A coworker has had a couple of NAS 90s and different Series Rovers and I always thought I would like to have one. I bought my first and second D2 off that same guy nearly 10 years ago and had great experiences with both, well, except for the mileage. Of course you don't buy these things because they are economical. At the time, I had a 100 mile round trip commute and it was my daily driver. The 10mpg was not for me so I ended up selling it. I still regret that. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, I finally bought a Defender. I found this 130 HCPU with a 200 TDi, RHD, 5 speed, 126k miles. I really enjoy this thing. A few things to note about it, it was apparently a farm truck and has been beat like a mule. Every single panel has at least one dent, lots of oil/fluid leaks, the doors are shot, some of the lights work, some time and so on. But it's mine. It's a good time to drive and will probably run forever after a thorough working over. So...I'm going to post all my ups and downs with this new to me truck right here so others can maybe learn from my mistakes and successes.

My 1994 Defender 130

 

Looking forward to following along. Nice to see some defender action on the board.

Congrats, on the new ride.

 

I put a few hundred miles on the new to me Defender this weekend. Most everything is well. Before the trip I had to repair the oil cooler line that the previous owner had cut. I can only guess that they had an aftermarket oil cooler installed and removed it before selling. The problem was they hooked the lines to the factory oil cooler and spliced the hoses together with two pieces of straight 1/2" pipe with no flare and 8 hose clams. Again, there was no flare! This was an obvious leak that was fairly simple to fix. I ordered the lines and once they arrived I realized that the fitting on the cooler side was different. The compression style fittings on the OG cooler then had to be replaced to except the O ring style. Not a big deal, just a bit of a pain and more waiting. I finally got that all buttoned up.

A couple of things I did note on my drive were a small leak from the transfer case (hopefully just an O ring), and what seems to be a small coolant leak from the left side of the motor (200 TDI). The coolant leak isn't significant but it's a concern sense there are just a few places for that leak to come from on that side of the motor. The head gasket, the heater core or hoses (looked fine and dry in that area), or a freeze plug. I haven't disassembled enough of the intake system to get down to them yet, but my fingers are crossed that's where the problem lies. I want to install a block heater anyway, so this would be a perfect time.

The final and main concern I have is a clunking between shifts (5 speed) or first taking off. I was told the prop shafts were rebuilt just before I bought it. That does seem to be the case. All the u joints were tight at least. I'm afraid that the transfer case might be the issue, or possibly the rear end. I'm going to investigate this more tonight hopefully. If anyone has had experience with this noise, please feel free to chime in. Thanks.

 

So i did some investigating on my clunk last night. I'm going to start with replacing the axles and drive flanges. I did change the diff fluid though. I think the PO liked to play in the mud. The specs I found on Rovers North say 2 qts of 80w-90 MT-1, but that doesn't get it to the fill hole. Can anyone confirm this is correct? Should I just fill it up as I would any other rear diff or is there a reason it's 2 qts? Thanks

 

Head gaskets are a common fail. And area you're discribing is most common area to leak.

LT77 transmissions are known to have poor output shafts. This shaft goes into transfer case and usually makes a banging between shifts. Very, very common problem.

Not a bad idea to start with fluids. Yes, axle fluid should come out of fill hole once full.

Don't be too discouraged, these things are just things that come with the territory...when purchasing an older vehicle.

Where are you located.

 

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I'm glad to hear none of these things are out of the norm. There should be plenty of information out there to help along the way. I'm working my way through the axle bearings at the moment. I found they were a bit muddy upon inspection. I've built several old cars from Model A Fords to VW buses and bugs. I realize every old ride is going to have issues. I appreciate the advise and encouragement. I'm located in southwest Missouri about 45 minutes northeast of Springfield. I have the R380 transmission, is it known to have the same output shaft issues? Thanks.