replacing a defender wing

I'd class it as awkward rather than difficult. The wings are bolted on, with a lot of small bolts which may be corroded. Getting a replacement panel properly aligned can be tricky.

Panel-beating for aluminium, rather than steel, has a few differences.

It does depend a little just how much of the wing has to come off.

I did this in Jannuary on my 200TDi 110, and all you need is a socket set with a few extension bars and the odd spanner. I found that removing the road wheel [and putting the axle on an axle stand] made access a lot easier, as did undoing the four securing bolts to the heater matrix so that it could be 'bent out of the way' to give better access to a few of the bulkhead bolts. I also found that life was a lot easier when I used my angle grinder to assist in the removal of the damaged wing as it cut down a lot of fiddling about. It also allowed me to see how the wing attached in a bit more clarity.

Putting the new wing on I did in two havels [inner, followed by outer wing], but in hindsight I suspect I could have pre-assembled the new wing before installing it.

I did take a few photos as I did it, so if these would help send me an email and I'll email them to you. Having a Land Rover parts manual helps because the exploded diagram is quite illuminating.

--> Greg

On or around Thu, 1 Apr 2004 07:08:17 +0000 (UTC), "Alan Harness" enlightened us thusly:

no problem, really, if you've got 38" arms with 4 joints in each.

to be more serious - are you talking the outer (vertical) wing panel, or the inner (horizontal) one (or both?)

the whole lot comes off easier than getting the outer panel off. The inner wing can be got with headlamp panel from Paddock, 's about 80 notes, I think

- outer panel is about 40-odd. they fit OK.

The outer panel is held on by a row of funny bolts down the vertical edge at the back onto the door post, and a whole lot of (on mine) 5/16" UNF bolts (1/2" AF spanner) all the way along the seam joint at the top and down the front corner, some are a sod to get to, 'cos they're behind a bit that comes up from the top of the wheel arch, and the ones in the top front corner ain't too handy either. To get the whole thing off, you have to undo the ones at the back edge, an extra little one on the bulkhead under the bonnet, which holds a bracket on the inner wing, 5 (I think) of the ones on the seam as mentioned, which hold it to the wheelarch bit, a couple down on the inner front which hold the bottom of the inner wing to the chassis, some which hold the inner grille panel to the inner wing, and a few big screws into nylon blocks which hold the bottom of the wheelarch to the inner wing/headlamp panel. And disconnect the wiring, of course.

The wheelarch eyebrow is held with those funny fasteners, like a black rivet thing with a small plastic pin through it which spreads the legs on the inner side. you undo 'em by pushing the said pin through, if you manages not to lose it, you can re-use 'em, but they're cheap enough to buy. Get loads, 'cos there are about a dozen or more, and some will inevitably go wrong.

Mind, found a variation of these on the disco wings, the bit that goes through the hole has a head on it, and can thus be pulled out from the front.

Take care with any wiring harness you come across, did mine and after 6 mths frayed the ignition circuit part of the harness. Kept blowing the fuse when I tried to start, eventually traced to fray under the wing.