What did you do to your L663 today?

[one_iota]

A popular topic in other sections so I thought it might be here as well.

[one_iota]

The bonnet hinge wells in the SMEG fill up with leaves and these turn into compost.

It's an awkward place to clean out.

I've tried vacuuming but that doesn't work so today I got the compressor going with a blower attachment and a length of wire and eventually cleaned both sides out. It took a good half hour!

192016

In order to help keep "shrubbery" out I've inserted one strip of packing foam either side of the hinge bits. This closes the gap and allows the hinge components to move up and down. The space at the end where the water drains is left open.

192017
packing foam

192018
inserted

Hopefully this will keep the leaves at bay.

[jwb]

I fitted a Redarc brake controller. Still need to finalise the switch position.
I hate working under the dash doing vehicle yoga. As others have noted the plug is difficult to seat in the built in socket.
I sanded the plug a little before attempting but found that unclipping the socket then using a pair of multigrips made the click connection.

Previously have installed a TJM single compressor on a TLR bracket in the engine bay. Nice neat solution and use of space.

[Eric SDV6SE]

JLR fitted my Redarc. very professional job, down by my right knee. Simplest place to have it, other locations require the whole centre console to be removed.

[Eric SDV6SE]

Fitted the powerful UK reverse light upgrade kit, what a difference that makes, can see now when reversing.

[grey_ghost]

I removed the rear seat base in my 90 so that the floor folds mostly flat.

Oh and ticked over 125,000km on the way to work.

[jwb]

Got back from an 8 day loop Melbourne to Kangaroo Island and back.
Today was our first long day of 9 hours and what a pleasure it was. So effortless easy and comfortable, truly the best drive I've owned.
Had a couple of instances of the the 'Emergency braking and lane assist not available' message. Cleared on restart and I kept the cameras and radar cover clean of bugs of which there were many.
Will check with the GAP tool tomorrow to see if there are any faults logged.

[DieselLSE]

Got back from an 8 day loop Melbourne to Kangaroo Island and back.
How does the Island look now that it's been a few years since the devastating fires?

[one_iota]

....
Had a couple of instances of the the 'Emergency braking and lane assist not available' message. Cleared on restart and I kept the cameras and radar cover clean of bugs of which there were many.
Will check with the GAP tool tomorrow to see if there are any faults logged.

I had that happen on a long trip out west. It hasn't happened since. What has the GAP tool revealed?

[jwb]

How does the Island look now that it's been a few years since the devastating fires?


It was busy where we were but I don't think we went into where the big fires were. Nothing obviously burnt down to Seal Bay.

[grey_ghost]

Clicked over 126,000 and filled up the washer bottle which is quite large.

[DieselLSE]

Clicked over 126,000 and filled up the washer bottle which is quite large.
Another Landrover disaster. It's a bit rough when they undersize the washer bottle so you have to fill it up every three years!

[jwb]

I had that happen on a long trip out west. It hasn't happened since. What has the GAP tool revealed?


No faults recorded and haven't seen the problem since. If it comes up again I'll see if I can check live.

[jwb]

Tried the towing capability by pulling the D2 on a trailer 320km. Probably around 3200kg and the Defender drove like there was nothing behind it. Awesome!

Then fitted a set of Tuffant rock sliders. Love the result. Having a hoist available to work on removing all the felt panels and do the prep work was amazing. Also an extremely competent second set of hands and eyes made it a smooth job - thanks, Dave. A couple of feedback items for Tuffant and when we called them to clarify the instructions they were at the end of the phone and very helpful.

[one_iota]

Tried the towing capability by pulling the D2 on a trailer 320km. Probably around 3200kg and the Defender drove like there was nothing behind it. Awesome!

Then fitted a set of Tuffant rock sliders. Love the result. Having a hoist available to work on removing all the felt panels and do the prep work was amazing. Also an extremely competent second set of hands and eyes made it a smooth job - thanks, Dave. A couple of feedback items for Tuffant and when we called them to clarify the instructions they were at the end of the phone and very helpful.

Just had mine delivered. So the first challenge was moving 65kg from the front door to a sensible location! I'll think about documenting the install...no promises. My youngest son (spanner proficient) and a trolley jack will be essential.

[jwb]

Just had mine delivered. So the first challenge was moving 65kg from the front door to a sensible location! I'll think about documenting the install...no promises. My youngest son (spanner proficient) and a trolley jack will be essential.


Grab a couple of 6mm panel washers as well for the 2 x 6mm bolts included. The supplied cup washers barely cover the slots/holes in the slider which are clearly made for the 10mm bolts.
We added the washers to the bolts shown in the picture.

192802

[jwb]

last week drove across the Murray River for the first time, very low flow. hoped to get up Mt Pinnabar but road still closed and didn't have time to go around the long way.

193041

[one_iota]

I finally purchased a GAP IIRC tool to interrogate the vehicle's health.

No faults found!....have I wasted my money?

[shack]

I finally purchased a GAP IIRC tool to interrogate the vehicle's health.

No faults found!....have I wasted my money?They aren't a single use tool.... So no, probably not!

[Narangga]

I finally purchased a GAP IIRC tool to interrogate the vehicle's health.

No faults found!....have I wasted my money?

Definitely not - the purchase of the Defender was without doubt money well spent!

[RANDLOVER]

A GAP Tool is always a good insurance policy.

[one_iota]

Fitted a rear door fold-down table from PowerfulUK to which I have attached a fire extinguisher and first aid kit.

Useful for boiling a billy as well.

193374

193376

[grey_ghost]

Clocked over one hundred and fourty seven thousand kilometres. Still love it.

[RANDLOVER]

Fitted a rear door fold-down table from PowerfulUK to which I have attached a fire extinguisher and first aid kit.

Useful for boiling a billy as well.

193374

193376

Table or cheese grater? I think it needs a piece of sheet metal or ply, to stop things falling through, and you could still mount things to it by using rivnuts, inserted from the top/inner side.

[RANDLOVER]

Clocked over one hundred and fourty seven thousand kilometres. Still love it.

I hope you remembered to sing Happy Birthday 🎂 to it.

[jwb]

Had windscreen replaced and a couple of Anderson plugs fitted for upcoming towing.

[Narangga]

Had windscreen replaced and a couple of Anderson plugs fitted for upcoming towing.

What are you using the Anderson plugs on the windscreen for? [bigwhistle]

[jwb]

haha, thanks for the reply. it's pretty quiet around here.

[jwb]

Getting the D300 ready to pick up our new caravan. Tow hitch by Black Jack to replace the very low LR one I need about 520mm, towing mirror brackets by D3D are expensive but a solid piece of gear, Redarc plug and play brake controller.

[RANDLOVER]

Lucky you were doing hardware upgrades and not software as SOTA may be off-line due to hackers.....Jaguar Land Rover staff told to stay home after cyber-attack | Jaguar Land Rover | The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/sep/05/jaguar-land-rover-staff-stay-home-cyberattack)

[Eric SDV6SE]

Getting the D300 ready to pick up our new caravan. Tow hitch by Black Jack to replace the very low LR one I need about 520mm, towing mirror brackets by D3D are expensive but a solid piece of gear, Redarc plug and play brake controller.

I used the Mr. Hitches one, also turned upside down like you, got me exactly 520mm, van tows nice and level ( EAS takes care of the fine adjustment anyway). D3D tow mirror brackets are great, worth the money. Redarc BC I'm also very happy with.

[jwb]

Picked up the van and it tows beautifully. Barely notice it's there and liking the braking. my first time towing a van, it's 2.4t tare. checked the weights out of the dealer and will have to watch the car's rear axle loading but there's only 2 of us and we can travel lightly. the van comes with its spare wheel on the a frame and I got a bracket to move it to the rear bumper so that should give some leeway.

[Mark Bodger]

Well I thought I would show everyone what I've done to my 110 so as to show what it can be done and give you some ideas. From the delivered car (May 25) I've fitted, roof console sunglasses holder, Tuffant Rock Sliders, 275/55R20 Falken Wildpeak tyres, genuine classic mudflaps, geniune cargo rubber mat heavy duty towbar and all electrics with reverse camera cabling for caravan (not working yet???), Rhino Pioneer roof platform with RCL legs (tried the backbone system but way too much noise), DARCHE 270 XL Plus awning mounted on Rhino STOW IT system (for easy removal when not required) along with Hi Lift jack (mounted on STOW IT system), GME XRS UHF radio (hidden under dash with hand piece mounted beside drivers left knee), Escape Gear canvas custom front seat covers (Sand coloured to match interior), REDARC Tow Pro brake controller, Offroad Animal Toro bullbar, Carbon 12K winch (electronically isolated), ARB brushless compressor and Stedi 7" EVO X driving lights, spot and flood with Trailmax CANBUS adapter (wanted 8.5" but would have blocked radar sensor in the grill badge). I also have Maxtrax mounts for on the spare wheel along with the shovel and steps to get to the roof rack and D3D van mirror mounts. The car is set up to tow our 20'6 full offroad/off grid caravan any where we can get it and get out again (I hope).
194766194767194769194771194773194768194772

[grey_ghost]

Love your work! Well done!

The only thing that I did today was go past one hundred and sixty thousand kilometres..

[RANDLOVER]

Nicely done. Where's the ladder to get to the roof rack?

[jwb]

Started cleaning the car after 2 week trip including Mungo National Park, Flinders Ranges and Grampians stop over. Happy with the dust proofness but inevitably you want to drive with the windows down at times.

[jwb]

Fitted a dashcam. Went with the DriveVision and PowerfulUK loom for a tidy solution.

[grey_ghost]

Clicked over one hundred and sixty four thousand clicks.

Also picked up four steel wheels with new tyres for five hundred bucks..

Win!

[grey_ghost]

Well - the Defender went in for it's 170,000km service yesterday.

I don't have the car back yet - and I don't have the final invoice, but this is what I have been told....

170,000km Service (10 year service in the eyes of Land Rover)
All fluids (engine oil, diff oils, coolant, etc)
All filters (oil, fuel, cabin)
Transmisson service.
Replacement batteries for the 2 x key fobs
(Hopefully a wash)
Total Cost: Approximately $4,900.00 (Ouch)

Warranty Items - no charge.
Thermostat housing ($1,220) - I had reported a low coolant alarm to the original dealer 4 times (they could never find the issue). New dealer found that the thermostat has a weep. Replaced under warranty.
Rear Wiper Arm ($508) - I noticed only recently that although the rear wiper was working fine, I couldn't wash the rear screen (no water was coming out). Replaced under warranty.

Extra items:
Rear brake pads were down to 2mm. (Strange that the rears went before the fronts).
I knew that the rear pads were very low AND that the rotors were scratched/uneven.
Replacement rear pads + rotors -> $2,008.00

While the car is still under warranty I have been servicing it at a Land Rover Dealer. I know that in theory you don't have to - but I've always been of the opnion that if something goes wrong, I could argue with Land Rover "well - it's always been serviced at the dealer". Anyway - when it runs out of warranty (October this year) - I'll start taking it to a local indi... (Which one - I'm not sure yet).

I will report back when I have the car back and the invoice in front of me.

I do have a free loan car in the meantime.

Cheers,
GG.

[grey_ghost]

For anyone interested - I got the car back yesterday. In summary

Service carried out.
Rear brakes replaced.
Rear wiper arm replaced (warranty) - in the service report it mentions that he had to replace the entire arm. Only the valve was faulty - but it’s a new part, hence all new arm.
Thermostat replaced.
Air conditioning clean / service.

This is the “largest” service. Effectively I go back to the start of the service schedule now.

Total… Seven thousand, two hundred bucks… Ouch.

As soon as the car is out of warranty - I will find a local indie.

When I got home I had the latest Pivi update. Four.Four from memory. I haven’t had an update in months.

I do plan to keep this vehicle for a very long time..

Cheers,
GG

[jwb]

Yikes. Where was the biggest cost - brakes?
I saw somewhere brake hoses are on the 3rd service schedule.


Just saw your earlier post. So all good.
I wonder if my service plan will cover the first list of items when the time comes.

[grey_ghost]

I had a service plan - it only covers the first three years or hundred and something kms from memory. I have had to pay for the last two services.

They quoted eight hours for the service - which equates to three hundred and seventy five bucks an hour.

No doubt I could have gone to an indi and saved a fair bit of dosh. Which I will be doing once it’s out of warranty.

Yes the brakes lines were replaced a while ago under the service schedule.

The service guy said “we don’t see many Defenders with this many kms on them…”

I absolutely still love this vehicle - the servicing costs, not so much.

Cheers,
GG

[tact]

So I asked the JLR dealership to quote on supply and fit the Land Rover front underbody skid plate. Absurdly expensive. So I ordered a Terrafirma kit (TF0436B and fitted it after work today. Took me 3hrs, a clever person, or a younger person, might do it quicker. ;)

Both the JLR product, and the Terrafirma product, also expose the front recovery point that sits behind a plastic panel. (iGuide says, under a heading like "Before Off-road Driving", to remove the front plastic panel so the front recovery point is exposed. Yeah...nah).

Glad to replace the plastic with a proper aluminium guard, and glad to have the front recovery point accessible without removing any panels.

195510

[one_iota]

So I asked the JLR dealership to quote on supply and fit the Land Rover front underbody skid plate. Absurdly expensive. So I ordered a Terrafirma kit (TF0436B and fitted it after work today. Took me 3hrs, a clever person, or a younger person, might do it quicker. ;)

Both the JLR product, and the Terrafirma product, also expose the front recovery point that sits behind a plastic panel. (iGuide says, under a heading like "Before Off-road Driving", to remove the front plastic panel so the front recovery point is exposed. Yeah...nah).

Glad to replace the plastic with a proper aluminium guard, and glad to have the front recovery point accessible without removing any panels.

195510


Well done sir!

Simon shows how to install a non LR version.


https://youtu.be/rzDAKayS7-4?si=rR8nO5ozCX5EP0Hm

I have the genuine version that was installed at the same time as the roo-bar was fitted by the dealer. It should be noted that the original frame was also replaced with a different one adding to the complexity of the installation. However the removal of the bumper was required for the roo-bar so "two birds were killed with one stone".


https://youtu.be/wQsFNiJ6Qks?si=NEnva4gZJMSvAoQX

[tact]

Put my new GAP IIDtool to work. Checking faults and tweaked a few car config files. Turned on:
- Auto and configurable Terrain response
- All terrain progress control
- Dynamic mode
- Subwoofer

Turned off: Next Generation Power Train Sound Quality (NGPTSQ). (Fake engine sounds in cabin)

[one_iota]

Put my new GAP IIDtool to work. Checking faults and tweaked a few car config files. Turned on:
- Auto and configurable Terrain response
- All terrain progress control
- Dynamic mode
- Subwoofer

Turned off: Next Generation Power Train Sound Quality (NGPTSQ). (Fake engine sounds in cabin)

The dealer might undo these when you take it in for a service....I could be wrong though.

[tact]

The dealer might undo these when you take it in for a service....I could be wrong though.

Yeah, I can live with that..... :)

Whilst not in for service, they will have it tomorrow to fit the rear recovery eyes. Am curious what might happen.

[tact]

So got the recovery points fitted to the rear, installed by JLR today.


195526

[tact]

So the trailer brake controller I ordered arrived. Went with the TowPro Elite V3. Pretty simple to install behind the dash above the brake/accelerator pedals area.

This then allowed me to hitch up my camper to do some testing as to whether there is enough clearance between camper bits and the rear end of my vehicle.

- Nothing is going to make contact doing left or right full lock circles on flat ground.
- But the hand winch for opening/closing the camper is closer than I'd like, particularly given the great outdoors is on occasion somewhat more undulating than the flat and smooth nature of a carpark!
- So am working up what kinds of mods I might make to the camper winch mounting to increase clearance!

195718

[WhatIsClocks]

Well, I might be breaking the rules a little since I did this yesterday rather than today, but here goes.

Got a HEAP of stuff fitted to my box-fresh Defender 90. Started with the easy stuff -- hidden Airtag mount. Took ten seconds.

Also fitted a cover for the vent at the base of the windscreen, with a finer mesh than the factory one. Chose this after losing a screw down the same vent of a previous car. Took about 90 seconds, 60 of were was holding it down for the adhesive to set...

Then the harder stuff. Dash cam. WOW what an ordeal, mostly because I have a rear camera (as well as front). Had to pull all of the rear tailgate interior trim off, which is not a big deal but sure felt like it on my one day old, $140,000 car. Getting the cable through the tailgate grommet was fairly painful. Some 5mm aquarium tubing cut to a pointed tip, and a bit of silicone spray did the trick. Then used that to pull some (strong) builder's line through. Then used the builder's string to form a half-hitch knot on the USB cable. Needed some good tugging, and a bit of massaging the conduit, but I eventually got it. This is all without access to the interior end of the conduit, since the 90 has a very convenient sheet of metal right in front of the exit, on the vehicle side. I was able to wriggle my hand past the rear fuse box (panel removed) and could just barely feel what was going on in there.

Then I had to run the cable through the roof lining. I think this is a cleaner way than down under the front door and back up the A-pillar, but it meant loosening off a bunch of trim in the boot. This was also pretty challenging. A trick for new players: I found it super helpful to drop the interior dome lights out, to use as "way markers", or halfway points to reduce the length you need to run in a single step. Also a piece of coaxial TV cable, which was stiff enough to push in a straight line, but flexible enough to follow contours etc in the roof cavity. I would've used a bit of that plastic stuff that electricians have, but it was a public holiday and Bunnings etc were closed. While I had the rear interior trim all apart, I also fitted a loadspace light to supplement the (pretty weak) factory light. This was smooth since I already had all of the trim loose.

While doing the front part of the dashcam (pretty straightforward) I also retrofitted a sunglasses holder. I've no idea why Land Rover deleted this on the newer Defenders.

Need to shout out Powerful UK here -- the quality of the stuff I got seems very high, and the tap-in loom for dashcam power is genius. Their installation videos are top-notch, too.