Need advice choosing please!

Well at a casual glance the red one makes a better case for spending £6k.

As ever take a checklist and a biro and just go through every thing. If its had an attentive owner you will probably not turn up much.

red one, tother one is very rusty underneath and looks like its been offroad a fair bit. and looking at all the sh1tpart boxes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, if the previous previose, former keeper has been fitting lots of parts in blue boxes, its bound to fall to bits.

hughesy said:

That, sadly is the best advice given so far. Unless you want to become a self taught mechanic or you have endless funds to pay a garage Land Rovers are bad news. I have owned several of many different models over a long period of time and there is always a job that needs doing. I once bought a disco off someone who had spent 3000 quid on it in two years and it was still fit for the scrap heap. If you own tools and don't mind using them a Defender can be a very rewarding vehicle but it will take over your life, your finances and your spare time.

Click to expand...

This depends entirely on how good a Defender you buy. We bought a new one in 2006 and had almost nothing go wrong in eight years and 40,000 miles.
Defenders are more often bought new by people who use them for what they were designed to do. So they get hammered.
I was looking for a 110 last Summer and most l looked at were ratty from a life of farm use/abuse.
I bought a 56,000 mile 110 CSW and have done 9,000 miles since last October with almost no faults.
Indicator switch, MAF unit, injector harness.

CSW versions can be better as they have often been used on the road only, as cars. Last month we bought a 90 CSW (for my wife, we now have one each!) Despite having over 100,000 miles there was very little to do.
Transfer box oil seal, windscreen seal, light switch, new rear step, service.

XRIZLAX said:

red one, tother one is very rusty underneath and looks like its been offroad a fair bit. and looking at all the sh1tpart boxes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, if the previous previose, former keeper has been fitting lots of parts in blue boxes, its bound to fall to bits.

Click to expand...

It always makes me smile when I see poor photos or pointless photos in car adverts.

The £10 collection of ****part boxes in the second advert take the biscuit though.

I would not waste the time to view the grey vehicle, a few years ago it would have struggled to sell at £2750.

5500 for the grey one is serious **** taking.......the advert reads out to be a shed..... the fact its only maintainance he thinks to mention is its had a new battery.... - means its probably only had a new battery in the last year .... and hes never got round to servicing it hence why he has all the service kit in boxes

mines in better nick(as in fully rebuilt with all new mechanicals) and i wouldnt expect more than 4 for it.....

Id certainly look at the red one- even the advert reads a better truck.

Prices have gone up that's for sure!

becstar said:

Hmmmm - well that didn't work! Try again...

1997 LAND ROVER 90 DEFENDER COUNTY SW TDI | eBay

Land Rover DEFENDER 90 2.5 Tdi Hard Top

Click to expand...

If your used to driving normal cars and haven't driven a defender make sure you do before you buy, td5 all the way, county sw you will pay a premium for , if you don't need rear seats get a commercial and put windows in. Someone mentioned heavy clutch that is a cheap quick fix don't let that put you off. If you don't have anyone to look with you use the AA not sure what they charge but worth it. Look at dogs and clean examples to get an idea of how they can rust. Be patient one will turn up. Last thing make sure you do all the hpi and other checks vin etc as there are a lot of ringers out there, if it looks cheap beware. Good luck in your search you will soon be driving with a smile on your face.

What is the 'cheap quick fix' for a heavy clutch?

Mine was to install a AP one when the uber heavy and frankly crap ****part example gave up without warning despite having travelled less than 25,000 miles.

Did I mention I hate ****part.

clutch shouldt be heavy unless some fuds fitted an HD clutch kit.

with a propper AP clutch kit my hydro clutch on the landys the lightest ive had in years - stupid cable clutches on french motors....

Yep the AP I have now is totally silent and as light as a regular car. Amazing transformation from the HD version, you have to do a lot of cog swapping in a Defender!

But what was the cheap quick fix? The only fix I can see is taking the box out and replacing the clutch and that's neither quick or cheap.

depends whos doing it i guess . for a new owner thats a bit involved i guess....

top drive said:

depends whos doing it i guess . for a new owner thats a bit involved i guess....

Click to expand...

Seriously - taking the box out 'a bit involved'?

£450 to someone else or £450 of hard work and equipment/skill to yourself.

It still adds up to £450 whoever does it in my book.

no harder than many other jobs on the landy - just gotta be methodical.

gimmie a landy clutch change over a eurobox clutch any day - at least access is good.

anyway - be thankful when your doing a clutch change that you made it to a clutch change without needing to do the engine output seal .... taking the clutch out to do that is a right sapper of enthusiasm.

Well I reckon its got to be in the top 5 worst jobs on the Defender jobs list.

Ahead......perhaps.... Nope its No 1 Bitch job in my book.

I am obviously not including chassis/bulkhead swaps as they are not really maintenance/repairs and more improvements.

Go on tell me what you dislike doing more that's maintenance?

crowmann said:

What is the 'cheap quick fix' for a heavy clutch?

Mine was to install a AP one when the uber heavy and frankly crap ****part example gave up without warning despite having travelled less than 25,000 miles.

Did I mention I hate ****part.

Click to expand...

It's the pedal spring that's heavy change for later type fiddly but cheap, seek and ye shall find.

Land Rover Anorak Technical 110 Station Wagon

Check this out.

You can fit a spring kit to the TD5 clutch pedal that makes it a fair bit lighter. The kit costs about £30.

It consists of a spring and some bushes, and is easy to fit, although you do have to release the clutch pedal from the master cylinder to get the spring on.
The new spring goes over centre as you press the pedal and instead of making the pedal harder, as the old spring does, it actually assists the pedal.

It's still heavy compared to a car, but makes a fair difference.

Google "Defender clutch assist spring". It's fitted as standard to 300tdi and tdci but not to the TD5 for some reason

I know nothing of the spring assister but the stock return spring makes no difference to the weight of the pedal. Its purpose is to return the pedal to the 'home' position and is no effort to push.

With or without and you could not tell.

The kit has a different type of spring, google it and you will see what l mean.

I fitted one to both my TD5 Defenders and would say it makes the clutch pedal about 30% lighter. The spring flicks over at half way down and assists the pedal on the rest of the stroke, instead of making it harder to press.

manners please this is not a thread about heavy clutches and fixes.