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Calling all members! Help me build up my Defender!

6K views 36 replies 22 participants last post by  Defender90_218 
#1 ·
Hello to all. Im a proud owner of a 1997 D-90 that my father gave to me. Its been in my Garage for 3 years and now I would like to drive it. At the moment I have starting to do all types of reliably services such has replacing all the fluids to the correct grade Red Line Oil. I will next change out ALL the engine hoses and thermostat with 180 degree unit. I was going to clean the engine and look for areas of leaks. I also changed the oil lines with a braid kit already. After this I would like to know about which way to go on suspension? Im going to change all bushings to polybush. Anyone uses these? Do you think the performance is to harsh or squeaky?

The goals I had are for a daily driver but would like to have some real off road improvements for fun times :)

I can't decide on how much lift I want and what I need to get it done correctly? Anyone have shots of a 2" 3" and 4" lift of there Defender?

So far here are suspension items I plan on getting.

X-Deflex
X-Springs

Don't know which shocks to go with? What is the benefit of the remote reservoir shocks? I do plan on towing with my Defender as well.

So here is a start. Thanks for the help and hopefully we can all have fun building this D90 up together. I will post pics of progress and believe me I want to do a lot to this beast!
 

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#9 ·
That is my old truck. It had 2" of lift and 35" tires and I sold it primarily because I couldnt fit into any damn parking garages in LA. If you want to drive around endlessly looking for street parking lift it. If not leave it alone. Oh and by the way who gets given a D90 by their Dad? Lucky bastard.

Its obvious I dont own the truck anymore because its shiny. Javier if you dont offroad that thing Ill be very disappointed.
 
#5 ·
bushes

Hi George, thats a very nice unmolested truck.
The only real benefit of polybushes is the ease of replacing them over the original rubber bushes, to get the originals out you will either need to press them out or mangle them by cutting or burning.

I have fitted polybushes to my 90's only for the ease of replacing them, if I had a press I would use the genuine bushes up to a 2" lift
On my 90 with 2" lift I use soft poly compound in all but the panhard rod bush, for that bushing I use a hard poly compound, this set up suits me, however genuine bushes once fitted normally out live poly by a long margin and give a softer & quieter ride, though having a diesel softop negate this benefit.

BTW when I say original bushes I do mean genuine LR bushes.

Regards

Gren
 
#15 ·
Hi George, thats a very nice unmolested truck.
The only real benefit of polybushes is the ease of replacing them over the original rubber bushes, to get the originals out you will either need to press them out or mangle them by cutting or burning.

I have fitted polybushes to my 90's only for the ease of replacing them, if I had a press I would use the genuine bushes up to a 2" lift
On my 90 with 2" lift I use soft poly compound in all but the panhard rod bush, for that bushing I use a hard poly compound, this set up suits me, however genuine bushes once fitted normally out live poly by a long margin and give a softer & quieter ride, though having a diesel softop negate this benefit.

BTW when I say original bushes I do mean genuine LR bushes.

Regards

Gren
Thanks Gren, most of my orignal rubber ones are in not great shape and my sway bar ones are melted! haha. Im surprised the poly don't last as long as rubbers when poly don't normally go bad? I love how stiff and tight they make cars or trucks. I had them on my Jeep and they never cracked like rubber ones?

------ Follow up post added September 9th, 2011 09:09 AM ------

George, that is a really nice truck. Get it on the road and enjoy it before you do any mods to it. It's a Defender so it already is a capable off road truck in it's stock form. If after driving it you find a need to modify the truck, you will know exactly what to do.
Thanks! Well the truck needs all the rubber stuff changed out and I would like to have better upgrades put it since I would like to have it raised as well. Im not going to hack it but keep it orignal on the inside and body. Just want to changed out worn stuff for improved better more durable stuff.

------ Follow up post added September 9th, 2011 09:11 AM ------

Fitting into garages is precisely why I went with smaller (30") tires.
Oh yea I better check on this before I go to high? Also, what about parking structures? I need to find out how high the stock Defender sits?
 
#7 ·
Leave it alone unless you have some huge compelling reason to add suspension lift. When you lift the vehicle with taller springs it will, of course change the way the entire suspension behaves. This means that you will gain in some respects and lose in others since every suspension design is a compromise of a lot of variables.
If you are lifting it for "the look" don't bother. If you are lifting it because you need larger tires for off-roading then that's another story. If you have done your research properly you will know what springs, tires and shocks to install without our help.
 
#11 ·
George, that is a really nice truck. Get it on the road and enjoy it before you do any mods to it. It's a Defender so it already is a capable off road truck in it's stock form. If after driving it you find a need to modify the truck, you will know exactly what to do.
 
#16 ·
George, to be clear, the sentiment most are trying to impress is that you very likely don't want to need to lift it and you should drive it stock for a while before making this decision. There is much debate about bushings, but the OEM ones are likely best and I say replace the bushings with stock and stock shocks first and see how you like it. I bought a red poly set and am having reservations, so if you are interested in those let me know.
 
#19 ·
A few years back I lifted my old 90 by about 4 or so inches to fit some 35"s.... the thing drove like an old shopping cart afterwards; it was mentally tiring trying to keep the thing in a straight line (using a US imported rock crawling kit and rancho 9000 dampers)

I dropped it back down to earth with a HD OME spring kit, and never looked back (and dropped the tyre size to 255/85) handles a dream afterwards.

My 110 also has factory 110 HD springs and 255's. You'll be suprised how well defenders go in standard form

Ok, it's your truck, lift it all you like, but have a go at driving it as factory spec, and see how you get on.

Also, IMO, i prefer factory rubber bushes instead of polybush,,,they're more flexible, and when they do "go", they go gradually, as opposed to disintegrating over 100 miles like the harder polys do.
 
#20 · (Edited)
What brand did you uses? I seems after searching here that all that had the polybush brand were very happy with them. They make a blue comfort version which is firmer then rubber but softer then normal polyurethane stiffness. rubber dearades sitting even on a self and they tend to start hairline crack quickly as well. Good poly bushs don't do that. I put 100k miles on my jeep with them and they still looked new and my truck was tight!

Wow this looks like its even better then polybush. They mold the poly into a alloy sleeves. Take a look at that info on there site.

http://www.superpro.com.au/why-superpro/features-a-benefits

Read this
http://www.superpro.com.au/why-superpro/features-a-benefits/item/download/4
http://www.superpro.com.au/why-superpro/features-a-benefits/item/download/5

Looks like superpro is the way to go!
 
#21 ·
X20 Leave it alone!

You have a beautiful truck! If you want 4" of lift and 35's go by a jeep.

Ok now that I've got that out of my system and stepped on as many toes as possible...

Genuine bushings... Poly are by no means an upgrade.

If you can't leave it alone 2" OME lift max.

285 x 75 or 255 x 85 Mud terrain tires (depending on if you like skinny) will make the truck look tough without screaming jeep and in most cases you won't need a lift. Plus you will still be able to fit in most garages and it will have good road manners.

Most of the guys here have all done the big tires thing and I'm going out on a limb here but I think unless they were building strictly an off road toy would never do it again especially to such a nice truck.

Tell us more about it. History etc... How many miles are on it?
 
#23 ·
Thanks! I was thinking about a 2" lift but I planned on doing it with all the correct arms and suspension parts. I also wanted to improve articulation as well. It looks like the 285-75 would be a little bigger then stock diameter by 3.7%. Maybe I won't mess with the height then?? I want to learn more about air shocks so I don't use springs and maybe I can raise and lower it. That would be awesome!

What polys did you run that you prefer the genuine ones?

It has 100k miles now and I plan on keeping it for the rest of my time alive. Previous owner left for France for some Art pursuits about 3 years ago so we grabbed it and stored it. I have been saving $$ to get it road worthy and now im ready to start.
 
#24 ·
OME suspension ride nice but has caused me some issues that have mostly been worked out. There is no point in replacing the rear sway bar bushings as it is pretty useless device. Spend all your money on addressing its maintenance log and just drive the truck for a few months. If you keep it for a year or so then add all that stupid **** and you will miss the stock form..
 
#25 ·
Lift

I have OME HD lift. Approx 2" and 255/85. If I didn't have the roof Rack it would fit in most parking garages but not all. It drives and handles great with Toyo Open Country MT's. The shocks are OME as well.

With such a nice truck I wouldn't do much more than the 2" lift. It helps keep it looking almost stock and doesn't mess with the ride and handling.

Good Luck
Rico
1995 D90 #001
1995 RRC LWB
 

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#26 ·
George, hope you don't mind another suggestion. If money is not a problem for you, then do whatever to that truck you like. If, however you do have to be concerned with a budget then your best bet is to keep that truck exactly the way it is and drive it. At some point you are going to realize one of three things; 1)you enjoy the D90 primarly for street driving and an occasional trail or two. 2) The D90 appeal will wear off and you want something different. 3) You really want to get into some serious off-roading ( or look that way).

In all of the 3 possibilities you are better off leaving that truck alone. Why? Because it's value is highest as it is right now. If you really want to start modifying a Defender ( Tdi, suspension, drivetrain,etc) you would be better off selling the one you have and buying one for a lot less that needs work done anyway.

As for the poly bushings, they offer some nice advantages but at a cost. Once again, drive the truck and see what needs improvement. I really have to disagree with the comment regarding the sway bar. On a coil suspension vehicle, the sway bar is integral to stability. Even more important as the center of gravity gets higher.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Well after my initial gun hoe excitement has now come down and using my sense and suggestions coming into play from you members I will stick with the stock truck look I guess. I think I will atleast do the 285-75-16 tires for a little more muscular look maybe? Since this is going to be a daily driver I am worried about the ride height issues in garages. I LOVE to improve stuff when it comes to cars or trucks. It such a thrill when I make things better! Yes I do have a budget and I have spent about 2g so far of it. What now I REALLY think I need to do is get the mechanical sorted out and would love some help figuring it out?? I want to get that part 100% before moving to mods if any.

So guys I got my truck back from shop and changed Transmission oil filter and the other parts to do the job correctly. The cross member was very hard to come off due to corrosion these Defenders all to commonly have. The transmission shifts amazing with the Red Line D4 in it now. The Diff oils were changed to Shock Proof and was the transfer case. Change the front condenser fan as well but the bolts were rust and we had to cut them. Here are a few issues I need to sort out next.

I put the AC on and at some point water was dripping on the passenger sides. I noticed more when I turned it off to park. Glad my rubber mats caught it all. Any thoughts on this anyone?

I also have no interior lights??? My gauges don't light up when the head lights are and even the toggle switch to the lower left didn't do anything? Also, when I open the door no lights turn on for me to see when I get in. I have to turn them on manual? I think when the switch is placed in the center they should come on when I open the doors but they are just turn on dim when I put it in the center?

I have oil leaks coming from the steering box? We cleaned the whole engines so will see if it's the box or lines but I think it's the box?

Also we think the oil that is leak from the top of the engine might be from the heads and not valve covers because it starts right below were the heads and block meet? Do orignal head gaskets go bad in this way?

Thanks for the help! George

------ Follow up post added September 10th, 2011 11:43 AM ------

George,

If you want Poly for certain areas of the 90 ( i.e you will not change your radius arms bushings, or use the ones provided with your new shocks ) call Justin at www.lucky8llc.com, I 've recently found out he sells those things individually, so could save few pesos.

As my $ .02, I have my 110 totally stock suspension wise , my 90 has RTE 3" with Terrafirma Remote shocks, cranked arms..etc... and if have never driven one like such ( as many suggested ) , borrow a friends or a members here for a spin, NIGHT and DAY

Good luck with the decision
Yea those guys have a lot of stuff! When I do the poly im going with the Superpro and not Polybush. Superpro are really among the best after my reasearching. If you have time check out the links and info I posted and you can see how they are made.

Yea it would be cool to feel one lifted but since I am going to daily uses it, I don't think it will be wise for me. Even the 2" didn't look like much but I do plan on adding a roof rack like the Hannibal eventually which is more low profile.

------ Follow up post added September 10th, 2011 01:32 PM ------

Well figure out why the gauge didn't light up, it was the fuse it was melted. I replaced and it worked?
 
#27 ·
George,

If you want Poly for certain areas of the 90 ( i.e you will not change your radius arms bushings, or use the ones provided with your new shocks ) call Justin at www.lucky8llc.com, I 've recently found out he sells those things individually, so could save few pesos.

As my $ .02, I have my 110 totally stock suspension wise , my 90 has RTE 3" with Terrafirma Remote shocks, cranked arms..etc... and if have never driven one like such ( as many suggested ) , borrow a friends or a members here for a spin, NIGHT and DAY

Good luck with the decision
 
#29 ·
Well have been working on the Defender on and off its been a nice learning experience so far. So my goals now are to making a super nice daily driver.

I replaced fuses that were corroded. Do Defenders some time have issues with that area? Not sure if I can run any better types like stainless steel but the new ones are galvanized at least which I believe the old ones were also.

Since I have a 1997 it also has the composite gasket so not sure why its leaking oil? This must be something they all have over time I guess? I was thinking about improving the heads for some extra flow if I do end up taking them off. I was going to use ARP bolts which might help with the leaks in the future?

My left brake light housing is not good and broke where the bulp would fit into. I can get some new ones all around but im going to contact ECR for LEDS.

Now im going to go back out and install the OME Steering Damper.
 
#30 ·
Well guys got more stuff done! The OME dampener made a good difference. My stock rubber on the dampener was junk so these new ones made it much tighter. Down the road when I do the Super Pro bushes I will replace the rubber ones on the dampener.

I also found some Marine Grade Fuses. I anyone is interested in getting some and I can send you a link. I will replace all of them with these. They are tin coated over copper and should last a long time.

I also changed my tires to 285/75/16. Wow the truck looks so much cooler! Other then a slight rub on a full left lock they were well worth it other wise. My tires were dated from 1997 haha so it rides like a new Defender now! Take a look!

I also had the alliment done but the tech said you can't adjust camber/caster front or rear? I was thinking of adding the correct parts to adjust them in the future.

Now im working on how to fix the clattering lifter/rocker noise inherent with all rover v8 engines after 75-100k miles to due premature. I have researched it and with the uprated parts this can be fixed better then new.

So guys do you hear the clattering valve train every time you drive off from a stop?
 

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#35 ·
Nice truck!
 
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