Land Rover Defender 110 Rebuild

[colnerov]

Hi, it will get quite a bit of radiant heat from the turbo so I would say use a high temp paint.

Colin

 

[KimB]

Today has been one of those days. Decided to take it off to see if I could do quite a few odd jobs, how wrong was I!
The only good thing about today was dropping the seat belt mounts to be welded finally! Here it is, as I said before when I get it back I'll cut it to size and make it look presentable.

Dropped that off and collected these it'll be like new once all welded and bolted in place

The fab shop have done a great job of the Ali for me I just need to finish it up when I get the other piece back I'll bolt it all together and clamp it up ready for welding to the rear bullhead.

Cleaned the front pipe up

Went to fit it but couldn't so removed the clutch Slave cylinder. I thought I dislodged the shaft which compressed the clutch so went to check and actually did dis lodge this damn thing

Then spent the next hour or more trying to get it in. I was so upset after spending about 3h looking for the bag of bits for the exhaust (which I've still not found) I've given up on the bag of bits but managed to get the shaft back in with a tip from a friend and bolted the centre pipe to the front pipe. I've put a nut on the turbo to down pipe to keep it in place till I find the bag but anyway here it is fitted

And another angle

I thought I'd clean rear exhaust pipe, nearly finished it and noticed a big crack. I turned it over and it snapped off

Given up for the day now.

 

[penfold]

Trying to reuse old bits of exhaust is always a frustrating exercise; I've had the same happen to me, or even have it go back on then split a few days later and leave me with a blowing exhaust for my trouble. I gave up once I got the LR as even pukka exhaust bits are reasonably priced. I can't believe Lucas/LR designed a system with electric string exposed to hot engine oil; that wiring must need replacing a lot.

Top job on the resto though; you're well on with it.

 

[colnerov]

Hi, it's not only LR on some engines it can end up going all the way into the ECU. I understand the frustration with the exhaust, you soon learn to give the exhaust a few clouts with a hammer to highlight such weaknesses before spending time and money on it. Don't worry about giving up, sometimes it's better to walk away. Start afresh later after a cuppa or the next day.

Colin

 

[KimB]

Trying to reuse old bits of exhaust is always a frustrating exercise; I've had the same happen to me, or even have it go back on then split a few days later and leave me with a blowing exhaust for my trouble. I gave up once I got the LR as even pukka exhaust bits are reasonably priced. I can't believe Lucas/LR designed a system with electric string exposed to hot engine oil; that wiring must need replacing a lot.

Top job on the resto though; you're well on with it.

Oh it's a pain but like you say least I found out now. What's most irritating is they use stainless from the rear silencer to tip then the rest is steel so rots out.
As Colin says it's pretty silly. But only issue you get with td5 is it running to the ecu like it did on mine. I've cleaned it right out now though and clearly fitted a new look so hopefully won't have issues for quite some time

Hi, it's not only LR on some engines it can end up going all the way into the ECU. I understand the frustration with the exhaust, you soon learn to give the exhaust a few clouts with a hammer to highlight such weaknesses before spending time and money on it. Don't worry about giving up, sometimes it's better to walk away. Start afresh later after a cuppa or the next day.

Colin

Totally Colin, I guess still bit by bit it's getting there.

 

[awemawson]

Yes it's a daft design - even the grommet that the cable exits though is placed wrongly - it's pointing downwards so always in a puddle of oil waiting to be blown down the cableform. Which is exactly what happened to my TD5 giving bad ECU connections and horrid misfires !

Cheer up Kim, it's all repairable

 

[KimB]

Yes it's a daft design - even the grommet that the cable exits though is placed wrongly - it's pointing downwards so always in a puddle of oil waiting to be blown down the cableform. Which is exactly what happened to my TD5 giving bad ECU connections and horrid misfires !

Cheer up Kim, it's all REPLACEABLE

Corrected

 

[Robotstar5]

Copy the Camel trophy cars and mount the ECU high up in the cab?, the oil will take years getting to it

 

[KimB]

Copy the Camel trophy cars and mount the ECU high up in the cab?, the oil will take years getting to it

They sell a kit to do this. I think it was £250 :O it's only an extension lead

 

[Robotstar5]

They sell a kit to do this. I think it was £250 :O it's only an extension lead

Bit of multicore, a soldering iron and some heatshrink then move the decimal place back to £2.50?

 

[KimB]

Bit of multicore, a soldering iron and some heatshrink then move the decimal place back to £2.50?

I really don't need to be faffing around with that to be honest. Last thing I need is any ecu issues.
I'd rather just replace the look everytime it goes, maybe next time I'll silicone the hole as well so it doesn't hold oil

 

[Mark E]

What about a bluetooth adapter from the ECM to the loom then you can put the ECM anywhere you like... no? Ok then...

 

[penfold]

Unless mud plugging or wading is the objective moving the ECU is not really necessary.

 

[awemawson]

It 'should' be perfectly possible to inject silicone sealant down the start of the loom effectively potting the cores within the sheath to form an impassible barrier for the oil.

As I said before, it's a stupid design - these sort of work around's shouldn't be necessary in this day and age.

 

[KimB]

Did very little today. Decided to bolt the two pipes to the engine and the lifting point as well took photos of the damaged loom to get a price to make it.
Hopefully I'll have a price tomorrow
Looks much nicer with them painted after shot blasting

Then fitted

Andddddd the broken loom

Looks pretty straight forward to be honest, if they can't fix it I'll order the connectors and wire then do it myself with all new bits of wire where needed.

 

[Robotstar5]

....Looks pretty straight forward to be honest, if they can't fix it I'll order the connectors and wire then do it myself with all new bits of wire where needed.

Sourcing the right connectors will be the fun part, they try not to use more than one of the same type so they cam't be connected wrong
If you build a new harness use a large board with nails in to show all the "offshoots" and lengths.

 

[KimB]

Sourcing the right connectors will be the fun part, they try not to use more than one of the same type so they cam't be connected wrong
If you build a new harness use a large board with nails in to show all the "offshoots" and lengths.

I probably won't build a fully new one although maybe I will. Not sure. I mainly just want all the broken wires fixed. I'll see if it comes to it I will just order the connectors and swap over the plastic plugs.
But like I say I'll wait and see

 

[stormin]

You could try Simtek in Whitworth Lancs for wiring loom. He used to make the looms for Bowlers and other similar cars so I think he ended up with a generic rear lighting loom at one point.

http://www.simtekuk.co.uk

 

[KimB]

You could try Simtek in Whitworth Lancs for wiring loom. He used to make the looms for Bowlers and other similar cars so I think he ended up with a generic rear lighting loom at one point.

http://www.simtekuk.co.uk

Thanks stormin. I've just had a quick look through I can see he has loads of special connectors for Lr which is great so worst case I can buy them from him and make it myself

 

[Wedg1e]

I've used Vehicle Wiring Products for the bits to make looms, they stock quite a few connectors... and a wide range of the crimp terminals used in them and others so it's often possible to re-use the old connector shells and click new terminals into them.