3 ms·

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 uph

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.

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.