Thread: Land Rover Engineer Requires Info

For those that asked. I have had a looksee and Lawrence has the e-mail address to back up what he says in his post. I'm actually rather glad to see that LR are asking what we want to see. I hope you've got some time because I can see this post getting very big Lawrence.

Now for my 5c

Defenders have the option of off road tyres in the UK, the are't used as yuppy mobiles here, but workhorses and off road machines. fit them with off road tyres, at least as an option.

I love the new defender from what i've seen, nice work on that account

I'll think of more, but i'll add it then

Lawrence
If this is not a wind up (sorry to be a cynic but I havent seen Land Rover take any serious notice of its customers for 50 odd years)
No company with half an ounce of brains would expect people to puchase a new sophisticated vehicle with no dealer coverage throughout most of the country.
My nearest dealer that is of any use is over 1600km away why would I drive a new Land Rover that is reliant upon computers to diagnose and clear its issues.
Do you just expect me to put it on a truck and send it 3200km everytime it stuffs up??
I couldnt seriously buy one, sadly if I were in the market for a new 4x4 I would have to look at the Japanise stuff (and O that thrills me)

Yup, more dealer coverage, bring back the 90 to australia, and actually advertise the defenders in australia (I told you i'd think of more things ). Other ideas:

Difflock as a factory option in the defender?
TDV6 or TDV8 in the defender
Auto in the defender
90 to aus
110 dualcab to aus (we are a country of ute lovers)
single cab 130, mm, I guess I mean bring the whole lineup here, or at least allow them to be ordered.
Airbags for the mines companies that would buy them buy the hundereds (I know, not so easy).
Off road tyre options for the other four land rover models (FL2, RRS, RR and D3)

can you tell we love the defender !!

Other threads with similar topics
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/general-ch...-you-want.html

and as has been noted above, better diffs, axles and CV's are almost a must. Land Rover is sadly lagging behind the opposition in these areas.
Spiral beval diffs in heavy duty vehicles ?

Go back to the Salisbury rear end, give it 30 spline axles, and a hypoid front diff with decent axles and CV's. The current setup is just too marginal and not a patch on what Nissan offer standard in the Patrol.

And while we are at it, how about going back to the wide based bearing hubs in Defender ? You had it right in the eighties, then abandoned it.

130 chassis are notorious for cracking out here. All the major utilities that used them no longer do because of this. Fix it, please.

Driver selectable diff locks front and rear as an option on Defender. Again, the opposition offer it, why not Land Rover ?
TC isn't good enough in all situations, and the commercial models, the ones that will really be asked to work hard and probably need it don't have it.

As Diana said above, a wider body (and track) would be nice, and larger capacity engines are needed here. How can a 2.4l 4cyl engine compete with Toyota's 4.5l turbo V8 in it's 79 Series ?
A 3+litre turbo diesel would be a good starting point.

Defender steering drag link and track rod just aren't good enough. When the Perentie was under development, the engineers out here recognised that early on and made heavy duty versions. All the factory did was bolt a channel under the front diff for civilian use.
Not good enough.
Heavier duty tie rod ends, and a stronger steering box would be nice, too. Again, your direct opposition out here recognised this and upgraded their components.

No electronics. A vehicle that is subject to instantaneous total failure that is virtually undiagnosible and unrepairable roadside has no place in the outback. Someone will die because of electronic failures.

A decent size engine. I know this is a totally foreign idea to British automotive design thinking but a 5 or 6 litre naturally aspirated diesel is what is needed for long distance and remote area travel. A 140 or more litre fuel tank also. If possible, avoid a turbocharger. They are something else to maintain and/or fail.

Axles can be made better. Just a mtallurgy change at little cost.

Oil lubricated wheel bearings. Heavy trucks have had these for many, many, years.

A progressive ratio range change gearbox with a top gear that allows cruising on our long distance treks at 120k's and 2000rpm.

Some room for full grown adult male drivers, not Mediterranean and Asian dwarfs. Foot room for at least size 12 heavy boots.

Move the bloody handbrake lever to one side of the seat cushion or the other.

Get non-british (but not French or Italian, their systems are as bad as British) electrical people in to design a reliable and accessible wiring system with durable switches and relays on the headlights, one for each beam on each side. Heavy battery cables with the earth direct to the starter motor and another to the frame.

That will do for a start. I will add more.

Some interest by Land Rover in its product in Australia would be nice.

I guess the problem is that the money isn't with the enthusiasts, it's with stuff like the RR Sport.

Get on the phone and make some bookings. Come to Cooma in NSW, Australia at Easter for the 60th Anniversary of LR. You'll get more info there than from any quick survey.

I co-administer the RangeRovers.net forum and the most registrations I activate every week are from new Sport owners - closely followed P38A owners with issues.

Some authorised service centres in the country would also be nice. Try finding a mechanic that will even look at one - even an older Disco with no electronics which really is quite a simple vehicle.

I'll ruminate over the question and respond further.

Here's something else to ponder and hopefully make those aware higher up of the situation.
Toyota and Nissan sell the majority of their heavy duty 4wd production between Australia and the Middle east. Toyota and Nissan dominate the heavy duty 4wd market in these countries.
Toyota sold 5,530 79 Series cab chassis and troop carriers last year. Nissan sold 3,429 Patrol cab chassis.

104 Defender SW were sold, and 30 130 Crew Cabs.

I haven't even included Toyota and Nissan station wagon sales. Really a different market.

One of the reasons is the dealer network.

PAG, in it's infinite wisdom canned the country dealer network chasing the luxury (Merc/Lexus) market.
Get a map of Australia then stick pins in it where their are country dealers. Not many. Do the same for Toyota, and to a lesser extent, Nissan, and virtually every country town has a dealer.

Get a decent dealer network up and running and Land Rover may have a presence again in rural Australia. They dominated in the sixties, then lost it all to Toyota as they wouldn't adapt to market demands.

It's great that you are asking the questions, hopefully things may change.

snip

Originally Posted by rick130

TC isn't good enough in all situations, and the commercial models, the ones that will really be asked to work hard and probably need it don't have it.

end snip

I'd be happy with TC that consistently works! Not the dashboard Xmas tree syndrome we constantly have. On again off again.. & wheel sensors that last the life of the car please.

A defender on the D3 platform? No body computers. Wind up windows (keep the electric mirrors though). Manual gearbox option. CVs with no rubber boots, maybe u-joints. Long, supple travel isn't needed in a workhorse. No nonsense tyres e.g. 235/85/16s. Conventional suspension, - if air assist is deemed necessary, no computer involvement. Simple easily replaced headlights. Decent sized fuel tank/s. I could go on..

Regards
Max P