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As ECR handles more 90s and 110s that anyone else in the USA we wanted to share some common threads with you. The NAS Defenders are wonderful vehicles, but there are a few things you should know.
Oil line fires:
As most of the 110s were built in the Fall of 1992 they are getting up there in years, and the 90s are getting on in years as well. The oil cooler lines in these Defenders are getting old and suffering from dry rot and cracking. This is normal wear, but you need to periodically replace these lines to prevent an engine fire.
So unless you want your Defender to look like the ones on this page, replace your lines with new ones. The fires start in the RH front area of the engine bay and spread backwards and down the RH side. We have sadly seen the results of this many times. These engine fires, that a number of 110s and 90s have succumb to across the country, are the fault of an oil cooler line that has burst, misting oil onto the RH exhaust manifold, then igniting and causing a fire.
Here you can see the trail of oil this Defender 90 left as it rolled to a stop on fire! Luckily no one was hurt in this fire and the owner of the Defender caught these pictures with his phone.
Here is the spot where a Defender 110 caught fire. You can clearly see the oil trail that was coming from near the RH side of the vehicle before it came to rest on the side of the highway on fire!
Afterwards that 110 looked like this and it is still at our shop awaiting full restoration to repair the fire damage. Defender 110s have more engine fires than Defender 90s, but D90s do go up as well as you can plainly see.
We have even seen 110s that had perfect condition oil cooler lines, with low miles, fall victim to an engine fire, so a good set of factory lines are no safe bet. As you would expect, Land Rover North America offers no explanation of why this happens and they put it down to "operator error". New lines, or better yet, updated parts are cheap insurance to try and prevent against this, so be sure to have your 110 or 90 checked out.
The ECR ROX solution to this problem:
Our solution is to replace the factory rubber oil cooler lines that pass right by the RH exhaust manifold (the extreme heat breaks down the rubber in the lines) and replace the oil cooler lines with top notch racing quality equipment that not only makes the lines stronger, but it moves them far away from the exhaust manifold heat source.
Here is an example install of the ECR ROX oil line update kit for the 1993 NAS 110 and 1994 NAS Defender 90.
This 1993 NAS Defender 110 has come to us for some upgrades and repairs. It has 135,000 miles, is over a decade old and it still running to original oil cooler lines. They are cracked, dry rotted and a ticking time bomb, if not for a vehicle fire, at least a road trip stopping oil leak.
The design flaw of the factory oil cooler lines is that they run far too close to the RH exhaust manifold. As you can imagine the exhaust manifold gets smoking hot and these rubber lines, with no heat protection are no match for that heat and abuse. The red arrows point to the oil cooler lines in this NAS 110.
The first step is to remove the clutch fan and the radiator shroud. This gives you a nice open place to work. Next disconnect the oil cooler lines from the radiator as indicated by the purple arrows. Oil will leak out, so be sure to have a drip tray handy.
Then remove the oil filter and the oil filter adaptor ring and remove the entire oil cooler line rats nest through the bottom of the Defender in one piece. You will end up with what you see above.
Strip down the oil cooler lines and fittings until you are left with only the adapter ring, as seen above. The oil lines and fittings will not be re-used. Only the adapter ring shown above will be re-used.
Then remove the adapters from the radiator itself. There are 2 as shown by the purple arrows.
These are the adapters once you have removed them from the radiator. These will not be re-used.
Next install the 2 adapters with the copper crush washers into the oil cooler adapter.
Once they are installed the oil cooler adapter will look like this (see above).
Next take the 90 degree fitting and apply some pipe tape to the threads. Then install it into the top opening of the oil cooler in the radiator as shown by the top yellow arrow. Then install the straight adapter into the lower radiator opening, and use pipe tape here as well. Then install the lower oil hoses straight end onto the lower adapter as shown by the lower yellow arrow.
Next install the oil cooler adapter ring back onto the engine the same way it came off and install the oil filter. Now connect the 45 degree fitting to the rear output and the straight fitting from the top hose to the front output as shown above. It is best to leave the lines loose until everything is where you want it, then tighten all the fittings.
The routing for the upper hose is shown above. Next to the AC line and behind the lower radiator coolant hose into the oil cooler adaptor ring. The line will not touch either of the other hoses when properly installed. The lower lines goes straight back and bends to meet the oil cooler adapter This line also will not touch any other parts of the Defender when correctly installed; therefore, no rubbing and no chance of damage to the new lines or other systems in the Defender.
Once everything is where you like it tighten all the fittings securely and start the engine for a short time and check for leaks. Once you confirm there are no leaks shut down the engine and re-install the clutch fan and radiator shroud and then top up your engine oil as needed, as some will have been lost when you remove the lines.
Here you can see the correct routing of the oil cooler lines from the bottom. As you can see they do not rub on anything and are far away from the heat of the exhaust manifold and they are made from top quality fittings that will not fail on the street or on the trail.
Sadly, Land Rover never really made two NAS Defender 110s the same, as they were all hand built, so there is no "one size fits all" possible.
Below you will see the kits we offer. It will be required that you send us a few images of your 110 so that we can address what kit will correctly fit your vehicle.
NAS Defender 110 Kit #1
Kit #1 for the 1993 NAS 110 consists of what you see above (oil cooler adapter ring shown for display purposes ONLY). You will need tools, pipe tape and about 30 minutes to install this upgrade. Keep in mind you will need the tools to remove your clutch fan and have some larger size wrenches to handle the new and old fittings. This kit is for those NAS 110s with the 18mm oil cooler adapter, the removable fitting radiator and the AC line near the bottom hose that IS NOT covered in foam insulation.
NAS Defender 110 Kit #2
Kit #2 for the 1993 NAS 110 consists of what you see above. You will need tools, pipe tape and about 30 minutes to install this upgrade. Keep in mind you will need the tools to remove your clutch fan and have some larger size wrenches to handle the new and old fittings. This kit is for those NAS 110s with the 18mm oil cooler adapter, the removable fitting radiator and the AC line near the bottom hose that IS covered in foam insulation and passes very close to the lower oil cooler line.
All oil line upgrade kits are $250.
Please keep in mind that oil lines are for sale, but product development continues. We are still cataloging the small differences in each vehicle to assure proper fit. Then add in the new style AC systems that makes issues with the space needed for the lines. So we are working on the solution with every vehicle we fit these to, but not all combinations have yet been documented.
BEFORE YOU ORDER, READ THIS:
Along with installing our kit it will be a good idea to change your oil and the oil filter. The filter is part # ERR3340. These parts are not included.
This set up is designed to work with the stock 1993 NAS Defender 110 as they left the factory.
Late 1994 NAS Defender 90s and 1995 NAS Defender 90s have the 20mm oil cooler adapter (1 1/16 head) and the kit will not fit these applications. The 18mm oil cooler adapter (15/16 head) can replace the 20mm unit easily, but you will need to purchase that part (Part # ERC8501) from a parts source.
If your Rover has been altered from stock this set up will not work.
If you have factory installed AC the kit will work. If you have added AC in recent years the kit will not work.
This is how you tell the if this kit will fit your vehicle:
Our oil line upgrade was set up for a NAS Defender 110 as that is what we work on most, but it does fit other applications. If your 110 or early 90 is factory stock, the lines will work, but over the years people have made a lot of changes, so double check using all this information before you order.
The banjo fittings that enter your oil cooler adapter have two different size heads. The type with the 15/16" heads will work. The type with the 1 1/16" heads will not.
If you find that your radiator is the correct type to work, but your oil cooler adapter is not, you can replace it with parts # ERC8501 (the 18mm adapter) to make the set up work.
The next thing to check is your radiator. The factory original type on a 1993 110 has a removable fittings as shown in the image below. Once removed this leaves a female threaded opening in the radiator. The image shows the fitting in place. If you can remove the fitting, our set up will work.
If your radiator has an O ring style fitting that is made into the radiator and can not be removed, as shown below. The ROX oil line set up will not work.
Please check BOTH of these items on your Defender before you order the kit. This kit does not fit late 1995 or 1997 NAS Defender 90s.
Radiator adapters for the fixed style units will be available shortly.