Thread: Various newbie defender questions

Hi and welcome.
First sounds like you have a cheap boost gauge, what brand? The first one I had did similar, I bought an SAAS gauge and has been fine since. My belief is a stock TD5 will produce around 14-15 psi, modified can go a bit higher I think.
Check how the gauge is fitted and if it returns to zero when no acceleration or engine off.
If the radiator is only 2yo it should be fine. I would install a set of thermo fans, takes a little work but I installed 2. You have to modify the stabiliser bars in front of the radiator but can be done fairly easily.
A good intercooler is a good addition, I have an ASE. What can happen though is the bonnet catch may foul on the top. I cut a bit off the bottom of mine. This makes it slightly harder to close, but much better than punching a hole through the top of the intercooler. This is due to good aftermarket ones being much thicker. An ECU remap will entail sending your ECU away or you can try and source a later model unit that can have fuel maps written to with the use of a Nanocom or similar. On my wish list and has been for a while.
Be carefull with aftermarket radiators, the market seems to be a bit hit and miss with quality.
You should be able to get the bits for your door locks from many of the UK retailers or maybe Karcraft.
Best of luck
Craig

Hi Craig - thanks for your reply!@

Both the pyro and boost gauges are VDO-branded. The gauge returns to zero when not accelerating or engine is off. Could it be a fault with cabling?

I'll leave the radiator as is and look further into the intercool. Erverything I have read says it's a good addition and pretty much a necessity for a remap, which will be happening at some stage. I'll look into the later model ECUs.

Hunting down some door locks/trims. Wish me luck!

Also alot of rain here at the moment, which has wound up on the floors inside - is this usual!?!!

Defender seals, don't really.
My 02 wagon haD a leak from above the drivers door and onto my foot, I've patched it but they return.I've seen new pumas with puddles in the front footwells.

There are numerous uk suppliers, as well as lucky8 in the u.s.a and nanocom. There is also hytuff-qld and ashcroft uk if you want stronger drivetrain gear.
Madman and Dave here sell gauges for get and water temperatures, the problem most including me is the list of wants is a lot bigger than the wallet.

Originally Posted by frantic

Defender seals, don't really.
My 02 wagon haD a leak from above the drivers door and onto my foot, I've patched it but they return.I've seen new pumas with puddles in the front footwells.

There are numerous uk suppliers, as well as lucky8 in the u.s.a and nanocom. There is also hytuff-qld and ashcroft uk if you want stronger drivetrain gear.
Madman and Dave here sell gauges for get and water temperatures, the problem most including me is the list of wants is a lot bigger than the wallet.

Thanks for that frantic. Still working out the best places to buy from in Aus. I'd certainly prefer buying over local/aussies than a company overseas.

Alright - well I wont worry as much about the leaking then! I havent been able to find anything obvious so it's not too much of a big deal!

Can certainly relate to more wants.... Luckily, the canopy and camping side of things is already well taken care of with previous cars - so I now have money to spend on some other good gear. It's already got HyTuff rear axles, Hy-Tuff axle flanges front/rear along with 2" lift with Expedition front shocks and Remote Res rear shocks. Detroit rear locker as well. No engine work done though - so looking forward to getting stuck into that.

Most boost gauges are vaccum, so you may need to check the line and joins. VDO are usually pretty good. Are you sure it is an electric boost gauge? If so this would run off the ECU.

Not sure if it is electric or vac. I do remember seeing some sort of cable running from the Intake (EGR replacement pipe) through to the cab? Would this be it?

Welcome. Enjoy the Defender, they really are both iconic and very capable.
My Puma has a standard radiator and intercooler with a Steinbauer chip and seems to run fine so far.
Allisport radiators and intercoolers from England seem to get good write-ups for quality and efficiency.
For door seals, do what I did and go to Clark Rubber and buy some extra seals with the peel off sticky backs to run around the doors themselves, since the seals are only on the body, except for the ones on the bottoms of the doors. Clark charges about $9 a metre. Be sure not to get them too thick though or the doors will be too hard to shut. The thin extra seals can then butt up against the standard seals.
Also check the joint on the roof between the sloping front and the flat rest of the roof. It may need some clear silicone on it on the outside, so water doesn't leak through and run down the roof lining.
I have directly imported stuff from Paddock in England and had good service and prices. Delivery in about two weeks.
This crowd operates here: http://www.rovacraft.com.au/

A frequent source of leaks is the bracket that joins the windscreen to the firewall each side. This has bolts screwed into it from inside, and a seal under the bracket that frequently leaks, allowing water to come in along the thread of the bolts. It is in a high pressure area while driving. It usually looks like a door seal is leaking. Can be fixed by suitable sealant after taking it off.

John