Considering buying a 98 range rover
Discussion
Hi there
This is my first time on the land rover forum and was looking for some help. I am currently looking for a second everyday car as I have been using my TVR Tuscan way too much over winter and was wondering the pros and cons of a 98 Range Rover V8 with an LPG conversion. It has 80000 miles on the clock and looks in good nick.
What can go wrong with them? Having a TVR I dont want too much hassle from it. It is a manual as well and the asking price is just under 5K.
I havent looked at it yet but what should I look for apart from the obvious?
Many thanks in advance
This is my first time on the land rover forum and was looking for some help. I am currently looking for a second everyday car as I have been using my TVR Tuscan way too much over winter and was wondering the pros and cons of a 98 Range Rover V8 with an LPG conversion. It has 80000 miles on the clock and looks in good nick.
What can go wrong with them? Having a TVR I dont want too much hassle from it. It is a manual as well and the asking price is just under 5K.
I havent looked at it yet but what should I look for apart from the obvious?
Many thanks in advance
In a nutshell everyhting can go wrong and usually does!
Have a hunt through this and the LRO forum for some good hints and advice, there has been lots posted over the years.
ETA: apologies for crap post it was very early and I had been up since 2.30am but now the red bull has kicked in...
The one good thing about these cars is that they are not so technically advanced that you can't sort little niggly faults out yourself. I am no mechanic but have got to grips with many things from searching the forums and then having a crack at it. Latest victory was with persistant battery drain being caused by the alarm receiver unit, simply unplugged the interior antenna for it and problem solved.
Have a hunt through this and the LRO forum for some good hints and advice, there has been lots posted over the years.
ETA: apologies for crap post it was very early and I had been up since 2.30am but now the red bull has kicked in...
The one good thing about these cars is that they are not so technically advanced that you can't sort little niggly faults out yourself. I am no mechanic but have got to grips with many things from searching the forums and then having a crack at it. Latest victory was with persistant battery drain being caused by the alarm receiver unit, simply unplugged the interior antenna for it and problem solved.
Edited by pontypool on Wednesday 9th April 11:00
boardinscotland said:
Hi there
This is my first time on the land rover forum and was looking for some help. I am currently looking for a second everyday car as I have been using my TVR Tuscan way too much over winter and was wondering the pros and cons of a 98 Range Rover V8 with an LPG conversion. It has 80000 miles on the clock and looks in good nick.
What can go wrong with them? Having a TVR I dont want too much hassle from it. It is a manual as well and the asking price is just under 5K.
I havent looked at it yet but what should I look for apart from the obvious?
Many thanks in advance
Has as been said.A potential money pit if you buy the wrong one.Do check the threads.potential problems are manyThis is my first time on the land rover forum and was looking for some help. I am currently looking for a second everyday car as I have been using my TVR Tuscan way too much over winter and was wondering the pros and cons of a 98 Range Rover V8 with an LPG conversion. It has 80000 miles on the clock and looks in good nick.
What can go wrong with them? Having a TVR I dont want too much hassle from it. It is a manual as well and the asking price is just under 5K.
I havent looked at it yet but what should I look for apart from the obvious?
Many thanks in advance
Porus blocks.
E.A.S faults.
HVAC problems.
Door latches.
These are some of many, of the most common problems that affect the P38.Although there are plenty out there.There is also a lot of rope about.Personally i would pay over the odds if i was sure i was getting a mint vehicle.I sold this one last year
It was my own vehicle for nearly 9 years and wanted for nothing.It had a fully stamped service book,and didnt have a single problem.The first person that viewed the car gave me a deposit for the asking price.He didnt even bid me.He said that he had seen loads.And near enough all of them had some problem or another for the price he was prepared to pay.My one had 130,000mls on the clock and i sold it for £6000.
As has been said, not the most reliable thing to ever grace the roads. I lost £9k in 14 months in maintenance and depreciation on my LPG 4.6. I could easily have spent another £6k fixing everything (cracked liner, porous block, cracked flexplate, leaking heater O-rings) but ended up just punting it to auction at a huge loss.
One thing i have found is that leaving one problem unfixed will often lead to causing another. I'm fairly sure that all my problems bar the heater rings were caused by me not fixing a heavy misfire which i now know was the flexplate beginning to break up. General wonky running then sent the fuelling and temperatures way out and did for the whole engine in the end.
Personally i'd go for a 2.5 DSE, but then i've been stung by a bad V8. If you can find one that's recently had a new engine fitted it may well have so called tophat liners which reduce the likelyhood of the block issues.
p.s. Don't believe anyone who says the 4.0 isn't affected by the porous block issues. The 4.0 and 4.6 blocks are identical, the 4.6 has a longer stroke to make the extra .6
p.p.s. try Rangerovers.net for mroe detail on everything.
One thing i have found is that leaving one problem unfixed will often lead to causing another. I'm fairly sure that all my problems bar the heater rings were caused by me not fixing a heavy misfire which i now know was the flexplate beginning to break up. General wonky running then sent the fuelling and temperatures way out and did for the whole engine in the end.
Personally i'd go for a 2.5 DSE, but then i've been stung by a bad V8. If you can find one that's recently had a new engine fitted it may well have so called tophat liners which reduce the likelyhood of the block issues.
p.s. Don't believe anyone who says the 4.0 isn't affected by the porous block issues. The 4.0 and 4.6 blocks are identical, the 4.6 has a longer stroke to make the extra .6
p.p.s. try Rangerovers.net for mroe detail on everything.
Shameless plug for a good 'un
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/364143.htm
Seriously, check everything. They are fabulous cars when they are right and a money pit when they are not.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/364143.htm
Seriously, check everything. They are fabulous cars when they are right and a money pit when they are not.
agent006 said:
YamR1V64motion said:
4.6s can have porous blocks
4.0 is affected too.How true that is, I don't know, but from convesations I had with specialists prior to buying mine, it was reckoned that a 99-01 4.6 was a better buy than a 99-01 4.0
Other things to keep an eye out for is a leaking heater matrix (That's a "dashboard-out" job) and failed blend motors (again, a "dash-out" job)
Damp patches on the carpet on the drivers side footwell is a sign of heater matrix leak.
Rangerovers.net has a comprehensive list of problems and the fixes - well worth spending some time reading.
So far the only problem I have encountered with mine is the "mysterious battery drain" problem (another well-documented issue) - I suspect it will be cured when I disconnect the aerial for the remote keyfob... just got to find the time to do it!
pontypool said:
Meeja do you know what the symptoms of a failed blend motor are?
Only what I have read on Rangerovers.netBook symbol appearing on HeVac unit as soon as ignition key is turned on, along with incoreect air temperatures being pumped into different parts of the cabin
I did see the book symbol at ignition on one prospective purchase - but the car was such a dog that a failed blend motor would have been the least of my worries!
pontypool said:
And sorting the receiver for the alarm takes about 10 minutes... 
So I understand.... I just haven't got around to doing it yet!.... Maybe this weekend!I'm assuming that the battery drain on mine is being caused by the various radio signals where I live - The previous owner had a new battery (decent one) fitted about a year ago, but the car was always garaged, and he lived in the middle of nowhere (mobile phone signals were scarce!)
Since I have had the car, if it is left for more than three or four days, then there is not enough power in the battery to turn the engine over - everything else works, but it is just not possible to start it. If I run it every day, then it's fine, so I am making the assumption that it is all the wireless gadgets around me that are contributing to the problem......
YamR1V64motion said:
thanks for that, explains why it never happened with the Classics or TVR engines, was there a re map they offered for it at any stage when they knew what was causing it?.
LandRover never admitted to it.The problem was found out through third parties.The introduction of the Bosch Thor system on the later 4,s and 4.6,s seamed to stem the problem.I had mine re-mapped when i put the new engine in mine.BLUETHUNDER said:
YamR1V64motion said:
thanks for that, explains why it never happened with the Classics or TVR engines, was there a re map they offered for it at any stage when they knew what was causing it?.
LandRover never admitted to it.The problem was found out through third parties.The introduction of the Bosch Thor system on the later 4,s and 4.6,s seamed to stem the problem.I had mine re-mapped when i put the new engine in mine.i'm sorry but i've heard this so many times and it's just b
ks. It's nothing to do with any "map" problem- the amoutn of extra heat caused by a lean burn can cause the problems to manifest sooner, but are not the CAUSE of the problem. The THOR system most defintely didn't cure the issue and Classics and Trevors also suffer the same problems- you just dont seem them as often as 1. There are less of those vehicles around and
2. They tend not to have done the mileage of the earlier range rovers.
Porosity is also a misnomer- have a look here http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=24559&... for a fairly long discussion about it. If you want to know how to fix the engine properly then have a look here: http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=14006&... (its quite a long one but well worth a read)
pugwash4x4 said:
BLUETHUNDER said:
YamR1V64motion said:
thanks for that, explains why it never happened with the Classics or TVR engines, was there a re map they offered for it at any stage when they knew what was causing it?.
LandRover never admitted to it.The problem was found out through third parties.The introduction of the Bosch Thor system on the later 4,s and 4.6,s seamed to stem the problem.I had mine re-mapped when i put the new engine in mine.i'm sorry but i've heard this so many times and it's just b
ks. It's nothing to do with any "map" problem- the amoutn of extra heat caused by a lean burn can cause the problems to manifest sooner, but are not the CAUSE of the problem. The THOR system most defintely didn't cure the issue and Classics and Trevors also suffer the same problems- you just dont seem them as often as 1. There are less of those vehicles around and
2. They tend not to have done the mileage of the earlier range rovers.
Porosity is also a misnomer- have a look here http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=24559&... for a fairly long discussion about it. If you want to know how to fix the engine properly then have a look here: http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=14006&... (its quite a long one but well worth a read)
BLUETHUNDER said:
pugwash4x4 said:
BLUETHUNDER said:
YamR1V64motion said:
thanks for that, explains why it never happened with the Classics or TVR engines, was there a re map they offered for it at any stage when they knew what was causing it?.
LandRover never admitted to it.The problem was found out through third parties.The introduction of the Bosch Thor system on the later 4,s and 4.6,s seamed to stem the problem.I had mine re-mapped when i put the new engine in mine.i'm sorry but i've heard this so many times and it's just b
ks. It's nothing to do with any "map" problem- the amoutn of extra heat caused by a lean burn can cause the problems to manifest sooner, but are not the CAUSE of the problem. The THOR system most defintely didn't cure the issue and Classics and Trevors also suffer the same problems- you just dont seem them as often as 1. There are less of those vehicles around and
2. They tend not to have done the mileage of the earlier range rovers.
Porosity is also a misnomer- have a look here http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=24559&... for a fairly long discussion about it. If you want to know how to fix the engine properly then have a look here: http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=14006&... (its quite a long one but well worth a read)
I have have had every flavour of engine from Hotwire through to Gems and Thor with the problem. The only type i hvae "never" seen are the mythical blue castings which i have seen a couple of but which never seem to have a problem.
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