Yes, I'm sure the Becm needs to be powered up.
I got even luckier as someone had pulled all but 4 of the small fuses and had left only one maxi in the under bonnet fuse box. Just enough apparently.
I will have to add a few Maxie's to my kit as pulling all the fuses is common.
Even luckier, even though the passenger side foot well cover was hanging out of the door by the Obd port wires, they were still connected!
P-38s are a bit thin on the ground lately, but if you are in the San Francisco bay area, there always seems to be a couple around. Sadly that's 12 hours drive from my place now.

Aloha,
Over the years I have seen some nice and not so nice P-38s at wrecking yards.
The one thing the breakers don't know is the mileage of the Rangies.
If you happen to have a Nanocom and a suitable battery, you can not only determine the mileage, but also test the stereo / amps
and unlock the doors, tailgate, and lift hatch without destroying anything. And without the key.
I recently had amazing luck reading the mileage on an 99 that had the dashboard and all the electrics therin
removed by what appeared to be a dull shark! A total shambles.
As I wanted the rear diff, I wanted the mileage, so using an 18v Makita cordless tool battery and a set of leads and clips to fit,
I gave it a try. To my astonishment, it lit up and I was able to read the information.
Just clip an 12-18v battery to the battery leads and fingers crossed, it will play!

I have tracked down an noise I have been hearing lately to the rear axle.
Upon draining the oil from the rear diff, I found it to be the color and consistency of milk chocolate pudding.
Not a good look for gear oil. Obviously water got in there, which is a real mystery to me as I have not been wading at all
since the last time i serviced the rear end. Vent tube is in place and routed properly as well
Be that as it may, I believe the diff to be stuffed!
I was able to get a decent used diff from the local breakers with 174k miles on it.
Rather than just drop it in, I was planning to replace the outer bearings as well since they share the nice wet lube oil......
Question is, How are the bearings best removed? Rave does not seem to get into the actual rear axle other than R&R diff assy.
Are they as difficult to press in and out as the fronts?
Any hints and tricks for doing this greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Tom

The larger Thomas compressor was USD$322.00
A bit less than the "Dunlop" branded ones, and USA made. A significant improvement in output as well.
Be nice if it was also serviceable. I am looking for equivalent parts for that.

I was using Paul's diagrams as I can get them on my tablet, in the shed. I just worked out how to get Rave to
work on the tablet this morning.....
In any case, I pulled out the valve body and swapped the diaphragm for the spare I had. It was a bit of a loose fit
but looked good.
Installed, and aired it up using the Schrader valve I long ago replaced the drain plug in the tank with, and shop air supply.
Fired it up, and closed the doors awaiting the magic rise. It rose alright, The Left side came right up, the Right
side did nothing at all. After a minute, as the left side had not moved, it decided it must be high centered, so it activated the "Extra high" function. A VERY bad look!
Pulled the block again to see what I did wrong. All looked fine. Tried again, same thing. Cleaned all the connectors
Back in, same thing.
Figuring the only thing left was the driver pack, I swapped it for a spare.
It now stays up on all corners and the tank does not leak down overnight. (How cool is that!?)
I will try the pin tightening procedure on the pack I removed as that is a known fault 20+ years on.
Next time I have it on the bench, I will swap NRV1 as a preventative measure.
The positive take away from removing and replacing the valve body 6 times in an afternoon, is I can do it in about 5 minutes. Now, with luck, I will not need my newly acquired skills anytime soon.
Thanks!
Tom

davew wrote:

Bolt: Sounds like bags of fun...!
Ok, If the hissing you hear is 'from the exhaust silencer' (the tank) then yes that does point at the diaphragm (again) of course. And what happens (overnight ?) if you pull out the EAS relay (under seat) and inhibit the sysyem/compressor ?

Dave,
with the relay removed (4 pin in it's place) The 4 corners stay up as expected.
Tank empties overnight.
It stopped raining, so it's block out today and new diaphragm.

OK, Thanks!
The block I rebuilt was an unknown one I acquired along the way from somewhere.
So, if the diaphragm is dodgy, it will allow air from the tank to escape through the exhaust?
I was trying to figure out the path it was taking.
Are the NRV's involved at all in this scenario?
I do have a very nice supple disc here I will use.

Aloha,
I have been doing battle with EAS gremlins.
Rt front would randomly go down sometimes in 15 min, sometimes not at all. For days.
Figured it as time to rebuild the valve block, so I got the kit and pulled one from my shelf, and did a clean rebuild.
Same issue. Exactly.
I had already done the soapy water test on the bag, but as I had a good spare, I replaced it.
Found that the old one, when inflated and soaped on the bench was a sieve!
Well, good. Job done. Not!
This one went down as well.
Grabbed my other spare front bag and Tested at 50 PSI for 4 days and no leaks on the bench.
Put it in. Same issue.
Had to go see the folks so did a 2500 mile round trip down south.
Problem persisted, but made the trip just fine.
As these were 14 year old Arnotts Gen II I contacted them and they sent me a pair of gen III bags under warranty as they no
longer make Gen II. They honored the fact that when I bought them in 2010, the warranty was unconditional.
Nice new bags for the front. Billet aluminum instead of plastic for the base. FREE!
Put them on, and guess what? Same issue.
SO, I changed the solenoid valve for the RT front bag for another good spare. Problem solved!
New issue, and the real reason for the post is that when the compressor shuts off, and I stop the engine, I hear a LOT of air hissing from the exhaust silencer. Not from the bags, from the tank. Let it sit overnight and it stayed up, but tank was empty.
Swapped the diaphragm valve and same issue.
Gotta be coming from the diaphragm I guess, but cannot see how it is getting there with the system off. Disc looked fine when I did
the rebuild, and it was not leaking like this prior to my trip
I have been staring at Paul P-38's diagrams for a while and am now cross eyed.
Any insights would be greatly appreciated.
Going to pull out the block again and replace the diaphragm, I guess.

Update:
Installed the Thomas. A bit Larger as expected, so the lid does not quite fit.
A LOT more air though, so satisfactory.
Unless a verifiably good quality replacement shows up, I will probably do it again to the HSK.
A bit disappointing though as Thomas does not offer a piston kit for this compressor.
They said they should last many years.....Yea? so what, I want to rebuild, not replace!
Has anyone been able to find a service kit that fits?

Well, That's basically what I have been doing since Day 1 and on through all 6 P-38s that I have had.
Now, I am dealing with commutators that are knackered and cannot be cleaned up any further.
I am afraid that any used one may have the same issues......
PaulP38's page has a Thomas retrofit. Seems like a fair swap, and about the same money for the Thomas 327 as the
"Dunlop" which, is pictured everywhere with a black body and a friendly yellow "Dunlop" sticker.
Didn't know if that was a Thomas or not.

Well, I seem to have pretty much run through all of the possible combinations of parts from 4 compressors to make good ones....
My 2 Frankenstein units are going OK, but I don't trust the stator on one of them.
So, I am going to bite the bullet and buy at least one new unit.
What is the latest bestest compressor to buy? Thomas 327 and retrofit? Viair? which one?
OEM Dunlop branded??
Next question is from where? Anyone got a lead on good pricing?
Rimmer seems to have the lowest on Dunlop even with shipping.....
Any advice is, as always, greatly appreciated!

Another small success!
When you posted that several wires had fallen off, my thought was....
"And what else has stopped that you had not detected yet"?
Cutting out those connectors and soldering is just about a requirement
On these things 20+years on.
Needs to be listed as an expendable wear item!

Where are you?
Mine are oe but with over 200k miles, it's just a matter of time......

Before you go too far down that road, (pun intended)
Are you positive that it is not an bad U joint? These things can eat them quickly if you do not lube them regularly.
Lube at every oil change would not be too often......Have you ever changed them?
To check, Get all 4 wheels off the ground and get underneath and check the UJs for play.

In my recent experience, I have had hard faults that have illuminated all 4 lights on the switch and vehicle on bump stops and have found only the unknown fault message. Clearing it puts things back in order, so probably not a random report.
Next time I get a chance to use my main computer, I will ping BBS and ask.

Does anyone by chance know if they have fixed the issue with EAS where it determines there's a fault, but displays "unknown fault" or something similarly
Uninformative?
I mean, there's a fault, it knows this, but doesn't know what it is?
And, of course, you can clear it.....odd?
Been meaning to drop Collin a note........

I believe you have hit the nail on the head.
Ethanol in the fuel will produce more water vapor than without.
The moisture is probably just sort of cleaning out the small amount of soot in the pipes and when it gets to the outlet, the water is evaporating and leaving the carbon.
I have seen this at a friend's house where he backs into his finished garage.
When he starts in the morning, black water spatters his clean white Wall.
Tailpipe has the black stains as well.
I would not be to concerned unless you are using coolant too?

Update:
The new valve body and controller seem to have addressed the odd valve twitching behavior......
As for the compressor stalling? It turned out the rotor had a shorted winding, and 1/4 of the motor had pretty much stopped working.
This gave me a very lumpy power delivery and caused the compressor to jump around.
SO, I put in my "Good Spare" compressor which worked for a couple of days, then started exhibiting the same
Jumpy behavior!
I thought that it was VERY unlikely that both of them had the same issue, and I was correct! The spare had an
intermittently sticking brush, so would run fine for a bit, then bog down and rattle like it was possessed!
I cleaned the commutator, and put a bell end with good brushes on, and it is now sweet as a nut!
In the last week, I have repaired more DC PM motors than I have in the last 40 years!
Starting with a totally fried armature in the motor for my Davit on the boat, then the anchor windlass wanted new brushes.
Of course, all the motor dramas were on the Missus car, so that got priority!
Seems all good now, so will take it for a couple hundred mile spin tomorrow.
Going to bring the known good compressor from the 02..........I am not completely silly!

Problem solved!
I swapped in a spare valve body and controller module and the issues have vanished!
The compressor did have one of the tightest piston seals I have seen, so I had put it on a bench supply
and ran it unloaded until the current draw got reasonable before the initial install and tests.
Road tested, and watched Nano for compressor run time. Probably only 10% duty cycle if that now. Happy!

I made a test rig and checked the suspect pressure switch against 2 others and found
that it was not closing. Gave it a tap, and got it to operate, but it was very intermittent at 150-160Psi.
Bad switch would certainly account for the 2 compressors trying to jump off their mounts when the pressure
went too high.
The original valve controller also seems to have an issue, as when it reached the target height, it cycles the
RH front valve about once a second.....again intermittently. It has been tagged!

The EAS Compressor on the wife's 99 was reported to be making a lot of noise, and indeed it was....
So, I swapped in a rebuilt pump, and thought problem solved.
New pump does the same thing.
It seems like the pressure switch is not operating and the compressor is jumping around on its mounts and struggling.
Tried sending it to access, then back to extended height, and compressor seemed happier. For a few minutes.
One of the valves is ticking constantly once it gets to height. Wife took mine, and nano is in it, so just guessing right now.
I have a spare valve body, so will swap it out. See if the issue changes.