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1994 Defender 90 Port of Entry
Repairs
This Defender 90 has come to us from New Jersey because it won't start, and if it does start it does not run reliably. After months of spending thousands and thousands of dollars with local repairs shop the owners finally sent the Defender to ECR. The owners of this 90 have tried everything and so did the shops they took it to. They did the head gaskets, they did this, they did that, and still they could not make the 90 run reliably. So they tried more stuff and more tow truck charges added up. Finally fed up with the local "experts" the owner sent the 90 to ECR and we took care of the problem.
Under the hoods the "experts" had been at it. They did a costly head gasket job and a ton of other unneeded work to this Defender to "cure" the problem. Once we had all their screw ups sorted out, we got down to the business of sorting out the real problem.
We removed the higher amp fuse that had melted the fuse box and all the other back yard mechanic tricks and found the root of the problem. The ECU was not sending a signal to the fuel pump relay. The relays were good, the owner had replaced them in an attempted fix, but the ECU was bad. Upon removal of the ECU we found evidence that it had been full of water. Needless to say this did in the ECU and its constant 03 code (corrupt data) showed that. So most places would install another ECU and send the truck home, but not ECR. Not only do we want to repair the fault, but we want to know why this happened and make sure it does not happen again. This 90 isn't a big off roader so the water didn't come from a stream crossing so we have to find another reason. A little work with the hose revealed that the vent flap gaskets on this 90 were dry rotted and leaking. The heater gasket was also allowing water into the cabin. These leaks would let water in, it would rest on the top side of the AC unit and then spill over directly onto the ECU, thus filling it with water and wrecking it.
So to save the replacement ECU, and by the way all the running issues were the ECU, nothing else needed to be done, we have modified the AC unit so that any water that collects on the top of it will drain into the evaporator and then out through the evap. drain (small red arrow). We replaced and adjusted the vent flaps and gaskets so that no water will enter there. In case some stray water does get into the cabin we fabricated a small splash guard to deflect any stray water away from the ECU (see crooked arrow).
But wait, there is more. Knowing the frustration of having a "repair" done that only lasts a day or so we made sure to drive this 90 for a few days to be absolutely sure that the failure would not re-occur for the customer. On one early morning test drive (its getting cold here in Maine remember) we found that it was next to impossible to shift gears in the 90. After driving the 90 around struggling with the shifting for some miles the gearbox started to shift better. This points to gear oil in the gearbox, not the correct ATF that the R380 5 speed needs. Sure enough we drained the gearbox fluid and it was full of 90 weight. This will blow out the gearbox pump and cause all sorts of issues, including hard shifting and premature gearbox failure. So the local "experts" struck again by filling this R380 with 90 weight instead of the correct ATF.
Once that and a few other small items were sorted, the 90 was tested again and it is now good to go. When you go to your corner garage do you think they cover your butt or care about your Defender like we do? They don't, and this customer will tell you that the near $6000 he wasted getting his Defender "repaired" in NJ was not worth it, not to mention the hassle of a vehicle that kept breaking down each time he wrote a big check. You may not think sending your Defender to ECR for repairs is "cheaper", but in the long run it always is, especially considering that the job will be done right, the cause will be eliminated and the repair will be fully tested before you get your Defender back. The actual bill for this 90's real problem, along with the gearbox issue and a number of small items taken care of... under $1400. Imagine the upgrades we could have done for the $6000. that was wasted in NJ.
When you think about it in those terms, who do you want doing your Defender repairs? The local guys who have never seen a Defender before, and who keep calling it, "Your Jeep"? or ECR?
We are your Defender source and there is no one better.
ECR