Getting fit
With his Defender giving problems, a canoe and a bicycle offer alternative modes of transport
IT WAS only a few months ago on these very same pages that I was waxing lyrical about how great my Defender was. Now it’s a completely different story. Not a month goes by without me spending a pound or two to keep Green Mamba on the road.
It’s not all doom and gloom though as not having a Defender to run means my bicycle and canoe are seeing a fair bit of action. The extra exercise is good for me too, as we are in the middle of BBQ season, that wonderful time of the year when beer and meat dominate diets.
I can paddle upstream or downstream from where I live in Turvey towards Newton Blossomville or Sharnbrook on the River Ouse. Last weekend I took the family to the Old Mill pub in the canoe, which is about four miles upstream. Parking is not a problem as the canoe is left in a farmer’s field and from there it’s only a two-minute walk to the beer garden. Perfect.
Plans are also underway to explore further afield in the canoe with the family. Maybe do some wild camping along the River Nene... I will definitely be consulting with Dave Phillips about that, as no one knows that river better than him.
My Defender woes began after a recent trip to Stratford-upon-avon. It went into the ‘Defender Death Wobble’ without any warning. For those that don’t know about this condition, the steering wheel just starts to violently wobble from side to side, as though it has gone into autonomous driving mode. I just took my foot off the accelerator and tried to keep it going as straight as possible. My family was in the Defender with me at the time and it was not a happy experience.
I did some research and consulted with experts. I then had my wheels re-balanced and made sure that they were inflated to the correct pressure. Then I looked through old invoices to see what work had been done on it in South Africa. The Panhard rod bushes had been replaced a year ago but a quick check revealed that they were worn. Further inspection indicated that the drop arm also needed replacing. So, while out at Nene Overland on a photoshoot I got their workshop to do those jobs for me. The bill came to £270. While on the highway home I gunned it to about 75 mph to see if the wobble was still there. It wasn’t and I am pleased to report it has not appeared again since.
Then about a month later when driving down to Goodwood for the Festival of Speed I heard an unusual noise around the viscous fan. I checked the temperature gauge and it was normal. I stopped and decided to turn around, as the sound was not right. Once home my good friend Matt Grassick, who is a senior technician at VW, came over to have a look. He poked and prodded around and declared that the water pump was no longer working. I checked the coolant reservoir. It was nearly empty. It was 11 pm and Matt called around to see if he could find us a water pump for the BMW M52 engine. He could not and my Goodwood dream was over. My Defender would not be driving up the famous hill climb with 69 other Land Rovers. I was gutted.
I ordered a new water pump and thermostat from Rogers of Bedford. A day or two later I dropped the bits and Defender off at Barrie Hearn from Havelock Street Motors at Eagle Brewery in Bedford while on the way to work. That evening he declared it all good to go. Within minutes of leaving however, I knew it was not. The temperature gauge was at threequarters and climbing. It never does this. I put the heaters on at full pelt and crawled to my local pub, as Matt was there. We ordered two beers and popped the hood. I could see where lots of coolant had spewed out the overflow pipe. Matt felt the blue hoses that go into the radiator. One was hard and hot and the other one was soft and cold. The bottom of the radiator was ice cold. Was the thermostat working? Was it the right thermostat? Was there an airlock? We would have to try again to resolve the issue. Oh, the joys of owning a 20-year-old Defender. I will let you know next month how we got on but first I need to chat to some 2.8 experts.
As I type this I am on a train to the Lake District to meet up with Ed our technical editor. Because I did not want to risk cooking my Defender’s engine, I got up at 4.30 am to cycle to the Milton Keynes station. So it is not all bad, I am saving on fuel costs and getting fitter while my Defender continues to throw curve balls in my direction. Maybe I need a second Land Rover?