P38 buyers guide

[dingg]

hi all

looking to buy an lpg converted P38 , is there any guide anywhere on the net?

basically just need an idea of what to look out for, usual faults etc,

thanks in advance

[Meeja]

http://www.rangerovers.net/newrremedies.htm

A very good resource for P38s.

The biggie to watch out for is the slipped liner/pourous block problem. Well documented.

Any signs of overheating or losing coolant then walk away and find another.

Don't dismiss unconverted cars if you can find a good one, but budget another £2k-£2.5k for a decent conversion.

Air suspension - ensure that it rises and falls quickly and smoothly. Listen for a noisy compressor (sits at the back of the engine bay on the passenger side) - a compressor running constantly could indicate a leak in the system somewhere - not necessarily a nightmare, but an overworked compressor may mean you need to replace it at some point.

Oil leaks (they all leak!) but when I was looking (and I looked for over nine months before buying) I found some that leaked oil as fast as you could put it in!

Leaking heater core - damp patch on the carpet in the drivers footwell is a tell-tale sign, caused by the "o" rings failing where the pipework comes through the bulkhead into the heater core - it is a dash-out job to replace two tuppence O rings.

Thoroughly test the blend motors on the HeVac (Heating and Ventilation control) which is situated below the radio on the centre dash. The blend motors determine which air vents will get air pumped through them - they are stepper motors, and they can stick and fail - again, a dash-out job.

Basically, get the HeVac to blow air out of all vents in turn, if the blend motors are sticking or failing, then the air won't blow out where it is supposed to in a timely manner - usually resulting in the Cash Machine symbol to appear on the HeVac display. (It looks like a book symbol with an exclamation mark next to it) - usually when it displays the fault is expensive (not always though!)

On older cars watch out for battery drain - again, well documented on RangeRovers.net but the design of the cars security system and remote locking causes the battery to flatten if not driven for a couple of days. The fix is an ugraded reciever from Land Rover - about £140 to replace (and it takes about two minutes!)

Edited by Meeja on Thursday 7th August 14:08

[dingg]

cheers meeja

good link , I have a chimaera for my sins so most of the engine probs will be the same, I think I'm just a glutton for punishment lol .

Do you have any experience of the suspension being changed for springs/dampers rather than the pump up job ie how the handling is with the mod.

tia

[BLUETHUNDER]

dingg said:

cheers meeja

good link , I have a chimaera for my sins so most of the engine probs will be the same, I think I'm just a glutton for punishment lol .

Do you have any experience of the suspension being changed for springs/dampers rather than the pump up job ie how the handling is with the mod.

tia

I wouldnt go with the suspension change.You will be taking away one of the major plus of the P38.When working right its better than standard coils.Plus you notice the difference on the motorway,with air over coils.

[Meeja]

BLUETHUNDER said:

dingg said:

cheers meeja

good link , I have a chimaera for my sins so most of the engine probs will be the same, I think I'm just a glutton for punishment lol .

Do you have any experience of the suspension being changed for springs/dampers rather than the pump up job ie how the handling is with the mod.

tia

I wouldnt go with the suspension change.You will be taking away one of the major plus of the P38.When working right its better than standard coils.Plus you notice the difference on the motorway,with air over coils.

When the air suspension works, it works well. Good maintenance I believe is the key - The only problem mine had was a badly fitted replacement air spring - which caused the car to drop down to the bump stops at the OSR. Air spring refitted properly by my Indy at a relatively cheap cost. No problems since.

Plus if you do choose to go down the RR ownership route, get yourself a good independant who knows the cars well to do your servicing/repairs. From my experience they are far, far superior to main dealers.

Edited by Meeja on Thursday 7th August 16:35

[David Beer]

the battery drain is easily fixed by removing the aerial for the alarm, just means you have to be close to use tthe fob. Air suspension fault can be a pain, I gave 1600 to resolve it, they didn't and made my own controller.

[Meeja]

David Beer said:

the battery drain is easily fixed by removing the aerial for the alarm, just means you have to be close to use tthe fob.

Unfortunately, that didn't solve mine.

Replacement reciever and no problems since - car has since been sat for 10 days untouched once in the same location that gave battery drain - and battery fully healthy next time it is started up.

[shentodj]

Can you give more details of the Alarm reciever fix: part number etc?

Thanks,
Shentodj

[Meeja]

shentodj said:

Can you give more details of the Alarm reciever fix: part number etc?

Thanks,
Shentodj

Lifted from the Range Rovers.net site:

RangeRovers.net said:

In December 1996 a Technical Service Bulletin was issued acknowledging the remote handset was subject to being activated by static electricity. A new replacement part for the remote handset, STC3637 was announced. The system was still subject to interference from power lines and other vehicles' remotes powering up the BeCM periodically, so another modification was introduced in November 2002 (UK vehicles) after production of the 4.0/4.6 had long since ceased, a new RF receiver (part number YWY500010)

Can't vouch for the validity of that part number (That site is primarily US based, but much of the UK related data on there is pretty accurate usually), but may be worth a shot.

The part is located in the boot space, behind the rear offside seat - if you remove the covers (where the DVD player is usually fitted, and the GPS system if SatNav is installed) you will find the reciever just behind where the seat belt reel is mounted.

Edited by Meeja on Saturday 16th August 20:43