HOW TO BUY A GOOD PUMA DEFENDER

[Becat]

Dear all I am new to defender, wishing to get a puma used.

After reading some threads seem that there problems people are facing in near new cars here.

Are there any ways in picking out the good secondhands from the lemons people are disposing in the market?

What are the major items I should look for? Are there any major parts I should modify to correct the factory's defect.

Thank you all.

[The Cone of Silence]

G'day Becat,

Depending on which MY you're looking at, you should research the various warranty fixes that LRA have released and see if the vehicle you're looking at has had any of the procedures done.

If not, it'd be worth going over any vehicle you're keen on to check them and see if they need doing; but they don't all have issues....remember this site is always going to be full of questions about diagnosing problems and how to fix them...that's what owners' forums tend to be like.

The issues I had with mine which were fixed under warranty (I had a few months left when I purchased it) were around the EGR self-cleaning valve getting bunged up with soot and an issue with the alarm as a result of water ingress.

Some people had dramas with vacuum pump, some have had issues with the transfer case spewing the odd bit of oil on the handbrake mechanism and a few other design Land Roverisms. I've had no such problems with mine.

The newer the model, the less likely these are to occur....at least....that's the theory.

There's a couple of very useful threads on this and other websites about the various PUMA warranty fixes and I'm sure others will chip in with some great knowledge that's far more complete than mine.

Bobby

p.s. Nice choice of vehicle by the way....don't forget to wave.

[Becat]

G'day Becat,

Depending on which MY you're looking at, you should research the various warranty fixes that LRA have released and see if the vehicle you're looking at has had any of the procedures done.

If not, it'd be worth going over any vehicle you're keen on to check them and see if they need doing; but they don't all have issues....remember this site is always going to be full of questions about diagnosing problems and how to fix them...that's what owners' forums tend to be like.

The issues I had with mine which were fixed under warranty (I had a few months left when I purchased it) were around the EGR self-cleaning valve getting bunged up with soot and an issue with the alarm as a result of water ingress.

Some people had dramas with vacuum pump, some have had issues with the transfer case spewing the odd bit of oil on the handbrake mechanism and a few other design Land Roverisms. I've had no such problems with mine.

The newer the model, the less likely these are to occur....at least....that's the theory.

There's a couple of very useful threads on this and other websites about the various PUMA warranty fixes and I'm sure others will chip in with some great knowledge that's far more complete than mine.

Bobby

p.s. Nice choice of vehicle by the way....don't forget to wave.

Thanks!

[Pickles2]

Cone of Silence...Tell me about the EGR Self Cleaning issue?
Cheers, Pickles.

[The Cone of Silence]

Morning Pickles,

I found that after a few months of owning the vehicle, the EGR self-cleaning cycle (the 5 "chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga" noises) that you hear when you switch the engine off, would sometimes work and sometimes not work.

The car was due for a service anyway and I told them about the cleaning cycle being intermittent - they checked the EGR valve and apparently it had a build-up of soot. So they cleaned it...or maybe replaced it, I can't remember I'm afraid....but since then I had no further dramas with it.

Now that the ECU has been remapped, the EGR itself doesn't get used so it's no longer a problem.

I believe most things to do with the EGR are simple to fix but getting to the unit is a bit of a pain....although that can be said of just about anything under the PUMA hood!

I just tried to search for EGR on this site but the search doesn't recognise less than 4 letters.....but if you Google AULRO EGR you'll come up with a few threads that might help to get you started.

Bobby

[BilboBoggles]

You can order an EGR valve from the UK for less than a couple of hundered dollars, they give plenty if indication that they are about to fail (they get very noisey). So not really a big issue but something that is likely to want a replacement every 100,000 k's or so unless you get the remap suggested above.

On My09 Models looks for the fuel tank breather, if you can see it dangling to the rear of the rear driver side wheel, it looks like a hook, then you'll need to relocate that before you get water in your fuel tank. That's an expensive fix if you do, but I'd also wonder about how much water and silt has flushed through the system un noticed. On mine I was lucky that we had one of the wettest winters just after I bought mine, the $15,000 repair bill was covered under warranty.

Clutches are always a PITA on the PUMA models, they have a solid mass flywheel which causes a lot of vibration through the drivetrain, and also destroys the springs in the clutches. If you can live with the rattling and noise they you will save a fortune on clutches. There are various clutch versions out there but as far as I know it's still only time before the springs slacken off and the drivetrain rattles. It's very rare that the clutch springs actually break and render the clutch inoperative, so worth just living with the noise unless you can get it fixed under warranty. So best advise is to ignore the noise and get a loud radio,


Rust - Most defenders leak water. I think you will be hard pressed to find a dry defender - very often the underside of the floor mats will be wet. Look for rust around there. Look for rust along the bulk head by looking in through the door check straps. There is a folded seam on the bulk head where water collects - on most defenders this will be rusty, on some it will be very rusty. You can also get to the bulk head by removing the fuse box if you want to rust prevent along there. It's probably unlikely to be a serious issue given the youth of most PUMA's, but if your defender lived by the sea - and you find rust there - then I would not buy that car.


A/C - if you live in an area that needs A/c, then make sure its cold and stays cold after an extended run. Some of the PUMA A/C's ice up and become ineffective after 20-30mins. The fix for this involves extensive dash surgery, which is OK if done under warranty, but I would guess could be quite expensive. I reckon you could easily fix this with a bypass switch to the compressor - but that would be a bit of a kludge.

2.2 vs 2.4. My personal experience was that the 2.4 engine is a dog compared to the 2.2. At least the 2.4 in the MY09 I traded in on the My13 2.2 was a complete dog of an engine. The 2.2 in comparison is a much smoother and quieter engine. I also think that the later model My13 has been put together better than the MY09 was. IF you have the choice - I reckon I would go for a MY12 onwards, but I could still be convinced to buy another 2.4 MY07-my11 based on price. (It's a dog of an engine but still usable)

[Samblers]

I like my 2.4 2010 engine. Just my experience.

I bought mine with 9 months warranty left on it, and advise potential Puma purchasers to do the same... unless its an older model at a good price.

So far i've had the a/c temp sensor replaced (the dash surgery mentioned above), although this doesnt seem to have improved performance greatly, my rear left driveshaft bolts replaced (came loose), and its currently in again today for the 3rd attempt at solving a creaking clutch pedal. Oh, and a fuel breather issue where it spews diesel onto the forecourt (again, see above)

When the EGR valve carks it i'll go for a re-map

We dont get much rain in WA, so leaks arent a huge drama for me. After one rainy period though i noticed water on the passenger floor mat... we'll see how we go over winter until my November warranty expiry date. I'll definitely be getting it checked over by an independant mechanic prior to expiry.

No quibbles at all regarding warranty claims - LR have been excellent about at least *trying* to fix the above LandRover-isms.

I love the Defender, but its clearly a car that has not had any design development money spent on it in a long long while - most of the usual problems seem like they could be easily designed-out if the desire and the budget were there... which they arent.

Sam

[Becat]

I like my 2.4 2010 engine. Just my experience.

I bought mine with 9 months warranty left on it, and advise potential Puma purchasers to do the same... unless its an older model at a good price.

So far i've had the a/c temp sensor replaced (the dash surgery mentioned above), although this doesnt seem to have improved performance greatly, my rear left driveshaft bolts replaced (came loose), and its currently in again today for the 3rd attempt at solving a creaking clutch pedal. Oh, and a fuel breather issue where it spews diesel onto the forecourt (again, see above)

When the EGR valve carks it i'll go for a re-map

We dont get much rain in WA, so leaks arent a huge drama for me. After one rainy period though i noticed water on the passenger floor mat... we'll see how we go over winter until my November warranty expiry date. I'll definitely be getting it checked over by an independant mechanic prior to expiry.

No quibbles at all regarding warranty claims - LR have been excellent about at least *trying* to fix the above LandRover-isms.

I love the Defender, but its clearly a car that has not had any design development money spent on it in a long long while - most of the usual problems seem like they could be easily designed-out if the desire and the budget were there... which they arent.

Sam

Thanks

[portafilter]

hey Sambler that clutch pedal creak is only fixed through the engine bay. mine did the same and it drove me nuts. there is a cover over the clutch pedal box in the engine bay, whip that off and drop a few drops of oil, i used chain saw cutter bar oil, on the pivot points you will see. they are pretty crudely made so have quite a lot of inherent friction. i also found that after doing this the pedal felt a lot lighter.

[portafilter]

hey becat, when you find one drain off the fuel filter and examine the diesel. had i done that with mine i would have seen all the water and bits of rust the previous owner had been trying to run it on.
i ended up having to replace a few bits of the fuel pump and also get the transfer case rebuild because of bad backlash. apart from that my '07 has been a blast.