 | Home > My Defender > The last of the 2.4's doing well... |
 
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| MartinK Member Since: 02 Mar 2011 Location: Silverdale (Lancashire/Cumbria Border) Posts: 2664   
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I thought I would share some details on my 110 USW, now that it’s 18 months old, and just passed 12,000 miles.
What it is and Why She’s a 2.4 Puma Defender 110 Utility Station Wagon in County Spec, Orkney Grey. I picked a USW because I wanted security in the back for my loads (mountain bikes in the back), fewer windows to leak, and improved for changing in the back when Sea Kayaking. No kids so don’t need 7 seats. County spec has some good lifestyle improvements over basic, such as remote central locking, electric windows etc. The XS wasn’t for me because I don’t need Air Con (I live in Scotland  ), I didn’t want Traction Control (but would like Ashcroft ATB’s instead), and wasn’t fussed about part-leather seats, as at some point I’ll either have mine professionally recovered (in full leather) or swap the front seats (for Scheelmann or Recaro maybe).
Tatra’s brilliant Ashcroft ATB thread is here http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic13545.html She was collected on 20th Sept 2011 – one of the very last 2.4’s off the production line. Although I live in Scotland, I collected her from Cambrian Land Rover in Wales, having tracked-down the very last batch of 2.4 USW’s off the production line. This is her when she was just a couple of weeks old (only Dinitrolled and with XS side steps fitted):  Click image to enlarge I’m not a big fan of the side steps, but MrsK is only 5’2”…Thanks AndrewS 
And, she’s frequently pressed into action to carry 2 Sea Kayaks over to the West Coast of Scotland…seen here (bottom left of pic) at Shieldaig: Click image to enlarge Faults, Issues & Maintenance No major faults yet! A small leak appeared on the rear Transfer Box Output Shaft, and was fixed under Warranty. Service from Land Rover was excellent. The Edinburgh main dealer less impressive 
More recent servicing (1st service last Autumn) has been done at Macrae & Dick (Inverness) - much better service
Unlike many, I’ve not needed to reach for the “Water Ingress Manual” – she’s dry inside. Like many others on here, I usually add a bit of 2SO to each tank, it seems (placebo?) to make for sweeter running. Mine’s managed to stay corrosion-free, but she’s been garaged a lot over winter, and regularly sprayed with ACF-50 round any bright parts (hinges & unpainted rivets), and Scottoiler 365 ACF underneath. Many fasteners now replaced with stainless from Stig’s fasteners 
Upgrades & Modifications Like most of us, I’ve spent at least £2k on upgrades, and spent many an evening/weekend doing some small project on the Defender. Any serious upgrades (like Ashcroft Torsen Diffs) will have to wait until the Warranty expires… Within the first couple of weeks, I purchased loads of Dinitrol, Sikaflex, ACF et cetera, and spent many an hour doing a full corrosion protection. Zagato was a great help. He subsequently wrote the “bible” for us to follow: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic10467.html Like most of us with 110’s, as a preventative measure, I reinforced the rear mud-flap hangers with a strip of aluminium to prevent the rear mud-flap pulling-through the rear bodywork: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic6374.html and http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic6088.html Also, having read of issues where factory-fill lubricants had been badly-done by the factory, I was spurred-on to do an early-life fluids change, and wrote-up the process…: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic8707.html The Nakatenanga Glovebox was a useful upgrade…the Defender cabin is a bit short of space for sweets, wallets, phones, unused GPS’s etc. Click image to enlarge Safari Equip bumperettes have proven to be worth their weight as well. Just after installing them I reversed into a sign at the gym. Bent the sign, no damage to Defender or Bumperette :
Click image to enlarge Also I’m not a fan of the folding step which is supplied as standard. So once I had installed the towing bracket, I removed the standard folding step, and replaced it with a much simpler step bolted to the tow bar bracket: Click image to enlarge You can see from the pics above that the rear cross-member is still unblemished, although I have touched-up one small area with POR-15. In the back, when I bought her, I couldn’t believe how much noise comes from the rear tub/wheelarches when driving on wet roads. So I installed a full NoiseKiller kit, a set of TGE side-panels and since then have also added more Dynamat. Much better now
Just bought a Nakatenanga loadspace mat – pretty impressed with that as well: Click image to enlarge At the front end, having hit a deer a couple of years ago (with the Volvo, not the Defender), I decided some extra lighting would be useful up front, and added a set of standard Land Rover PIAA spotlights (with the standard LR wiring loom to make sure there were no warranty issues). The headlights are also uprated with Philips Extreme bulbs. Also bought LED upgrades for the sidelights from Killer90. The light bar is a stainless steel Flatdog one: Click image to enlarge Numberplate a new addition last week 
Usually the Defender carries mountain bikes, Sea Kayaks & walking/climbing gear. The 2nd row seats have only been used once (no kids). If I have a heavy load I use the trailer. So the standard suspension was way hard for our needs, and MrsK complained about the choppy-ride (after our old Discovery2). USW is fitted with purple/brown progressive springs. CSW is fitted with white/green/green springs: CSW 110 7 Seat RKB500300 White/green/green 422.96mm USW 110 Utility RKB101111 Purple/Brown 409.96mm If you have a USW, changing to CSW springs softens the rear end slightly. I did the write-up for the spring replacement here: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic13312.html All 4 shocks have been swapped to Koni Heavy Trak (bought from Andrew at DefenderBits)…a huge improvement on ride quality & handling. The write-up for the Front Shock replacement here: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic16066.html All better now (Discovery2 levels of ride & handling). Rear end in good shape (Dinitrol holding up well) with no corrosion: Click image to enlarge Thanks to others on this forum, I fitted a CheckTemp2. When driving round Scotland at night, it’s good to get the “chime” warning of freezing conditions. Spring has finally arrived...15.3 degrees C in Edinburgh today :
Click image to enlarge Thanks to alantd & dgardel, who wrote-up the fitting here: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic5492.html As she's sometimes locked in the garage for a few weeks at a time, I installed an "umbilical" - I made a loom to connect a CTEK charger within the vehicle. The connector has a CTEK "Comfort Indicator" which shows the status of the battery. I can connect the battery charger and also a 12v accessory without having to take the passenger seat base apart: Click image to enlarge And another important upgrade…the defender2.net sticker: Click image to enlarge Next plans... I’ve still got a Nakatenanga rear door Gas Strut to fit (probably this weekend) 
One day, if I get to do more offroading, maybe the Ashcroft ATB. We’ll decide on seats soon, and either get ours covered in full leather (a chap in Newtonmore used to cover seats for TVR, we’ve used him before, he’s very good…), or buy a front seat upgrade like Scheelmann or Exmoor. And, before the rear door sags, maybe a swing-away wheel carrier. Defender "Puma" 2.4 110 County Utility (possibly the last of the 2.4's) Last edited by MartinK on 19th Apr 2013 8:33am. Edited 6 times in total |
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18th Apr 2013 4:07pm |
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| SiWhite Member Since: 19 Jan 2010 Location: North Hampshire Posts: 455 
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Great writeup - thanks for taking the time to do it! My blog - www.anacreinhampshire.blogspot.co.uk
110 TD5 BuildHERE - sold! 110 Tdci Build HERE - sold! Passat Alltrack - 4x4, auto, 45mpg, gloriously comfortable - but not a Defender! |
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18th Apr 2013 4:16pm |
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| LR Sam Member Since: 08 Nov 2012 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 226 
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Really interesting write up with subtle upgrades that make the defender even more usable and enjoyable!
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18th Apr 2013 4:23pm |
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| Green Machine Member Since: 19 Nov 2010 Location: North Yorkshire Posts: 1226 
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Cheers Martin - enjoyed reading that!
2005 Td5 | 90 Station Wagon | Tonga Green |
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18th Apr 2013 5:16pm |
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| spudfan Member Since: 10 Sep 2007 Location: Co Donegal Posts: 4480 
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1982 88" 2.25 diesel
1992 110 200tdi csw -Zikali 2008 110 2.4 tdci csw-Zulu 2011 110 2.4 tdci csw-Masai |
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18th Apr 2013 6:07pm |
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| LR90XS2011 Member Since: 05 Apr 2011 Location: bickenhill Posts: 3613 
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great post and good for my motivation DEFENDER 90 TDCI XS,
I hope everyone is well and your land rovers make you happy |
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18th Apr 2013 7:41pm |
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| MussEd Member Since: 20 Feb 2013 Location: East Lothian Posts: 345  
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I agree with what they ^^^^ said...
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18th Apr 2013 9:32pm |
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| bm52 Member Since: 04 Apr 2010 Location: Kent Posts: 2189 
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Agreed, great write up. I like those driving lights. BM52
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18th Apr 2013 10:09pm |
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| schuee Member Since: 16 Jul 2012 Location: Lincolnshire Posts: 378
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Brilliant post, very informative, this is what makes this forum what it is
Cheers Keith |
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19th Apr 2013 12:22pm |
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| I.AM_a driver Member Since: 11 Jun 2009 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Posts: 404 
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Looks good Martin, still not seen you around but now you've the plate I can't mistake you for someone else! Mark S
CONVOY for HEROES www.facebook.com/convoy4heroes www.lothian4x4response.org ------ Td5 90 Thread in 'My Defender' Forum |
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19th Apr 2013 7:36pm |
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| MartinK Member Since: 02 Mar 2011 Location: Silverdale (Lancashire/Cumbria Border) Posts: 2664
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June 2014 Update...
As per my original post, here's a quick update on extra work done: 1. Fitted a Nakatanenga Spare Wheel Mount: Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge 2. New All-Leather, Heated Seats, courtesy of LRI Solutions: Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge 3. Gearbox LTB00585 Mod, as per this post: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic29132.html A reasonable improvement in shifting, especially between 1st and 2nd... 4. Installed Wipac Crystal headlights with SS bezels, and upgraded Osram bulbs. It's not been dark enough for me to use them yet, but expecting a decent improvement. The only pending mod I'm considering this year will be a slightly softer, minus 1 " set of rear springs to improve the ride, other than that, I'm just enjoying driving her Defender "Puma" 2.4 110 County Utility (possibly the last of the 2.4's) |
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23rd Jun 2014 1:04pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 19569
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How much did your seats set you back may I ask?
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23rd Jun 2014 1:15pm |
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| MartinK Member Since: 02 Mar 2011 Location: Silverdale (Lancashire/Cumbria Border) Posts: 2664
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Custom90Steve
They don't seem to have a 110 5-seat set on their site just now, but the 7-seat are here http://www.lrisolutions.co.uk/index.php/de...erior.html IIRC they were around £2200 full, but £1600 net, because I was allowed £600 trade-in on my old seats...I think they were doing a special deal at the time, so may be more expensive now. Phone them and mention defender2
The new seats arrived on a pallet, and I swapped them over in a couple of hours, and then LRI organized collection of my old seats. Great service
Being summer I haven't connected the heater elements up yet, but the supplied switches are Waeco, not LR, so I may use LR switches...LRI have them on their ebay site at a good price. Defender "Puma" 2.4 110 County Utility (possibly the last of the 2.4's) |
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23rd Jun 2014 1:20pm |
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| newhue Member Since: 28 Apr 2014 Location: Brisbane Posts: 351 
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Nice, well done. Thanks for the links on the way through.
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23rd Jun 2014 8:36pm |
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| ChrisJ Member Since: 12 Nov 2013 Location: Warwickshire Posts: 231 
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Fantastic write up, thanks for taking the time.
A great 110" with nice subtle modifications. |
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23rd Jun 2014 8:49pm |
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