Thread: The reason LandRover isnt building in this market

So I dropped Bear in and was met by Louis as I entered the office.

He had a look over the car and off I went in the Diesel VW Golf they supplied me. Squeezy but not bad. (But I was uncomfortable thinking I was driving something so polluting as opposed to my Defender!!-- I am a "bearded defender driver" after all!--(new attempt at a rib by a mate!))

Verdict:- the smoke is caused by a sticky EGR valve, sounds like not uncommon but also not regular. They've ordered one in.

The rear chassis rail will be covered under warranty (a repaint) and they've spotted a few other spots they'll touch up underneath also.

Louis has also booked in a replacement seat box and front floor covering as these in Bear have rubbed against the door... something I didn't expect

The stereo has an intermittent fault, they offered to replace it before but I wasn't worried as it had only occurred a few times, that happened again and they are replacing it.

They also noticed a very slight weep in a front engine seal and (as it is the first service for his new heart after the transplant) and a small leak in the fuel nozzle of the tank, they will replace them.

So they order the parts from Sydney, usually not a problem... But then the volcano overseas grounded a heap of flights. This included some freight planes which in turn meant the planes to do freight here were mucked about and the syd-adel flight didn't make it until late afternoon. --

Louis rang me and was very apologetic about it, (cant really blame LR for a volcano though!!). After discussion with him I can come back and leave my car for 3-4 days in early December and all the work will be done then. They'll supply a car for the time.

I roll back in, and Bear has been detailed outside! Flash as a new penny!!

So, seems all still going well...

Oh and on the way to town I was met by a "mate of a mate". My mate was in this blokes shed/man cave and saw a 49 grille and badge hanging in there. He commented on it and the fact I have one with incorrect badge and a slight ripple in bottom corner where it had been bent. This guy rings me (out of the blue) and offers a straight swap as he "doesn't care if the one on the wall has a bit of character!!!"

He met me as I travelled to Adelaide, apparently he picked the grille up years ago cleaning out some blokes place that used to wreck cars etc and had died. His man cave is apparently covered in grilles, hubcaps, and parts (incl a signwritten door apparently off a desoto) mainly from that place. He didnt want anything other than the straight swap and was happy with that!! Refused a carton I had brought to give him! A trip well taken!--- and means last time I was down I had a 51 grille on board, this time I had a 49 grille on board.... they must be wondering about me!

Next trip I need to find the grille from the prototype!!


Out of interest They had vovo driverless car prototypes in the carpark... and more volvo support cars..there is a trial here on Saturday (southern expressway will be closed for it)

So I've been a bit slack and updating this thread.
But unfortunately I have a lot to add.

Get a coffee and a biscuit and settle in this may take a while


Bear came back from the service and repairs and
Had a New coat of paint on the rear crossmember making
Him look really good. They replaced the EGR valve but it was still
Puffing a bit of smoke every now and again but she goes and they replaced the whole injectors set up.

I collected bear and all was sweet

In February I started getting a whistle noise
From the motor, I thought maybe a hose but couldn't find a loose split or cut hose when I was feeling around the noise got worse very very quickly
Within kilometres I recorded the noise and sent it in to solitaire and they also thought it might be a hose.


So after checking all the hoses I took the hose from the airbox to the front of the turbo off remove the elbow and found that the spindle in the turbo moved probably an eighth of an inch side to side obviously this is very wrong, I took a photo which showed grind scrape marks on the sides and damage veins on the turbo, not good!

They told me to bring it back and then have a look for me, I towed bear down there and teed up a car to borrow. Quite embarrassing to be known as the Land Rover guy around town and be driving an 80 series Land cruiser!
I got a phone call and was told that bear had indeed spun the turbo, they were working on another turbo and believe this one was caused by a hairline crack in the elbow in front causing it to overboost.

The part finally came in and bear was reassembled and they rang me to collect him. I had told them that I was supposed to go to a mates 50th birthday on a station in the north on the weekend that I got bear back and so they gave it a good test drive and handed it back all done.

I drive out on the Friday from the workshop happy to be back in the defender and 25 cays later was horrified as the turbo noise returned I drove straight back to solitaires and they got to work under the Bonnet immediately they thought it may have been a slightly loose hose and after about an hour working on it during which the service manager was even under the Bonnet they took it out for a test drive, literally a minute later they were back and said the Turbo had blown.

This pointed to either oil or over boosting as the problem. Solitaire was good and supplied me with a flash red coloured D4 to travel to the station in

The D4 went well but obviously I couldn't go to some of the spots I wanted to as a)it wasn't my car and b)it was brand spanking new there was 14 mil of rain in the week leading up to his birthday and 18 mil of rain overnight once we were there, I was very concerned about how the D4 would go on the road tyres on the way out but it handled it very well.

So there was much scratching of heads and gnashing of teeth at solitaires whilst they replace the turbo which they said were the only two defender Turbos they have replaced! Time is slowly running out for me to get bear back so I can go away on the only weekend I get to go away all year and that is to Melrose for the Land Rover register weekend lots of phone calls back and forth with solitaire and Louis tells me it will be ready on the Thursday. They have test driven it and it's okay they have checked all the oil and boost levels and deliveries and they are okay apparently the turbo that died appeared to be faulty when They pulled it apart.

I drive to turn the 200km to Adelaide and collect bear then 200 km back home and load up hook up the trailer and off on my family holiday to Melrose arriving late so we swagged it instead of setting the tent up, bad move, it rained all night and half the morning!!

So Friday was good, Saturday was good, bear was driven in the trials and won the 110 category and again life is sweet. Sunday we decide to do a leisurely trip over the bridal track and back via Port Germain gorge road I went Tail end Charlie and Shane lead to group.

As we drove into the gorge Road with no stopping spots the dreaded turbo noise reemerged and once we found a spot the dry turbo bearing could be heard winding down when the car was turn off again a catastrophic turbo failure!

Everyone with me was really good we ended up having to limp the car into Murray town about seven kilometres away this took a very long time and the noise got worse and worse Land Rover assist send a tow truck to collect the vehicle others to my passengers and I travelled with the tow truck back to Melrose so I could get my gear back to camp and bear went on the back of a truck yet again to solitaire.

Land Rover assist had a lot of trouble working out how to get another car for me to use to get me on my trailer back to home. In the end they arranged on Tuesday for a hire car from thriftys at Port Augusta. They rang back and told me it was ready to pick up if I wouldn't mind walking over, ( after all it is only 100 km! )there had been an area of confusion as to where I was and when I pointed it out they sent a taxi from Port Agusta to take me over there!

We arrived at thrifty to collect the car and found that thrifty's had been closed for two years in Port Augusta!!

Many phone calls gnashing of teeth and Deadset annoyance later a Dual cab hilux was supplied and I drove back to Melrose to collect my gear and get home already having lost one work day.

I returned the hilux to the Adelaide airport yesterday and Land Rover got me picked up and taken back to solitaire in the red D4 which they have again loaned to me.

It appears to me to be an all starvation problem and seems to have all been happening since the new Motor was installed
I pointed this out and the guys at Land Rover said that they also were coming to this conclusion but we're sending the turbo off to a mob called NTQ Who are turbo specialists to see what they think.

Phone call this morning and I must say I am very grateful that I am contacted often and told what is happening with the car whenever it is there anyway the turbo that failed making it the third turbo in 600 km!! Was apparently rainbow coloured inside indicating oil starvation as suspected.

Series on a dodgy batch of Turbos have a bounded but also suspicion is back on the motor theory about carbon blocking the old delivery doesn't seem Right as it would be a constant block and the turbo would've blown sooner.

This morning Louis has contacted me and tells me the current theory is that the motor supplied and installed as a replacement may not have had the updated oil pump installed as per recall which had been done on my Old motor and as a result when checked they check the VIN and missed the engine had been installed without it being done

They are awaiting news back from Land Rover in relation to this.

Although has I've said the guys at the service centre about bending over backwards to help the faith I have in this Current defender as in the car itself that I own is severely depleted iit is especially embarrassingto have my wife point out that her year 2000 Magna is now the vehicle that is more reliable in our household and maybe that is what we should take on holiday if we go again!

So not a great weekend as far as my car goes but a great weekend as usual at Melrose well done by the LanRover register of South Australia.

Hopefully next year I will be there in a defender but got only knows what else will fail next something I find it really disappointing after having at 300 TDI that never missed a beat and finding that all the old series because I have a having less mechanical problems

It's also disappointing to have to send your family home with somebody else luckily I was able to get someone travelling in the same direction to help out!

I wonder now if Landrover will swap over the car or will I keep delaying and allowing it to spend as much time in the workshop as with me Or so it seems until there are no defenders available to swap it with?!

Hopefully on Monday I will know if this engine as I said the second engine in bear has been updated or not with the oil pump recall other than that I will have to you mope around and listen to the usual crap about is your car broken again!

Sorry about the text and spelling the phone I am doing this on is fighting me every step of the way! But it isn't broken so it isn't a Land Rover phone!