Defender Quirks...

[Zeros]

My 2014 Defender is getting to the age where it's beginning to show its quirky side...small things like creaking body over uneven ground, drivers door doing its own thing, rear door telling me I need a wheel carrier, warning lamp coming on downhill despite all fluids being full. ...It's like getting to know an old friend. 🙃😊

[timax]

And its only a 2014 model!!!
Mine is 2001............we have a mutual understanding i suppose you can call it.[bighmmm]
Enjoy!

[Xtreme]

I just eliminated an annoying body creaking by adjusting the striker on the drivers door. Can't understand why I put up with it for so long when it was so easy and quick to eliminate.
Might be worth a try.

[tact]

I just eliminated an annoying body creaking by adjusting the striker on the drivers door. Can't understand why I put up with it for so long when it was so easy and quick to eliminate.
Might be worth a try.

That door striker thing manifested as a rattle that sounded like it was inside the b-pillar for me/mine. Very simple to adjust out.

[tact]

My 2014 Defender is getting to the age where it's beginning to show its quirky side...small things like creaking body over uneven ground, drivers door doing its own thing, rear door telling me I need a wheel carrier, warning lamp coming on downhill despite all fluids being full. ...It's like getting to know an old friend. 🙃😊

The brake reservoir needs to be filled right up to the line to avoid the warning light coming on during downhills... not even a millimetre below... just sayin'...

[Zeros]

Thanks for the tips guys, much appreciated. 👍

[The Cone of Silence]

My doors used to make lots of noise but don't anymore.

My dash likes to squeak
My passenger seat likes to rattle if there's nobody in it
Sometimes the top of the dash likes to squeak but not all the time
Sometimes the handbrake light comes on when the handbrake is off but then it goes away

I COULD fix all of these things...but then it wouldn't be Monty.

My last car was a '67 Austin Healey 3000 and the list of 'quirks' on that was remarkable (many of them thanks to the 'Prince of Darkness', Lucas Electrics)....it's what gives our beloved vehicles character and makes them part of the family....the little things that only you know about.

[DazzaTD5]

ok ... a positive Defender querk...

Out of all the vehicles I service, the Defender, from engine to driveline is the easiest by a long way.

Hell..... its almost like its been thought out [tonguewink]

Regards
Daz

[Zeros]

That's good to hear Daz 👍 How about long term reliability in comparison? ...quirks are not unreliable!

Quirks are not failures in my book at all. I've learnt this over 15 years with my Tdi, (which only ever had one failure to proceed due to a seized alternator bearing - which could have been prevented when I heard it squeak!).

...it's definitely a mutual understanding type of bond that one forms with a Defender...sometimes I think they're closer to organisms than machines! And...the quirks are part of it, and yes they do seem to come and go!

[rick130]

Re the door strikers, the best striker by a long shot is the x-Trouser

It doesn't wear out and let the door rattle like the genuine ones do.

[Bundalene]

ok ... a positive Defender querk...

Out of all the vehicles I service, the Defender, from engine to driveline is the easiest by a long way.

Hell..... its almost like its been thought out [tonguewink]

Regards
Daz

Thought out, your kidding

For the Puma:

Remove the fuel filter and the diesel leaks onto the trailing arm and drips where ever it feels like, also if you do not fill it up it is a difficult proceed to bleed
Greasing the front tailshaft, I have to rotate the grease nipple to get the grease gun in and at a weird angle. I forgot to retighten it once and lost it, what a pain
Drain the engine oil and it leaks onto one of the shafts- sway bar I think
Who thought of using an allen head nut to fill the gearbox
Access to the transfer you need a wobble bar because the fill point is tucked behind the hand brake drum
Don't start me with the air cleaner access or battery access, although I like the battery position, I suppose over the years I have become used to it.
Coolant reservoir, difficult to see the level and the norm is below the recommended point

That is just a few things which come to mind

[Zeros]

Thought out, your kidding

For the Puma:

Remove the fuel filter and the diesel leaks onto the trailing arm and drips where ever it feels like, also if you do not fill it up it is a difficult proceed to bleed
Greasing the front tailshaft, I have to rotate the grease nipple to get the grease gun in and at a weird angle. I forgot to retighten it once and lost it, what a pain
Drain the engine oil and it leaks onto one of the shafts- sway bar I think
Who thought of using an allen head nut to fill the gearbox
Access to the transfer you need a wobble bar because the fill point is tucked behind the hand brake drum
Don't start me with the air cleaner access or battery access, although I like the battery position, I suppose over the years I have become used to it.
Coolant reservoir, difficult to see the level and the norm is below the recommended point

That is just a few things which come to mind

All simply Quirks to me! [bigwhistle] ...except perhaps the front grease nipple! PITA.

[VladTepes]

You absolutely DO need a wheel carrier.

Murray from Rijidij is your man. He makes great gear.

Home - Rijidij Off Road (http://rijidijoffroad.bounce.com.au/#/defender-single-or-dual/4569741648)

He's also here on AULRO as Rijidij

[tact]

You absolutely DO need a wheel carrier.

Murray from Rijidij is your man. He makes great gear.

Home - Rijidij Off Road (http://rijidijoffroad.bounce.com.au/#/defender-single-or-dual/4569741648)

He's also here on AULRO as Rijidij

Not with a ute (single or dual cab). [biggrin]

[rijidij]

Not with a ute (single or dual cab). [biggrin]

I make rear wheel carriers for dual cab Defenders, 130 and 110, but with them it’s more about getting the spare wheel out of the load space than dealing with rattles and dust sealing which are the main problems with the rear door on wagons.

Cheers Murray

[tact]

I make rear wheel carriers for dual cab Defenders, 130 and 110, but with them it’s more about getting the spare wheel out of the load space than dealing with rattles and dust sealing which are the main problems with the rear door on wagons.

Cheers Murray

For sure, Murray. And from all I have read in these forums if I ever were to go down that path I'd be sourcing for my DCPU110 from you. Was just bouncing off the idea that for a wagon - a wheel carrier is an essential. Not so much an "essential" for a ute.

My own personal view (and why I don't have a wheel carrier now) is that it sticks up above the tailgate on a ute and catches low overhanging branches etc, after they have left their pinstripes on the roof.

It was a big problem in Malaysia where the jungles included way thicker undergrowth and low hanging branches, bamboo thickets etc. Maybe less a problem in the more typical dry sclerophyll forests (and deserts!) in Australia.

[DiscoMick]

Wheel carrier is a great idea.
Do your rear windows wind themselves down an inch and increase road noise?
Does your passenger side mirror rattle?

[tact]

Wheel carrier is a great idea.
Do your rear windows wind themselves down an inch and increase road noise?
Does your passenger side mirror rattle?

Rear windows winding themselves down: easy fix

wind the windows up, remove and reposition the winder handle such that gravity will help matters

[incisor]

all mine have had plenty of character!

I even had one that didn't leak on your right foot[wink11]

[rar110]

all mine have had plenty of character!

I even had one that didn't leak on your right foot[wink11]

Now that is a tall story.

[DiscoMick]

Ours used to leak on The Navigator's feet until I put a snow cowl over the intake.
Now I just need to figure out how to stop the ventilation blowing warm air when the air-con is off.

[tact]

Ours used to leak on The Navigator's feet until I put a snow cowl over the intake.
Now I just need to figure out how to stop the ventilation blowing warm air when the air-con is off.

Check out the fresh air intake duct (from the fender top to the blower box) where the duct connects to the blower box. There is a foam rubber seal between the duct and the blower box. On mine and a few others I saw - there was a half inch gap down the left side (as you look towards firewall) caused by misalignment of the duct at the blower box. (There is a thread on here about it and a few other AULRO punters had the same issue).

Maybe that would allow air warmer than ambient (heated under the bonnet) into the cabin when aircon is off.