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Rear bumper - advice or hot tips

Hi folks,
A while ago, when I had my rear bumper off I remember seeing that the metal frame looked really terrible and crispy. The bits where the bumper actually hangs onto the chassis at the back were definitely wafer-thin and “touch and go”. I’ve been paranoid ever since that any slight tap and the whole thing will crash to the ground. Living on borrowed time is how I see it, so I’ve been keeping my eyes open.

A week or so ago I saw a replacement listed on eBay, by a seller I’ve used before, with the plastic described as ‘wavy’ but the steel in very good condition so I ordered that. He wasn’t lying - apart from a bit of light surface rust, the metal is very solid indeed.

This afternoon I persuaded the metal and plastic to part company. I wasn’t too brutal, as I was trying to learn/figure out how I would do the same with my own one so as to combine the good metal from the eBay one, with the good plastic from mine, so I was trying to get the plastic cover off ‘gently’. Predictably the 4 brass nutserts bonded into the plastic at the sides of the bumper (under the body colour trim) just spun around, so I had to get a hacksaw blade in there and saw through the bolts.

Then I had to prise the plastic and steel apart so that I could get the same hacksaw blade in between metal and plastic to cut through the adhesive/bonding agent used. Finally a pry bar and some wooden wedges to ease plastic and metal apart and the job was done - plastic in useable condition had I wanted to; metal in good enough nick that with a bit of care and treatment it would probably see me out. Galvanising would maybe be over the top, but possibly worth thinking about if I could add other stuff to make up the minimum weight. I just don’t know enough about how the galv would cope in that sort of location.

Anyway it’ll be a couple of months before I have the RR into the garage to tackle the long-ish list of jobs I’d like to tackle, so I thought I’d ask if anyone else had dealt with this, and whether there were any specific things to do/avoid or workarounds that I might need.

(For example, for the 4 brass nutserts where the metal side panels are bolted to the plastic - under the body coloured trim -I can’t see any reason why I wouldn’t just drill straight through these and then use a stainless countersunk head machine screw and a nyloc nut in this location. Or a socket head cap screw with a low profile head. I know what I mean, even if I have it described it too well!)

But any advice / hints very gratefully received. Thanks.



Distribution motor oddity.

I've had no book symbol up for a month or two now after changing the pot on the rhs blend. Last two mornings have flagged the book up after the self test and it defaults to screen only which makes sense from a safety point I guess, I cannot change air direction.
However, after the brief journey to work and starting her up again a few hours later when coming home....no book symbol and everything is well again.
Why would a fault exist first start every morning but not on the 2nd ,3rd,4th etc of that day? Ambient temp is fairly constant so heater box 'tightness' being my first thought, seems unlikely.



Boating

Sorry this isn't Rangerover related.

I saw Miles (Morat) yesterday and mentioned I might be posting another video of my boat on LPGforum, he suggested I post the link on this forum too.

My daughter driving the boat last weekend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGK1YDzSpVQ



Gearbox cooling fan comes on when plugging in the nano.

Never used to do this but now it does, engine not running, checking blend motors with the nano and that fan runs continuously while I'm plugged in.
Weird. It's not the ac fan. No faults logged, in fact, for the first time in 3 yrs ownership EVERYTHING works as it should lol! Just curious as it's never done it before.



Air conditioning drains (again!)

I've had a recurring problem for years where I get icy water dribbling into the passenger footwell (RHD). Condensation accumulates on the A/C evaporator & is collected by a drip tray. This drip tray has a spigot at each end to which a rubber drain is attached thence disappearing through the floor to drip out on the road. At leasts that's the theory. These drains have a tendency to get blocked with leaves & crud from the roads. Normally you wriggle under the car & poke a screwdriver or piece of stiff wire into the bottom of the drain & get rewarded with a wet sleeve as the drain is cleared. I previously cleared the drains but with the humid & very hot weather we have been having recently it's started dripping icy water again.

I removed the bits of trim on either side so I could see to disconnect the rubber drain tubes that attach to the spigots at the bottom of the drip tray. I didn't have any suitable wire so was very grateful to my wife who suggested using some of that wire that is normally used to hang net curtains. She even found some in the French DIY store that we visited. The spring wire is perfect as it's flexible but stiff enough to easily push down through the drain tube until it was visible under the car. I hardly needed to scrabble under the car to confirm the drain was patent.

The rubber tube that connects to the spigot is corrugated & I it looks like both tubes have a hole in them but on the upper surface so probably not responsible for the icy water in the footwell. It only happens on the hottest most humid days when the A/C is working hard & presumably lots of condensation is collecting on the evaporator. It's possible that the rubber tubes had been kinked so impeding water flow which in turn means the water backs up in the drip tray & then spills over into the heater box. I have reattached them & as far as I can see they are not kinked so any water from the drip tray should run freely out down through the drains.

I will see how I get on now that I know for sure that the drains are clear & that the rubber tubes reattached to the spigots so there should be clear flow. The problem is that as it's only on the hottest most humid days when the A/C is working hard that the problem occurs the rest of the time I have no idea whether I have fixed the problem or whether it's just not hot &/or humid enough that sufficient condensation collects on the evaporator to start dripping into the cabin.

I would be grateful for any suggestions.



Blend motor short to positive?

At least I think that's what the nano said. Right hand blend motor on a friends 38 btw, forced it with nano and the percentages don't alter but fine testing the left hand blend at all percentages. We can hear the motor working though on both. Removing it and testing the motor with a 9v battery and all is good, no gears stripped either.
The board looks good too and as the nano doesn't give a potometer fault I'm assuming that is good. The cable going to the multiplug on the back of the hvac looks perfect too. He does have a spare set of unknown motors complete off a scrapper which we will fit later today(just the one, cut, solder, shrink wrap). Hopefully that will fix it and get the book off unless there is something we have overlooked! We are both a bit green on 38s but learning slowly lol!



Disco Thor runs better with MAF disconnected

Just had a Disco with Thor engine here, modified for off road use and the owner says he's won a few competitions with it. LPG converted (Prins) and was running slightly better on LPG than on petrol but on either fuel it was idling rough (as though it had a big cam in it), though the owner said he'd rebuilt the engine and it only has a standard cam. The two OBD error codes pointed to both front lambda sensors failed and lambda readings for both banks were full lean but I found when I blipped the throttle the lambda readings momentarily went rich as they should, which pointed to maybe the the lambda sensors (at least signal) showing actual mixture so the mixture actually lean. It was looking as though 2 failed lambda sensor heaters were causing the rough idle but when I unplugged the MAF and restarted the engine it ran perfectly, correct mixture on both banks and lambda readings flicking like they should.. It runs a lot better with the MAF unplugged but I warned the owner it might refuse to start, or start then refuse to run, or if it runs OK at light engine loads it might still not run OK under heavier loads. I asked him if the ECU had been modified, he said not. He's going to fit a new MAF, see how it runs with that fitted and maybe new lambda probes if it runs better with the new MAF but codes pointing to lambda's still reoccur.

Any other thoughts on it running better with the Maf unplugged?

As usual when I see a Disco / Rangerover I pointed the owner to this forum



Irregular brake wear

The other day my RR failed its MOT due to one of the rear pads (left outer) being worn down to 1.5mm...all the others were 7/8mm. I completely re-did the rear brakes, changed the discs, replaced the pads, and cleaned the whole lot up. The only other thing i found is that one of the right hand carrier guide pins was fairly well seized... So what do we think happened? does all the pressure go to the LH rear because the circuit senses that the RH is seized. Why would only one pad - the LH outer be worn so badly, while the LH inner ie piston side was hardly worn at all ?



Height Sensors

Quick question - are any of the aftermarket suspension height sensors 'any good'? Recommendations?



Got to be worth a trip?

Does anyone fancy a go at this? It seems that for the price of fitting a new driver's door handle you could have another P38 for £1
(plus the cost of fixing all the other bits they're not telling you about lol)

https://ebay.us/m/ZtVNLA



Taillights reporting as out. Not out.....

Got a new one on the '99
Last night, I went for a drive and within about 30 seconds of setting out, with lights on, I got 3 messages:
RH Tail Bulb out, LH Tail Bulb out, License plate lamp bulb out.
Upon inspection, all 3 lights were merrily shining away. Shut off and upon re starting, got the same thing.
I have checked RAVE thinking it was possibly an earth issue. Found that they do not share a common Earth point, so non starter there.
Any clues as to where I look from here?



Which exhaust front pipes for a 4.0L? Part number confusion...

Hi guys,
Well, I've dropped in a few times over the last while to find answers to various things, but otherwise not been around for a while.

On the big plus side, the RR is still just trucking on. It's been more-or-less my daily driver for the last couple of years and just keeps on doing its thing. I know I'm asking for trouble in saying that....

Just passed it's MOT last week with 2 or 3 advisories - one of which was the exhaust having a mild leak. I also know that my front CATs are knackered (but at least they're quietly knackered, and not making that horrible tin-can noise any longer..) I've also grown too tired of the howling and roaring caused by the previous owner's centre silencer delete.

So it's new exhaust time, or at very least the front pipes and centre silencer. The problem is I find various part numbers for the down pipes. My VIN is A448*** and I get WCD105350, WCD105360, WCD000860.... and I can't readily see any difference. They all seem to say they're OK for a 4.0L V8 with CATs.

Can anyone point me in the right direction please? If there are any pitfalls/obstacles to doing this job I'd also appreciate a 'heads up' - I've seen some references to a gearbox cross member?

Any help and advice gratefully appreciated as always.

Ta.
Donald



Recirculation motor problem: RESOLVED!

Having fixed the issues on the RT side with distribution motor, I have turned my attention to the LH side distribution flap motor.
Nano shows error as "Motor short circuit to 12 volt positive"
The motor moves the flap just fine from recirc to fresh.
I have unplugged the motor and substituted in a blend motor with a good drive. Works fine. Same error.
I found the 2 wires at the HVAC head unit plug and snipped them and attached motor directly to the plug.
Same error.
I have swapped in 2 different known good, tested working head units and same error.
What am I missing? Nothing in that circuit is shorted to positive anywhere???!



Before I go and do something I will regret.....Glovebox issue

Well, it's not so much an "Issue" as a real boneheaded maneuver.
I was replacing the diversion blend motor on the RH side of my LH drive '99. went well, and no more checkbook.
Having done the heater core on my 02, I was just breezing away putting everything back together, because I knew what I was about!
Replaced glove box fascia, having smoothly clipped in the cable release cassette........Without checking to be sure it was engaged....OOPs
Put in hinge fasteners and attempted to open the glovebox. Yea, Right! Latched, and the cable is not engaged.
So, what is the approved procedure for extricating myself from this??? Non destructively preferred.
I suppose it is the same as if the cable broke at the latch??
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
Cheers!!

Edit...An hour later......
Had something to eat (And Drink!) and had another look.
I am guessing that if I use my super shallow ratcheting screwdriver, I will be able to remove at least the screws along the top of the
piece that holds the top in. Then attempt to either re seat the cassette or jigger the release with picks?
Fortunately, the aforementioned ratchet driver is in the tool kit on boat, so my only option tonight is another G&T.....
Any refinements cheerfully welcome!



Water hose bulging

Whilst diagnosing another issue with our 2001 P38 I noticed that the water hose than runs up and over the top of the alternator belt and into top of radiator had an unusual bugle to it. It was adding about 15% to the diameter of the rest of hose. I turned engine off and slowly opened the expansion tank cap and the affected area of hose decreased to its normal size. Engine cluster temp gauge rads 12 o’clock position and an infrared temp reader shows constant temp along hose from engine to top of radiator. This section of hose appears to be full of air, however, the small hose from top of radiator shows a constant flow of water when engine is hot.
I’m assuming that this is not a normal condition but am reluctant to change a hose just for the sake of changing a hose. I followed the manual for bleeding the air when I installed this hose two years ago.
Thoughts?



Starter starting not to start

Starting (pardon the pun) to get intermittent start faults with 2001 P38. After driving a few times and a quick stop of say 5 minutes, when I turn key to start I get a “click, click, click” sound and no turnover. This will happen about another 4 or 5 times during start attempts and then the vehicle will start. Has happened 3 times over past 10 start attempts.
I’m leaning on replacing the starter. Vehicle has 151,000 miles and the original starter. Ground and positive cables all look good and power is getting to starter. Difficult to replicate the issue when underneath ……

Anyone have this problem in past?

Thanks in advance



Weird braking problem

I'm aware that one of the symptoms of the broken plastic washers in a GEMS ABS modulator is a 'clicky' brake pedal. Now for years my brake pedal squeaked whenever I applied the brakes but a few years ago that stopped and was replaced with a 'clicky' feel. As the braking performance hadn't changed, I put that down to a bit of wear on the pivot between the pedal and the pushrod rather than anything more serious.

Last weekend I drove to Amsterdam and back and experienced strange behaviour. I filled up with LPG in Belgium, then drove to Calais and the first time I applied the brakes the pedal went down much further than normal but coming off the pedal and re-applying the brakes, all was back to normal. Considering I'd just driven 120 miles at a steady 70-75mph without touching the brakes at all, this suggests to me that maybe the O rings inside the modulator are starting to weep slightly. I'm never going to be able to replicate the problem in this country (driving 20 miles without touching the brakes is considered a good run), so could just leave it but I think a modulator replacement is on the cards in the near future.



workshop manual

would anyone know or where I could download a workshop manual for a 2010 Discovery 4 tdv6 ?
like the rave one for the p38 as always handy to have one



Glovebox help!!

Removed dash, and all associated, in order to replace both blower and blend motors.
Putting it all back together and I’ll be damned but I can’t find the 2 “plates” that are used at the bottom of glovebox to secure it to the vehicle. Can’t find the screws either. Got the upper three but lower set is missing. 2 days later I thought I’d ask here if anyone has a spare set hanging around in a jam jar somewhere that they would sell?
Thanks



Hello

Hi all, just joined up as looks like I am getting my old P38 back after 7 years in another owner hands. Going to be good to be back in a P38.