Unfortuntaely I drove a Defender 90

[knorrena]

I currently have two cruisers, a 100 series and an 80 series. I am bored with my 80 and there is a defender for sale in my area so I thought I would check it out. I really liked it. There is a little rust on the doors and a few wierdnesses like when when it revs up to about 3000 in second gear it kinda wont rev any higher, and second gear syncro is kinda weak.

I really like it, but keep reminding myself how unreliable these things are. Not that the 80 has been reliable. Its left me stranded about 3 times: corroded contacts to the ecu on two occasions, starter contacts on the third.

Should I be worried about the reliability? these things hold their value much better than my 80 or 100. I would sell the 80 to buy the 90. Its triple locked and supercharged and a sweet 80.

The 80 is kind of my daily driver, but I dont drive everyday. Would a 90 be ok as a semi daily driver? How is the heater in a 90? I live in calgary and it can get damn cold here.

Comments?

 

[UnfrozenCaveman]

As much as I hate to say this out loud....we've had our '97 SW for ten years now.

It has been completely reliable...now, it's my wife's vehicle and only accumulates something like three or four thousand miles a year...but she thinks it's great, and as you have said, hasn't cost anything significant as far as depreciated market value goes.

But...if you get one that's started to get rusty, you'll be a door / tailgate / fuel tank support replacement expert in no time

 

[cchoc]

I had a '97 SW for 10 years and 100K miles until it got totaled in a rollover accident in '07. I had some ignition wire issues that were hard to diagnose but other than that no major issues. The heater is tepid at best, though - even got cold a couple of times in Atlanta winters. If it hadn't been wrecked, though, I'd still have it.

 

[Nonimouse]

Let your feelings guide you - lifes too short to be bothered by little mistakes

 

[UnfrozenCaveman]

The 80 is kind of my daily driver, but I dont drive everyday. Would a 90 be ok as a semi daily driver? How is the heater in a 90? I live in calgary and it can get damn cold here.

Comments?

Ooo, I missed the "Calgary" bit.

Gets darned chilly here in Iowa too from time to time....that's when we drive the Disco

 

[johnyt]

I drive a 110 in Edmonton

I imported a 110 HC pick-up from England last year ( V-8 LHD). I find that the key to driving the beast in the winter is to : install a block heater & let it warm up for about 3-4 min before you move, and turn the defroster on as it is warming up. Make sure you replace the summer thermostat with a winter thermostat. Also scrape your window with a scraper, dont expect the blower to do all the work.

It will never be as toasty as my old Chevy Silverado was, but on the whole it is a trade that I can accept.

 

[D110]

Our daily driver is a '97 D90 that has about 120,000 miles on it (we got it with about 75,000 miles) - Only problems in that time have been the fuel pump (which means a new fuel tank cradle due to rust) and an ignition switch. We love it, but the wife isn't too crazy about driving it on long freeway trips.

 

[DividingCreek]

keep reminding myself how unreliable these things are.


Comments?

Interesting. News to me. I have owned a dozen or so Defenders and have never thought of them as "unreliable".

 

[Douglas S.]

I like Land Rovers, in theory. It hasn't worked that way in reality...

 

[headdamage]

I'm in Calgary and I have a 90... perhaps this should be the start of a support group?

They can be a tad cold and drafty in the winter, it is possible to upgrade them to deal with it though. Mine is a diesel and a play toy really, I don't use it as a daily driver. I have a diesel Suburban for work and I'm fixing up a diesel Range Rover as my main driver.

If the one you are looking at is a metal hard top it will likely be warm enough, the soft tops are much colder. Have a really good look at the frame and bulkhead (firewall), these are the hardest parts to replace if rust starts eating holes in them.

Is the 90 you are looking at a North American market one, an imported civilian model from another country, or an ex-military one?

 

[Nonimouse]

Fit a heated windscreen
Flush the heater matrix through or replace the matrix with a better one

I run a 200Tdi - the coldest running LR engine there is - and find that with a late model 300Tdi matrix, modyfied variable resistor on the fan, heated screen and a 'fume curtain' on the dog guard it's not too bad. The worst bit is the second row seat foot wells so an Eberspacher air to air is on the christmas list (which christmas I don't know)

I also 'double glaze' the rear side windows with HD polythene in the winter.

 

[AxeAngel]

I'm constantly in the market for a nice d90. Can't seem to find one that fits my budget. A girl my gf went to high school with recently sold her NAS for $16k with under 75k miles, i was a day too late to jump on it. Still kicking myself for that one.

-Sam

 

[aka rover]

We drove ours last winter it wasn't all that bad:smiley_drive:, was about the same as our series III.

As far as dependability goes the defender has been a turn key driver unlike my discos and rangies that have had all the electric problems you could have. The defender is basic in the electrical department, and its basic to repair. Kinda reminds me of my series but with power and a few comforts.

Good Luck

Cheers Ed

 

[SCRover]

As far as dependability goes the defender has been a turn key driver unlike my discos and rangies that have had all the electric problems you could have. The defender is basic in the electrical department, and its basic to repair. Kinda reminds me of my series but with power and a few comforts.

Good Luck

Cheers Ed

completely agree with Ed here. my defenders have been essentially maintenance-free, better than our past Discos and RRC.

the heaters do suck, even for California "winters." heed your fellow Canucks in that dept.

i, too, am curious what year you're looking at.

 

[knorrena]

Here is the link to the truck:

http://alberta.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-1995-Land-Rover-Defender-90-W0QQAdIdZ306735408'

I think its a little over priced, and frankly were I to do this I would buy one that had no rust whatsoever, and fewer miles too.

I am glad to hear that reliability in these is not an issue. What about the rev issue I observed? Do other d90s do that?

Thanks,

Karl