PaulWilde said:

Umm no actually, what it says is ' 1988 Model 90 Defender ' So in essence it is correct and forward thinking....

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Interesting!Ive always described my vehicle as a90inch,hoping too tag onto the proud tradition of 86" 88"&co.Paul is generally well informed tho so maybe it is a defender.Didnt know ihad anything so modern!

PaulWilde said:

Umm no actually, what it says is ' 1988 Model 90 Defender ' So in essence it is correct and forward thinking....

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surely you mean NINETY as they weren't renamed defender until 1990 when they started fitting the 200tdi

Turboman said:

Interesting!Ive always described my vehicle as a90inch,hoping too tag onto the proud tradition of 86" 88"&co.Paul is generally well informed tho so maybe it is a defender.Didnt know ihad anything so modern!

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strictly it should be called 92.5 inch (unless you have the one prototype that was actually 90" wheel base)