P38 Range Rover, errrr...daily.

[MJ85]

Yes.. an old Range Rover as a daily. Silly me.

After the horrendous experience of the previous Range Rover (high mileage L322 TD6), I've gone for a P38A, just for sts and giggles.


eBay bid with 3 seconds to go. Winning price - £2,340.

Spec:

- 2.5 DSE
- BMW M51 2.5 12V turbo diesel, indirect injection, intercooler etc. etc.
- 4 speed auto
- 119k miles
- 4 previous owners
- W, year 2000

Good points

- Replacement, reconditioned gearbox and transfer case 8k miles ago
- Coil spring conversion (not so sure about this one)
- Relatively low miles
- Few upgrades here and there
- Solid Range Rover colour of Epsom Green
Edit... remembered a few more
-4 Michelin tyres
-Recent-ish battery and replacement intercooler
-Two working remotes
-EGR straight pipe

Bad points

- Horrible flat paint on OSF wing (originally a red wing)
- Mismatched headlights, one facelift, one earlier
- Bonnet dented and some flat paint
- Large dent to OSR quarter panel
- Few misc dents
- Fan clutch is too keen to engage
- Loads of little niggles
- It was miles away in Wiltshire

Upon pickup...








Annnnd once arrived home.



Fits nicely.



The car is an interesting comparison to the new L322. It is a fair bit smaller, but that makes it easier to park and manoeuvre.The car has a lot less BMW to it than the L322, but I actually think it makes it feel better quality. It also feels like a car from a different era (a much older one!). Check out these...



Actual screws. Exciting!

The car was put into action for typical RR pursuits...

At the shooting club...



Tennis club...



One is living the dream

Moving on, a few more pictures.







I've set about fixing a few things.

a good service:



Usual lack of regular maintenance.



Headlight replaced with another facelift item.





Really important item, mirror cover was broken, new visor fitted...



One speaker wasn't working, so that has been replaced





Plenty of evidence of a couple of phone kits from the past.





New viscous fan assembly. Haven;'t fitted this one yet.



Changed the diff oil front and rear. Front had been replaced recently with the gearbox and transfer case. The rear on the other hand...






Oh dear. It can't all be good news, I suppose. The oil was emulsified. We shall see how long it lasts.



Plenty more niggles to go, but I am really enjoying the car. The lack of acceleration is noticeable, but I can live with it, try 24 seconds 0-70 MPH...

A good comparison of size against a newish Disco.



I travel around the country for work, so this is actually going to be my daily driver. I always have a spare car though, just in case.

Anyone else driving one of these at the moment? Anything else to watch out for?

Edited by MJ85 on Friday 2nd November 14:33

[MJ85]

Thank you for the messages. And for someone remembering the previous one and its issues!

Here is the acceleration....

https://youtu.be/XL_FTaFVoUw

Another issue appeared tonight, NSF electric window running slow and nearly didn’t close. Also forgot about knackered headlining, so common.

I agree about prices. These aren’t getting any cheaper and could be a good time to jump onboard. The internet makes fault finding, easier. Had to watch the P38 Wheeler Dealers again, just because, although theirs was quite different (petrol, higher spec, issues with EAS... they prioritised tinting the windows...).

I’ll update as I work through various niggles. Happy for any advice as I go along!

[MJ85]

Thank you for the warm wishes, I hope it keeps in line!

Looks like the interior is the fairly rare Walnut (some call it mushroom?!) trim “J”.



This could make sourcing interior bits and pieces, harder.

Not sure what the next piece of work will be. Offside wing mirror only moves one way, one of the arms inside has snapped. Could be that.

I’m tempted to go back to the original Alpine tape player headunit, as the 2006 JVC CD unit is doing nothing for me.

[MJ85]

Liking the anecdotes.

I tend to cruise at around 60 MPH. Nothing exciting.

[MJ85]

First update.

I've put a few miles on the car. Trips to Manchester, Huddersfield, Bradford, Leeds, Peterborough, Kettering, Leicester, Nottingham, Chelmsford, Northampton... you get the idea.




I'm enjoying the car, but the number of issues are really coming to light.

I've just fixed the fan by replacing it with a premium item.



From the quick drive round the block, the previous fan would appear to have been part engaging all the time, not just when it was fully engaged (and sounding like a jet engine). Therefore, this should help acceleration, NVH and MPG. Good.

I have noticed this.



NSR brake fluid leak. Funnily enough, the previous owner very recently had this "fixed" (along with the fan...). Not sure i'm a fan of his fixes!

A less important issue...



Dribbling washer jets.

To summarise things that will need sorting:

- Vibration at speed (through the body, not the wheel)
- Loose feel to steering at around 50 MPH (believe this is the steering damper)
- Oil dripping from boost hose
- Various other things weeping
- Brake fluid leak as mentioned, but will need new rear pads too; contamination
- At certain RPM, a tapping noise, not dissimilar to a leaking exhaust manifold
- Part of the exhaust has had a whack and is about half the diameter it should be at one point
- Someone had disconnected the washers for headlights
- Glovebox damper has failed and the arm had ripped out
- Crappy CD player has started playing up
- HVAC controls have started to have the (common) display issue
- Wing and bonnet need replacing
- Headlining needs replacing
- Offside wing mirror requires replacement as mechanism partly broken
- Nearside window regulator nearly failed
- Rear diff should be replaced, longer term
- Need to finish removing the phone kits, fully
- Various niggles, rattles, bits of trim, dash clock etc.

I'd better get started.

Edited by MJ85 on Wednesday 31st October 16:39

Edited by MJ85 on Wednesday 31st October 17:04

[MJ85]

Good stuff.

[MJ85]

Hehe.

After having an L322, plenty of BMWs and French cars, sorting issues feels normal!

[MJ85]

Jem0911 said:

I am heading for a fall, Just taken the P38 in for a check up and the Local specialist could find no faults.
Even stating how well looked after the bus is.

Now what can be the most expensive thing to break on the M1 on the way home..?

Your spirit! Think positive!

[MJ85]

Ev112 said:

The steering damper is an easy fix, just 2 bolts, sticking in a new bilstein one did wonders for mine (the old one was completely knackered). Fresh dampers all round are also fairly reasonable and make a big difference.

They’re lovely cars, and in my (limited) experience very capable off road and more comfortable than a new Hilux.

Yeah, saw that. Will do it soon. It’s had four new dampers, just before purchase.

[MJ85]

Ha, yeah. Saw that video... !

[MJ85]

Just got back from a decent length "mixed driving" journey today.



Can't say fairer than that for a 2.15 tonne automatic 4x4 with an engine first released in 1990. Only mod is an EGR straight pipe.

She also made some friends.

Edited by MJ85 on Friday 2nd November 14:15

[MJ85]

Usget said:

From your Youtube video it doesn't look as slow as I imagined. It also sounds rather nice for an old diesel!

It's a bit quicker now the viscous fan is sorted.

[MJ85]

300bhp/ton said:

That's good. Although probably not representative of shorter journeys and just trundling about. Probably more like 24-27mpg.

A V8 will do 21-22mpg on a run and be 15-18mpg trundling about. The diesel is more frugal certainly, but probably only worth the savings if you'll be doing more than 4000 miles a year or so. And the V8's are certainly a lot more lively.

Indeed. But i'll be doing 25k a year. Whoops.

Forgot to add, this gives the car a genuine 500+ mile range. Useful.

[MJ85]

The little things...






Very important, you see. The car normally washes and wipes, front and rear, with a touch of a button. When the fluid level is low, it makes you manually do it, to reduce use... clever.

Edited by MJ85 on Friday 2nd November 14:35

[MJ85]

It has salesman’s waffle, but you never know unless you see it in person, I suppose.

I’ve got a bunch of other things to deal with before looking at reverting to EAS. Everything seems to be in place, though.

[MJ85]

• not on air.

[MJ85]

It removes my star against that text. The previous poster meant they haven’t offered a P38 not on air. They all had EAS.

[MJ85]

I'm not sure. I normally have the intention to keep vehicles a long time and then they get moved on quickly. This one is fulfilling everything I need of a vehicle, so I hope for it to last as long as possible.

[MJ85]

If anyone likes to live dangerously, here is one like mine, but on 227k.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...

[MJ85]

Wow. Great price.