5 ms·

Having driven Land Rovers in the form of series, defender and discovery, I wouldn’t hose one out either. The upholstery rots and stinks and the fittings go rust

by uuyi 5y ago

Having driven Land Rovers in the form of series, defender and discovery, I wouldn’t hose one out either. The upholstery rots and stinks and the fittings go rusty too. If you’re doing wading and off road stuff you need to tear the entire guts out and start again. And then the bulkhead equipped vehicles will fall to bits within a few years as well.

chrisseaton 5y ago
I've been hosing out my Defenders and wading them above the door seals for years and there's no significant rust yet. They have rubber floor mats instead of upholstery. But they are maintained professionally.
- uuyi 5y ago
  You won’t find it until your foot goes through something or something falls off. I had a 1990 defender 90 which was 8 years old and the bulkhead was invisibly rotten in various places. That got very expensive very quickly. A friend has a more modern 110 that’s only 6 years old and has the same problem. This is not an issue in some areas and dry climates as a rule but in the UK it sucks owning one. I don’t own one now. I drive a little French go cart then I use my legs for off road. They last longer, don’t go rusty and run on dried fruit and sandwiches.
  - KennyBlanken 5y ago
    This is why I laugh when I see 90's era defenders selling for $80k in the states.
  - richardfey 5y ago
    Are you Remi Gaillard?
    - uuyi 5y ago
      I disclaim all responsibility for chucking bananas out of my French go cart
- lb1lf 5y ago
  If memory serves - I have never put it to the test - my HZJ78 Land Cruiser owner's manual says wading depth is 700mm (doors closed), 875mm (doors open) - presumably the added depth with doors open is down to the reduced buoyancy. Part of me really wants to try it out once, though.
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    I think the new Defender is 900mm doors closed, which is pretty deep!
- iancmceachern 5y ago
  Aren't most parts of land rover bodies aluminum? https://www.thrillist.com/cars/9-things-you-didn-t-know-about-the-land-rover-defender-facts-and-history-of-the-iconic-british-4x4 https://www.thrillist.com/cars/9-things-you-didn-t-know-abou...
  - uuyi 5y ago
    Yeah. They chassis and bulkhead is made of steel though. This tends to rust very quickly when bonded to aluminium parts.
    - Tabular-Iceberg 5y ago
      > This tends to rust very quickly when bonded to aluminium parts Isn’t it the other way around? Aluminium has a lower reduction potential than iron, so the aluminium should be the first to go. Even lower than zinc, which uses the same mechanism in sacrificial anodes and galvanisation. I once had the idea of attaching “sacrificing cathodes” made of iron to aluminium beverage cans to make them go away faster when discarded in the environment, but that just causes more problems than it solves, so it’s better stick with container deposit schemes.
      - iancmceachern 5y ago
        That's a super interesting thought, the sacrificial anode thing to break down cans faster. If only there was a mechanism like that we could harness to accelerate the breakdown on plastics.
shubb 5y ago
A lot of Landrovers used in off roady places around the world are ex-army models. Maybe they were more water tolerantly trimmed. E.g. at one point you could buy Landrover Rover Wolf fairly cheap I think
- uuyi 5y ago
  Not really. The wolfs suck. 24v electrics and stripped bare of everything even remotely nice. And yes they go rusty too. They mostly tend to survive in desert climates longer as they are surrounded by desiccants and clever engineers who can weld things that fell off back on again.
  - ungamedplayer 5y ago
    Stripped bare is a feature. Less shit that can go wrong.
    - jlkuester7 5y ago
      This. I don't get the tendency to want an ultra-capable off-road vehicle and then kit it out like a luxury roadster with a bunch of "tech" that is going to break in the first water crossing. Worked on a farm one time where one of the work trucks was literally a Ford F350 King Ranch edition. Super powerful vehicle, but the wood trim and leather seats were no help when you had just been on your hands and knees in mud and diesel fuel... Creature comforts are great for family/touring cars, but they are a liability in extreme terrain.
      - gambiting 5y ago
        I have a 2004 Discovery 3 which was specced in the highest possible trim at the time, I've been driving it off road for nearly 2 decades now and it's still absolutely fine. The only feature on it which is actually broken is the driver seat heating. Everything else, including the armrest fridge, works fine. 210k miles, no major repairs with the engine(4.4L V8 petrol). I had to get the chassis rustproofed few years back and the air suspension compressor replaced twice, but that's about it when it comes to "big" repairs. My point is - I'd absolutely buy another highly specced, full of tech vehicle for offroading. Disco 3s were meant to be "catastrophic" in terms of electrical problems but I didn't really have many issues with mine. The only catastrophic thing about it is the insane fuel consumption(my long term average is 15L/100km, which actually at the current fuel prices is financially ruinous)

by uuyi 5y ago

chrisseaton 5y ago

I've been hosing out my Defenders and wading them above the door seals for years and there's no significant rust yet. They have rubber floor mats instead of upholstery. But they are maintained professionally.

uuyi 5y ago
You won’t find it until your foot goes through something or something falls off. I had a 1990 defender 90 which was 8 years old and the bulkhead was invisibly rotten in various places. That got very expensive very quickly. A friend has a more modern 110 that’s only 6 years old and has the same problem. This is not an issue in some areas and dry climates as a rule but in the UK it sucks owning one. I don’t own one now. I drive a little French go cart then I use my legs for off road. They last longer, don’t go rusty and run on dried fruit and sandwiches.
- KennyBlanken 5y ago
  This is why I laugh when I see 90's era defenders selling for $80k in the states.
- richardfey 5y ago
  Are you Remi Gaillard?
  - uuyi 5y ago
    I disclaim all responsibility for chucking bananas out of my French go cart
lb1lf 5y ago
If memory serves - I have never put it to the test - my HZJ78 Land Cruiser owner's manual says wading depth is 700mm (doors closed), 875mm (doors open) - presumably the added depth with doors open is down to the reduced buoyancy. Part of me really wants to try it out once, though.
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  I think the new Defender is 900mm doors closed, which is pretty deep!
iancmceachern 5y ago
Aren't most parts of land rover bodies aluminum? https://www.thrillist.com/cars/9-things-you-didn-t-know-about-the-land-rover-defender-facts-and-history-of-the-iconic-british-4x4 https://www.thrillist.com/cars/9-things-you-didn-t-know-abou...
- uuyi 5y ago
  Yeah. They chassis and bulkhead is made of steel though. This tends to rust very quickly when bonded to aluminium parts.
  - Tabular-Iceberg 5y ago
    > This tends to rust very quickly when bonded to aluminium parts Isn’t it the other way around? Aluminium has a lower reduction potential than iron, so the aluminium should be the first to go. Even lower than zinc, which uses the same mechanism in sacrificial anodes and galvanisation. I once had the idea of attaching “sacrificing cathodes” made of iron to aluminium beverage cans to make them go away faster when discarded in the environment, but that just causes more problems than it solves, so it’s better stick with container deposit schemes.
    - iancmceachern 5y ago
      That's a super interesting thought, the sacrificial anode thing to break down cans faster. If only there was a mechanism like that we could harness to accelerate the breakdown on plastics.

shubb 5y ago

A lot of Landrovers used in off roady places around the world are ex-army models. Maybe they were more water tolerantly trimmed. E.g. at one point you could buy Landrover Rover Wolf fairly cheap I think

uuyi 5y ago
Not really. The wolfs suck. 24v electrics and stripped bare of everything even remotely nice. And yes they go rusty too. They mostly tend to survive in desert climates longer as they are surrounded by desiccants and clever engineers who can weld things that fell off back on again.
- ungamedplayer 5y ago
  Stripped bare is a feature. Less shit that can go wrong.
  - jlkuester7 5y ago
    This. I don't get the tendency to want an ultra-capable off-road vehicle and then kit it out like a luxury roadster with a bunch of "tech" that is going to break in the first water crossing. Worked on a farm one time where one of the work trucks was literally a Ford F350 King Ranch edition. Super powerful vehicle, but the wood trim and leather seats were no help when you had just been on your hands and knees in mud and diesel fuel... Creature comforts are great for family/touring cars, but they are a liability in extreme terrain.
    - gambiting 5y ago
      I have a 2004 Discovery 3 which was specced in the highest possible trim at the time, I've been driving it off road for nearly 2 decades now and it's still absolutely fine. The only feature on it which is actually broken is the driver seat heating. Everything else, including the armrest fridge, works fine. 210k miles, no major repairs with the engine(4.4L V8 petrol). I had to get the chassis rustproofed few years back and the air suspension compressor replaced twice, but that's about it when it comes to "big" repairs. My point is - I'd absolutely buy another highly specced, full of tech vehicle for offroading. Disco 3s were meant to be "catastrophic" in terms of electrical problems but I didn't really have many issues with mine. The only catastrophic thing about it is the insane fuel consumption(my long term average is 15L/100km, which actually at the current fuel prices is financially ruinous)