I knew it was coming. I just knew it. The clutch was squealing when the pedal was depressed and the bite point started changing with every press. I also knew that my gearbox might not be in the best shape since the piece of metal fell out of it…

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Tags: 300tdi, clutch, gearbox, transfer box

Oil leaks can be annoying, none more so than from the oil filter housing. It’s characterised by a drip from the oil filter, generally when running. It drips onto your diff, covers everything and there’s a few things that can cause it. They say that leaks tell you that there’s…

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Tags: 300tdi, quick-fix

Having assembled the door, it was now ready to fit. It’s a bulky job at times and lining up the door can be a pain but naturally is the most satisfying aspect of this work. The newer Td5 rear door is geometrically the same as the older door, so will…

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If your vehicle is made post-2002 then the wiring loom will connect straight away. If you are putting the door on an earlier vehicle, it will require a bit of fiddling because the connectors are different and the new door wiper is negative switched whilst the old door wipers are…

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Having cleaned the door down and sent it off to the body shop, it came back  gleaming in Chawton White for the cost of £100. Putting the door back together it mostly straightforward, especially if you have already disassembled it, although putting the glass in is a little tricky.…

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My rear door has been slowy rattling, creaking and breaking more and more. The weight of a Wolf wheel on the back certainly doesn’t help. Cracks have appeared around the common breakage point of the wiper spindle and having reviewed what my spare wheel capacity…

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I had decided to get the door painted. When I bought it, it was green (and because a sale of parts had paid for)  I decided to respray white, the colour of my Land Rover. As such, I had to remove everything from it first. It took less than 30…

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I don’t like the rectangular Reverse and Fog lights on Defenders. They fill with water, the connections corrode, the bulbs become loose and people stand on them when climbing up to roof racks. They also look dated. The circular lamps as fitted to Td5 Defenders onwards have sealed connectors, easy…

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My reverse light hasn’t been working. I only found this out recently whilst meeting a gritting lorry on a narrow lane at night. With the windows steamed up and putting it into reverse, there was nothing behind but darkness. I stuck my head out the window and half drove up…

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Tags: gearbox

Wheel bearings have the habit of wearing out on expedition. The constant driving with dust and water creates a testing environment for your hub seals, so it is not uncommon to have a dodgy bearing or two on expedition. I think it’s one of the mechanical things that is so…

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Tags: axle, skills

When I bought the Land Rover, the gear lever was extremely sloppy in 5th and reverse. Sometimes it was hard even to engage reverse, as pushing the lever to the right would almost push it into my leg; Getting into 5th coming down the slip road onto the motorway was…

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Tags: gearbox

Land Rover had/has a reputation for incessantly upgrading parts of their vehicles throughout their life, but instead of batch changing everything at one major upgrade, they would enter new parts onto the assembly line at various times of the manufacturing year. This has the effect that the correct part you…

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Adjusting valve clearances is a Land Rover servicing task of every 12000 miles. It is about measuring the gap between the top of the valve stem cap and the face of the rocker arm to allow for expansion of the valve stem when the engine is hot. Bascically it makes…

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Tags: 200tdi, 300tdi, engines

My headlight flashers have never worked. I’ve done lots of electrical work on the Land Rover, but I hate removing the steering column shroud. The first time I tried to remove it was on one of the expedition Defenders in Belize, and was greated by a puff of smoke…

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Tags: electrical

When you find yourself not being able to change gear without a clunk then you may have worn splines on your halfshafts and drive members, due to high mileage or heavy clutch changes. The halfshaft transmits power from the differential by engaging the splines of the drive member which bolts…

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Tags: axle, quickfix