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LR90XS2011

Member Since: 05 Apr 2011
Location: bickenhill
Posts: 3680

2011 Defender 90 Puma 2.4 XS CSW Galway Green

mine 2.4 wasnt great when new but the gear change mechanism mod improved it no end, I have a replacement clutch and IRB remap.

I also generally now start off in 2nd gear as 1st is just a waste of time (unless towing the caravan or starting facing up hill).

I removed driveline play with Ashcroft adaptor shaft, ATB diffs and 1 piece rear drive shafts and it drove very well, gear change and clutch action equally as good as my VW up, however I now have some slack reappearing and have adjusted to taking up the play before fully engaging the clutch.

These gearboxes can have a really nice change mine has at any engine revs but only since the other things were done, my feeling is that its the other bits around them effect it badly. DEFENDER 90 TDCI XS,

I hope everyone is well and your land rovers make you happy

2nd Oct 2025 7:22am

lightning

Member Since: 23 Apr 2009
Location: High Peak, Derbyshire
Posts: 3442

l've looked at probably thirty Defenders over the last three years and there were two that stood out. One was a very low mileage one and the other, had done 117,000 but the seller had just fitted a new clutch and output shaft.

Both were absolutely lovely to drive with none of the above issues. So l know it's possible to improve one.
How long it stays like that after the new clutch is fitted, who knows. l've driven a 30,000 miles one that was awful.

2nd Oct 2025 7:28am

jst

Member Since: 14 Jan 2008
Location: Taunton
Posts: 8448

2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 USW Stornoway Grey

i have a 2.4 2010 110 with 117k and its as smooth as

i have a 2011 130 now m57 auto but prior to that was a 2.4 79k miles nightmare to make smooth

both vehicles have aschroft everything; cvs, shafts, dms, diffs, rebuilt centre diffs and output shafts. Cheers

James
110 2010 XS Utility
130 2011 M57 bespoke Camper
90 2010 Hardtop
90 M57 1988 Hardtop

2nd Oct 2025 10:37am

lightning

Member Since: 23 Apr 2009
Location: High Peak, Derbyshire
Posts: 3442

l'll have a look at the front drive members but in my experience they're usually okay due to oil leaking from the front differential, which lubricates them.

2nd Oct 2025 11:31am

jbcollier

Member Since: 29 Apr 2024
Location: Edmonton AB
Posts: 274

2009 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 SW Alpine White

To add to LR90XS2011‘s list, also make sure your front axles are shimmed properly.

3rd Oct 2025 5:14am

lightning

Member Since: 23 Apr 2009
Location: High Peak, Derbyshire
Posts: 3442

The main problem seems to be, that if your foot is on the clutch then the engine response is very on/off or prone to jerkiness.

So if you approach a junction in third gear, you change down to second and feed the clutch back in as you accelerate, and it starts kangarooing.

The only way to avoid it is to be quick on the clutch but then you can get a lurch as the drive engages, resulting in more kangarooing.

Alive (the nearest recommended tuner to me) say they can map a lot of this out by softening the throttle response at lower RPM.

l guess l will have to give it a try.

3rd Oct 2025 2:26pm

Dinnu

Member Since: 24 Dec 2019
Location: Lija
Posts: 3635

2012 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 CSW Santorini Black

Dinnu wrote:

With clutch switch disconnected - the engine maintained very high revs between gear changes. Throttle response was normal. I suspect that this would be the state of the switch when your foot is off the clutch.

With clutch switch shorted - the engine rpm dropped very quickly, faster than when clutch switch was connected, but throttle response became too sharp and led to kangarooing.

Following my earlier comment, I checked my clutch switch, 2.2 engine, unsure if the switch is the original, as master cyl was replaced in previous ownership - but my clutch switch is normally open, and is closed when I start pressurizing the clutch hydraulic system.

My switch is then opposite to comment by Martin on https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic65199.html

Perhaps there is a difference 2.2 to 2.4?

So also the engine response when I tested with the clutch switch connector disconnected and left open and shorted make sense. During normal driving the engine rpms drop and rise slower so as not to shock the transmission.

I think it is worth checking how your clutch switch operates as I do think that it contributes to a big chunk of the Puma drivability. 1988 90 Hard Top, 19J Diesel Turbo, Shire Blue - Restoration ongoing
2012 90 CSW, 2.2TDCI, Santorini Black

3rd Oct 2025 3:26pm

blackwolf

Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17990

2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey

2.2 is NO, 2.4 is NC. They are different due to the different ECMs.

Lightning, do you know anyone local with a Puma you could drive and who you could let drive yours? Either your vehicle or technique is causing problems and that would be the easiest way to diagnose which.it is.

3rd Oct 2025 3:37pm

Dinnu

Member Since: 24 Dec 2019
Location: Lija
Posts: 3635

Thanks BW.

lightning wrote:
The main problem seems to be, that if your foot is on the clutch then the engine response is very on/off or prone to jerkiness.

So if you approach a junction in third gear, you change down to second and feed the clutch back in as you accelerate, and it starts kangarooing.

The only way to avoid it is to be quick on the clutch but then you can get a lurch as the drive engages, resulting in more kangarooing.

Alive (the nearest recommended tuner to me) say they can map a lot of this out by softening the throttle response at lower RPM.

l guess l will have to give it a try.

Perhaps your clutch bite point and switch switching point are out of sync. 1988 90 Hard Top, 19J Diesel Turbo, Shire Blue - Restoration ongoing
2012 90 CSW, 2.2TDCI, Santorini Black

3rd Oct 2025 3:46pm

lightning

Member Since: 23 Apr 2009
Location: High Peak, Derbyshire
Posts: 3442

Possibly.

l've noticed that looking at clutch switches, most Ebay sellers are listing them as suitable for "TD5/Puma"

This is almost certainly not the case. The TD5 one operates the opposite way round. l found this out when l had my Defender TD5.
One is normally open and the other is normally closed.

This could cause all kinds of issues. As it did on my TD5 as l was sold a Puma one.

3rd Oct 2025 3:53pm

90 Dreamer

Member Since: 13 Jul 2019
Location: Oop North
Posts: 2307

2016 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 HT Corris Grey

as mentioned above I had some jerky issues and tried bridging switch, etc (actually made it worse) and in the end simply replaced with a new Genuine LR switch (wasn't any great cost) and its a different drive........
no codes or anything else to suggest it wasn't working

3rd Oct 2025 4:23pm

Dinnu

Member Since: 24 Dec 2019
Location: Lija
Posts: 3635

If the 2.4 and 2.2 switches operate inverse of each other, then certainly, one of them should be same as a Td5.

Which is the question. 1988 90 Hard Top, 19J Diesel Turbo, Shire Blue - Restoration ongoing
2012 90 CSW, 2.2TDCI, Santorini Black

3rd Oct 2025 5:19pm

Martin
Site Admin

Member Since: 02 Apr 2007
Location: Hook Norton
Posts: 6713

2015 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Montalcino Red

Td5 and Puma ones operate in opposite manners. 2.2 Puma and 2.4 Puma are the same.

1988 90 Td5 NAS soft top

2015 D90 XS SW

3rd Oct 2025 5:56pm

Dinnu

Member Since: 24 Dec 2019
Location: Lija
Posts: 3635

I was curious and checked my 2.2 clutch switch this afternoon. With the multimeter set to continuity, it only started beeping when the clutch pedal was close to half way down. So my clutch switch is wrong? Driving seems fine, but never driven another 2.2 to compare. 1988 90 Hard Top, 19J Diesel Turbo, Shire Blue - Restoration ongoing
2012 90 CSW, 2.2TDCI, Santorini Black

3rd Oct 2025 6:07pm

lightning

Member Since: 23 Apr 2009
Location: High Peak, Derbyshire
Posts: 3442

I have ordered a new OE switch from the registration number so will fit that when it arrives and see if it makes any difference.

3rd Oct 2025 6:30pm

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