what do I buy

simple catch phrase to live by in the defender world: "there is no such thing as a cheap Defender" If its cheap the current owner knows whats wrong and either cant afford to repair it or couldnt be bothered.
I bought a cheap defender once, (its now worth a truck load more, might not get it back if i ever sell more) i did know of alot of the faults that were there not from the previous owner but from advice from here.
Mine is now 90% sorted, reconned gear bag, transfer box, new front prop shaft, all UJ s, new shockies, wheel bearings, timing belt, radiator, hoses (turbo and other)heavy duty half shafts, suspension bushes, holy shift is a long list and there is alot more but I wont bore you. But I do have a mechanically sorted vehicle now.

I do like the old girl and was prepared to spend a bit but you can reach the piont of no return. They all have the same dramas with the same components at more or less the same milage and socond hand spares are as scarce as rocking horse ---t (in perth any way)

Buy a good low Km vehicle (150k) with a full real service history and a good body(very costly) and you will love it. the best 4X4Xfar and its true.
happy hunting
Mal

I second Johns comment re: tdi's and tbelt failure...

Although it IS an inteference engine, the valves hit square to the piston, and just give them a love kiss! The push rods are the fuse.

Certainly a show stopper, but on long range stuff I chuck in an old belt and a few old rods and rockers... Havent had to use em but one day I will!

The tdi timing belt got a bad name early on due to in warranty failures, it is kinda like the TD5 oil in harness. When it first started happening the world was ending but now people just get on with it and use the engines for what they are good at and dont sweat on the little stuff...

Im biased but agree with ugu80 dont rule out a 130!

Steve

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by malsgoing130

simple catch phrase to live by in the defender world: "there is no such thing as a cheap Defender" If its cheap the current owner knows whats wrong and either cant afford to repair it or couldnt be bothered.
I bought a cheap defender once, (its now worth a truck load more, might not get it back if i ever sell more) i did know of alot of the faults that were there not from the previous owner but from advice from here.
Mine is now 90% sorted, reconned gear bag, transfer box, new front prop shaft, all UJ s, new shockies, wheel bearings, timing belt, radiator, hoses (turbo and other)heavy duty half shafts, suspension bushes, holy shift is a long list and there is alot more but I wont bore you. But I do have a mechanically sorted vehicle now.

I do like the old girl and was prepared to spend a bit but you can reach the piont of no return. They all have the same dramas with the same components at more or less the same milage and socond hand spares are as scarce as rocking horse ---t (in perth any way)

Buy a good low Km vehicle (150k) with a full real service history and a good body(very costly) and you will love it. the best 4X4Xfar and its true.
happy hunting
Mal

---

Hi, first stab at the forum and from a quick scan through here it looks like there is a real follow the bouncing ball story with OZ Landies. I certainly was going to follow a similar plan to the advice you gave, but instead bought a "cheap" old 94 Defender 130 300TDI with higher mileage based purely on the vehicle basically falling into my lap, kept virtually tripping over the old girl. The engine felt strong and the body and subframe solid but with visible neglect. It had been sold off the yard only 3 years earlier but used as a work truck and even the rego had been ignored.
Corrosion removed and repaired in all doors and passenger footwell, along with the rust in the frames and so on, she looked a lot better. Replaced most rubber bushes and ball joints, brakes and bonnet release cable. New drivers seat base and battery. Few other details but the biggest outlay was replacing the transfer case that died in the first week after about 30kms of driving. Removed, replaced and sorted, finally RWC and rego'd about 4 months and several thousand later.
Still at well under 9g total spend I guess it's not too bad especially for a dual cab 4x4 Trucktorutesaurus that the kids love and the Mrs likes when she can work out how to get up into it. Certainly not the usual 2nd family car but a good one just the same. I'll be lucky to do 5,000km per year in her with work about 10 mins away, but she took the bikes and the dog down the coast easy and seems to suit my needs more than most could.

She should serve me well for the next 30 years or so. Hope to drop in here from time to time too.