I bought a spares or repair 4.0 SE that needed head gaskets and a few other small bits doing to put it back on the road. Got it running and used it for a bit, loaned it to my daughter for a month when her car packed up in the middle of winter and I didn't feel like spending the time on it in freezing conditions and planned on finishing off a few minor jobs before putting it up for sale. Walked past it one morning and noticed it had developed a crack in the screen, directly in the drivers eyeline. When I had bought it the owner told me the screen had been replaced recently. Took it into a local Autoglass depot and the guy told me the screen had been replaced when he was still 10 feet away from it. He could see immediately it had been done and whoever had done it hadn't put the rubber covers on the steel lugs that stop the screen from sliding downwards so contact with the metal had caused a crack to appear which was slowly working it's way up the screen. Cheapest deal they could offer on a heated screen was £525 and, as it wasn't covered by insurance (trade policy), I sold it as it was with no chance of being able to get an MoT. The guy that bought it intended using it as a donor for one he was restoring but when he saw it couldn't decide which he would use as a donor.

Thanks gents,

I have tried to email LR customer services - but who knows if/when I'd get a reply there relating to a 20 y/o vehicle.

Brian - I don't have microcat, so if you're willing to check out the VIN I'll very happily send over a pm.

I have retro fitted a heated screen to my Defender - and it has proved its worth more than once or twice - but even the heated screen was a fraction of what seems to be the cost for a heated P38 screen, so I'm not sure what my thoughts are to be honest. I could speak to my local fitters and see what price they come up with - but I will check the wiring first (if it exists) when I get the scuttle off.

Ta

Donald

Unfortunately, yours shows a Tinted screen, but with both heated and unheated as options. So thats no help at all this time. Usually it will tie it down to a specific part number. Yours is showing either CMB000010 (unheated) or CMB000020 (Heated)

Rimmers show the unheated as £518.81 and heated as £745.85 for the genuine LR part. I'd suggest speaking to someone from the fitters to get the price on whatever your going for (In most cases these are pattern screens not original at least the ones I've had have not been, so there may be a significent difference in price overall).

Brian, thanks very much for that - like I said, I appreciate the help. My least cost option then is just to get the screen I have refitted. I'll try and get the scuttle panel off tomorrow and check the wiring. Once I know what's what, I'll speak to the fitters.

Definitely, if you can get it out and refitted. I've discovered why the carpet in the Disco has been wet on the drivers side is down to a hole in the channel next to the windscreen. Too close to the screen to weld it without taking the screen out first, and if the screen is coming out it will probabbly need replacing anyway as its already got a stone chip, several scratches and has started to delaminate in the same corner as the recently discovered hole. So for the minute the hole has been filled with some windscreen sealant to try and stop further water coming in that way.

Well, another interesting day.

In essence though, I've decided that I'm near 100% certain the windscreen on the car is original - it's certainly got the LR logo on it; the sealant bead around the screen is just too neat and perfect to be anything else but 'factory'; and most conclusively I got a really quick reply from LR customer services with a 'build sheet' for my car. As I expected, "no heated seats/windscreen".

I've also realised that what I thought was a heated screen switch on the HEVAC unit is actually the 'windscreen demist programme' button. Doh! Hey - it's got a windscreen icon on it!

Having taken all of the plenum/scuttle panels off, the plugs for the heated screen are there (two white plugs - left and right - on top of the pollen filter housing cover?) so I guess this means the wiring is likely to be there to the back of the HEVAC unit?? Maybe one day, if I feel the need it could be an option - perhaps if I ever need to replace the current screen courtesy of my insurance company. I looked at it very carefully, but there are no nicks or cracks and though I sometimes think I'm daft, I'm just not the kind of guy to take a stone to it on purpose.

So this is where I got to today:

I got the bottom windscreen trim off...... without breaking any of the X clips, which I was amazed and delighted about; and I've ordered a bunch of black, stainless self tappers for when I put it all back together again with sealant in all the relevant places.

So I don't feel that I'm a lot further forward to be honest, but for a few hours work today and yesterday I reckon I know for sure where (one!) of the leaks is coming from, and I have an oppurtunity to to a pre-emptive strike on all the other likely spots around the pollen filter housings.

Someone has been in before me, and the plenum foam filter has been replaced with a double layer of small wire mesh - but I can't understand why they didn't then do the little row of extra holes on either side?? I'll tackle that before I put it back together, as we back onto a forest so there's a dump of leaves and needles every year.

I also know that when the screen fitter comes round, all of the strip down is done for him, so it should be pretty straightforward.

Next thing will be to try and get the roof lining off to investigate the sunroof....

The heated screen button on the HEVAC will be at the top left, above the heated rear screen button. If you've got that button but no heated screen (and probably a gap in the fusebox where relays 4 and 5 would be), then the HEVAC has been replaced with one from a car with screen heater. The larger button, low down on the right is usually marked PROG and is the demist program. If puts the airflow to the screen, the temperature on full heat, the AC on so you get dried air onto the screen, the fans on full and the heated screen (where fitted) and heated rear screen on. One button to poke instead of messing with lots of others.

Thanks Gd,

Nope - I'm pretty convinced the HEVAC and the screen are original to the car, and the option of a heated one was just wishful thinking on my part as the snow and ice sets in. I'll keep it at the back of my mind as I dig deeper into the car in the months ahead, and if it's an easy fit if/when the time comes, for a switch and a couple of relays, then I'll consider it.

A/C would be another 'nice to have'.... it's fitted but doesn't work. Probably empty. But it's not at the top of the list for just now.

For the moment, I'll just be happy when I can use it again without the passenger having to use wellies!

Mornng guys,

While I'm waiting for the world to reopen after the new year, so that I can get my windscreen rebonded, I'm going to go out to tinker for a few hours.

Plan for today is to remove the headlining so that I can check the sunroof drains, and maybe investigate why the sunroof won't work. I think there's something about the manual winder disconnecting the motor from the mechanism - and any pointers to that would be appreciated.

I'm also going to clean up the windscreen scuttle; check the drains etc. So the main reason for posting just now is to ask of there's anything useful I can do to the wiper motor linkage/mechanism while it's on the bench? It all works fine as far as I know, just wondering if there's any sensible maintenance I can do other than just cleaning and spraying on some grease in relevant spots?

Ta.

^^^ Well, that was earlier.....

Not such a bad day really - managed to make a little progress, learn some stuff, and not break too many things.

This is where I got to in the last hour or so. The roof lining is dropped down, and nearly out of the car:

5 mins work would have that out - reconnect the battery - and the car would be mobile again.

And - yay, yay, and thrice times yay! - the sunroof works fine with the manual handle - all seems really smooth and easy.

So surely it won't take that much to make it run on the switch and motor again? I know the switch is good because I sent the panel to Marty for a 'refurb'.

I'll definitely get a new seal for the glass. Question #1 - will it be easier to grease and check it all out if I took the cassette out and put it on a bench, or just leave it in place??

I also learnt that the sunroof drains are all in place and would appear to be in good enough nick.

I've exposed the 'grommet' where the sunroof drain goes into the N/S/R wing - a bit of grot in there but I think it would still have worked OK - somewhat unimpressed by the OEM design right enough, assuming mine hasn't been messed with. The tube only goes about 15-20mm into the grommet. I'd have thought another 30mm on the tube would give a little more confidence. Pondering whether to just buy new drain tubes if they're available.

Breakages? There's a lot of old plastic to shift isn't there? I was pleasantly surprised to only break a couple of things. Two of the clips that go over the upper seat belt 'slider button'; and one of the spigots that clip a B pillar into the shell. There are two others of these broken I've found, but they weren't my doing.

And finally a couple more questions..... the underneath of the front light unit looks like this - with one of the tracks looking a bit worse for wear. I'm sure I could replace this easy enough - but ought I to be looking out for anything that might have caused this to melt/corrode? The wiring to the light looks fine:

Lastly, while removing the upper tailgate seal, I found a couple of little bits of hose inside the seal, somewhere around the bend or angle of the tailgate opening. .. (a bit chilly in the garage today!)

when the first one fell out I thought it was just a stray length of washer tube or something, but then there was a second one, in exactly the same place on the other side so it looks very deliberate. Any ideas?

I've read that this seal can allow leaks into the boot, so I wondered if it might be something to do with that; or possibly there to help or reinforce the seal at the bend, or at the lower edge of the upper tailgate if it's a place they go??

Do you get a Sunroof Not Set message on the dash? If the sunroof is there but not working (and hasn't been reset since the battery was last off), then you will get a warning on the dash. The way to stop the warning is to go into the BeCM settings and change Sunroof to Disabled. That way the BeCM thinks you don't have one so doesn't give the warning. However, as it doesn't think you've got one, it won't allow you to operate it so even if the switch and motor are fine, it still isn't going to work.

A couple of people with an unexplained battery drain problem have found corrosion on the interior light. Disconnecting it or replacing it has cured the battery drain.

wow good!
for what I can say ...
... the belt slider is a sure break everytime you touch them, so don't feel bad about it.
... that "washer tube" thing is present here and there in many seals, also mine has it in the rear doors. I think is made to help the seal make the "turn" around the metal.
... I solved the leak into boot issue by purchasing a very small hose and fitting into the seal itself. Now the closing needs is a bit more of a 'robust' hand, but it did the trick. It all depends on how bad is your seal. A mate in Italy tried the same and it did not worked, and he bought a new seal (at a hefty price).
... having the headliner down I can recommend you put some insulation material in the roof metal, it does make a difference ...

Thanks guys,

Gd - I have been getting the 'sunroof not set' message, so the BECM does know it's there. I'm wondering if it's as simple as the motor being disconnected. I need to check the owner's manual but isn't there something about a 1/2 turn of the sunroof key to re-engage it?

On the interior light - it occurred to me that, depending on how the car was parked, perhaps any water leaking in through the unbonded windscreen could have run along inside the headlining and dripped onto the circuit board?? I'll get another one.

Leolito - I managed to get two of the seatbelt things off OK - 50% success rate! I haven't had a leaking tailgate seal so far. I think I'll put a bead of non-setting windscreen seal in there when I replace it, just to be sure, and I'll probably stick in the little tubes again.

I also wondered about the roof having no sound-deadening. I guess because the roof lining is a fibreglass/foam/fibreglass laminate they decided it wasn't needed? As it happens I have some deadening mat and foam left over from the Defender rebuild. I'll stick some of that on, definitely.

I've just been looking through the WSM sections on the sunroof mechanism/servicing. I think that's a good use of my time tomorrow - taking it to bits, greasing and re-assembly, to be as sure as I can be that there's not mechanical reason for it not to work. I'll also run something down the drain tubes to be sure they are clear and not leaking into the car - though there's absolutely no sign of it on the inside of the headlining.

On the headlining itself, SWMBO helped with the 3 sections of the Defender lining when we did that. With this experience behind her, she's not keen to tackle the RR lining.... I'll maybe phone round see if anyone's doing that locally. It would seem a shame to have it out, but not improve it before it goes back in.

Another day, another question!

Not much to report today really - I managed to get the sunroof panel out; cables out/greased/replaced and the various slides and moving parts greased. All seems fine really. I haven't tried it with power yet as the battery's still out, but I can't see any mechanical reason whatsover that the motor wouldn't operate it. Fuse was checked and OK.

Only small niggle today was the 'cable retaining cover' - this guy here:

It's almost inevitable... old plastic.... awkward to remove/refit = snap! There must be a knack to getting it back on, but it seems to me it needs to move in three planes simultaneously - along, in and down....

It's back on, and seems to be OK. Has anyone else been here and how did it go?

Apart from that, I'm going to wait until the new sunroof seal arrives before refitting. Calling the windscreen guy tomorrow.

uh, i forgot to mention I also had the front interior light going KO and the headlining "stained" once I left the sunroof open in the tilt postion and it rained. Curiously, on the +20 years old audi we work on this does not happen and they leave with the sunroof open ...

i think the reason for non insulating the metal is just because of cost savings ...

On the sunroof motor problem, when I was doing mine the motor would run but not activate the roof and after a bit of toing and froing with a screwdriver in the manual drive it dropped into place. So worth fiddling with. It made a positive noise when it droppped in.
.
I tried reinstalling the original casette but so many pieces were broken I gave up and bought a secondhand one for £80 which works fine - so far.

I have a collection of small plastic parts from the old one including the little springs that hold the blind in if anyone needs them.

Well, it has been pretty cold up here until recently. This weekend had a spring feel about it, so time to crack on!

I have some pics, but I'm doing this on the ipad, so that's beyond my tech know-how....

Over Xmas I had rebuilt the EAS valve block and tried to do the compressor. Valve block went Ok, the compressor was a previous 'refurb' one, and the grub screw which holds the piston in place had rounded. Got a good refurb ordered and fitted - but I hadn't run the car for weeks until yesterday, with the battery out and on a trickle charge.

Plugged in the battery, turned her on, and there were a few anxious moments waiting for the springs to fill - but dopey forgot all the doors need to be closed! Once I remembered that, up she came. Seems good.

After that I got the refurbed sunroof in. I think it's more or less OK, but maybe the new seal hasn't compressed enough yet. If the sunroof is tilted open, there's still a bit of effort involved in pulling it down flush with the roof - the seal seems just a bit big. It's a genuine LR seal, for whatever that's worth these days. But, worst case scenario, it fills the hole so I could still drive the car!

I also cleaned up the scuttle panel and sealed the pollen filter covers into place - I don't think they were leaking anyway, but they certainly won't be now!

Still haven't managed to find a windscreen guy to pull the screen off and reseal - and that's a pain, as it's holding other stuff up now.

Today, I drained the gearbox oil, pulled the sump off and replaced the filter, O rings and gasket. I haven't refilled it yet, I ran out of time, but we'll be good to go on that some time soon. While the car's been sitting there, it has leaked quite a bit. Some of it was around the sump drain plug, but there's more escaping around the front of the bellhousing. I have pics, but like I say, they'll need to wait till I'm on the desktop.

Got about 4.3L of ATF out of the box - that sound about right? Stone cold, and hadn't moved more than 10 yards in a month.

4.3 sounds ok, I dropped out just under 5 litres from mine

A fill should be around 5 litres.

^^ thanks for that. I'll post when I get round to that.

These show the pollen filter - sealed scuttle, seal 'sealed', housing in place

Leaky looking gearbox sump...

The leak itself isn't small, and is 'red'. (and that's an earlier P38 leak below/left which I'd cleaned up previously)

Apart from the gearbox sump, there's a bit of 'red stuff' on the bellhousing. Any ideas about this?

Just as I edited the pic to highlight the drips, it occurred to me that I didn't touch the drips to see if they were oily or watery/coolant.... the stuff on the floor is definitely oil/ATF

Definitely looks like ATF to me (nice clean ATF at that). Could it be that you have a leaking cooler hose and it is spraying it onto the side of the engine and dribbling down?