is it a dud defender

[fatcat]

Hi all, I hate to say this i feel like i got a dud or is this general wear and tare. i got an 02 Defender from sydney 2 years ago (always wanted one since i was a kid game spotting in them in south africa). It had done 90'000 ks in it and the guy said he drove it in to town each day. it had 6 months rego.

While under waranty it had the power steering done, air con about 5 times (now out of warranty not working Landrover said the air con clutch was rusty and so they would not fix it.),rust cut out of LH side of the drivers side foot area now more rust looks like it back 1.5 years later.

Also I've broken the front diff which i agree was most probably my fault(but now my mate charles bris calls it butter diffs now)

the back step rusted through on chrissy day fell right off (great)

oil in the ecu chrissy day

When you start the car in 1st gear, with the clutch in, it stalls as if the clutch was out. After reversing it stuck in gear until the car was switched off and then change gear, then it seems ok.

rust in the little window near the roof

the damn back door will not stay open on the street keeps shutting (any one have anything to keep it open)

well i reckon i have a bloody dud, should i sell and try start again. because i'm loosing confidece in it and with a family i need a reliable rig because we do alot of solo trips ..

thanks

[Frenchie]

With rust like that it sounds like it's been driven in the ocean. :eek:

[Bigbjorn]

Bloody hell! 90,000 k's in two years is a bit more than commuter use. 20,000 (or less) to 40000 would be believable. The corrosion sounds like it has been well and truly beached without precautions. Get it up on a hoist and have a good pick around the chassis with a geologists hammer and sharpened screwdrivers, and don't be gentle. Check the door frames and bulkhead likewise. You may need to bodgie it up if lots more corrosion found, and put it through e-bay or the internet used cars listings and get out of it.

[Grizzly_Adams]

Sounds like a dud to me. I'd say get out of it and start again. There's every possibility that as you fix one thing another will break and it'll end up costing you a fortune - of course there is also every possibility that once you fix everything now it'll work like a dream for years to come.

However as it seems to have severe rust problems and as mentioned earlier that 90'000km's in 2 years sounds excessive so it's probably been driven into the dust.

[Maggot4x4]

I agree, get out of it, it has either been for many swims in the ocean or owned by a miner or mine.

I don't think you would even see that much rust in it at this age if it was a UK truck where they salt the roads.

[George130]

Rust sounds very suspect. I would agree it must have been dunked or similar for that much. I have been told that sort of rust is common up the cape. As for 90,000 in two years that's the sort of distance I do. I travel 160 round trip each day for work.

[Reads90]

However as it seems to have severe rust problems and as mentioned earlier that 90'000km's in 2 years sounds excessive so it's probably been driven into the dust.

Ok sorry to high jack
Stupid Pom question
But does the outback dust rust the car then

[Reads90]

I agree, get out of it, it has either been for many swims in the ocean or owned by a miner or mine.

I don't think you would even see that much rust in it at this age if it was a UK truck where they salt the roads.

You right you would not. My 90 is a 95 model and has been here for a year. So for 10 years it was in the UK. And does not have anywhere as near as much rust as yours seems to . Mine does however have more surface rust than a defender of the same age here. Even though in the Uk it was reundersealed ever two years.
The rear steps on 110 do however fall off after a couple of years or so in the Uk

[1103.9TDI]

Sounds like it might've been for a total swim at one stage, could've been under for a while, as Grizzy reckons, as one thing is repaired, something else will break. Let alone the electrical issues that may develop.

[dungarover]

Give it the **** and cut your losses.

I've been through that in the past. I had a 76 Rangie (first one actually) that was rusty and cost a small fortune to maintain. After about 18 months I had a gutful and traded it in on a later model Rangie. A much better vehicle, more reliable and had it for 2 years without any major dramas.

Don't give up on the Landie experience yet, your next rig may be a ripper.

Trav

[Blknight.aus]

IMHO...

buy yourself another, get one as close to the one you have now as you can get then strip the rustor for parts for the new one and take what you can get for leftovers.

and in answer to the poms question about the outback dust rusting vehicles...

yes, well sort of...

its ok while its dry but what happens when it gets wet is the moisture gets through the dust then dries out, the top dries first and makes an insulation type layer to help keep the moisture in. This rusts the metal beneath out it mainly applies to steel body work and non galved or well painted chassis say anything not landrover :)

[Reads90]

IMHO...

and in answer to the poms question about the outback dust rusting vehicles...

yes, well sort of...

its ok while its dry but what happens when it gets wet is the moisture gets through the dust then dries out, the top dries first and makes an insulation type layer to help keep the moisture in. This rusts the metal beneath out it mainly applies to steel body work and non galved or well painted chassis say anything not landrover :)


Ah ok like mud then :D used to that stuff.
Just a bloke at a garage scared the crap out of my misses by telling him that the red dust colour that we have under the car (And i mean clour the red dust has almost stained some under parts of the 90) was cause the car to rust and it will fall to bits in months. Then car is clean and has no collections of dust just the red colour. So i keep telling her he was talking crap

[Bigbjorn]

Sounds like it might've been for a total swim at one stage, could've been under for a while, as Grizzy reckons, as one thing is repaired, something else will break. Let alone the electrical issues that may develop.

If a vehicle has been immersed in salt water above the doorsill level for any period or fresh water up to the dashboard or steering wheel for more than 48 hours, it is supposed to be a statutory ( not repairable) write-off. Maybe an insurance claim was not made.

[Bigbjorn]

IMHO...


and in answer to the poms question about the outback dust rusting vehicles...

yes, well sort of...

its ok while its dry but what happens when it gets wet is the moisture gets through the dust then dries out, the top dries first and makes an insulation type layer to help keep the moisture in. This rusts the metal beneath out it mainly applies to steel body work and non galved or well painted chassis say anything not landrover :)

An old trick in the days of plentiful dirt roads was to spray underneath a new car with plenty of sump oil and take it for a drive on a dusty road to get a coating of oily dirt underneath which was supposed to prevent rusting.

[Maggot4x4]

When they had the floods up in Katherine a few years back, a lot of 4x4's that had been sitting under water for a few days go sold at auction in Sydney as repairable write off's.

A lot of dealers who bought them just changed the oils, dried the carpets and re-sold them

[disco_nex]

While cruel, sell it off to someone that has no idea and get something better. You have been ripped off and whoever owned it before didnt do a thing to look after it. Wouldnt be surpised if it was an ex-Fraser Island vehicle.

[Blknight.aus]

An old trick in the days of plentiful dirt roads was to spray underneath a new car with plenty of sump oil and take it for a drive on a dusty road to get a coating of oily dirt underneath which was supposed to prevent rusting.


Yes its been done in landrovers for freaking ages, see the "automated chassis rust prevention system" optional extra for your vehicle... a lot of landrovers come with it for free, esp Series vehicles.

Just like ABS was originally landrover, a series of specifically calibrated leaks and air bubbles were incorporated into the the brake lines requiring you to pump the pedal repeatedly to achieve maximum braking effort and the cycling of the pedal prevented lockup.

[UncleHo]

G'day All:)

Aah!:) Methinks that this could have been an Brisie hire vehicle that has been caught at Indian Head and done an Overnighter:( then salvaged and cleaned/dried shipped to Sydney and flogged off, bet the 6 months rego was brand new plates and a backtrace would show ex Qld ;) A few years ago there was a 3 week old Vitara (hire) hung on rocks up there the Asian folk hiched aride back to Briz and caught the next flight home :eek: the hire company is still looking for them, "So Sorry No Under Stand":mad:

What i would advise you to do is to get a full appraisal from a Landrover specialist or landrover mechanic (maybe someone from here) to give you an honest idea (not sales/service motivated) as to whether it is a keeper/repairer or a sell/wreck or if it should be refered to fair trading as you probably paid good money and could stand to loose a lot.


That is only my opinion

cheers

[fatcat]

thanks guys not looking to good i paid 30'000 grand for it going to take to techno britsh when they open or if any one knows some one in bris i should take it to please let me know.

i think ill just have to see what a mechnic has to say i love the defender so much at least the ecu seems not to exxy to fix but by the sounds of things it will just happen again. as for the cluth well that going be $$$$$

happpy near year

[Grizzly_Adams]

G'day fatcat,

Dunno about TechnoBritish as I have no experience with them however I and lots of other Bris-Vegans swear by M.R. Automotive (http://www.yellowpages.com.au/onlineSolution_moreInfo.do?z=304020&iblName=M.R.+Automotive&iblId=742068&authToken=10fd5eb5408%7C44e7127a33f418f2fb20f37f7f d034ae&st=bn) at Redcliffe.

They won't be open until the new year however their number is (07) 3284 6688

Good luck

[Ace]

sorry to hear about your woes fatcat, some people are real lowlifes to sell some one a car which has been treated like that.

Firstly dont let it put you off land rovers, a vehicle cant help having an owner that is lacking in the brain cells and honesty deparment.

I think your only options are to spend a fortune getting it sorted or strip it for parts, sell the good ones to make up some cash and then get another one. Matt

[justinc]

sorry to hear about your woes fatcat, some people are real lowlifes to sell some one a car which has been treated like that.

Firstly dont let it put you off land rovers, a vehicle cant help having an owner that is lacking in the brain cells and honesty deparment.

I think your only options are to spend a fortune getting it sorted or strip it for parts, sell the good ones to make up some cash and then get another one. Matt

X2. I wouldn't think passing on the heartache would be a helpful thing . Its a sticky situation Fatcat, i'm sorry to hear about it, but before you get too stressed, wait for the report to come back.


JC

[Bigbjorn]

When they had the floods up in Katherine a few years back, a lot of 4x4's that had been sitting under water for a few days go sold at auction in Sydney as repairable write off's.

A lot of dealers who bought them just changed the oils, dried the carpets and re-sold them

After the 1974 flood in Brisbane, at Leyland, where the the whole place was completely submerged, the stock, trucks, LR's, tractors, was openly sold as flood damaged vehicles, as is ,where is, no warranty given or implied, what you see is what you get, your risk, don't come back and complain.

One NQ dealer bought the entire stock of tractors, a car hire company in Brisbane bought most of the LR's. Two brothers from Mackay bought an eight tonner for their farm, took it home, sold it to a neighbour, came back and bought two more.

The LR's, Series III, are probably still bouncing around.