New owner's list of repairs - any thoughts?

Hello all, wonder if anyone can advise, my local Land Rover specialist just carried out an inspection of my newly purchased 1998/300tdi 110 - I'm new to Defenders, so wondering which of the following I should prioritise, and which, if any, sound any alarms.....be great to get some perspective from experienced owners. Any guesstimates on costs would be good, too.

Some of them are obvious, but I put them down for completeness anyway. Many thanks in advance!

1. Colour of the vehicle has been changed
2. Has got recon engine
3. Rear wash wipe not working
4. Hazard switch not illuminating
5. LH side repeater not working
6. LHF Out Rigger needs welding
7. Rear cross member needs welding
8. LHR Front bush on trailing arm got play
9. Rear exhaust trail pipe corroded badly
10. T/box got slight oil leak
11. Engine got slight oil leak
12. Rear diff pinion oil seal leaking oil
13. LHF & RHF wheel bearings got play (May just need adjusting)
14. LH and RH swivel leaking and got slight pits on swivel ball ( may just be able to change the seals, until we start the job and have a good look at the swivel balls)
15. LHR hub cap leaking oil (just needs a replacement rubber cap)
16. Rear brake pads worn 70%
17. Fan switch faulty
18. No fast speed on the wipers
19. Battery insecure
20. Rear door dragging (may need door adjustment or the hinge pins and balls may need replacing, not expensive)
21. Drive belt got cracks ( needs new belt)
22. Clutch fluid was low( may just need topping up or possible a leak, would have to keep a check on this)
23. Driver door u/s ( steel section missing from door, may be able to repair)
24. Misfire when cold

yep thats a defender

Hi welcome to the forum , was your new landy cheap !!!

Most of the above will need sorting before the next mot but id start with any oil leaks as if anything runs low it could cost you alot more than a seal

As far as cost genuine seals arent that expensive and after that it depends how long it take your mechanic

crossmember could be of concern as if it cant be repaired then it will be hundereds to have a new one fitted

If swivels are currently filled with oil then two packs of one shot grease may solve the leaks ,if theres play in the bearings its anything from removing shims to new bearings and a rebuild kit complete with swivel ball can be had for under £150 a side

good luck !

Missfire when cold.... WTF it's not a petrol. ound:

And 70% worn brake pads -- yeah like they actually had means to measure them and know exactly how tall they where when new.

Maybe you should have had it inspected before buying??


Honestly, without knowing more detail. None of it sounds bad.


Most oily bits leak on a Landy, so it's all normal (they'll also leak water in too unless it's broken).

It's how bad the oil leak is that counts.

Leaking from the swivels sounds a little odd though. Not saying it isn't, but without seeing the vehicle sounds more like the garage trying to pull a fast one. Hub seal bearing leak yes, swivel, quite unlikely IMO.


Same goes for the other bits really. Does the outrigger really need welding? If yes, then get it done. But it might be fine.

Side repeater not working is an MoT fail, so worth getting it working, but could be just a bulb or a dodgy earth.

Swivel seals can and do leak ,im in the process of rebuilding one on my disco ,it had so much play in the bearings the grease leaked out and when i stripped it the top bearing collapsed (was motd under 1000 miles ago !)

welcome to landy (any old car tbh) ownership

chrisstdt said:

Hi welcome to the forum , was your new landy cheap !!!

Most of the above will need sorting before the next mot but id start with any oil leaks as if anything runs low it could cost you alot more than a seal

As far as cost genuine seals arent that expensive and after that it depends how long it take your mechanic

crossmember could be of concern as if it cant be repaired then it will be hundereds to have a new one fitted

If swivels are currently filled with oil then two packs of one shot grease may solve the leaks ,if theres play in the bearings its anything from removing shims to new bearings and a rebuild kit complete with swivel ball can be had for under £150 a side

good luck !

Click to expand...

Hi, thanks very much - all good advice and very grateful, the crossmember has a couple of small holes in it, seems pretty sound really - the landy was cheapish for the year and mileage (102k), better than most I'd been watching for three months or so, so all in all, reckon I've not been too badly burned. Going to have to get my mechanical skills upgraded I think, from what people are telling me, its labour costs that I'm going to have to watch more than anything.

300bhp/ton said:

Missfire when cold.... WTF it's not a petrol. ound:

And 70% worn brake pads -- yeah like they actually had means to measure them and know exactly how tall they where when new.

Maybe you should have had it inspected before buying??

Honestly, without knowing more detail. None of it sounds bad.

Most oily bits leak on a Landy, so it's all normal (they'll also leak water in too unless it's broken).

It's how bad the oil leak is that counts.

Leaking from the swivels sounds a little odd though. Not saying it isn't, but without seeing the vehicle sounds more like the garage trying to pull a fast one. Hub seal bearing leak yes, swivel, quite unlikely IMO.

Same goes for the other bits really. Does the outrigger really need welding? If yes, then get it done. But it might be fine.

Side repeater not working is an MoT fail, so worth getting it working, but could be just a bulb or a dodgy earth.

Click to expand...

Hi thanks very much for this, all very helpful, will aid me in deciding what to do first and what to do myself and what to pay others to do. I had it inspected independently by a non-Landy specialist garage and the list was much shorter than the above (which was by a Landy specialist and happened after the sale), but the judgement of both garages is the same as yours -lots to do, nothing obviously disastrous. It has been neglected over the last 5 years or so, nothing done to it and not driven much - two things I intend to change. Cheers!

chrisstdt said:

Swivel seals can and do leak ,im in the process of rebuilding one on my disco ,it had so much play in the bearings the grease leaked out and when i stripped it the top bearing collapsed (was motd under 1000 miles ago !)

welcome to landy (any old car tbh) ownership

Click to expand...

Thanks very much! Cheers, Jonathan

A busy weekend could get most of the important roadworthiness jobs done. Spanners out

sounds fiine.

imo, first fix the hazard and repeaters. probably just needs a new switch. basically anything that you might need to not crash whilst driving it.

the fix the bushes and have a good inspection of the xmember rust and the outrigger rust and any other rust of the chassis. whack it with a hammer to find it. post pics

re the leaks, just check and top the oil levels on everything for now, and then just work down bit by bit.

Is the new colour registered with DVLA? If not the rozzers could pull you next time you pass a ANPR camera.
That can open up a new world of inconvenience/embarrassment/expense 'cos you can be sure they will go over your Landy with a fine tooth comb and do you for everything they can. Simple job, no dirty fingernails, no oily footprints on the carpet and cheap!

As for the mechanical/electrical stuff, do what it needs to make it pass an MOT first.

JonathanJames111 said:

Hello all, wonder if anyone can advise, my local Land Rover specialist just carried out an inspection of my newly purchased 1998/300tdi 110 - I'm new to Defenders, so wondering which of the following I should prioritise, and which, if any, sound any alarms.....be great to get some perspective from experienced owners. Any guesstimates on costs would be good, too.

Some of them are obvious, but I put them down for completeness anyway. Many thanks in advance!

1. Colour of the vehicle has been changed
2. Has got recon engine
3. Rear wash wipe not working
4. Hazard switch not illuminating
5. LH side repeater not working
6. LHF Out Rigger needs welding
7. Rear cross member needs welding
8. LHR Front bush on trailing arm got play
9. Rear exhaust trail pipe corroded badly
10. T/box got slight oil leak
11. Engine got slight oil leak
12. Rear diff pinion oil seal leaking oil
13. LHF & RHF wheel bearings got play (May just need adjusting)
14. LH and RH swivel leaking and got slight pits on swivel ball ( may just be able to change the seals, until we start the job and have a good look at the swivel balls)
15. LHR hub cap leaking oil (just needs a replacement rubber cap)
16. Rear brake pads worn 70%
17. Fan switch faulty
18. No fast speed on the wipers
19. Battery insecure
20. Rear door dragging (may need door adjustment or the hinge pins and balls may need replacing, not expensive)
21. Drive belt got cracks ( needs new belt)
22. Clutch fluid was low( may just need topping up or possible a leak, would have to keep a check on this)
23. Driver door u/s ( steel section missing from door, may be able to repair)
24. Misfire when cold

Click to expand...

If it were mine, I would focus on the bits in red

battery insecure is a bit rubbish really.. as it's stored in the seatbox.. it isn't going anywhere

trax said:

battery insecure is a bit rubbish really.. as it's stored in the seatbox.. it isn't going anywhere

Click to expand...

Wouldn't really want it warming the seat up if you were upside down in a ditch though

I'd want to look at the misfire pretty soon, could be poor compression (valves, head gasket, rings) faulty injector or any number of things I don't know enough to worry about

trax said:

sounds fiine.

imo, first fix the hazard and repeaters. probably just needs a new switch. basically anything that you might need to not crash whilst driving it.

the fix the bushes and have a good inspection of the xmember rust and the outrigger rust and any other rust of the chassis. whack it with a hammer to find it. post pics

re the leaks, just check and top the oil levels on everything for now, and then just work down bit by bit.

Click to expand...

cheers, excellent advice, much obliged, will follow thru

blue beasty said:

I'd want to look at the misfire pretty soon, could be poor compression (valves, head gasket, rings) faulty injector or any number of things I don't know enough to worry about

Click to expand...

yup, that's the only one that keeps me awake at night, its supposed to have had a new head gasket, the misfire thing lasts less than a minute, all fine after that

jackmac said:

If it were mine, I would focus on the bits in red

Click to expand...

much obliged, will have a good look at your highlights, thanks, Jonathan

JonathanJames111 said:

cheers, excellent advice, much obliged, will follow thru

Click to expand...

Best not to follow thro' but good luck with the repairs, it'll be worth it once sorted!

I've basically had to do all that to mine over the last couple of years.

If it's not a daily runner then get the brakes and MOT failure stuff done and then do the rest yourself. If you pay someone it'll be expensive. But if you've got the time to learn as you go then just start with the simple stuff and go from there.

A socket set, some plus gas and a hammer will sort a lot of that stuff. Lots of great guides on here.