Thread: Best way to change a firewall on defender

Jon,

Rego is basically car tax in UK speak. Depending on some states you may also need a roadworthy every year (MOT) QLD you dont. Up here you only have to have it done prior to 1st registration, and if you decide to sell it registered.

Pete.

What dave said,
and in my opinion its an easy weekend job, a side by side transfer of bits, is the way to go,
they are after all a mechano set !!
I would have thought by now you would have been inundated by offers to help with it by the sydney experts.

too bad your not up north, you'd be fighting everyone to stay away.


john

Originally Posted by Yorkshire_Jon

Sorry to jump in, but as someone who's considering up'ing sticks to Sydney and bringing a 2006 110 with them from the UK, whats this talk of "only 2 months into rego"???

Anything I need to be aware of? I have read posts on here and other sites about importing vehicles, but this seems new to me.

As for bulkhead change (that English) or Firewall change (Australian?) -

Body off is officially the way to do it. If you have the means to lift the body then thats how I would do it.

If not, unbolt roof, windscreen and front wings off. Unbolt and lift out (obviously seperating other bits first!).

thast right just a terminology thing.
tell me what do you gain from doing it that way? over unbolting stuff and taking bits off

Shame i live in perth, but this situation sounds like huge job and would be great to get 5 or 6 landy users over for a BBQ and pitch in to make it a quicker job.
At the same time it would be a great learning experience and when the time comes, help out the next guy who needs it done.
Far better than tackling something like this by yourself.
If i didnt live in Perth i would give you a hand.

Originally Posted by dullbird

So can anyone elaborate on this

as some of you are aware we need to change the firewall on the 90 due to some significant corrosion....

now i have been told by 2 landrover mechanics that is much quicker to lift the body off!

and looking at it Ian is not sure how it makes it quicker and easier than just taking wings,doors roof and windscreen off

has anyone done this got pics or some advice of things to watch out for....
what we really should and shouldn't do

Lou

Hi Lou, I replaced the Firewall in my TD5 recently, but in my case I stripped the vehicle down to the chassis as I repainted every panel and completely rust proofed everything. I know first hand what you will require. If I were you I would do as Ian suggests - remove the doors, roof and outer guards - I also had to remove the passengers side inner guard to a point due to interference.

I also stripped back my replacement firewall and under coated it with a product called POR 15. It will never rust. Also probably need new seals at the top and base of the windscreen,


Also you may know this - The long bolts at the base of the firewall may have thick spacer washers in the middle or on the inside. Take note of these as they should go back the same way. These set the door gaps etc.

Depending on when, I would be glad to spend a day helping if needed.

PM me if needed or if you want to come around and chat. Cheers, Erich

Originally Posted by dullbird

i already have the firewall waiting to go in

the only part we have seen so far(yet to pull the rest of the dash) you can post all finger on one hand and still have room around your hand...it needs doing because its only going to get worse.

and we dont want to be pulling the car apart again in a few years time just becasue we only patched it this time.

the car as come from the uk so things are rotting pretty bad

Hi Lou
Does this photo scare you? Unfortunately I didn't take a lot of photos at this stage of the project, but I left as much on the firewall as possible and swapped over many parts out of the vehicle - steering wheel, brake assembly and most of the dash. The firewall is supported by a chain block from an overhead beam. Cheers, Erich

yeh thanks for that.............


still i'm hoping its not going to be as many wires as yours assuming yours is a td5 and ours is a prehistoric 200

Originally Posted by dullbird

yeh thanks for that.............


still i'm hoping its not going to be as many wires as yours assuming yours is a td5 and ours is a prehistoric 200

Yes, it is a TD5. I think there will be heaps less wiring. As long as everything is tagged - and a bit of a list of the sequence of doing stuff - no problems. Everything went back and worked first go - except I didn't bleed the brakes enough and managed the ABS light because of this.