Does anyone know if there is a drain plug for the frame?

If water gets in, say for example, from a leaking cooler in the trunk or snow melt, is there a way to open a drain?

I guess for a small volume, in such a big monocoque, simply opening the trunk floor, and panels under the seats and leaving the Defender in the sun with doors or windows open will allow slow but inevitable evaporation in due course.

If there is a drain plug or plugs, one could jack it up and leave it on an angle, open the drain, and close it up when done.

I've seen some posts on Facebook where folks had longstanding rain leaks. The whole subfloor filled up soaking their car-mats. That's got to be 10's of gallons. Not sure how it was drained.

Curious if anyone has any knowledge on this.

 

Lol, what did you do now?

 

please.... do tell more 😂😊

 

Please, make something up if needed... Make it epic.

 

Y'all don't think much of me.

A cooler of water leaked on our drive. I've already removed a lot just via sunshine and evaporation.

 

I was doing the Moab Rim Trail when my 20 year old Yeti (edit: cooler) decided to slide more than the Defender and puked it's contents all over the boot. I didn't mind cleaning up the ice so much as drinking warm Lone Star at the end of the ride....

Something like that next time, please.

 

I’ve been shaking my head in wonder since I first read the original post, ‘Is there a drain plug for the frame’. The logistics of the question are baffling, such that with all the nooks, crannies and crevices in a complex vehicle frame that a single plug would effectively’ drain the frame’. Now there will be a flood of owners insisting that JLR was negligent in not providing one. Need a drain, get out your drill bit. LMAO. New stuff here every day, keeps me coming back for the entertainment factor.

 

Glad I could brighten your day mate.

 

Now that's good parenting. I mean, look how I turned out.

 

Your question actually reminded me of an issue that's on my list to report to the dealership next time I bring it in. Some of you may remember this post about my hitch receiver install. During that process, I actually discovered some rust that I am almost sure came from a leaky cooler situation of my own.

When removing the stock bumper from the frame, my buddy, who was helping me, got doused with rusty water that had somehow gotten into one of the bolt holes in the OEM bumper and failed to drain on its own, causing one of the bumper bolts to start rusting. The bumper itself was unaffected, being made of aluminum, as was the attachment point at the frame, which looked like it was powder coated (not totally sure). I was a bit surprised that the bolt was rusting, since it appeared to be galvanized. But I guess even a galvanized bolt can rust when surrounded by water long enough.

To me, this seems like a design flaw -- that water would be allowed to enter a structural area of the frame with no way to get out. Would it have eventually evaporated? Maybe. I don't recall how long it was between the cooler incident and the hitch receiver install.

I wish I had an answer to the original question, but unfortunately I suspect this water would have sat right where it was for quite a while, perhaps indefinitely, had I not done the hitch receiver install. Needless to say, I'm now very careful about letting water loose in the trunk area.

I'll report back after I raise the issue with the dealership, probably some time this summer.