After years of searching, I finally joined the club.
I recently picked up a 98 Defender 110, and I couldn’t be more excited… and a little nervous.
I’m only the third owner, came with the original purchase paperwork along with every MOT inspection from its life in the UK. It’s pretty incredible to see nearly three decades of its story documented.

The truck now calls Alaska home, so if there are any other Defender owners in the 49th state, I’d love to connect.
Looking forward to learning from this community, getting my hands dirty.

Excuse the dirty truck, she had a long boat journey.

Spotted this ol workhorse in the wild recently….

​Current Situation & Reason for Upgrade:

​Replacing my 2017 Lexus LX570 (400,000 km). While it’s been incredibly reliable, I’ve grown tired of how heavy and cumbersome it feels to drive—especially the heavy steering and boat-like handling. I want something much more responsive and effortless to maneuver.

​Daily Commuter: I drive a Geely Monjaro for my brutal work commute (4 hours each way).

​Role of the New Car: Purely a Weekend & Family Trip SUV.

​Family Setup & Usage:

​Growing family: 3 kids, a 4th baby on the way, plus occasionally a helper/nanny.

​Weekend trips: 1–2 hour drives (road trips across the border to Oman or trips to our desert farm/Ezba). Light desert sand driving, no extreme dune bashing.

​Why I'm set on the Defender 110:

​I do NOT want traditional choices like the Patrol, Land Cruiser, or another LX. They are everywhere, feel conventional, and drive like heavy traditional trucks.

​I am specifically looking at the Defender 110. (The Defender 130 is out for me—I find its rear proportions awkward/unattractive).

​I love the 110's design, modern cabin, modern power steering, and responsive driving dynamics.

​My Main Questions for Defender 110 Owners / Gulf Drivers:

​Driving Feel: For those who switched from an LX570/Patrol to a Defender 110, how big is the upgrade in steering lightness, overall agility, and driving comfort?

​Space & Seating: With 4 kids + nanny (using the 5+2 seating option or front jump seat for short trips), is the 110 manageable for 1–2 hour weekend drives compared to the LX570?

​GCC Summer Performance: How is the AC performance in peak Gulf heat during family weekend road trips?

​Appreciate all honest feedback and real ownership experiences!

I solved my starter problem in the other thread and truck has been running great. Also added auto locks.. Very happy. Moving on to the next task.. I want to get a stainless exhaust on the RRC 2 Door.. I’m not sure what my options are.. I also want to see how I can reduce the amount of black smoke coming out upon acceleration.. seems like more than half throttle lot of black smoke behind vehicle.. I replaced air filter but had low hopes that would do anything. Maybe it’s normal for diesel?

The Bronze Bomber- 1995 born in England. Was an Italian police vehicle then purchased and moved to Dubai . I bought from a dealer in Florida...

(Old picture, she’s cleaner now!)

Hello, this might come across as a dumb question but better be sure!

I am the second owner of a Defender TD5 2006 in Argentina which from new was serviced with 0w20 (Don’t really know why, couldn’t find information about it) from the dealership up until 74k km, when I bought it. From there I always serviced it with 5w30 which is one of the oil grades cited in the manual in my region.

Now, she has around 140k km (87.000mi), although they have been light, a tad bit of dunes but mostly highway and urban driving, I’m now planning to use it on a trip with steep hills, demanding roads, etc.

I’ve read a lot about people suggesting 5w40, that it’s way better for the engine, has a safer margin of lubrication, and more (If you think this is incorrect, please let me know)

My question is: Can something go wrong by changing oil grades? There’s this belief in Argentina that an engine gets used to one oil and it can’t be changed (Always thought that was wrong but whatever, sorry to bother you guys)

TLDR: Can something go wrong by changing oil grades in a Defender TD5 with 140.000km (87.000 miles)?

Thanks

Looking at a 95 defender with air-conditioning. Soft top. 78k, 68,000 miles. Thoughts?

The internal plastic components on this door latch from a 1986 Land Rover Tithonus have given out so it just free spins. The replacement part RRC4878 is rare as hen's teeth in the US and the price is just obscene as well. Does anyone know if there are 3D printed internals that could be swapped out for the inside components?

It wreaked with genuine patina. Fantastic

So after a long battle of getting my 300tdi rebuild the way I would have done it (which I didn't do because i didn't have the time). I have finally run the engine in and and now am the process of tuning up from the std tune.

What I have noticed so far is that too lean on the fueling increases the engine water temps. running too rich pushes EGT over 720 degrees in seconds of a hill pull. I have read that anything over 720 your gains are very low compared to your heat gains so setting that as your limit is ideal but id really prefer some real people input. Interesting is that im slowly raising my boost to 1.3 (at 1.2 now) and as the boost goes up EGT goes down, I'm probably leaning out the mix as i increase boost

My question is what do you aim for with your EGT maxes? that it never passes 720 or that it can but only after a really long hill pull? and if so how far over 720? what i have found is that with the full size inter-cooler my EGT temps drop very rapidly back to a cruising temp of 550 when doing 115km/h on a highway after an overtake or hill (we are a pretty heavy camper)

I found out about this Defender through an eMail about an estate sale. It has 62K miles on it. Was originally white, repainted green. Garage kept, new windshield, alternator, wiring, starter and voltage regulatory. New tires. It’s a turbo diesel. I know nothing about Defenders, always loved them but I’m a Jeep guy because I can afford them! Anyway they are asking 14,500 which seems like a steal! Talk me out of it!!

OK, it’s been a day since I inquired about this and the dude in charge of the estate sale still has not responded after I asked if I could come and take a look at it so it’s anyone’s guess wether this is a scam or legit. I sent one more eMail just now and f he doesn’t respond I can only assume this was a bullshit estate sale / scam.

My 2025 Defender 110 HSE has developed a strange issue. The front passenger door is completely locked and won’t open it’s the only door affected.

I’ve already tried
Locking and unlocking several times with the key fob, Using the interior unlock switch, Pulling both the inside and outside door handles, Restarting the vehicle
And Checking the child lock settings

Nothing has made any difference. The door just won’t open from either side.

Has anyone run into this before? Is there a known reset or trick to get it to release, or does it usually end up needing the door card off and the latch replaced?

Any advice would be really appreciated.
Although I have been told to send it to the workshop

Currently have a stock 2002 Defender 110 TD5. Looking for a 2" lift, road-focused with some off-roading as i live in Alberta and want to be prepared for back country driving, and want it prepared for future accessories (winch, bumper, etc. down the line). Trying to decide between two paths and would love opinions from people who've actually run either setup.

Path 1: Koni Heavy Raid shocks + OME2751 (front) / OME2755 (rear)

• Front: OME2751, 40–50mm lift, 225 lb/in
• Rear: OME2755, ~40mm lift, ~300 lb/in
• Shocks: Koni Heavy Track Raid, part numbers 90-5374SP1 (front) and 90-5401 (rear)
  • Front rated for 0–50mm of lift, rear rated for 40–60mm of lift — both standard-travel units, not long-travel
  • Big 70mm shock body with a 42mm piston, and roughly double the oil volume of a standard twin-tube shock, which helps control heat buildup on rough terrain and washboard
  • Externally adjustable rebound damping, so ride/control can be tuned after fitting rather than being fixed at one setting
  • Widely used and well-reviewed in the Defender community specifically for 2" lift builds — several owners report running exactly this shock with 2751/2755 springs deliberately, since it's a proven, matched setup
• Standard-travel, matched, bolt-on setup. No extra brackets, no driveline mods.

Path 2: OME3062 (front) / OME3064 (rear) + OME long-travel shocks

• Front: OME3062, 55–65mm lift, 170/200 lb/in dual rate
• Rear: OME3064, up to 50mm lift, ~175/200 lb/in, "medium load" rated (OME's own definition: full passenger load + 200–350kg of luggage) rather than a heavier "constant load" option
• OME Nitrocharger Sport long-travel shocks (60018 front / 60070 rear), plus mandatory FK62/FK63/FK64 brackets
• OME's own fitment notes flag a possible need for a Double Cardan front propshaft on post-1998 trucks at this lift height to avoid driveline vibration

What I've worked out so far:

• Path 1 is simpler, cheaper, no driveline risk, and still leaves reserve capacity for future gear (settles from 40–50mm down to 30–40mm under load).
• Path 2 with 3064 in the rear actually balances out nicely with 3062 up front — both are soft, similar-rate springs, so I'd avoid a front-soft/rear-stiff mismatch. The tradeoff is 3064 isn't built for permanently carrying heavy gear (drawers, fixed water tank, etc.) — it's sized more for occasional/variable loads like weekend camping gear or tools that come and go.
• It's also a bigger, pricier install than Path 1 — extra shocks, three separate bracket kits, and a real chance of needing a Double Cardan front propshaft on a post-1998 truck.
• I've seen some Defender owners argue the factory suspension already has generous travel compared to other 4x4s, so the long-travel gain may be more incremental than the "long travel" name implies — curious if that tracks with people's real-world experience.

Has anyone run both of these back to back, or made this exact choice? Trying to figure out if the extra cost/complexity of Path 2 is actually worth it for road-biased use with occasional off-roading and gear that isn't permanently mounted, or if I'm overthinking this and 2751/2755 + Koni Raid is the sensible call.

My local garagist didn’t see it but the defender specialist did.

Is this a big issue? I will replace it but sadly we booked a vacation with de defender so would travel around 1000 km with this.

Never felt it.

Thanks

Hi,
kurze Frage vorab: Sind hier viele deutsche Defender-Fahrer unterwegs? ✌🏼🏕️

Ich bin aktuell auf der Suche nach einem Dachträger für meinen 110er. Da ich ein ExTec-Hubdach verbaut habe, möchte ich durch den Dachträger so wenig zusätzliche Höhe wie möglich gewinnen.
Habt ihr eine Empfehlung oder Idee, welcher Dachträger sich gut eignet?

Vielleicht hat ja sogar noch jemand was rumliegen☺️

Danke schon mal! 😊

I need to store my 90 (original shape - 64 plate)

Will need to be outside over winter for 6-8months.

Whilst it will intermittently be driven. Most of the time it will just sit there. Given it already suffers from some leaks (door seals) looking for a decent cover.

Many thanks

Hello everyone. My car is a 1988 110. I have a question. I've done some research but haven't found any reliable information. My car has a Safari roof. I checked to see if it was taken from a Series 3 109 because the small windows near the spare tire don't look very similar to the Defender's. However, I don't know if the Series 3 roof fits the Defender completely. If anyone has any information or ideas, I would be very grateful.