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90 Defender problems - ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE!

Hello All,

I've just purchased a '96 90 Defender 330TDI and am having a few teething problems.

I picked the vehicle up on Saturday and by Sunday the alternator pulley had come loose causing the belt to come off. I realised there was a problem when the battery light illuminated and the power steering stopped working. After pulling up (about 400 yards later) I opened the bonnet to find coolant splattered all over the engine. The vehicle was returned to the garage (a well respected specialist) and a few hours later I was told that the alternator had been replaced and the engine succesfully pressure tested. Do you guys think that there could be any damage to the engine ? Do you think it's worth getting an independant garage to check it over ?

Also, sometimes when changing gear (usually from second to third and forth to fifth) I can feel and hear the gears 'crunch' into position and also (not necessarily in the same instance) I hear a different 'crunch' when releasing the clutch. The garage technicians say that they couldn't find any problems and I was made to think that this was due to how I was driving. This is the first time I've driven a Landy (although I've covered several 100K miles across the UK using various vans at work) so I'm not really sure if this is a defect with the vehicle.

And finally, since the garage 'replaced' the alternator, there has been a constant squeak coming from the engine - is this just temporary or is it worth worrying about ?

As you've probably gathered, I'm no Land Rover expert (although more than willing to learn) so help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Chris Cox

Leeds - UK Land-rovering for about 230 miles.

Reply to
Chris
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There shouldn't be any direct effect on the engine but I'd be a bit worried about the coolant. I can't think of any reason that a failed alternator pulley would cause water to appear all over the place...

Noises of any kind aren't easy to diagnose over the internet but it may be that you aren't fully depressing the clutch ? The clutch is quite heavy by modern standards and can take some getting used to.

Did they replace the belt as well ?

If not then it may be a damaged belt, if they did it could be anything although the tensioner pulley is always favourite.

As you are local, if it's still doing it on Sunday you could come up to our trial - I'm sure there'll be no end of people happy to take a look/ listen. Details on the web site, in the events section (see sig).

cheers

Dave W.

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Reply to
Dave White

No water pump/fan drive = overheating = spewing boiling coolant out of the overflow.

Reply to
EMB

snipped-for-privacy@legend.net.uk (Chris) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com:

How was it returned to the garage? The danger could be that cold water was used to top up the coolant. Otherwise, hopefully no damage in 400 yards.

(a well respected specialist)

What harm would it do? And it would restore your peace of mind.

Try splashing some water on the external belt and see if it goes away. If it does, this is just the famous 300Tdi belt squeak (do a Google Groups for fun!). It is caused by the belt/tensioner becoming glazed and similar to the squeak made when drawing your finger down a window pane with about as much for you to worry about!

Good luck and welcome to the club!

Derry

Reply to
Derry Argue

Yes, I'd say there's nothing worrying about this, just be careful for a while. It doesn't sound as if there was enough driving done after the belt came off for there to be any serious consequences.

Gearbox, it depends rather more on miles than years. There are several minor possible problems, including clutch adjustment. On some LR designs, the connection between the gear stick and selectors wears, and can affect a particular gear-change. It can cost in time, but it isn't a job needing expensive parts, tools, or skills.

I can recommend the other poster's suggestion of going to a local club event.

Reply to
David G. Bell

I did find that you develop a different style to the gear shift with a LR. Forcing in the shift can be done but I found that a slight delay in neutral made the shift seamless ( just momentary not so as you'd notice ). Also there is a small ball bearing that clicks out when you disengage reverse, look out for the click as it can be off putting and is simply a lock to ensure you don't get reverse at an awkward speed !!

Reply to
Hirsty's

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I managed to get a collegue (who owns a Defender 90 Td5) to take it for a test drive and he reckons it's OK - he also let me take his for spin for comparison and having experienced the same in his I had to conclude that it's how I'm driving it (still practice makes perfect).

I took it back to the garage this morning and they replaced the belt and also mentioned something about some bearings (which they said they fixed). Just driven it back from Leeds over to work (in Bradford) and it seems OK now.

Going to be taking it down to Cornwall at the weekend for a couple of weeks camping so hopefully there should be plenty of driving time to get used to it.

Thanks again,

Chris

Leeds - UK

Reply to
Chris

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