P38 Range Rover, errrr...daily.
Discussion
I've owned 4 P38's of which I still have 2. All of them were 4L V8's and one is a manual gearbox. I've owned 7 Range rovers in total and our favourite is our 1998 base model. We've had it about 6 years and it has been ridiculously reliable. We overhauled the air suspension when we bought it to give us a zero mileage, that was 6 years ago and it still works perfectly.
Sadly, too many are not maintained properly and then they get a bad reputation. A properly sorted P38 should have a wonderfully smooth ride that cossets its occupants. Yes, it is a little bit wallowy but that's exactly what a Range Rover should be. I also have an L322 and the ride is very disappointing by comparison.
I would say don't be put off by the mileage on these cars, it is more important that it has received the correct maintenance otherwise buyer beware. A cheap Range Rover will be a money pit, buy the best you can afford.
Sadly, too many are not maintained properly and then they get a bad reputation. A properly sorted P38 should have a wonderfully smooth ride that cossets its occupants. Yes, it is a little bit wallowy but that's exactly what a Range Rover should be. I also have an L322 and the ride is very disappointing by comparison.
I would say don't be put off by the mileage on these cars, it is more important that it has received the correct maintenance otherwise buyer beware. A cheap Range Rover will be a money pit, buy the best you can afford.
MJ85 said:
Thanks for the info on the air suspension. I do think reverting to EAS is worth doing. It does all appear to be there, minus the air shocks, of course. The lean is annoying. What extra stuff is on the driver’s side, other than a driver?
The fuel tank, the battery, the bulk of the transfer box. With air suspension, it just puts a few extra breaths into the driver side. On springs, it ends up doing what a lot of Disco2s do, and sags on one side. I believe there was one company that made a coil spring kit that had spacers for the driver's side, but I have been unable to find it for you. I can't imagine it'd be that difficult to get some machined though, or modify the spacers for a different Land Rover.Unfortunately you wouldn't get any advice on a Range Rover forum because "tHe PuriTy!!!". Some how it is fine to modify every Landy to leave Solihull, but the second it is a P38 Range Rover or newer, the pitch forks come out.
The P38 is probably one of the best bargains out there just now
I bought mine because I'd sold my last Discovery - it was a "sight-unseen" ebay purchase for £205.
Now, I'm 32,000 miles in and the thing hasn't missed a beat - absolutely nothing has gone wrong in that time and it has two "no-advisory" MOT clean-sheets, too
I bought mine because I'd sold my last Discovery - it was a "sight-unseen" ebay purchase for £205.
Now, I'm 32,000 miles in and the thing hasn't missed a beat - absolutely nothing has gone wrong in that time and it has two "no-advisory" MOT clean-sheets, too
I bought mine end of 2012 at 245.000km, now just rolled over 345k. 4.6 Thor.
Had a few niggles, biggest was the brake modulator sticking on every time the traction control came on (which, for some reason, is a lot in a P38). That was fixed with a second-hand modulator a friend had on the shelf.
Served daily duty for many years, oil change every 5k, filter every 10k. Have a different daily now, but the RR still serves for pulling trailers, and playing off-road.
Did a top-end rebuild (new cam, chain and valve stem seals) earlier this year, woke the engine up again. Still have some oil comsumption at high rpm, probably the rings getting a bit tired.
EAS leaks, really should replace the bags, but the Gen IIIs I want are silly money and apparently not very available lately. But it's a really robust system once you get to know it. Swap out the timer relay for a normal 4-pin relay, and you'll disable the self-levelling during the night. Just refit the timer relay when you want to hook it up to the computer.
All in all, it used to be a brilliant daily. And cheap to run on LPG too.
Had a few niggles, biggest was the brake modulator sticking on every time the traction control came on (which, for some reason, is a lot in a P38). That was fixed with a second-hand modulator a friend had on the shelf.
Served daily duty for many years, oil change every 5k, filter every 10k. Have a different daily now, but the RR still serves for pulling trailers, and playing off-road.
Did a top-end rebuild (new cam, chain and valve stem seals) earlier this year, woke the engine up again. Still have some oil comsumption at high rpm, probably the rings getting a bit tired.
EAS leaks, really should replace the bags, but the Gen IIIs I want are silly money and apparently not very available lately. But it's a really robust system once you get to know it. Swap out the timer relay for a normal 4-pin relay, and you'll disable the self-levelling during the night. Just refit the timer relay when you want to hook it up to the computer.
All in all, it used to be a brilliant daily. And cheap to run on LPG too.
Mine was threatening to blot its copy book the other day..... (2.5 DSE) Loss of power and deterioration in starting 'til I found myself avoiding hills! Diagnosed air getting in somewhere so I changed leak off pipes and fuel filter, then cleaned the non return valve before the filter unit and replaced the O rings on the filter elbows for good measure.
Still air bubbles in the fuel line so with the help of Landyzone gurus and our great local indy - 'Promec' - the diagnosis became a faulty lift pump in the tank.
My days of lying in the road, even with the RR's wading ground clearance, are long gone so Promec did the job and her dignity was restored. Never even failed to get me home.
Owning a Range Rover was an itch I have wanted to scratch for years. So far so good but I don't think I would have entertained it without internet support, here and on other sites.
Still air bubbles in the fuel line so with the help of Landyzone gurus and our great local indy - 'Promec' - the diagnosis became a faulty lift pump in the tank.
My days of lying in the road, even with the RR's wading ground clearance, are long gone so Promec did the job and her dignity was restored. Never even failed to get me home.
Owning a Range Rover was an itch I have wanted to scratch for years. So far so good but I don't think I would have entertained it without internet support, here and on other sites.
elbekko said:
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MJ85 - I'm normally a lurker, but enjoy following your thread. Not got a lot to say, but keep up with the updates
I'm sortof tempted by an L322, but it won't be for a few years at the moment!zippyonline said:
Sorry, slight thread hijack - but I just recognised the location of this. Is this Stratford St Mary? https://goo.gl/maps/uMLWh3rGi2r
Haha, looks like it, yeah. We stopped there to have a walk on our way back with that load.Had mine 9 years or so, now kept in a barn and only brought out occasionally. Paint work is poor, the heater matrix has been bypassed and there is various oil leaks but it would have to take something pretty special to replace it.
Good luck and don't lose faith! I'm currently also doing over 20k a year and certainly wouldn't trust my p38. But then my m51 is on nearly 200k..
P.s. the guy with the red vogue with the bespoke interior... I think that is a Bordeaux special edition. Cream leather with red piping and red carpets if I remember rightly?
Good luck and don't lose faith! I'm currently also doing over 20k a year and certainly wouldn't trust my p38. But then my m51 is on nearly 200k..
P.s. the guy with the red vogue with the bespoke interior... I think that is a Bordeaux special edition. Cream leather with red piping and red carpets if I remember rightly?
I bought mine for £900 as a spares or repairs project on eBay in Nov 2010. A '98, 4.0 litre V8, ex-Greater Manchester police motorway patrol car with 205,000 on the clock, a head gasket blowing into the Vee and a burst rear air spring. Got those sorted and started using it only to find all the other niggles that a P38 can suffer. Once they were done, it became my daily driver and still is. It does around 20,000 miles a year, mostly in Europe.
The reason they sit lopsided on coil springs is not only the weight of things like the fuel tank but as the propshafts run down the passenger side, the whole engine is offset to the drivers side. Easier to see on a V8 as it is symmetrical and it is pretty obvious the plenum isn't in the middle of the car. The EAS is what sets it apart from everything else and from the pictures it looks like most of it is still there. Genuine Dunlop air springs are £50 a corner from Island 4x4 and a kit to rebuild the compressor and valve block will set you back another £35 or so. The other thing to be aware of is failing microswitches in the door latches which will cause all sorts of grief with central locking and the alarm immobiliser system.
The engine came out at 287,000 and went to V8 Developments to be rebuilt and everything else, except for a new rear diff from Ashcroft transmissions, is what I consider to be service items. Currently it's showing 369,700 but as it is going to SW France and back next weekend that will be going up. As it's a V8 running on LPG, it's also ULEZ zone exempt in France, Germany, Belgium and Holland too (but not here). The only thing on mine that doesn't work is 85% of the heated windscreen but the only cure for that is a new screen and that will happen when it needs one.
It gets about a bit though, often with a trailer on the back too
In the South of France
Having just got back from the South of France
On a trip to the in-laws
There's also a P38 only forum at rangerovers.pub inhabited by numerous others that also use their cars with a wealth of experience in sorting out their little foibles.
The reason they sit lopsided on coil springs is not only the weight of things like the fuel tank but as the propshafts run down the passenger side, the whole engine is offset to the drivers side. Easier to see on a V8 as it is symmetrical and it is pretty obvious the plenum isn't in the middle of the car. The EAS is what sets it apart from everything else and from the pictures it looks like most of it is still there. Genuine Dunlop air springs are £50 a corner from Island 4x4 and a kit to rebuild the compressor and valve block will set you back another £35 or so. The other thing to be aware of is failing microswitches in the door latches which will cause all sorts of grief with central locking and the alarm immobiliser system.
The engine came out at 287,000 and went to V8 Developments to be rebuilt and everything else, except for a new rear diff from Ashcroft transmissions, is what I consider to be service items. Currently it's showing 369,700 but as it is going to SW France and back next weekend that will be going up. As it's a V8 running on LPG, it's also ULEZ zone exempt in France, Germany, Belgium and Holland too (but not here). The only thing on mine that doesn't work is 85% of the heated windscreen but the only cure for that is a new screen and that will happen when it needs one.
It gets about a bit though, often with a trailer on the back too
In the South of France
Having just got back from the South of France
On a trip to the in-laws
There's also a P38 only forum at rangerovers.pub inhabited by numerous others that also use their cars with a wealth of experience in sorting out their little foibles.
Guido_H said:
Lovely thread and great job. Does anyone have any views on the Japanese import market - I’ve seen quite a few direct in from Japan and wonder if they’re worth the £7-8k asking or if that’s just an expensive way to get a job list on wheels!! Thoughts appreciated.
Little bump for this.Something I too would like to know more about.
The Jap imports are usually very clean, will have been looked and low mileage. They also have a Jap spec radio which, while it looks the same as the unit fitted in a European spec car, has a different radio tuning range and most are the higher spec versions with a DSP amp which makes fitting something aftermarket not simple. However, low mileage isn't everything as there are many parts that will deteriorate with age rather than use so you could end up having to do all the same jobs as you would on a higher mileage car. In fact, on a higher mileage one that has been well cared for, many of those jobs will have been done already. If you are prepared and capable of doing the work yourself, parts are readily available and cheap and they aren't difficult to work on either. Imports are undoubtedly good but I'm not sure they are worth the extra you'd need to pay for one.
A Jap import used to be the cleverest way to get into a decent, quality car for budget money. Back in the day, I bought 2 Pajeros direct from Southampton auctions and encountered no problems at all. Both of them were ten years old, but looked and behaved like 2 year olds. However, the price paid was at least 30% LESS than an equivalent UK spec car. Seriously, my only worry was that I thought there must be a catch to get such amazing cars for such a silly price! Apart from oil and diesel, one battery, 6 tyres, a clutch and 2 sets of brake pads gave me over 10 years motoring between the 2 cars.
What about a Jap P38?..... You have to do your sums. Imagine a budget of, say 5K and you'll find a stunning UK car if you look around. But if you can't be bothered with all that, then a Jap import is tempting for sure.
What about a Jap P38?..... You have to do your sums. Imagine a budget of, say 5K and you'll find a stunning UK car if you look around. But if you can't be bothered with all that, then a Jap import is tempting for sure.
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