Defender 90 XS April 2014 Update

  The 90 had a minor few noise issues.  A slight rattly noise at idle required investigation, and when I lifted the bonnet, I found the noise to be coming from the TDCI’s turbocharger.  Fearing a huge bill, I was pleased to determine it was just a rattle from the heat shield.  The shield is very brittle and had cracked around one of its securing bolts, creating a hole just a fraction bigger than the flange of the bolt’s head.  All that it needed was a washer slipping under the bolt head to secure the shield properly again.

Not related, but still irritating, were two interior trim noises that have plagued the 90 from new.  The first is a metallic clinking from the back when the rear seats are not in use.  It’s the steel D brackets at the bottom end of the seat belt webbing knocking against a small steel post that prevents the D brackets (and belts) from rotating excessively, thus preventing the belts from becoming twisted.  Domestic rubber tap washers pressed straight onto the posts securely with minimal effort and no “preparation”, giving a cheap and instant fix.  The other long running noise was creaking from the door cards on the front doors, especially the passenger door whenever my elbow was pressed lightly against it.  All I needed to do was remove the trims from around the top sliding lock levers to allow the cards to be prised away from the doors along their rear and bottom edges (I didn’t remove the plastic corner rivets), and then trim the excess of the fibre backing level with the edge of the vinyl facing so that the fibre material longer rubs on the paint surface of the doors’ frames.  Even firm prodding and pushing of the cards  no longer produces any creaks.