Deferred Maintenance time!
Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2021 12:08 pm
Following delivery of 4 new doors for my Defender, I decided it was time to deal with some of the other maintenance and replacement that was needed or soon would be, so my 2021 season ended early, following the Elaho River trip, on which I snapped a rear (probably 24 year old) shock absorber!
So, the current list of work completed, ongoing or required is as follows:
1) The four new doors, plus bolts etc. Re-using most hardware from existing doors. Ordered at the end of July. Status: still waiting to be fitted! (SP-4x4, galvanised). Probably the next job!
2) New Terrafirma shocks and springs (medium load, +2") all round. Including all hardware and new turrets and strip and re-coat mounts. Status: Completed
3) New Terrafirma steering damper. Status: Completed
4) New longer front brake hoses to go with the suspension. Status: Waiting to be fitted (Britpart)
5) New tie rod ends: Status: Waiting to be fitted (Delphi)
6) New alternator (to get rid of the hamster squeek that everyone asks me about!!) and the belt at the same time. Status: Waiting to be fitted (WAI Global 13163N)
7) New brake disks and pads all round: Status: Waiting to be fitted (Raybestos disks, Wagner/Bosch pads)
8 ) Repair to dumb iron at the front: Status: Completed
9) Re-coat chassis: Status: Completed
10) Replace bottom sections of both C-posts. Status: work-in-progress
11) Replace bottom section of LHS B-post. Status: work-in-progress
12) Strip and re-coat sills after 10 and 11 Status: work-in-progress
13) Blank-off EGR and change hose (that kit has been sitting in a box for years waiting for me to get a round tewit!!!). Status: Completed
14) Replace the snapped transfer case sump plug (it went righty loosey last time I changed the fluids and forgot its only hand-tight... :oops: ). Status: Waiting to be fitted
So far I've found the following suppliers to have best prices:
SP-4x4 (UK) for the doors. New doors are never going to be cheap! Still cost less than anyone this side of the pond.
YRM or SP-4x4 (UK) for weld-in replacement metal parts
Lucky8 Off-road (USA) (via their eBay store - 10%-25% cheaper than their own website!!) for the Terrafirma stuff
Rock Auto (USA) for brake hardware, alternator, tie-rod ends (their shipping and GST are cheaper than Canada-sourced items, as are their prices typically...and delivery is usually 3 days). You have to research the part numbers a bit, as they may not be listed for a Defender...
LRDirect/LRParts/LRSeries (UK) for most standard Defender part numbers and hardware. Used to use Island-4x4, but they seem to be bad at responding this year...
R&C4x4 in the UK via eBay for most other bits and pieces (3 weeks delivery, so only for things I'm not in a hurry for!!)
+ metric nuts and bolts from anywhere that has the right lengths and pitch!
I expect to be back on the road in a few weeks - I may post some progress photos soon!
So, the current list of work completed, ongoing or required is as follows:
1) The four new doors, plus bolts etc. Re-using most hardware from existing doors. Ordered at the end of July. Status: still waiting to be fitted! (SP-4x4, galvanised). Probably the next job!
2) New Terrafirma shocks and springs (medium load, +2") all round. Including all hardware and new turrets and strip and re-coat mounts. Status: Completed
3) New Terrafirma steering damper. Status: Completed
4) New longer front brake hoses to go with the suspension. Status: Waiting to be fitted (Britpart)
5) New tie rod ends: Status: Waiting to be fitted (Delphi)
6) New alternator (to get rid of the hamster squeek that everyone asks me about!!) and the belt at the same time. Status: Waiting to be fitted (WAI Global 13163N)
7) New brake disks and pads all round: Status: Waiting to be fitted (Raybestos disks, Wagner/Bosch pads)
8 ) Repair to dumb iron at the front: Status: Completed
9) Re-coat chassis: Status: Completed
10) Replace bottom sections of both C-posts. Status: work-in-progress
11) Replace bottom section of LHS B-post. Status: work-in-progress
12) Strip and re-coat sills after 10 and 11 Status: work-in-progress
13) Blank-off EGR and change hose (that kit has been sitting in a box for years waiting for me to get a round tewit!!!). Status: Completed
14) Replace the snapped transfer case sump plug (it went righty loosey last time I changed the fluids and forgot its only hand-tight... :oops: ). Status: Waiting to be fitted
So far I've found the following suppliers to have best prices:
SP-4x4 (UK) for the doors. New doors are never going to be cheap! Still cost less than anyone this side of the pond.
YRM or SP-4x4 (UK) for weld-in replacement metal parts
Lucky8 Off-road (USA) (via their eBay store - 10%-25% cheaper than their own website!!) for the Terrafirma stuff
Rock Auto (USA) for brake hardware, alternator, tie-rod ends (their shipping and GST are cheaper than Canada-sourced items, as are their prices typically...and delivery is usually 3 days). You have to research the part numbers a bit, as they may not be listed for a Defender...
LRDirect/LRParts/LRSeries (UK) for most standard Defender part numbers and hardware. Used to use Island-4x4, but they seem to be bad at responding this year...
R&C4x4 in the UK via eBay for most other bits and pieces (3 weeks delivery, so only for things I'm not in a hurry for!!)
+ metric nuts and bolts from anywhere that has the right lengths and pitch!
I expect to be back on the road in a few weeks - I may post some progress photos soon!