Thread: defender doors wont close properly??

I will also throw an experience I have had in here. I have had several late (2002 and 2004) Defenders that have required new door latches. They would close all the way to the seal but spring back out without latching. In one vehicle I have replaced 3 latches, the other one 2. The strikers were all adjusted and shimmed etc quite a few times before I fitted the new latches which has now fixed the problem. The other VERY important point I will make is that under NO circumstances use anything but Genuine LR latches. I had an aftermarket one I had to replace under warranty as it lasted 1 week. AND they wouldn't pay my labour to remove it etc so I won't be going down THAT route again. The new latch assembly for front door is approx $170.00.

JC

Classic

Just a quick note regarding shut lines on a Land Rover Defender . . .

In the early 80's it was widely reported that Mitsubishi wanted to test the effectiveness of the door seals on the Shogun both to prevent water ingress during wading and to keep out the sand when entering the various desert races they had entered. All their measuring equipment proved inconclusive so they locked a cat into the vehicle and went away for a few hours. When they later returned the cat had suffocated, neatly proving that the air-tight security of the Sogun was satisfactory.

Not wanting to be outdone the men-in-brown-overalls at Solihull decided to try the same experiment with the (then) new 90 and 110. A scraggy moggy was obtained and locked into a Land Rover fresh of the line. The engineers firstly ensured that all doors and windows were firmly closed then went to lunch.

When they returned the cat had escaped!

So maybe those gaping shut-lines on your motor are a design feature?