Land rover help needed

[blue beastie]

Hi all,

 

Anybody around in the Highlands (Tain - 45 mins North of Inverness) to have a look over a Defender i'm thinking about buying with me?

 

It's a 1986 110 pickup 2.5 NA Diesel.

 

Cheers.

[blue beastie]

If not, please post any advice here.

 

 

 

p.s. I know after the "Which Cheap 4x4" thread you all said NOT to get an old Defender, but there's not a lot around locally at the moment and this is cheap and only 10 miles away....

[geoff]

Check the chassis for rust very carefully,also the bulkhead where the doors hinge and under the windscreen.

Make sure all transmition is working and not noisy,and doesn't jump out of low ratio on the over run.

Engine for smoke,oil & water cross contamination,price in for a new timing belt,as they can let go if not fresh.

Front axle swivel balls for corosion.

Steering should be straight & true with no wandering.

 

Get a good one & they are not a bad motor,but they are getting on a bit now,so make sure it has bean well loved,& not been used hard off road,look for mud trapped around the underneath,and scrapes on the chassis .

[John Barleycorn]

As above. Any chassis that age must be suspect unless Waxoiled, or similar on the inside.

I bought an 85 three years ago. Great engine, chassis seemed rock solid, but had to scrap it this year as it rusted from the inside out & pealed apart.

Traded it in to a local LR mechanic and for an extra five grand got a 95 rebuilt onto a galvanised chassis. Should last 50 years (well beyond my life expectancy !)

[gensetsteve]

When loaded 35mph up the hills on dual carriage way. 60 down hill . The later turbo was quicker but rubbish engine needing rebuild every 60k. Tdi from 1992 much better and chassis should be in better nick.

[Sburdy]

I have a 86 90 on a c plate, it started life with a 2.5n/a diesel, i got it in 2007 having done 155thousand miles i kept it standard for a while. But with carrying all the gear+towing i was getting between 17-20 mpg. I stuck a 200tdi out of disco..THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO! i now get 35 mpg on a run the power is bonus aswell. what to check for: with the engine running remove the oil cap and check for pressure, if so bad! if not good!!

 

As for the gearbox try every gear!

 

All the best mate there a super vehicle i wouldn't be without mine, hope this helps.

 

oh one more thing: during winter the engine is a SOD.. to start! all the best.

[JonnyVine]

Ditto to all above, but be aware that allthough the 2.5 N/A engine is a good unit it is seriously lacking in power, this is not a problem if the rest of the truck checks out as you can easily swap it for a TDi when you get fed up with using low box up hill!

[hplp]

I have a 86 90 on a c plate, it started life with a 2.5n/a diesel, i got it in 2007 having done 155thousand miles i kept it standard for a while. But with carrying all the gear+towing i was getting between 17-20 mpg. I stuck a 200tdi out of disco..THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO! i now get 35 mpg on a run the power is bonus aswell. what to check for: with the engine running remove the oil cap and check for pressure, if so bad! if not good!!

 

As for the gearbox try every gear!

 

All the best mate there a super vehicle i wouldn't be without mine, hope this helps.

 

oh one more thing: during winter the engine is a SOD.. to start! all the best.

 

 

A nice mod I did was fit 2 batteries in parallel (200 amps total!) and a later Bosch TDI starter.

I had no problems after that getting it to start.

 

H