 | Home > Maintenance & Modifications > Advice Please - Door Hinges & Rear Door Strut |
 
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| moresauce Member Since: 18 Feb 2012 Location: UK Posts: 50  
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Hi guys,
I'm hoping the Defender 2 guys can help me with you esteemed knowledge etc. My car is a 2010 2.4 110 XS station wagon, done circa 48k miles. The rear door door hinges have failed, helpfully this happened in a supermarket car park and as I closed the door the hinges failed and I was left holding the entire door including the weight of the spare wheel and had I think its fair to say a pretty surprised look on my face!  Thankfully a helpful passerby helped me get the door into a safe position resting on the hinges etc.
I then called the AA and gave the slightly novel report of the breakdown being a rear door failure, anyway great guy came along and managed to jury rig a get you home solution, all credit to the AA patrol. It looked like one on the hinges has corroded and the others sheared when the weight came on to them. Pictures an the bottom of this post. So it is booked in next week with my local independent LR specialist for new rear hinges and possibly new rear door trim as I have a feeling this cracked in the process. Anyway I'd like some advice on the following please; 1) I want to stick with a OEM mounted spare and no go down the wheel carrier route but I'm thinking I'm of upgrading the rear internal door strut to make the door more stable during opening and closing and also offering it more support from the inside. At the moment I'm looking at this one http://www.4x4overlander.com/product/defender-rear-door-stay-v2/ any comments? 2) On the drivers door I have some rust weaping from the inside of the hinge (pictures at the bottom of this post) what can I do to stop this, do the hinge internals need changing, there is nothing wrong with them otherwise. 3) I've read the front bumper thread and as its going in for some work I'm going to check them to change my front bumper, what is the best totally OEM looking bumper that is not going to rust in 5 minutes like the factory ones do. Thanks in advance! 
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27th Apr 2018 12:00pm |
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| LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11324
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Blimey, I've never seen the newer hinges fail spectacularly like that before
 Which hinge failed first? Any unusual circumstances such as oversize wheels and tyres or you live on a beach launching boats for a living?
As for bumpers, there are several threads on exactly that subject including this recent one from the last few days: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic61224.html Darren 110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia |
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27th Apr 2018 1:03pm |
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| LCJ Member Since: 07 Sep 2009 Location: UK Posts: 201 |
http://optimillraceproducts.com/product_in...dc34e6375f
These might be of interest if you don't want a wheel carrier and are worried about a repeat performance. They claim they do away with the need for a carrier, no idea if that's true or not. I would recommend the V2 carrier that you've linked to. I tried the V3 version first and didn't like the way it twisted the door frame. Full credit to Brendan at 4x4overlander though as he was very helpful in swapping things over and said he hadn't seen that happen before, so it might have been a build issue on my car[/code][/s] |
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27th Apr 2018 1:05pm |
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| shropshiredefender Member Since: 05 Jun 2017 Location: Shropshire Posts: 834  
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+1 for the V2
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27th Apr 2018 3:44pm |
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| moresauce Member Since: 18 Feb 2012 Location: UK Posts: 50
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Thanks guys,
I’ll def get onto Brendan then and order a V2 Strut, hopefully get a forum discount! Keep the advice coming! |
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27th Apr 2018 4:22pm |
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| Vitesse Member Since: 21 Mar 2014 Location: Sussex Posts: 381 
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Looks drastic!
i lubricated the hinges from new. Now three years old with 44000 miles without a hint of rust or wear. I use ACf50 an also the tin of lube supplied by the dealer after they have serviced it. 2015 90 XS Santorini Black |
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27th Apr 2018 5:52pm |
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| moresauce Member Since: 18 Feb 2012 Location: UK Posts: 50
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I'm definitely going to order the V2 strut then.
Any other advice on how to stop the rust weeping from the other hinges? Thanks |
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28th Apr 2018 8:55am |
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| ericvv Member Since: 02 Jun 2011 Location: Near the Jet d'Eau Posts: 5816  
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As to the other hinges, once the pin has started to rust, I'm afraid there is no going back. Maybe ACF50 slows the process down but it won't reverse it. That is my experience. I found another solution, expensive but lasting forever. See my other thread about this.
Eric You never actually own a Defender. You merely look after it for the next generation. http://youtu.be/yVRlSsJwD0o https://youtu.be/vmPr3oTHndg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GtzTT9Pdl0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABqKPz28e6A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZ49Jce_n0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvAsz_ilQYU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8tMHiX9lSw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dxwjPuHIV7I https://vimeo.com/201482507 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSixqL0iyHw |
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28th Apr 2018 9:14am |
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| zsd-puma Member Since: 09 Aug 2016 Location: Kent Posts: 2720
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The gas struts will put more load onto the hinges. When you close the door they're trying to push the hinge apart, so one drawback is they'll accelerate wear on them. They do stop the door slamming into your backside while you're leaning into the boot though.
The top hinge on mine seemed fine until I fitted a top strut, then I noticed the hinge pin had already sheered. I just drilled through it and put a stainless steel bolt through it. |
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28th Apr 2018 9:18am |
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| UtilityTruck Member Since: 09 Jan 2014 Location: Oxford Posts: 463
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I love these trucks, but it’s a little bit mad the doors can fall off at just 8yrs old!! 2014 Keswick Utility 2.2
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28th Apr 2018 6:30pm |
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| Screbble Member Since: 26 Apr 2015 Location: Lancashire Posts: 2102 
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I've had a v3 fitted for some time with no issues, albeit as zsd-puma has stated, they will actually place more strain on the hinges - particularly the top hinge if a v3 is fitted. No sign of twisting yet
I find myself lubticating all hinges more regularly than is probably necessary, as it takes minutes. There's no down side, albeit my OCD means I have to go round shortly afterwards and wipe off any excess. There's probably an element of placebo in all this, but it keeps the neighbours laughing at me
There are so many factors to consider when trying to establish the reason for the premature failure, and there are plenty of aftermarket upgrades as you well know, but you won't go far wrong by trying to take as much unecessary strain off the hinges and keeping them lubricated. Glad your experience didn't result in anyone getting hurt |
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29th Apr 2018 6:17am |
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| Lotus_esprit_s1 Member Since: 01 Oct 2014 Location: Uk Posts: 201 |
Same thing happened to my parents 56 plate last month, although the top hinge still held together, the middle and bottom sheared off. It was held by the top hinge and the lower strut and had to be manoeuvred into position then shut. It looked to me like the bottom had been sheared off for some time, whereas the middle was a fresh break.
I have always purchased galvanised bumpers from paddocks for £45 and etch primed and sprayed them satin black, can’t tell the difference from genuine other than they will never rust! |
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29th Apr 2018 7:06am |
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| Zed Member Since: 07 Oct 2017 Location: In the woods Posts: 3287 
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Good to know. I was going to order some gas struts but i hadn't considered the added stress on the hinges. I'd rather put up with the door trying to kill me than the hinges shearing and the door falling off. |
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29th Apr 2018 7:25am |
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| VeeTee Member Since: 06 Mar 2011 Location: Somewhere Posts: 1512 
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I can not image this happens a lot, never heard of it before... I have the original hinges, now 22 years old, 10 years ago I installed a gas strut. The spare wheel is on a carrier (but only for the last 10 years, before that it was on the original carrier on the door). I drive the Defender daily, so the door and hinges get a lot of use... but I do go around with the oli can 2 or 3 times a year. Cheers, Vincent
1959 Polynorm 1/4 Ton Trailer, Olive Drab Green (sold) 1970 M416 Military Trailer (Camping Trailer Conversion), Epsom Green (sold) 1975 Series III 88 V6, Light Green (sadly sold) 1996 Defender 110 CSW 300 Tdi, Epsom Green (sold) 2000 Freelander 1 TD4 3-drs, Silver (sold) 2006 Freelander 1 TD4 5-drs Facelift Automatic, Tonga Green (sold) MySite |
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29th Apr 2018 7:45am |
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