Prepping your brand new Defender for a lifetime of ownership

[foliedouce]

So, have a delivery date on the Defender of mid October. This car is a keeper which has got me thinking about what prep I need to do once I have it in my possession.

So far I have ordered the stainless steel bolt kit so I don't get the horrible bolt rust that people moan about.

Also thinking I should get it WaxOyl'd as well.

Sounds crazy when you type it that you should even need to do this on a brand new car, but hey ho.

Anything else I need to do?

[piecost76]

Join Defender2.net - a mine of information & assistance!

Then read this:

http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic10467.html

But most of all - enjoy!

[991fan]

I got mine 4 months ago, and they are just epic. I used the Bilt Hammer stuff to protect mine. Its gives a nice finish in my opinion as its clear and you can do it yourself. If you do it when its new and clean its quite easy, you just get covered in the stuff and it takes a while to do it completely. I did mine on ramps, but to be honest you can manage without, it will just be a bit more difficult.

Also I changed all my the bolts for stainless steel ones from the the Nakatanenga kit like this one http://4x4overlander.com/nakatanenga/nakatanenga-s... again I did it myself because I think thats part of the fun of defender ownership. Theres 420 or so bits in the kit so its quite a bit of work, but provided you've got a decent socket set its not difficult. They look much nicer and won't rust. Why they don't use them in the factory I have no idea! Its all doable, and I can assure I'm far from mechanically minded but it was a lot of fun and took me a couple of weekends. A gas strut for the back door is a worthy mod.

I wanted to improve mine but keep it looking OEM, which it is. Its also got an large Alive intercooler (again which I managed to fit!) and has been remapped by Alive. Makes a huge difference and drives like any decent diesel now. Worth doing, I was a bit worried about the effect on warranty but so far so good.

I'm sure you love they are proper special vehicles, I've always wanted one, and its very different to anything else I own or have owned but for putting a smile on your face its my favourite.

Heres mine!

Enjoy!

[991fan]

Heres pictures of the Bilt Hammer after two weeks of being applied and its first was, dirt just cleans off. Also a pic of the gas strut. I also fitted Entreq kick plates which finish it off nicely otherwise you just have carper edge.

Oh and you need to fit Entreq mud card strengtheners to the rear mud flaps otherwise if you catch them in will tear the body,

[foliedouce]

piecost76 said:

Join Defender2.net - a mine of information & assistance!

Then read this:

http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic10467.html

But most of all - enjoy!

Thanks for the link, looks like I have a lot to do and I may not be using WaxOyl after all Great information there.

991fan said:

I got mine 4 months ago, and they are just epic. I used the Bilt Hammer stuff to protect mine. Its gives a nice finish in my opinion as its clear and you can do it yourself. If you do it when its new and clean its quite easy, you just get covered in the stuff and it takes a while to do it completely. I did mine on ramps, but to be honest you can manage without, it will just be a bit more difficult.

Also I changed all my the bolts for stainless steel ones from the the Nakatanenga kit like this one http://4x4overlander.com/nakatanenga/nakatanenga-s... again I did it myself because I think thats part of the fun of defender ownership. Theres 420 or so bits in the kit so its quite a bit of work, but provided you've got a decent socket set its not difficult. They look much nicer and won't rust. Why they don't use them in the factory I have no idea! Its all doable, and I can assure I'm far from mechanically minded but it was a lot of fun and took me a couple of weekends. A gas strut for the back door is a worthy mod.

I wanted to improve mine but keep it looking OEM, which it is. Its also got an large Alive intercooler (again which I managed to fit!) and has been remapped by Alive. Makes a huge difference and drives like any decent diesel now. Worth doing, I was a bit worried about the effect on warranty but so far so good.

I'm sure you love they are proper special vehicles, I've always wanted one, and its very different to anything else I own or have owned but for putting a smile on your face its my favourite.

Heres mine!

Enjoy!

Nice looking truck - what colour is it? I've ordered Scotia Grey which I have never seen in the flesh so taking a bit of a risk.

Thanks for the tips - I hadn't event heard of the Entreq stuff so will look at that for sure.

Is the door gas strut Nakatanenga?

Are the kick plates the stainless steel end bits? I have a UW (no carpets in the load space) rather than a SW so not sure if I will need those or not, will wait and see.

Thanks

[Ayahuasca]

Give it a thorough coating of mud - keeps the dirt off.

Edited by Ayahuasca on Saturday 2nd August 15:15

[foliedouce]

Ayahuasca said:

Give it a thorough coating of mud - keeps the dirt off.

Edited by Ayahuasca on Saturday 2nd August 15:15

Can't argue with that! My FFRR looks quite similar at the moment.

[991fan]

foliedouce said:

Nice looking truck - what colour is it? I've ordered Scotia Grey which I have never seen in the flesh so taking a bit of a risk.

Thanks for the tips - I hadn't event heard of the Entreq stuff so will look at that for sure.

Is the door gas strut Nakatanenga?

Are the kick plates the stainless steel end bits? I have a UW (no carpets in the load space) rather than a SW so not sure if I will need those or not, will wait and see.

Thanks

Yeah, the Nakatanenga gas strut, easy to fit you just need a rivet gun. Its Corris grey, nice colour. Scotia is a really nice colour, but wasn't available on MY14. The kick plates are Entreq. The Entreq stuff is really nicely made if not a bit pricey. The only other thing I did was change the air filter for a performance one, which I understand is a mistake as the standard will actually produce more power according to rolling road test, just will need to be changed more often.

[g7jtk]

I would have thought giving the chassis and other brackets a good coat of paint is one way to make it last into the distant future

[anonymous-user]

I used Dynax UC and S-50 on mine as well. Easy DIY job compared to other corrosion prevention stuff. It's good stuff: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic27877.html?hig...

Get it done while it's still clean, the weather is still warm and before exposing to gritted roads if you can.

Also a can of ACF50 is a must-have for body cappings, hinges and bolts.

Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 4th August 18:58

[billywhizzzzzz]

I've just had my new one professionally waxoyled, and done the bolts - but I'd say as essential is getting the plastic inner arch protectors for the front and rear arches - the front ones stop mud settling on to the outriggers and the rear ones stop mud being thrown into the crossmember. The chassis is one big extraordinary mud trap, which will then never dry out, but these protectors do a great job of stopping mid settling into the worst of the crevices, and also stop the rust protection being worn off the outriggers.

[anonymous-user]

I'm not a fan of the plastic inner arch protectors; they'll just trap mud in other places and I'd be nervous of ripping them off and causing damage.

A better solution to trapped mud IMO is to rinse with an angled pressure washer lance, like the one from Karcher. There are many other places that mud gets trapped in and around a Defender chassis and body and one of these allows you to reach all of them.

[Ayahuasca]

For a lifetime of ownership - I presume we are talking the owner's lifetime, not the car's? - I would disassemble the Defender to its component pieces, replace the components with better ones and reassemble.

[Wacky Racer]

Ayahuasca said:

For a lifetime of ownership - I presume we are talking the owner's lifetime, not the car's? - I would disassemble the Defender to its component pieces, replace the components with better ones and reassemble.