OFFICIAL Land Rover thread.

[LateFan]

We narrowed down a leak in the RF strut bellows, so we decided to change it out. Pretty simple - 3 top strut nuts, an air fitting, and a big bolt through the lower control arm. Well, this bolt is apparently famous for not coming out. Smooth bolt through a smooth steel sleeve in the bushing, down in the weather and slop, and they bond together. Why would you assemble this thing without a bunch of anti-seize or something?

It's 9" x 5/8 or 3/4 ø. 24mm nut, 21mm bolt head. We buzzed the nut off with an impact. The bolt will not budge. It will turn over 90 degrees with a breaker bar and a pipe, but all you're doing is twisting the rubber bushing. It's not moving out of that sleeve. We've impact gunned, sledge hammered (mushroomed the end of the bolt), breaker barred, torched, PB Blasted, let it sit....nothing.





The steel sleeve - when this goes back together, that will be buttered with anti-seize!


I went and got these. I think a sawzall from underneath the control arm, and these blades, and we just cut the bolt on both sides of the strut. We ordered a new bolt and nut.

[LateFan]

The LR3. My son and I replaced front and center air distribution blocks, as well as the dryer on the pump. It's a desiccant system, and it eventually turns to a fine powder like flour and gets down the hoses and clogs the valves. There's a company that makes an updated aluminum-cased one as the OE piece has a plastic top that cracks.

[LateFan]

More info leaked -

Project Code L663
Coil springs.....with air suspension optional. Air susp will be more capable.
Temperature monitors in the adaptive dampers.
Electronic locking diffs.
Heavy reinforced subframes, control arms, ball joints, bushings.
18" wheel standard, with options to 22". AT and mud terrain available.
There appears to be a steel-wheeled base spec version available.
Heavy testing into chassis stiffness, speaks and rattles.


"Land Rover’s Andy Deeks, product engineering team leader for durability and reliability -

"...we elected to use the same aluminium model platform as the other bigger Land Rover models use. It’s called ‘D7U’. The platform has been through a programme of wide-ranging design and engineering overhaul – but it’s a monocoque. It’s relatively light and very stiff, and those are attributes we need. But there’s no ladder frame here, and we don’t have rigid axles.”

"Deeks explains, “there are reinforced suspension subframes, as well as new stronger suspension arms, ball joints and bushes. We’ve got bigger wheel arches, more suspension travel, more wheel articulation and more ground clearance than on any other Land Rover. This car was designed to exceed the usual Land Rover capability targets that our other models are engineered up to. And it has been engineered for better durability and reliability than any car that Land Rover has ever made.” "

“We know what reputation our cars have, and what some people will expect and say about the Defender,” he says. “This is a much more complicated car than the old one, that’s true. Engineering in the durability, the capability and the lightness we wanted would have been easier with less complexity. But nobody said this would be an easy car to make.”

“It’s not a car of the same simplicity as the original, granted. It has its own character. But it’s easily tough and capable enough to be worthy of the name: more than, in both cases. The old Defender was a car that was durable because it simply wasn’t comfortable enough to drive it quickly off-road. This new one absolutely is – and trust me, it can take whatever punishment you’re prepared to ask of it.”

[LateFan]

Saw some more leaked info on Defender -

The three variants will be:

"• The three-door Defender 90. This will have five- and six-seat versions and will grow in length to 170 inches from less than 158 inches in the previous generation.

• The five-door Defender 110. This will have five-, six- and seven-seat versions. It will increase in length to 187 inches.

• The Defender 130. This variant will be a five-door, eight-seat passenger vehicle that is 201 inches. Previously, the Defender 130 was sold only as a double-cab pickup."

The actual wheelbase is interesting -
A D90 has a 102" wheelbase (the old one wasn't 90" either)
A D110 has a 119" wheelbase.

The 130 is the same wheelbase as the 110, with just a big overhang to hold more people. Don't know if they'll build that 4 door truck version.

Engines:

"Under the bonnet of the 90 and 110 models, there will be a choice of three petrol and three diesel engines in 2020 and 2021 and all Defenders will come as standard with an autobox and all-wheel drive.

The diesel units will be offered in D200, D240 (four cylinder) and D300 300bhp (straight six) forms, with 0-62mph times of around 10.0sec, 8.3sec and 7.4sec respectively. It’s understood the D300 will be the only diesel engine offered in North American markets and arrives for the 2021 model year.

Three petrol Defender engines - the P300, P400 and the P400e Plug-in Hybrid - will be on sale immediately. These are thought to all be straight-six units, and will be sold in the US, where many states adhere to the same strict ‘SULEV’ pollution regime as California. According to the leak, the plug-in P400 offers a torque boost from 400Nm to 645Nm and a 5.9sec 0-62mph time, Autocar understands."


The base has 18" wheels, the fancier trims come with 20".

It looks like many trim levels - Base, S, SE, HSE, and "X"...(?)

The D90 is 170" long and 78 3/4" wide. Is that the body or mirrors?
75 7/8" high - but that's going to depend on the spring settings I assume.

Official intro at Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

[LateFan]

Tongue load doesn't seem to be affecting the rear height - self-leveling I assume. I guess they could have balanced the teeter totter trailer so it has no tongue weight, but they showed it driving around.

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I see the updated Explorer is bragging about 12" of water fording...
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Testing locations
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These are from earlier - rear suspension shots. Beefy lower control arms, steel subframe, diff protected, sway bar tucked up above, exhaust tucked up pretty well..
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[LateFan]

This one has a snorkel on the left windshield post.

There's still some fake padding under the wrap.
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Good approach and departure angles
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Round headlights with center LEDs
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[LateFan]

Seems to be working today.....

Defender testing in Africa. This outfit tracks and tags lions for wildlife research, so they have to go where the lions go, not the roads. It's right out of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom! They were always chasing some beast while hanging out of an old Land Rover.

[LateFan]

test test.....site won't let me post pics....? Been doing that a couple of weeks now.

[LateFan]

"Forward Control" 101 -

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...ntrol-history/

[LateFan]

Hagerty story about a LR shop in Vermont.

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-vid...hursday_June_6

“They’re not particularly beautiful,” he says. “They’re certainly not comfortable. They’re not great on gas. There are a lot of ‘nots.’

[LateFan]

I know they aren't reliable, but are they at least starting to appreciate? Looks like it, no?

I think so. And so good looking and so capable. Ours was an '87, which I can not recommend - fuel injection computer / reliability problems.

[mbonder]

Those are some nice examples, would be impossible to find on this side of the country, rust kills them so bad...

[Julien]

I have dark desires to own one of these. My dad had two when I was growing up:

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/cto/d/san-francisco-1992-range-rover-classic/6880676665.html

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/d/palo-alto-95-range-rover-classic-lwb/6877178013.html

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/d/alameda-1990-range-rover-classic/6869642073.html

I know they aren't reliable, but are they atleast starting to appreciate? Looks like it, no?

[LateFan]

I believe there are roundish headlights inside that rectangular glass cover, inboard of two stacked marker lights and then probably a bunch of LEDs because flashy.
The rain gutter looks really heavy - faked, or to carry big racks...?
The big side trim above the door handles looks faked. It's just chopped rough at door cuts.
I see door glass frames, not flush glass.
I'll bet that seam on the wheel arches is black plastic. to make the openings look bigger / taller.
How much of that front valance/apron is skid plate, or do you have to add it?
Has a wide track for the body width, wheels out at the corners.
Has a bit of a tough bulldog look from the front - that's good.





His Royal Prince-ness likes it.

[LateFan]

Yep, exactly. Is it going to be 50 to 70k? How’s that gonna work in third world markets? And it doesn’t seem like a power company utility truck in the UK at that level. The only big cost savings is sharing this new platform’s development cost with a new Discovery and RRSport.