Thread: Late Model Defender Questions

Just ducking in to the kitchen to put the popcorn on....

😮😅

I've had Discos 1,2,and 3 and currently own one of the last 130s. For the money that you would pay for a good Defender 110 you could get a pretty nice D4 or older RRS, both of which would be a more pleasant daily drive. I have found the 130 harder work to drive offload than the D3, simply because the D3 with a factory locker and LLAMS made everything so easy.
If however you want a 110 because it is a unique capable platform that gets better the more you modify it and you are one of the masochists that just like them, go ahead and buy it because nothing else will suffice. There's nothing quite like hearing and admirer say "Nice Truck" just because your Defender looks so cool and isn't built like all the other whitegoods

Regards
Tote

For some reason people fall in love with Defenders despite their foibles.The good thing is that as things fail you put aftermarket stuff in and make it a better Defender. Eventually you run out of crappy stuff to fix. I hope🤞

I have read that only some of the early Puma Defenders had the clutch issue and it has since been upgraded and should not be a continuing problem. There are also AP and other clutches available. I understood the cost was around the $1500 range, but could be wrong. Mine was replaced by the previous owner under warranty at about 30,000 kms and is starting to rattle again at 90,000 kms, so at some point I may need a replacement, but it's not an issue now.
Other issues worth watching seem to be the rear axle flanges can bend under heavy usage, but replacement heavy duty flanges are cheap. Some output shafts were not properly greased on manufacture. If it fails there is a replacement output shaft with a hole to allow oil to ooze down and keep it lubricated. There are stories about the latest diff centres being not as strong as in the past, but I guess it depends on usage. A headlight wiring upgrade also seems a good idea, although my standard lights are quite good with Phillips +35 bulbs. A bit of attention with washing sand out and rust prevention seems to keep the rear cross-member and chassis in good shape.
Other than those things, they are a well-proven vehicle and seem relatively simple to maintain.
Have a look in the Defender section and you will find lots of interesting threads.

Originally Posted by Dirty3

Q. Can the Defender be a reliable daily driver?

G'day Neil (nice name).

I bought my 2.2l TDCi Defender dual cab pickup brand new from Land Rover Malaysia in 2013. It has been used as a daily driver ever since and never left me stranded, never seen the back of a tow truck.
- It has also been used for longer distance drives into Thailand and Singapore. Three to five hour highway runs at 110kmh, and lots of secondary roads.
- It has also been used for jungle camping trips. Some of that being relatively easy offroading, some pretty serious hard stuff trips.

Now it is with me and family in Sydney. Pressed back into service doing the usual daily driver routine. We plan to use it for some longer trips and more local camping outings. Four years old and business as usual.

All that said I did my research before buying and as some will point out there are some key areas that need a close eye:
- half shaft flanges . so many reports of them not greased from new and flogging out early. I proactively replaced mine with Ashcroft HD flanges. They fit nicely behind the stock Boost Alloy rim centres.
- turbo hoses. if fixed under warranty then no issue.
- clutch. If replaced under warranty then no more issue. (some later models had the better clutch from factory and so shouldn't need attention.)
- adapter shaft. so many assembled without grease from factory and flog out. If fixed under warranty then no more issue.
- diff centres. If set up correctly you may not have issues. A lot were apparently not set up right from factory. I proactively replaced my diff centres with Ashcroft ATBs and dodge that bullet.

I came to a conclusion that right from factory you either get a good one or a bad one. There are horror stories out there about people having a run of 4 or more bad diffs in a row etc. But thats an exceptionally bad run.

[edit] Should add for context that I tend to "drive it like I stole it" and for the past nearly 2yrs has had a BAS170hp AB tune and 33" tyres fitted. Only change in driving style, since arriving back in Australia, is that I still drive it hard only up to speed limits. There is a serious difference in the cost of speeding tickets here, as compared to Malaysia.

The only real issue I've had with mine was the adapter shaft fixed under warranty,other than that it's absolutely rock solid,and it's done some huge outback K's in it's life. Pat

Originally Posted by Dirty3

Hi All,

I'm new to this part of AULRO, in a previous life I have had Discovery 1,2 & 3 so used to play on the other side of the forum.
For the past 2 years I've had a Ford Ranger ute, but now I want to go back to a wagon set up. Nothing interests me out in the market as they are all of the SUV (geez i hate that term) variety. I need some load carrying space of a ute but in a wagon. Need the versatility of not having to use the back seat of my current dual cab, so my gear can go in the back and not in a ute tub. I need to be able to carry long & dirty items up to about 1200mm long, so the ute was choice, but I'm tired of moving stuff in and out and not having the rear seats free all the time.

So that is why I am looking at late model Defenders at present, can't wait around for the "when it finally gets released new Defender".
I took one for a drive this past week, 2014 model 110 with 30,000km's on clock. Very tidy & clean unit, not been abused. I can't yet see service history because its all don't online or computer stored records now at LR dealers, however this should be able to get hold of.

So i called MLR here in Melbourne and asked them about gearbox & clutch sounds, clunky etc. They said that the clutches can go after 10,000km or 30,000km etc. Is this for real? They told me it was a $3000 job to replace. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So i have to ask...what am i getting myself into? Surely this can't be the case...surely this would have to be a warranty issue? I read in they forum many have had them replaced under warranty.

Are there any other known issues I could expect? I travel about 30 to 35,000km's per year. Mostly on road, country trips every few months, but love to go off road and the Defender has the goods for sure. As I mentioned mostly on road most weeks, can be up to about 1000km's per week but that is maximum.

Q. Can the Defender be a reliable daily driver?

After 3 Discovery's and lots of jibes from mates over the years about how un-reliable they are (they didn't ever own them!), I had relatively trouble free driving for many years, most i had for 4-5 years and up to 180,000kms. I service my vehicles regular (D3 was recommended every 24kms but i halved that).

Any advice or opinions are welcome.

Regards,
Neil.

Hi Neil.
I have a 2010 110 with 145,000kms on it. Have the 170 BAS tune and Alisport IC & silicone hoses. I had to replace the turbo at just under 100k (cost me 2k inc hoses for a lm 2nd hand one) I've replaced the vacuum pump myself ($340 odd) twice. The clutch is still working fine but has more rattles than a babies pram. It's harder to drive smoothly than my old hilux was but then again, it's just a harder truck.
I'm a builder and regularly pull a tonne or 2 in my trailer, my driveway at home is nearly vertical with a chicane and the Landy pushes the trailer up in reverse.
Last year my family and I drove a 42k trip around Australia towing a Jayco swan much of the way. The whole setup weighed in at about 5.2t and whilst a bit underpowered with the van on the back she felt safe, strong and handled really well. I averaged a bit over 16 l/100.
I reckon I would have to spend twice as much buying a cruiser or patrol to do the same job and then have to mod them pretty hard to boot.
I also fairly easily repaired any other mechanical issues that arose in the bush with basic hand tools and only a little auto Elec knowledge.
Plus I can stand on the gaurds & bonnet (so can the missus, see below) I can hose the interior out & mod it all myself mostly and I'm getting back into doing my own mechanical work like I used to when I was under 25!
I love my Defender but I really need a ute; only problem is 130's seem out of my price range atm with all the hype. I hope to get a 130 this year and keep it going add infinitum.
Maybe they're not for everyone but I'm sold on them.

Originally Posted by tact

G'day Neil (nice name).

I came to a conclusion that right from factory you either get a good one or a bad one. There are horror stories out there about people having a run of 4 or more bad diffs in a row etc. But thats an exceptionally bad run.

I must have got one of the good ones. I think it's done about 46,000kms and had no real issues. I did fit the 170HP BAS tune and intercooler and silicon hoses in. Never had any clutch issues. The driveline is a little clunky but you get used to it and it hasn't changed since new so doesn't seem to be a real issue. It certainly has Land Rover version of "character" (it leaks a little, is a little loud, a little clunky, a little agricultural, etc) but I have literally been stopped by people wanting to chat about it ... as recently as last Saturday when a lady boxed me in on a driveway I was visiting and came up to me gushing about how she loved it and really wants one.