Need advice purchasing a 1994 defender 110

[feeble]

I am looking at buying my first used car and my first defender, a 1994 2 door defender wagon.
Apart from rust in the footwells and the doors is there anything in particular that i should be looking for?

[VladTepes]

An inspection by a land rover specialist prior to purchase.

[Reads90]

An inspection by a land rover specialist prior to purchase.

Mm not really an answer he was looking for Vlad

Rust
Look at rear cross member and firewall ( bulkhead) for rust. Also out riggers on chassis. Also check under each door for rust

General
Look In the water and check there is no oil in it or sludge. Look under the oil filler cap for the same.
Drive the car and they will be a bit of play in the take up but make sure it is not too bad. Check the car goes into low box.

The panels are ali so they don't tend to rust but do oxadise instead. This can be seen on the doors normally



And just check the normal things to check when buying a car




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[slug_burner]

slop in the drive train - pull the cap of the wheel center and check for spline wearon the driveshaft to driveflange on the wheels. Not the end of the world as $1k should get you replacement driveshafts and flanges (per axle, front and back). Front might be a bit more if you upgrade the CVees as well.
another area contributing to drive train slop is the spline wear on the geabox output shaft into the transfer case (TC) input shaft, this can be checked by pulling the round cover plate on the TC.

LR experienced mechanic would help if you are not too mechanically minded.

[bcj]

Service history, when timing belt done (& by who), if no record budget to do immediatley +/- $600

Brett

110 300tdi

[Tokyo V8]

This looks quite helpful, pictures too :)

http://www.repairmylandrover.co.uk/defender-repairguides/defender-buyers-guide

Good luck!

[LowRanger]

Another thing is that if you look under the vehicle,and there are NO oil leaks,the the seller is trying to hide something,and has degreased it for sale,use this as a bargaining tool to lower the priceI used it to my advantage when I purchased my 94 Tdi:D

[Vin Rouge]

Nice simple one to start with. Check the steering wheel and the paint around the driver's door and window. Excessive wear usually means it's been had a hard life.

If it passes this test, move on to the more detailed stuff.

[87County]

Don't forget the standard WOV/REVs checks

[SandytheLandy]

Check for oil egress into the wiring loom under the drivers seat, as it can damage the electrics. I had some but was an easy fix in the end, also for any rust on the inside of the drivers or passenger side around the firewall, as this is a sign the door seals leak. :D

[BilboBoggles]

There's no ECU on a 1994 Defender.. ;-)

If it's a 2 door, then it may be a tray etc , but if it's a wagon body, looks for rust under the body cappings. Their the ridgy bits half way up the body. Their not galvanised in a defender and repairing these is a pain in the bum as you have to take the roof and side panels off to access.

Rust in the bulk head around the hinges is my greatest worry with a Defender, fixing that sort of rust is painful as you have to strip the bulkhead and most of the vehicle to get at it to weld in patches. I've got a few land rovers parked up because of this, easier to go out and get another one than to repair.

Rust in the foot wells, well depending on how particular you are, can be fixed with replacement footwells with only minimal stripping. OR just a steel patch bolted or pop riveted in will make a reasonable fix.

The door frames rust, and new doors are expensive and hard to get. If you are handy with a welder you can get good results by taking the door off, deskinning it and welding in new frame sections. (My Wife did this as part of her panel beating course.. And she made a new door skin..)

The chassis can rust in many places, take a scree driver and look carefully, some Chassis repairs are not too bad, but unless you have a welder will be expensive.

When you do buy it, spray it all over with Inox Lanotec or fish oil or something else, especially in the inner cavities of the bulk head.

All of the other issues like drive train sloppiness, CV's, wheel bearings, worn gearboxes, etc are Maintenance on Defender and you should budget for this as maintenance, as you will need to service and repair these sorts of things during your ownership even if they are perfect when you get it.

[460cixy]

Another thing is that if you look under the vehicle,and there are NO oil leaks,the the seller is trying to hide something,and has degreased it for sale,use this as a bargaining tool to lower the priceI used it to my advantage when I purchased my 94 Tdi:D


And what if its like mine and does not leak?

[Loubrey]

And what if its like mine and does not leak?

An early 300Tdi that doesn't leak oil...:D 460cixy you've got gem there!!!

As Reads90 said, check under the oil cap for any sign of emulsification (white foamy bits) that would indicate water ingress into the oil. The all important timing belt as bcj wrote. 100,000 km (60,000 miles) is the absolute maximum life of that belt.

Cheers,

Lou

[460cixy]

I have spent a bit of time on it to get it leak free but its proof it can be done