Jump to content

Defender Advice


Recommended Posts

I bought a defender 90 td5 last year and i had a trooper before that.I love the defender and always wanted one it dosent disapoint off road and will get you anywere if u spend most off your days out with the dogs and hunting then they are the only jeep but if you only go out now and again then dont get something else.problems are you have to keep them tipped up or they will start to rust but if you enjoy them you wont mind as someone has said already you either love them or hate them but they are the only machine it you are in the country side most off the time.they are not great for long jounerys or the most comfrotable jeep u will get but theirs just something about owning a landrover defender makes it diffrent then other jeeps.if i could again i will change my 90 for a 110 90s are a bit tight for space in the back thats my only problem with them.

 

 

 

 

heres a pic off mine[

Edited by top terrierman
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • Replies 77
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

sorry to put a damper on things guys, i have a defender 300tdi, 1997, 115,000 mile, does aprox 30mpg, passes mot every year ( apart from when needed brake pipes etc due to corrosion, and new rear cros

I use the defender to travel to my permission 120 mls round trip not a problem unless your in a hurry and yes they are agricultural and don't come near to the comfort you find in jap stuff they do get

For £3000 you will get a lump of rusty metal that will break down all the time...... But you will get £3000 back for it.....   £3000 would also buy you a nice 3.0 hilux surf, or other jap truck.....

I use the defender to travel to my permission 120 mls round trip not a problem unless your in a hurry and yes they are agricultural and don't come near to the comfort you find in jap stuff they do get stuck but mostly due to driver error aaaah but what motor doesn't . I have noticed on the shoots I go to that the landy's get more stick and are expected to do much of the rough terrain work as the jap owners are often very careful about knocking any of the plastic bits off on the gate posts :tongue2: .Now consider this I used to own a garage and I always liked to have a 4x4 as one of the garage vehicles so out of the diahatsu toyota mazda and landy I found the landy cheaper to run and the simplest to maintain as with all vehicles most problems that come up on a motor are due to the lack of maintenance and a £3000 motor will probably have had a lot of owners who just put fuel in and drove so even if its a jap it will probably be suffering from neglect the thing is to get a old landy up and running will cost a lot less than any jap stuff this is based on the cost of service parts alone not to mention spares such as t/rod ends prop joints clutches fuel tanks etc .etc .So as already posted if you can hold a spanner and read 4x4 mags you should be OK to keep an old defender on the road but you probably will have to fork out £4000 for a roadworthy defender as they hold their value that in itself could be an indicator as to how much the green oval is respected and this is only my daft opinion anyway good luck and drive safely .

  • Like 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

Ive got a 1996 300Tdi truck cab defender gave £5000 for it three years ago .It had only done 46000 mile from new a proper farmers hack.The rear load space was still full of silage.I,ve had a few problems and this week I,m changing the rear crossmember after so called friend read clown into that ,hit the brakes whilst I was towing him and ripped my towing eye straight out of the chassis making a proper mess.I,ve had Landrovers for over fifteen years and am happy to stick with them .My first was a series two and have had Discos and even a Freelander for a while .Any problems are usually overcome and them holding their price plus cheap price of spares as long as you avoid Britpart for quality .They are great fun .I have an Austin Champ as well which cannot be described as an every day vehicle but it certainly shows the Landrover the way off road.

Link to post
Share on other sites

£3000 will get you a complete bag of shite Landrover that will need welding, will piss oil everywhere (assuming anyone has bothered to put any in for ten years) the power steering box will almost certainly piss oil and need replacing for the test, the doors will have dropped, and it will leak water in like a sieve, or alternatively £3000 will get you a nice tidy Isuzu trooper prob around 8-10 years old, with a superb chassis, just run in at around 80,000 miles, it will be comfortable, wont piss water in, it will go anywhere a Landrover will, have a lot more room than a swb, and the bonus is you wont be underneath it every weekend when you would rather be out shooting, insert Shogun, Nissan Terrano 2, Toyota landcruiser in place of Isuzu and the result will still be the same :thumbs: I have quoted this before but it bears repeating, the Ozzies say if you want to go into the outback take a Landrover or Toyota Landcruiser, if you want to come back out take the Toyota :D what does that say gentlemen, when your life depends on it take the one that wont brake down, NO BRAINER.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

£3000 will get you a complete bag of shite Landrover that will need welding, will piss oil everywhere (assuming anyone has bothered to put any in for ten years) the power steering box will almost certainly piss oil and need replacing for the test, the doors will have dropped, and it will leak water in like a sieve, or alternatively £3000 will get you a nice tidy Isuzu trooper prob around 8-10 years old, with a superb chassis, just run in at around 80,000 miles, it will be comfortable, wont piss water in, it will go anywhere a Landrover will, have a lot more room than a swb, and the bonus is you wont be underneath it every weekend when you would rather be out shooting, insert Shogun, Nissan Terrano 2, Toyota landcruiser in place of Isuzu and the result will still be the same :thumbs: I have quoted this before but it bears repeating, the Ozzies say if you want to go into the outback take a Landrover or Toyota Landcruiser, if you want to come back out take the Toyota :D what does that say gentlemen, when your life depends on it take the one that wont brake down, NO BRAINER.

I have had troopers before I got the defender yes the 3.1 we had for over 10 years only ever replaced the gearbox top class engine and comfortable to travel in but off road dosent come near a defender I got stuck more times in places I shouldn't have and as for the 3.0 trooper I had for 16 months what a ball off drit injectors going trubo went and lots off other stuff.we had a little four trek frist found them great.
Link to post
Share on other sites

If you put the right tyres on a trooper ect, it will go anywhere a standard defender will, I am assuming the op does not wish to compete off road, just have a reliable go anywhere (within reason) shooting/country vehicle, if he wants the ultimate off roader then he should buy a modded Suzuki jimny and wave bye bye to all the landrovers it pisses on off road, but as an everyday 4x4 Jap stuff, and it pains me to say it is the way forward, Landrovers are for people who like to get the spanners out, which is fine if you have the time/knowledge/ability.

Link to post
Share on other sites

hi,

just my opinion, landrovers are a pile of crap, over rated and over priced, the defender I once drove in was hideous to say the least, cramped, uncomfortable, noisey, and so unrefined,and that's on a 54 plate, I would never even think about paying £6000-£7000 grand for a 97-98 model, I prefer jap models which are more reliable, comfortable, and cheaper, ive had a Toyota 3.0td surf for 8 years and all ive had to do to it is a water pump, alternator, front shock, and tail pipe, and oil changes of course, mine is a 94 model and its got 4 electric windows, electric sunroof, electric mirrors, selectable hard/soft suspension, sports mode, aircon, push button 4wd, you don't get this on old landrovers of the same year, my mate had a brand new defender crew cab pickup with all the extras and he thought it was the bollocks,so I said no, it is a load of bollocks!!! and whilst he was travelling to a deer shoot in Scotland the foot wells started to fill up with water from some pipe that broke, so its back to landrover and they give him another brand new one, and after a few weeks its back at landrover for another repair on something else, I wouldn't waist my money on one, because if you payed that amount(£6000-£7000) of money on your family car and all you got was unreliability, uncomfortable, basic, leaking fluids, and welding it up because of it rushing, it wouldn't be acceptable would it? well not in my eyes anyway,

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

hi,

 

when you say what's the point of having push button 4wd,and sports mode, on a 4wd........the push button for 4wd is so smooth, quick, and easily switched to 4wd/2wd without having to shift a leaver. You don't even have to be stationery for apply the button, which again is a good idea.

and as for sports mode, you get the best of both worlds, you can use it as a normal 4x4 on the road and just plod along, or with the sports mode on in 2wd, it gives you that better acceleration and with the suspension set from soft to hard it gives you better handling and also improved torque. this now makes you aware that these modes when used certainly do improve its capability. Don't forget my Surf is 19 years old with these features as standard on my model. this is were the japs have got it worked out in my opinion.

Link to post
Share on other sites

well gentlemen theres plenty of different points you should consider when it comes to a defender,but that applys to any of the 4x4,they all have there ups and downs,alot of the jap stuff is good but can be a bugger to work on,as well as expensive,landrovers are so easy to repair as well as cheap,i work for a rover garage at mechanical repairs,i also drive a defender,but wait for it,i put a isuzu into it some time back,and i can honestly say bulletproof,it really is worth considering ,if your looking for a hunting wagon that can take a bit of hacking , easy on fuel and cheap to fix,good hunting which ever way you go

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes and another point Tillylamp, is that the bells and whistles on your 19 year old Toyota,WORK you would be lucky if they worked on a 19 MONTH old Landrover I have a shooting mate who has a one owner from new (his mum) disco full dealer service history, on a 53 plate I think, and it goes wrong constantly, and it has been looked after, they are a pile of trash.

Link to post
Share on other sites

To be fair to landrovers though, they have only been making them since 1948, so they have to have time to iron one or two teething problems out, lets be honest.

In all seriousness comfort and equipment aside, one of their biggest let downs is shite pattern parts, when I was working on them regularly, the times you would fit a replacement part, and 3 weeks later the customer would be back, complaining that the water pump or whatever was leaking again,if they had some decent parts available for them, they would have a much better reputation.

Link to post
Share on other sites

£3000 will get you a complete bag of shite Landrover that will need welding, will piss oil everywhere (assuming anyone has bothered to put any in for ten years) the power steering box will almost certainly piss oil and need replacing for the test, the doors will have dropped, and it will leak water in like a sieve, or alternatively £3000 will get you a nice tidy Isuzu trooper prob around 8-10 years old, with a superb chassis, just run in at around 80,000 miles, it will be comfortable, wont piss water in, it will go anywhere a Landrover will, have a lot more room than a swb, and the bonus is you wont be underneath it every weekend when you would rather be out shooting, insert Shogun, Nissan Terrano 2, Toyota landcruiser in place of Isuzu and the result will still be the same :thumbs: I have quoted this before but it bears repeating, the Ozzies say if you want to go into the outback take a Landrover or Toyota Landcruiser, if you want to come back out take the Toyota :D what does that say gentlemen, when your life depends on it take the one that wont brake down, NO BRAINER.

That's why I drive an 80 series diesel............ :thumbs:

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.


×
×
  • Create New...