Did I pay tooo much for my defender?

[Mrlandyman100]

G'day every one again!

I was just wondering if you guys think I might of paid too much for my defender ute... I bought it for $8000 last month.

Last week I got the timing belt changed (cost $676) and that same week the steering box went and that will be over $700, I havent got the bill for it yet.

Second synchro is not very good at all... There is a lot of slack in the drive-train... Not sure what it is yet but it's not good. Since I have had it it has not wanted to sit at 100km/h very comfortably at all. It smokes a bit on start up (more then it should I think). Probably for a few seconds.

It has a nice big bull bar and side steps but that's the only extra it has and it has no radio etc... The seat bases are all torn...

Maybe I paid too much!?:o

I am a bit dissapointed in the car seeings this is the most I have ever spent on a car and I am already looking at the problems it has and I havent had it very long.:(

Cheers
Ben

[justinc]

Did you get it inspected by a LR specialist, (NOT NRMA etc)before you signed on the dotted?
The advantage in this is that you will get an idea of WHAT is wrong, what WILL go wrong and what Wont go wrong before you buy it.
The price can be negotiated a little usually if there is a 'list' of concerns.

JC

[Mrlandyman100]

No I did not... I probably should of:) I bought it off some one I have known for a long time... I really would of thought I could trust him to get a decent car for a change, maybe I was wrong! He is a Mechanic but not for Land Rovers...

Cheers
Ben

[Cameron_Def]

Gday,

What year / model is it ?

Could be a bargin, depends on the model age and kms ;)

Where are you located s well ?

Enjoy ya landy, once the simple things are sorted, they are a top 4wd. ;)

[weeds]

It smokes a bit on start up (more then it should I think). Probably for a few seconds.


if its black smoke and a tdi than that the normal

[BilboBoggles]

Slack in the drivetrain - well my 2 week old brand new Defender with less than 1000k's on the clock has drive train slack - I've not seen a land rover drive train without some slack. My nearly 400,000 k range rover has had slack since I bought it at 127k - and it's still going.

Timing belt is a a normal wear and tear item on a 300tdi, and you'll need to do this every 60,000k. So really that's a normal service item you'll pay for on any 300tdi.

The R380 box 2nd synchro issue is something that is fairly common - My 2003 TD5 defender was crap from new - box rebuilt replaced 5-6 times. It's much better but still not perfect. It's a driving style that you adjust for - being a bit careful going into second - take it a bit slower - or learn double clutching. Worth finding MTF94 gearbox oil for the R380 box - it makes it a whole lot better than normal lube - at least on some boxes.

Seats - Probably would have been visible before you bought it? Apparently Exmoor trim int he UK do fairly reasonably priced retrim kits, that are fairly easy to fit. I priced them up at about $100AUD a front seat. Perhaps a lower cost option would be to find someone wrecking a newer Fender. (a post on the forum might point you in the right direction)

Unfortunately Defenders are quite a niche market - The price is very much up to how much cash you have in your pocket and how low the seller is willing to go. I just sold a 300tdi discovery for much more than that - so I'd say $8k was a bargain - but very much dependent on age/distance traveled/condition. (The 300tdi disco was pretty much mint condition and very low k's)

[Mrlandyman100]

Yeah it is a 1993 200tdi with the LT77 gear box in it I thinks. It has 224000kms on the clock now it has had stuff like king pins etc... done to it recently. Yeah I just would of thought there would of been a bit less slack in the drive-train... When i drove series land rovers they did not have this much!

Any one want to buy it? Dare I say I might buy a toyota next!:o I will see if I can get this thing running well I guess first... I am just over having cars that need things done to them!

Thanks for your advice!

Cheers
Ben

[incisor]

Yeah it is a 1993 200tdi with the LT77 gear box in it I thinks. It has 224000kms on the clock now it has had stuff like king pins etc... done to it recently. Yeah I just would of thought there would of been a bit less slack in the drive-train... When i drove series land rovers they did not have this much!

Any one want to buy it? Dare I say I might buy a toyota next!:o I will see if I can get this thing running well I guess first... I am just over having cars that need things done to them!

Thanks for your advice!

Cheers
Ben
just visit a toyota forum first, you are in for a surprise i think...

sounds like a reasonable sort of buy..

the drive train slop may just be the axle drive plates....

[87County]

G'day every one again!

..................Second synchro is not very good at all..........

Cheers
Ben

FWIW you may benefit if you change the gearbox oil to Castrol Syntrans.... expensive but it has a longer use life ....

overcame all crunchiness in mine....now smooth as...

(others may care to comment)....

[Xavie]

I am just over having cars that need things done to them!



I hear ya Ben!



FWIW you may benefit if you change the gearbox oil to Castrol Syntrans.... expensive but it has a longer use life ....

overcame all crunchiness in mine....now smooth as...

(others may care to comment)....


Yes, I found syntrans very good. Takes a while to bed in though if that makes sense?

[dullbird]

Yeah it is a 1993 200tdi with the LT77 gear box in it I thinks. It has 224000kms on the clock now it has had stuff like king pins etc... done to it recently. Yeah I just would of thought there would of been a bit less slack in the drive-train... When i drove series land rovers they did not have this much!

Any one want to buy it? Dare I say I might buy a toyota next!:o I will see if I can get this thing running well I guess first...
I am just over having cars that need things done to them!
Thanks for your advice!

Cheers
Ben

Then why on earth did you buy a car that is 16 years old???? If you weren't prepared to get things fixed.

Still bit naughty of yeh friend to not warn you of other problems but at the same time if you don't know any thing about landrovers bit silly of you not to get it checked first.


I also thought 93 was the change over year for 300tdi......or was it 94?

[Mrlandyman100]

Yeah I guess I should of known some thing of this age would need work.... But it is the nowest one I have ever owned and I could not affoard any thing any later! Cheers Ben

[Cap]

Yes, theres always the 'grass is greener' thing going, that is until you see the problems other makes have as well. Also, it is 16 years old as mentioned, and with that history you dont know how it was maintained/treated over that time.

Im no Defender expert, so cant comment on the price, but I have seen plenty of 96-97 300tdi fenders going for over 16k....

[PAT303]

Mate you would be supprised how easy they are to fix,they are cheap also.Have you checked that it has oil into the drivetrain,pop the rubber gromets off the axle flanges and look for wear,check the A frame ball joint,really it isn't hard or costly.As mentioned above if you didn't want to work on a car why buy an old one?.Give it a check over and post what you find. Pat

[rick130]

I hear ya Ben!





Yes, I found syntrans very good. Takes a while to bed in though if that makes sense?

Pretty normal for it to take a little bit of time for the new friction modifiers to 'lift' the old ones off the synchro hub faces and embed themselves.
This will happen with any dedicated manual trans fluid and can can take up to 800km or so.

Syntrans, Redline MTL, Neo MTF would all work in the LT77.

[cewilson]

G'day every one again!

I was just wondering if you guys think I might of paid too much for my defender ute... I bought it for $8000 last month.

Not bad actually.


Last week I got the timing belt changed (cost $676) and that same week the steering box went and that will be over $700, I havent got the bill for it yet.

Learn to work on it yourself. The timing belt is a easy job - get a manual/RAVE CD for it.

Also second hand items are sometimes the best way to go with these vehicles.


Second synchro is not very good at all... There is a lot of slack in the drive-train... Not sure what it is yet but it's not good. Since I have had it it has not wanted to sit at 100km/h very comfortably at all. It smokes a bit on start up (more then it should I think). Probably for a few seconds.

That's normal. Try the different oils that have been mentioned, but even if it doesn't work - the transmission will keep going for a lot of km's yet.

200tDi always sends a bit of black smoke on start up.


It has a nice big bull bar and side steps but that's the only extra it has and it has no radio etc... The seat bases are all torn...

Seat bases are easily fixed. Go second hand or retrim them with Exmour gear.

Radio - crap they are $80 new for a decent CD player now. And 30 mins to fit them.


Maybe I paid too much!?:o

I don't think so. I think you got what you paid for it honestly.


I am a bit dissapointed in the car seeings this is the most I have ever spent on a car and I am already looking at the problems it has and I havent had it very long.:(

Older vehicles are like this. It's a bit jack on your mate for not letting you know. If it had been me that sold the vehicle, I would've helped with the mechanical side at least!

Cheers
Chris

[Mrlandyman100]

Thanks for your advice every one! I think I will stick at it and get thing sorted out over time... I will just look forward to being able to sit at 100km/h some what comfortably in it one day!

Thanks again every one...

Cheers
Ben

Ps: does any one have a snorkel for a 200tdi they want to sell!?

[BilboBoggles]

p.s - I second the vote on the axle flanges causing drive train slack - I've had to change mine every 60,000k's - IT's almost like a new car after that. The original flanges seem to wear quite quickly. I bought a set of aftermarket ones from Paddocks in the UK that are much longer lasting - at least that's what they reckon.....

[Disco2tow]

I feel your pain but all cars need things done to them it is a sad reality I'm slowly learning to accept.:(
I have a Toyota hilux dsl dual cab and I had a lot of work on it when I first bought it and mine was in excellent condition well cared for etc. I know a guy who paid $12500 for a Toyota only to have the entire engine blow up after a week. So they aren’t necessarily any better.
Maybe a brand new one might be? But I know someone with a brand new very pricey Audi that spends more time in the workshop then on the road.


Yeah it is a 1993 200tdi with the LT77 gear box in it I thinks. It has 224000kms on the clock now it has had stuff like king pins etc... done to it recently. Yeah I just would of thought there would of been a bit less slack in the drive-train... When i drove series land rovers they did not have this much!

Any one want to buy it? Dare I say I might buy a toyota next!:o I will see if I can get this thing running well I guess first... I am just over having cars that need things done to them!

Thanks for your advice!

Cheers
Ben

[tracker]

I'm with Pat303.check aframe ball joint.mr have a greasable one that lasts well.:)

[PAT303]

The original axle flanges can last a long time,just grease them each oil change. Pat

[Savanahkelpy]

i guess i,m in the same boat as ben, having purchased a 92 200 tdi, but i console myself by thinking that if the previous owner had wanted to fix it, i wouldn,t be its current owner. Its unregistered, not roadworthy,(yet).
and needs lot of parts, but at $5000, i,m not complaining, because i looked at what i consider the 2 main parts, body (straight),and chassis (minimal rust), (everything hangs off, sits in or on either one!), and i know that in time, it will all come together.
Joining and exploring this site has proved to be neat bonus, being able to get information from other owners, without a salesman, breathing down my neck,,:mad:.
regards,,,Laurie

[Mrlandyman100]

Yeah that's one thing it has going for it... No rust in chassis/fire wall there is just a very small amount of rust in the drivers side door. I am glad I posted this thing to get a bit more possitive about the car... I will keep it and over time get every thing right... I think I should get the injectors checked out to see if that makes any difference to the way it drives... If they need work that is!

Cheers
Ben

[dullbird]

trust me when you put some dollars in it you will be disgruntled.......BUT when you take it off road you will know why you have done it.

you will then spend more money on it for one reason or another and it will really **** you off, but again you will go off road and forget the money you have spent...

trust me I own 3! 2 of them are currently off the road and one is threatening to be :lol2:........but when I'm climbing those rocks I'm proud to own them :)

[JamesH]

trust me when you put some dollars in it you will be disgruntled.......BUT when you take it off road you will know why you have done it.

you will then spend more money on it for one reason or another and it will really **** you off, but again you will go off road and forget the money you have spent...

trust me I own 3! 2 of them are currently off the road and one is threatening to be :lol2:........but when I'm climbing those rocks I'm proud to own them :)

What she said:arms:.

She forgot to mention that they are beautiful.

Yes you've bought an old car and things need replacing. "Cheap" maintenence is for people who buy brand new for ten times what you paid with 3 year warranty.

I've head it said that a Defender costs as much as a Troopy to run, what you save in fuel you spend on bits; what you spend on bits you save on fuel.

.

[malsgoing130]

I bought a 96 130 D/c with my eyes open and had it checked out, thanks to Aulro members advice. I pretty much had the same dramas as you and had a serious case of buyers regret. Well, 5 months on I love the old thing, shes emptied my pockets a bit but i knew that in the beginning. Drive line slop starts with the bushes, all of them (only use rubber), then replace the shockies, and when you have recovered from that the axels and drive flanges will need to be replaced- this will change the vehicle. The rest of the slop comes from the gear box and transfer case and can be minimised when the gear box is rebuilt.
All i can say that besides the bushes which are not complicated to do but can be a bugger to remove -rusted bolts and big spanners, they are very easy vehicles to work on yourself with limited mechanical knowlege. just get yourself the manuals off ebay and some good tools.
my other advice is to use the best quality oils and parts. Once they are brought up to spec all that is need is simple maintanance. Defenders are good vehicles and considering that most are used for what they were designed for they are bloody tuff.
Happy motoring
Malcolm:):D

[cewilson]

Yeah that's one thing it has going for it... No rust in chassis/fire wall there is just a very small amount of rust in the drivers side door. I am glad I posted this thing to get a bit more possitive about the car... I will keep it and over time get every thing right... I think I should get the injectors checked out to see if that makes any difference to the way it drives... If they need work that is!

Cheers
Ben

If you do - pull them out yourself and take them in. Little things like this save a lot of money over time, and you learn how to work on it at the same time. Radiator's are another beauty. Take it out and give it to them, then pick it up. Save yourself at least $100 by doing it.

If you have any problems or aren't sure, then ask us. Most of us have done the jobs before, and don't mind helping. But get yourself a manual, well worth the cost.

Cheers
Chris