Member Since: 06 Mar 2014
Location: Surrey
Posts: 1172
Sills
About 3 months ago I removed some terminally rusty side steps, which also revealed some rust to the sills like this at each step mounting point:
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Nothing too drastic but I did want to clean them up before refitting the plastic sill trims.
I sanded down the surface rust and then treated each area with Fertan to convert whatever might be left:
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Each area was then treated to etch primer, regular primer and a top coat of green Smoothrite. The latter isn't a perfect match but it's more for protection than cosmetics as it'll be completely hidden by the trim:
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I bought new trim pieces from Powerful UK, which came complete with new plastic clips. It was at this point that I realised I needed to remove all of the yellow clips that still remained in the sills, as the new ones were one piece affairs.
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Along the bottom edge I used salvaged plastic rivets but added new stainless bolts in place of the rusty originals.
In order to fit the new trim it's necessary to unfasten the small trim pieces behind each front wheel, which also included removing the mud flaps. Unfortunately, mine didn't really survive the process as the metal reinforcing brackets had corroded too much. Time for a new pair
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Still, at least it now all looks smart again:
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Darren
"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia
Member Since: 06 Mar 2014
Location: Surrey
Posts: 1172
Headlight Security
A spare few minutes this afternoon saw a couple of headlight security brackets installed. Apparently, they can be stolen without lifting the bonnet. To be honest, I'm not sure how much of a concern this really is but the modest cost and simple fitment meant it was an easy decision to fit them.
The brackets are formed of 3mm stainless and are designed to lock the headlight release tabs in position:
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Fitting is nothing more complicated than undoing two bolts at the front of each wing, dropping the brackets in place and refastening the bolts again:
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These particular ones came from 4x4 Overlander, although there are similar ones on eBay that carry the Terra Firma logo.Darren
"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia
Member Since: 06 Jan 2023
Location: Rickmansworth
Posts: 197
Yarp. I fitted those too. I then put thick black electrical tape over the real light cluster screws so you can't unscrew them with the door shut (which apparently 'was a thing').Discovery 4 HSE late 2015 Euro6
Jaguar XF Portfolio (PX'd for above)
Mitsubishi Galant V6 (PX'd for above)
Instagram: @mrtedgfx
10th Sep 2024 8:31 am
LandRoverAnorak
Member Since: 06 Mar 2014
Location: Surrey
Posts: 1172
Blimey, I didn't realise that was possible. I'm clearly not devious enough Thanks for the tip, though.Darren
"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia
Member Since: 06 Jan 2023
Location: Rickmansworth
Posts: 197
I ment REAR light cluster screws! Aye, a previous security forum post mentioned you can 'just' get a long thin screwdriver in the gap and pop both screws and the light clusters just slide out!Discovery 4 HSE late 2015 Euro6
Jaguar XF Portfolio (PX'd for above)
Mitsubishi Galant V6 (PX'd for above)
Instagram: @mrtedgfx
10th Sep 2024 9:34 am
RogB
Member Since: 15 Jun 2018
Location: Mansfield
Posts: 1738
some have fitted the rear light screws using number plate plastic caps and then glued the caps down2011 D4 XS 305 MY12 - gone but not forgotten
Last edited by RogB on 10th Sep 2024 1:52 pm. Edited 1 time in total
10th Sep 2024 9:53 am
LandRoverAnorak
Member Since: 06 Mar 2014
Location: Surrey
Posts: 1172
Thanks. Something else to take a look at.Darren
"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia
Member Since: 06 Mar 2014
Location: Surrey
Posts: 1172
Reversing Camera
I've always fancied fitting a reversing camera and I've poured over most of the threads on here looking for clues and inspiration. A lot of them tell tales of hunting down obscure parts and identifying odd leads and so the idea was pushed down the priority list. However, a few weeks ago I came across this post that seemed to offer an easy solution and I wouldn't even need to get my hands dirty:
An enquiry was made, a positive response received, and an order duly placed!
The company in question, Car Communications, are based in Lancashire but use a network of (relatively) local installers for the work. The guy that did mine came from Reigate and after a bit if to-ing and fro-ing, a date was agreed.
The kit comprises an adapter box, branded for Car Communications, various leads and the camera itself, which is designed to fit to the rear hatch handle:
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It’s worth noting that there are three different kits available for D4’s, depending on which generation of head unit (defined by year) and whether you want dynamic guidelines, which is a slightly more expensive option. I chose the standard kit for my particular D4 and opted not to have any guidelines on the display.
Installation involves dismantling the centre of the dash to extract the head unit but I didn’t get any pictures as we had a huge thunder, lightning and hail storm during the process!
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And of course, in true Land Rover fashion, it didn’t quite go according to plan. When the engineer came to remove the rear handle, he found that two of the four bottom fixings were spinning and wouldn’t release. These are M6 wide headed bolts into brass inserts in the plastic moulding. He was understandably reluctant to deal with this issue and nor was he equipped to do so but fortunately, I was. I drilled out the two bolts so that the handle could be removed and once on the bench, it was easy to pull out the brass inserts. I then drilled the resulting holes out to 9mm and glued in place two stainless rivnuts with some Evostick. I didn’t want to try expanding the rivnuts as they were in a plastic tube that would just split.
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Once the glue had gone off and the new camera installed, the handle was re-fixed using new M6 stainless button head bolts smeared with a little anti-seize paste. Hopefully it’ll come apart easily if I ever have to again.
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The camera is very discreet and typical of these sorts of installations:
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With it all back together again, the whole thing works seamlessly. The camera and screen are automatically activated when reverse is selected and the picture is pretty good, giving a clear view of the rear bumper and tow bar:
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I also discovered that if you select the parking sensors manually, you get an extra button on the screen that lets you turn on the camera:
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The camera goes off after a little while, triggered either by a simple timer or it’s speed related. I haven’t quite worked out which, yet!
Overall, I’m really pleased with the whole thing. No doubt similar could be achieved for a cheaper price but the fact that I didn’t have to source the parts and then work out how to actually fit it means that it was good value to me.
The only advice I'd give if you choose to have one of these fitted is to check the fixings on the rear handle beforehand. I was lucky in that I had both the means and the time to deal with it but it would have been a real problem otherwise.Darren
"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia
Member Since: 23 Sep 2024
Location: Berkshire
Posts: 110
I've just read right through this and had to chuckle because my wife has an i3 too. They're cracking little cars but SO different to a Disco, your first post saying it was originally a toss-up between the two was quite surprising !
5th Oct 2024 7:34 pm
AwB
Member Since: 25 Sep 2017
Location: London
Posts: 12
Brilliant! Another matching combo here... i3s + D4 Landmark (aka Mr.Green/the go-kart and "the truck").
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