Thread: Firewall replacement

I know when I creased my firewall in a prang (110 Tdi) I took it to Landy specialist panel beaters as recommended by my mechanic and they were all of the opinion that they had to dismantle the landy. Engine out etc etc the whole works.

I,ve just had it done to my 110 200 tdi, because of rust, and yes, its land rover open heart surgery, Everything, either goes through, hangs off, is supported by, or is bolted to the firewall. At least i learned how to/what to do to rust proof the new (reconditioned) firewall, so it will last.
Laurie,

I can't see why the engine or transmission would have to be removed. Plenty of Landies (including the Defender/County) are built up from a rolling chassis then have the firewall fitted. They are not like cars where the engine/transmission are fitted to the body shell.

First thing I would be doing is to remove the bonnet both front mudguards, front doors and if possible the windscreen. The rear body can stay where it is.

Once you have those bits off you can get to everything around the firewall and proceed from there.

You will probably find that you can remove the firewall with the wiring harness and other connections. Then with both firewalls on a bench, it's a tedious matter to swap item by item to the new (ready finish painted) firewall and return it the the chassis to complete the process.

i'm currently doing mine in a record lengh of time, no need to remove engine or gearbox, can even get away with leaving roof half bolted on.
As diana says take off bonnet, wings and then start unbolting, make sure you label everything, (one reason i am taking so long) as you have aircon that will need to be drained of fluid.
its a long winded job but doo able, i can not give a time on it as it taken me so long, but i guess two guys workiing hard could do it in couple of weekends.
ian

As Ian says, label everything and it doesn't hurt to take a photographic record of the connections, cleaning off the oil and dirt so you can see colour codes on wires etc as you disconnect each one.

Diana

in looking for a replacement firewall, are the defender / county ones the same ? and a/c vs no a/c ?

Also, Savanahkelpy - what are the rust treatments you recommend? Is it worth going for gal - or will that make painting too hard ?

Cheers,
flagg.

the main difference between the county and defender firewall is how the top of the front guards are attached. The county's attach by a steel bracket with a captured nut and you can see the bolt on the top of the guard. The defender does not have this bolt as the bracket is part of the top of the guard and a bolt screws into a captured nut in the firewall.

They are the same shape. There are differences with welded brackets and stuff.

I used a 300tdi defender firewall so had to manufacture a bracket to adapt the County guards to the firewall.