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The only place for a coil spring is up Zebedee's arse
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Too late, Morat spotted it already and posted a link to it. No, I'll leave that one to someone else. MoT fail points are pretty insignificant, it's the chequebook on the HEVAC, the Impco LPG system (bloody expensive for bits if it needs any) and all the other things it will need that would take the time. I'll only buy one that I'd actually want to keep and that one just doesn't do anything for me for some reason.

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Gilbertd wrote:

....or the sound made by an Audi RS, a V8 Vantage or an AMG Merc and they really can't compare.

and they stink The VAG TDI ones seem worse, Try sitting on a motorcycle in traffic with the exhaust fumes from one of them wafting up inside your crash helmet and you'll know what I mean......

The AMG soundtrack can only be likened to pornography, though. A couple of years ago I was overtaken on some forest roads by an E63. Twice. He was clearly just hooning around - and why not with that spectacular sound and power.

The smell is annoying. Seems to be improved on new cars though too - but then you end up with DPFs or piss injection to deal with particulates and it is just another thing that can and does go wrong.

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Gilbertd wrote:

That's the one I've got going spare...... Simple enough to change just one of them too.

Mind if I make another evening visit for a parts collection?

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No problem, just let me know when.

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Is tonight OK?

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Thought you'd forgotten when I got home and saw it was still there, then noticed most of it was still there except the white nylon bit was missing.

Anyway, tonight's update (after getting home from attacking Mother's garden with petrol powered machinery). Postman delivered a sunroof motor this morning so I went out there to fit it. First off it did nothing when connected to the dangling plug and the button pressed. Then realised I had told the BeCM that it didn't have a sunroof to stop it whinging at me that it wasn't set. Enabled it and had another go. Motor turned when I pressed the button so attempted to fit it. To start with it wouldn't slot into place as the cables had moved and the ends that fit into slots in the motor housing didn't line up. Adjusted them so it slotted in then found that the supplied fixing screws were thinner than the holes they were supposed to fit in. Eventually found some screws that were a) thin enough to go through the mountings and b) thick enough to bite in the holes they should go in. Motor fitted and time for a test It made all the right grunting noises but then stopped. Sunroof didn't move not even with a bit of assistance, so it looks like it has got to come out so I can see what has jammed the mechanism. Good job took notice when Marty was whipping them out at Summer Camp.

Which reminds me. My set of Torx bits is complete, the only thing is, the T20 bit is longer than all the others. So someone has a short T20 in their set.....

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Gilbertd wrote:

Which reminds me. My set of Torx bits is complete, the only thing is, the T20 bit is longer than all the others. So someone has a short T20 in their set.....


I've got a short T20 in my set, but I'm pretty sure it's the original that Smiler tied a knot in to make it shorter. I'll check tomorrow.

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About time for an update. Passenger blend motor was playing up and bringing on the book symbol so I got stuck in to that. I'd got a spare that I'd changed on mine and then found that the motor tab had come unsolderd from the circuit board so I'd repaired that and put it on the shelf in case I ever needed it. Tried that one but still had the book and a RH blend motor potentiometer error on the Nano. Now this was the LH one that wasn't working and I could see that from the live data. Put it down to one of the little quirks of the Nano in reporting the fault on the wrong side. Checked the pot and it all seemed fine but I was still getting the error, so checked the one I'd taken off. That also had a broken solder joint on the motor, repaired that but it still didn't work. So bought a warranted one from Furness on the bay of E's. Connected that one up and still had the same error. Pulled the HEVAC out of the SE and put that in instead. Now the one in the Ascot is the early one that would have been fitted when it was new. The SE should also have the early one but it's obviously been changed at some point as it was the later version. This one showed the fault on the correct side but the fault was still there. Then it clicked. I'd been using the Nano to calibrate the blend motor before fitting it and, despite there being internal stops to limit the travel, they still allow it to move further than it will when in use so it was flagging and over range error. Fitted it, calibrated it, all fine. Swapped the original HEVAC back in and that was fine too. Put the dash back together.

Time to look at the sunroof. It did nothing other than cause the dash to tell me that the sunroof wasn't set. Had a look at the motor and found there wasn't one..... Got a replacement motor, fitted that and, although the motor made all the right noises, nothing moved. Off with the roof panel and found that the bits of plastic runner that the cables attach to were in two pieces. Ended up buying this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sunroof-Guide-Rail-Kit-Right-and-Left-Side-for-Land-Rover-and-Range-Rover/272216409213. Obviously 3D printed but looked right. Started on the LH rail and only replaced the broken bit, retaining the unbroken original parts. Found the bits needed an awful lot of fettling and filing before I got them to slide smoothly in the runner. Then took the RH rail out and started on that one. This was in a worse state and part of the original mechanism was missing so had to use more of the replacement parts. Only problem is that the parts are joined together with steel pins and the kit didn't include them. Spent hours in the garage trying find something of the right size and failing until I looked at a nail in the wall, measured it and found it was the perfect diameter. Much fettling and filing later and the RH rail was sliding smoothly too. Got it all back together and the cables attached and it seemed to work fine without the glass. The motor sounded to be working pretty hard but as I've never owned a P38 with a sunroof before, thought this was probably normal. Fitted the glass and it worked! Had to do a bit of fiddling with the adjustment but got it right in the end. Excellent I thought. Until this morning......

Got in it to move it and it still said Sunroof Not Set so figured I'd set it. Hit the button, the rear of the roof lowered and it started to slowly move backwards. Then there was a crack, a lump of broken plastic ricocheted off the top of my head and it didn't move any more. So, after £30 and 4 evenings worth of fiddling and fettling it looks like I'll be buying a compete unit and fitting that then. Which means the headlining shell has got to be dropped so I might as well retrim that while it's out too........

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oh dear. You could close the shade and pretend you still don't have a sunroof!

You reckon the old mechanism was buggered to start with then?

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You don't need to drop the headlining to get the sunroof bits out. If/when you have a replacement unit, then just remove the whole runner units complete, and swap them over.

But if you're doing the headlining anyway, then it might be easier to just swap the whole thing.

So maybe worth avoiding the cheap runner replacements?

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bpsm, what are you doing on here? You should be on honeymoon? But yes, the old mechanism was well buggered. The mounting holes for the motor were stripped so I had to find some bigger screws to bolt it in securely and the bit that holds the back of the panel up so it fits in the hole were broken so someone had put a couple of self tappers in for it to rest on. No telling what else is wrong with it so rather than just swap the runners it makes sense to drop the headlining and fit a complete, known working, unit like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RANGE-ROVER-P38-2-5-4-0-4-6-COMPLETE-SUNROOF-CARTRIDGE-MECHANISM-94-02-/162592761016. He's got two or three of them but it will involve a run to Lowestoft to pick it up.

Not sure if the failure was a result of the parts or that something else is not right in the rest of it but I wouldn't go down that route again.

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Picked up the complete sunroof assembly yesterday but that's still in the back of my car at the moment. But working on the principle that I don't need a working sunroof for the MoT, dropped it in this morning. I got the LPG system working a week or so ago and as far as I could see, there was nothing else it might fail on. I was right. Passed with two advisories, engine oil leak (not dripping on the workshop floor but very wet around the front of the engine) and he wouldn't accept the explanation that it was Land Rovers patented chassis lubrication system and middle exhaust hanger rubber deteriorated (slight split but still supporting the exhaust). That's it, now just need to fit the new sunroof, re-trim the headlining (may as well do the job properly if it's coming out) and a couple of other minor cosmetic bits and it'll be ready to go. Radio doesn't work (lights up but does nothing more) so as it's the HK system (but pre-DSP thankfully) I'd rather leave it as standard but with the line in mod so that will be going into Clarion to be refurbed.

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Nice one. Soon be destined for sale then?

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Resoldering the big SMD resistor didn't help it then?

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Nope, symptoms are different though. Switch it on and the display lights up but shows nothing (in fact, it looks like the LCD display has leaked) and no sound whatsoever, not even a click from powering it up. I've been over it with an LED light and jewellers eye glass looking for any dry joints and found nothing so as the cost of sending it to Clarion is less than a worker from eBay, I might as well do that. I've got a Pioneer DAB unit that I could put in it but that would involve making up the attenuators as it has door amps in it and would lose the steering wheel controls so original would be better.

From your thread on the oil pressure relief valve O ring leak, I suspect that's where this one is leaking from too. Very wet around the front of the engine with a drip hanging off the underside of the filter. Looking at the MoT history for it, oil leak from the front of the engine has been an advisory for at least the last 5 years.

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Gilbertd wrote:

Nope, symptoms are different though. Switch it on and the display lights up but shows nothing (in fact, it looks like the LCD display has leaked) and no sound whatsoever, not even a click from powering it up. I've been over it with an LED light and jewellers eye glass looking for any dry joints and found nothing so as the cost of sending it to Clarion is less than a worker from eBay, I might as well do that. I've got a Pioneer DAB unit that I could put in it but that would involve making up the attenuators as it has door amps in it and would lose the steering wheel controls so original would be better.

From your thread on the oil pressure relief valve O ring leak, I suspect that's where this one is leaking from too. Very wet around the front of the engine with a drip hanging off the underside of the filter. Looking at the MoT history for it, oil leak from the front of the engine has been an advisory for at least the last 5 years.

That same leak (where it runs down the filter) on mine was the oil pressure switch. was hard to determine exactly where it was coming from as the entire area had become covered in oil (think the PO either didn't notice it or just kept topping up the oil)

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Annoyingly I'd done the oil pressure switch a few days before (glovebox spare in a CX!) thiniking that was the problem, and if I'd had the O-rings I'd have replaced them at the time since all the same bits have to come off :-)