Cracked chassis defender 130 2010 puma

[azureindi]

Hi All
My Defender 130 year 2010 with Puma 2.7 turbo diesel is 18 months old and still under warrantry. While fitting a reversing camera I noticed the chassis had a crack behind the cab infront of the bracket for the tray on the passenger side. I am now driving a hire car ( not happy ) after 3.5 hours sitting in the dealership while Landrover decided what to do! We are still in the air as to whether this is a warrantry job. The car has 38000km on it and is my daily drive to work on a tar road. The tray has only moved a lounge! The tray was dealer fitted before pickup to their specifications!
My question is has any one else been in this situation?
I love this car and was hoping it would be with me for the next 30-35 years and was purchased from new, but we have had problem after problem...which has been rectified under warrantry, but am appalled at Landrovers treatment yesterday...Global assist my arse!
Thanks

[Lotz-A-Landies]

There are numbeous threads about Defender 130 chassis cracks.

Chassis Cracking/Failures 130s

defender chassis welding

Defender 130 chassis strength

Defender 130

[PAT303]

Hi All
My Defender 130 year 2010 with Puma 2.7 turbo diesel is 18 months old and still under warrantry. While fitting a reversing camera I noticed the chassis had a crack behind the cab infront of the bracket for the tray on the passenger side. I am now driving a hire car ( not happy ) after 3.5 hours sitting in the dealership while Landrover decided what to do! We are still in the air as to whether this is a warrantry job. The car has 38000km on it and is my daily drive to work on a tar road. The tray has only moved a lounge! The tray was dealer fitted before pickup to their specifications!
My question is has any one else been in this situation?
I love this car and was hoping it would be with me for the next 30-35 years and was purchased from new, but we have had problem after problem...which has been rectified under warrantry, but am appalled at Landrovers treatment yesterday...Global assist my ar..!
Thanks

Use a new dealer and explain why.Not getting answers on a new vehicle is BS.Send an email to LR HQ also,they should be made aware of bad dealer service. Pat

[Scouse]

Use a new dealer and explain why.Not getting answers on a new vehicle is BS.Send an email to LR HQ also,they should be made aware of bad dealer service. Pat

Using a new dealer will not help as the tray has nothing to do with them.

Stick with the selling dealer as they're the one who organised the tray fitment. The responsibilty for the chassis crack is on their shoudlers (no matter if LR pay it under warranty or not).

Getting another dealer involved will just slow down the repair.

[101RRS]

I didn't know that the Puma had a 2.7 in it. Is this just for the 130?

[Drover]

I didn't know that the Puma had a 2.7 in it. Is this just for the 130?

They don't, all PUMA's are 2.4L or for the new ones 2.2L

[Summiitt]

My 2010 130 single cab cracked on the front tray mounts behind the cab, the ute has a custom built heavy duty steel tray on it. The mounts supplied with the vehicle are, as I see it designed to hold up the rear floor on a dual cab and are not to be used for a tray top application. I contacted land rover and the truck body builders and basically told them to sort it out, at the end of it, the tray builders discarded the factory supports, made new tray mounts with a heavy block rubber spacer, 40,000km later and always loaded and all is good. Bottom line is that there Are a Number of mounts that can be used for tray mounting, but its up the the tray builder to build them to suit, trays are built for a price, you get what you pay for!hope this helps.

[newhue]

hmmmm got me curious. I have a 2010, with 41K on it. Better have a good look tomorrow and will report back.
I've done a fair bit of 4x4ing with 500 to 800kg in it. Used the canopy to lean on a tree or two so I'm hoping no cracks. I must have also carried 250kg the roof supported across the length of the car and 500kg in the back for work. Still no where near the vehicles limits.

If only a lounge has been carried in your 130 azureindi, just wondering if it a chassis fault, not a tray fitment issue.

[cal415]

Wow, its got me worried too, im about to do a 3 week trip fully loaded towing a camper to fraser island in my 2011 130, its a HCPU though. Hopefully it wont suffer any of these issues but no doubt i will be checking....

Any pics of the damage?

[alanw]

When welding up the cracked chassis on my 130DC it became very obvious that the steel on one side of the chassis was thinner than the other. You notice these things when welding....... And the side that cracked first and worst was the 'thin' side.

So suggest that it might be worth looking at steel thickness - partic. as you have not carried/towed heavy loads.

LandRover in their wisdom have a weld directly across the top of the 'stress point' in the chassis design - this is just behind the rear of the cab ( in a dual cab) where the chassis bends up to go over the rear suspension. If it has cracked at this point without heavy loads then is probably a faulty weld

My chassis cracked after abt 170K with lots of heavy loads and heavy towing and rather ordinary roads. And the fix was easy. Weld and plate. My probem was made worse by the tray design. I had got sick of welding up tray mounts on previous utes and made this tray more rigid. Next tray will have more 'flex' designed into the mounts. And i would look at reinforcing the 'stress point' when i build the tray.

The fundamental issue with dual cabs is the weight behind the back axle and the cracks start at the top of the chassis and work down. Might be different in single cabs.

And finally, fixing a cracked landrover chassis is very easy. Mild steel plate and normal mig welder wire and gas. And a can of chassis black paint.

alanw