Here's a fix to save you loosing your front number plate when offroading in deep mud and standing water like VA did recently and I have done several times on mt Defender.......................

Remove front plate from bumper and clean both the plate and front bumper number plate area thoroughly with fresh water with no detergent.
Using white spirits or a hair-drier remove all traces of the glue used on double sided sticky pads used by dealers from both the plate and the mounting area on the front bumper.
Thoroughly dry the plate and the bumper
Lightly sand both the back of the number plate and the area where it mounts on the bumper to give a good surface for silicone sealant to adhere to.
Buy a number plate fixing screw kit from Halfords/ auto store and a small tube of CLEAR, waterproof bathroom silicone sealant from a DIY store.
Using some BluTac or similar temporary adhesive position the number plate on the bumper and using a fast drill and small diameter bit, drill guide holes through the number plate and into the bumper.
Remove plate and clean off the blueTac and any swarf from drilling the holes.
About 10mm in from the edge of the number plate lay a trail of silicone sealant right round the plate and also near to the drilled holes.
Position the white washers from the plate mounting kit and screw the mounting screws right through the plate until the end is sticking out and then position the plate over the screw holes in the bumper and screw the plate firmly into position taking care not to force silicone sealant out from between the two surfaces. Leave to dry.
If any silicone sealant has come out from the joint then take a kraft/ stanley knife and LIGHTLY run it around the edge of the plate, only enough pressure to score the silicone and not enough to mark the car's body and then peel off the tails of sealant.

The main cause of loosing front plates offroad is because when you hit thin mud and water fast it is forced up between the plate and the bumper with enough force to snap the plate or tear off the double sided sticky pads, the silicone sealant prevents the water from getting in there in the first place. If you want to make doubly sure that the plate won't come off then you can apply loc-tite to the screw threads when you screw the screws in but I personnally don't do this incase I want to replace the front plate for some other reason (my plates are cherished/ vanity number plates so they get moved from car to car when I buy a new one, I always remove the plates from the car that I sell so the dealer cannot leave it on display with my private reg on it........) 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

cheers Tim - great tip


of course you could always go the VA route and have a winch installed and then mount the plate on brackets above it

This fix is about £800 cheaper and your car will still fit into a standard size parking bay in a multistory car park whereas with VA's fix your car ends up a bit longer! 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

I've gone the velcro route - so if I need to take the plate off easily I can. 2005 Zambezi TDV6 - Gone but not forgotten
2009 Alaska TDV8 - Gone and much missed.



WINNER - 2009 �Idler Of The Year� Award
Runner Up - 2009 �Just Doing What It�s Designed To Do� Award


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and so can all the neds wherever you park the car! 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Yes but they've got to know that's stuck on that way. No difference to the sticky pads either. 2005 Zambezi TDV6 - Gone but not forgotten
2009 Alaska TDV8 - Gone and much missed.



WINNER - 2009 �Idler Of The Year� Award
Runner Up - 2009 �Just Doing What It�s Designed To Do� Award


DO NOT CLICK HERE!

Why not just use a stick backed floppy type of number plate and stick it to the bonnet, saves all the trouble  some of my Previous cars
--------------------------------
P38 Range Rover Autobiography
RRS 2.7 HSE Silver
RRS TDV8 HSE silver
FFRR Vogue black
Disco3 HSE silver
RRS 2.7 HSE silver
RRS 3.0 HSE BALTI BLUE
______________________________
current vehicles
RRS 3.0 L494 Autobiography
Audi R8 V10 Spyder
AC Cobra
Landrover Defender 90
Landrover Defender 110
Suzuki Jimney

You could just not go offroad and then it wouldn't happen!  

2009 Outstanding Contribution Award - Joint Runner Up
2009 'Tech-Head Of The Year' Award - Runner Up

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shmoogle wrote:

You could just not go offroad and then it wouldn't happen!

Or just buy another 4x4 to off road and wreck  some of my Previous cars
--------------------------------
P38 Range Rover Autobiography
RRS 2.7 HSE Silver
RRS TDV8 HSE silver
FFRR Vogue black
Disco3 HSE silver
RRS 2.7 HSE silver
RRS 3.0 HSE BALTI BLUE
______________________________
current vehicles
RRS 3.0 L494 Autobiography
Audi R8 V10 Spyder
AC Cobra
Landrover Defender 90
Landrover Defender 110
Suzuki Jimney

I'm assuming that while you're on private land you don't need to display your plates anyway, so the VA route seems simplest - just rip them off before you get muddy and put them back afterwards! 

2009 Outstanding Contribution Award - Joint Runner Up
2009 'Tech-Head Of The Year' Award - Runner Up

Like it here? Then Donate to RRSPORT!!

And if you're not on private land put the plate on the dash. 2005 Zambezi TDV6 - Gone but not forgotten
2009 Alaska TDV8 - Gone and much missed.



WINNER - 2009 �Idler Of The Year� Award
Runner Up - 2009 �Just Doing What It�s Designed To Do� Award


DO NOT CLICK HERE!

Or just slow down in water

Doesn't look as good if you do it slowly!  

2009 Outstanding Contribution Award - Joint Runner Up
2009 'Tech-Head Of The Year' Award - Runner Up

Like it here? Then Donate to RRSPORT!!

Pelyma wrote:

Or just slow down in water

Correct

Fortunately my plate/plinth was still attached... just... after I did the same water splash as VA 20 minutes earlier... Steve N | 21MY Defender (on order) | 08MY Discovery 3 (history) | 06MY Discovery 3 (ancient history)