I’ve had my eye on this Land Rover for a few days, if it were in the US, it would have been snatched up a long time ago! I’m going to guess the seller’s £2,095 Buy It Now and the fact the diesel engine is smoking, is why it’s still on the market. The price actually doesn’t seem to bad for a running Defender 90, but the fact it doesn’t pass MOT will likely drive away most buyers. That could be a good thing for those of you who are willing to get your hands a little dirty. The seller has the option to make an offer and with the listing’s time running down, they might just be willing to take a much lower offer.
I’d offer them half of their asking without taking a closer look, but would be willing to go higher if everything checks out after a closer inspection. Getting that dirty old diesel cleaned up and able to pass MOT could turn out to be tricky, but not impossible. If you think you’re up for the challenge, you can find this smokey Defender here on eBay in Birchington, United Kingdom. So do you think someone in the UK will get this rig back on the road, will it end up being exported to the US or will it makes its way to the scrapyard?
Second hand Defender prices have soared since Land Rover announced the end of production. This ’87 one looks honest enough, I’d be inclined to check out the rear part of the chassis (looks like a fair amount of recent underseal covering a lot of it) As one MOT tester once told me ‘If I can’t see the rust – I can’t fail it’, Ummm – but then a new galvanised one is easily available and not too expensive, as are other parts which are in plentiful supply.
Maybe it just needs the pump timing reset?
Van has a good point. So many diesel woes can be fixed by setting the pump to engine timing. If it starts and hits on all 4 cylinders that tells you that the engine and injectors are mechanically sound so nothing further is needed there. Bluish/white smoke indicates late timing which is common to these. Black smoke is either a lack of air or the vehicle is on fire (had to throw that last one in).