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1997 Land Rover Defender 90 NAS v8 Automatic Experience / Problems

16K views 51 replies 20 participants last post by  Kobzya 
#1 ·
Hello,

To start off, As probably many on here, I've dreamed of owning a Defender 90 as a kid. Now I've finally worked a few years and am thinking of finally buying one. I have found a 1997 90 NAS v8 automatic transmission in Montreal (I live in toronto) that I'm thinking of buying. Given that it will be my only car (and I was hoping on basically keeping it for life), do you think I will run into a lot of problems maintaining it? Anyone here own the same spec as an every day vehicle and willing to share their experience or problems with the car, if any? What are the typical problems or breakdowns you have experienced?

I would be using it about 90/10 in terms of on-road/off-road. The truck doesn't have a carfax report as the guy imported it from Europe. He said I could organize a CAA inspection to make sure the car isn't a lemon. Does that sound sketchy lol?

Also, what should I be watching out for as I go to take a look at the truck?

I would really appreciate all the help I can get!

Thanks a lot!
 
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#39 ·
... do you think I will run into a lot of problems maintaining it? Anyone here own the same spec as an every day vehicle and willing to share their experience or problems with the car, if any? What are the typical problems or breakdowns you have experienced?
Back to your original question maintenance etc. Just to give you some hard data on costs... :)

I have a 97 NAS - daily driver. I bought it about 3 1/2 yrs ago. Never had a breakdown yet. Well, unless you count the time that the fuel tank gasket blew and leaked the stuff going down the filler hose all over the floor. Or maybe you'd nit pick the times it would cut out idling to a stop due to a bad stepper motor... but in general it's been relatively bomber.

I tracked all the repair/maintenance costs spent by me, and also going through previous owners receipts back to 2006. Not to wig you out too much - (wanted to offer one perspective)... over those 8 years, the truck has had about $29k of work done. Plenty of big upgrades in there though - like $8700 for a 4.6 engine upgrade. Two sets of tires and other nice-to-have upgrades. You can see the spreadsheet here: http://goo.gl/3dN107 - feel free to peek at it and get an idea of types of things you might have to pay for over time. Of course, you'll save a ton doing your own work.
 
#41 ·
Back to your original question maintenance etc. Just to give you some hard data on costs... :) I have a 97 NAS - daily driver. I bought it about 3 1/2 yrs ago. Never had a breakdown yet. Well, unless you count the time that the fuel tank gasket blew and leaked the stuff going down the filler hose all over the floor. Or maybe you'd nit pick the times it would cut out idling to a stop due to a bad stepper motor... but in general it's been relatively bomber. I tracked all the repair/maintenance costs spent by me, and also going through previous owners receipts back to 2006. Not to wig you out too much - (wanted to offer one perspective)... over those 8 years, the truck has had about $29k of work done. Plenty of big upgrades in there though - like $8700 for a 4.6 engine upgrade. Two sets of tires and other nice-to-have upgrades. You can see the spreadsheet here: http://goo.gl/3dN107 - feel free to peek at it and get an idea of types of things you might have to pay for over time. Of course, you'll save a ton doing your own work.
Damn! I feel blessed.
 
#42 ·
Hello,

He said I could organize a CAA inspection to make sure the car isn't a lemon.
I'm not sure about Canada but here in the United States a "lemon car" is legally a brand new car from the manufacturer that is problematic. If the number of repairs for a problem (or problems) reaches a certain number, the manufacturer has to take it back.

So many little things pop up on any used Defenders these days.
 
#43 ·
Guys,

Thank you for all your input and help! I have a great update for you - I recently bought a nice 1997 Defender 90 V8 from overseas. It has just over 56K km on it, has a bit of an oil leak, but is in otherwise great condition. Only things I am planning to do to are:

- fix the oil leak, treat some of the rusty bolts
- rewrap the front and back seats in black leather, add heaters to the front seats (I do live in cold Canada)
- take out the ugly aftermarket central console and put the original one back where it belongs (see video)
- Put the CD player instead of the tape player

Here is the video of the truck:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl5Rlysz_w4&feature=youtu.be

I should get it in about 5 weeks, pretty excited.
 
#44 · (Edited)
When was the date of manufacture? It looks like the VIN is SALDV3241VA128682 so SALDV324*VA is importable to the US on down the road if you ever decide to sell it, depending on if/whether the date of manufacture was in/before August 1997.

I'd remove all of those fancy GPS and radio units, and move the original upper dash cluster to where it was originally, to get some of that passenger legroom back. Looks good though!

I'm surprised that Derek said they're "common" over there though.
 
#45 ·
Also, that is not a tray on the console lid - it on walks the radio. Looks like there are some GPS, radio, and microphones drilled into the upper dash.
 

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#46 ·
Rijosho,

Thanks for that! Yeah I am going to immediately remove whatever is drilled into the upper dash and put back in what's supposed to go there. But maybe I can use one of those CD players to put in the console between the seats instead of the tape player.

To answer your previous question, the number on the truck is SALDV324VA128682 - I think I can import that into the US so long as production was pre September 1997, correct?

But yeah, it looks to be in great condition and the green is a rare color, so I'm excited. I was originally looking for a white and have it repainted, but now I'm glad I don't have to pay for that :D
 
#47 · (Edited)
That guy in the vid knows very little about Defenders that's for certain.

He talks about the front headliner sagging then mentions the head room problem when he sits in the rear but it's caused by the headliner. They all sag but once you fix it headroom is very good. There were other things also but that doesn't matter! That's a nice truck!

About 1/3 of the NAS unit were Hardtops the rest were STs. It makes the hardtops rare in NAS spec.

Also you have my favorite color which is called Conistan Green not army green lol.
 
#50 ·
Also hear the lifter tick?

Common problem and not sure if its due to soft metal wear or the lack of ZDDP in the oil used but you will need to replace rocker, lifter , cam to make it go away.

You can use it like that but it just gets worse.

I'm going to replace mine with parts from Iski. They make quality components.
 
#51 ·
Guys,

Thanks a lot for the advice! I'm definitely going to do a lot of sifting through the threads to learn how to properly maintain mine so it serves me for life.... and ask questions

------ Follow up post added September 26th, 2014 07:23 AM ------

As for Derek, he may not be as big an expert as some of you guys on the thread, but he is really a top notch guy and excellent to work with. Maybe he isn't familiar with every little detail, but he did help me in sifting through a lot of lemons. He went through a lot of trucks and told me which ones to go or not go for. Highly recommend him if any of you guys start looking for a car overseas.
 
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