 | Home > Puma (Tdci) > Grab handles |
 
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| Landowner Member Since: 06 Jan 2023 Location: Somerset Posts: 76   
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Rather blindly I purchased two NTC5116 to fit to the rear cross member of my 2012 Puma. I just like the look, think it’s a quirky and part of a Land Rover.
Turns out one of the main bolts fixing the cross member is now right in the wrong place, stopping the handle sitting against the cross member. No grab handles for me then, unless anyone knows anything different! |
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27th Jan 2025 3:11pm |
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| Landowner Member Since: 06 Jan 2023 Location: Somerset Posts: 76
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 Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Perhaps this version from LRParts just has a longer “ear”? Click image to enlarge |
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27th Jan 2025 3:57pm |
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| Retroanaconda Member Since: 04 Jan 2012 Location: Scotland Posts: 2710 
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Or they’re not designed for vehicles with rear seats, as I assume yours does as those bolts are for the seatbelt mounts.
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27th Jan 2025 5:03pm |
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| Landowner Member Since: 06 Jan 2023 Location: Somerset Posts: 76
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Ah, that’s interesting. Just another reason to whip out the front facing seats in favour of inward facing then!
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27th Jan 2025 5:26pm |
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| TexasRover Member Since: 24 Nov 2022 Location: Paris Posts: 1156  
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There is, off course, another good reasons to keep the front facing seats..
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27th Jan 2025 5:44pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17619 
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As noted, the screws are the reinforcing brackets for the rear seats (or seat belts), which I don't have. Perhaps makes a couple of spacers to clear the screw heads?
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27th Jan 2025 5:54pm |
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| Chicken Drumstick Member Since: 17 Aug 2020 Location: Near MK Posts: 830
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It's only metal, you could drill some holes. Or if you plan to never pull on them, just stick em on! 
Seriously though, I'm not sure when the cross member changed, but they haven't been fitted for a long long time. Not even sure they have ever been on a 90/110. They have an interesting story..... they shouldn't be on the back really, as they are completely useless there. The original Land Rover, centre steer was built on a Jeep chassis and the Wilks had a WW2 Jeep they used on the farm as inspiration for the Land Rover. If you look at an MB Jeep, you'll find these handles in the correct location (to be used by Squaddies to man handle the vehicle when stuck): Click image to enlarge Complete with matching bolt holes & dimensions. You can almost imagine the Rover boys having a big piles of Jeep bits left over and someone grabbing them and saying "hey, why don't we stick them on the back!" 
Either that or it was a premonition that Land Rover owners would spend a great deal of time under the vehicle and would require a handle to pull themselves out from under the vehicle  |
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27th Jan 2025 6:00pm |
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| Landowner Member Since: 06 Jan 2023 Location: Somerset Posts: 76
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Wow! And there was I thinking that I shouldn’t post such a trivial post. The someone comes along and answers a long standing question.
Thank you, really interesting |
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27th Jan 2025 6:52pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17619
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The Jeep handles are different to even the earliest LR handles.
Every standard Defender rear cross-member has been drilled (or rather punched) to take grab handles or military bumperettes right up the the end of production in 2016. The only thing that gets in the way are the fasteners for the seat belt reinforcing brackets for the forward facing rearmost seats. |
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27th Jan 2025 7:09pm |
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| HardCharger Member Since: 03 Mar 2013 Location: Manila Posts: 751  
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Somewhat related query to this, if I have already removed and disposed of the two rearmost forward facing seats that take up a lot of room in the cargo area, I no longer need the bracket thingie that is bolted between the rear wheel arch and the rear cross member? Mine were still there when I was fitting the Gwyn Lewis mud shields to the cross member. Can I safely remove these, no problem?
 No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy |
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28th Jan 2025 3:07am |
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| Retroanaconda Member Since: 04 Jan 2012 Location: Scotland Posts: 2710
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Yes, worth doing as they’re just an extra mud trap and there are enough of those underneath already.
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28th Jan 2025 8:04am |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17619
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Yes, as Retroanaconda says, you can, their only purpose is to anchor the seat belt mounting to the rear crossmember due to the weakness of the alloy rear buck. If you have no seats and no seatbelts in the back they are purposeless. |
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28th Jan 2025 8:54am |
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| HardCharger Member Since: 03 Mar 2013 Location: Manila Posts: 751
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What if say, some time in the future I decide to install the Gwyn Lewis Dickie Seat Base kits onto the rear arch, will keeping these brackets on make sense then or they are not required for these?
Would just like to know as I'm still on the fence on whether to install the additional seating on the rear or just keep it strictly cargo. I've had a few instances where I had to haul people and the in the cargo bay, they had to just sit on the rear wheel arches for the trip. No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy |
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30th Jan 2025 6:23am |
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| revd Member Since: 20 Apr 2024 Location: England Posts: 199
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I ordered a new 90HT from the factory in May 2002, when delivered the grab handles that had been confirmed on the build sheet as standard equipment were missing - supplying dealer Evans Halshaw shrugged and said that the spec had changed from 2002 to 2003 build and if I wanted them fitting I would have to pay.
Having just spent £17200 on my brand new Td5 I passed on their kind offer. |
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30th Jan 2025 7:07am |
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