Backstory: We have two P38s. A Black/grey interior Vogue 2000(W) on 125k and an Oslo Blue/cream interior 2001(51)on 67k-ish. We've had mine (the Black one) 6 or 7 years and Sooz for about 2 years. Both cars have replacement OE air springs. During that time, we've seen off 4 EAS compressors. Enough is enough.
We bought the current compressor in the blue car brand new from a reputable vendor with solid feedback and the serial number checked out with Dunlop. First it became very noisy, then the cut-out failed, all within a few months. It currently has a replacement glommed on the outside and spliced into the loom on the compressor cabling. But there's more.
The pump still goes through phases of loud vibration, then quiet. We stripped it and eye-balling it all looks fine. The loud phases reverberate though the whole car - makes a sound like something in the wheel arch, but it has done that in both cars so we know it is the compressor. We leak checked both cars by pulling fuse 29. Mine stayed up. Sooz sagged on one side of the back axle. Valve block and X8R valve block refurb kit are here awaiting her return. That explains, but does not excuse, the catastrophic failure of the pump after such a short time. I neither know nor care what's causing the noise or why the stat failed. It's going in the bin rather than waste the X8R compressor refurb kit in the workshop. As the blue car is completely stock, we'll keep it that way. We'll refurb the valve block and put the working pump from my car in there. Yes, my wife works on the cars with me. No, she's spoken for!
In consultation with the hive mind of the internet and Gilbertd, I've sourced a Viair 380C for the bargain price of £175. This has a 55% duty cycle and flow rate more than three times the stock pump. Vendor seems solid and I've used PayPal for added protection. Photos have disappeared from many of the threads I used to research this. The wiring looks (sounds) to be simple, with the orange wire now redundant and connected to the black ground wire, it's just a two-wire switched supply. However, If anyone has some pics relating to mounting and tidily hacking the existing enclosure, I'd be very grateful. I know I can mount it in parallel and keep the old pump as a bakup but I'm in Somerset, not Western Australia, so I'd prefer to go all in on the new unit. For our part, we'll take detailed pics and post back here for anyone interested in the pros and cons of what I'm about to attempt.
I'd like to finish with a simple question.
Does anyone known exactly what size and gender of NPT reducer I'll need to join the new compressor to the blue pipe?
Having successfully fixed the over temp sensor in my car (photos soon) we realised my wife's car has an issue.
Even with the inhibit switch pressed with the height set to Standard her compressor is running every 20-30 minutes and the car sags right overnight.
What are the first things to check in order of probability?
Do people refurbish these or buy an off the shelf alternative? A lightweight corrosion resistant composite would be nice. Fittings are standardised, aren't they?
Testing:
Orange and black wires are connected.
Maxi Fuse 2 intact.
Relay 2 works in Syckes-Pickavant tester.
Removing relay and jumping 3 and 5 runs pump.
ECU switch for another LRPN: ANR4499
Replacing ABS sensor (front right}.
1 HTF do you pull it out?
2 How do you squeeze both buttons on the plug at the other end?
3 Two lower clips have dissolved. Are there part numbers and are they still available?
Found this. Driver's side in front of the battery.
It's very clean so seems to have been plugged in until recently. Wires are white\purple and black\purple.
Any ideas?
Does anyone know the part number for the little metal cylinder which joins the automatic gear selector to the switch on the gearbox? Wear can be a cause of an inability to select Park.
Is anyone out there refurbishing these? My second one has just failed. All controls dead. They all wear out eventually and we're going to run out if someone doesn't figure out a repair.
Anyone know the part number for the clips which hold on the pillar trims?
Yes I know I can get some bent corroded ones from a scrapyard.
Ordered these but they don't look quite right.
Also what is the black foam tape they use to stop them rattling? I'm guessing PVC insulating take will do but if I can get the right stuff...
Currently I'm using a Bluetooth hands free in the cigarette lighter with an AUX OUT into one of those clever little cassette adaptors. Not the highest quality mic on calls but a really simple setup. I can use Google Voice commands to skip tracks and make calls.
I'd like something with a sun visor mic and more state of the art with DAB.
Is a unit like the PURE Highway 600 the way to go or should I go the whole hog and get a touchscreen multimedia unit?
There's no GPS so I can install in place of the oddments cubby hole. There are ready made ISO adaptor rigs on eBay.
I've seen the setting for UK Police in the Nanocom.
During my little project to replace the electrochromic mirror with a reversing\crash camera I think I've spotted the plug for the roof lights.
Does anyone know where the switch pack went in the dashboard? What did it look like? How many unicorns do I need to buy one? Thinking of fitting an LED light bar.
Bonus points for recognising the movie reference in the title.
I've installed a rear camera with a mirror style display which replaces the rear view mirror.
Running power up from the centre console while keeping the cable hidden is difficult. But i have the headlining out for a leak repair.
I've bought a 12v to 5v step down module I can attach to the roof somewhere near the courtesy light and sunroof motor (which I'm about to replace). Butchering a USB cable to expose the Black and Red wires was easy enough.
I'm looking for an ignition fed 12v supply for the input. Since the electrochromic rear view mirror was already disconnected when I bought the car that seems the best option.
Anyone happen to know which wires will give me ignition switched 12v and GND?
I'm fed up with eBay. It cost me more then I saved last year and I want to close my account. But it seems to be a good source for obscure parts which can no longer be bought new. Sunroof motor for example.
What are the best alternatives (if any)?
Weird uneven tickover problem starting about 30 seconds after starting and lasting about a minute. It's very consistent and has been doing it for many months.
I like to get to the bottom of minor things like this because they often precede something worse.
I don't have a good ear for V8s. Might be a misfire but that would start straight away, wouldn't it?
Newbie reporting for duty.
Our first P38 had quite a few faults when we bought it but I didn't have a clue what I was doing.
It looked tidy. Black tinted rear windows and black paint with wicked looking 21s (before I knew any better). Then he started it and it was game over! I'd never owned a V8 before and fell in love. I paid him way too much money, which I had very unwisely taken in cash, at started the drive home. The first demonstration of my galactic naivety was him having the windows down "so you can hear the engine." Smart move because he killed two birds with one stone clinching the sale and hiding the fact the refrigeration unit for the HVAC wasn't working. It was summer and I was driving a black car with no chiller!
He was honest enough to say the 21s didn't ride well and gave me a set of 18s in the boot. It has bloody awful and spent very little time in contact with the ground on the country roads near us. I blamed the 21s for being heavy knock-offs and punted them onto eBay. It was better on the 18s but I could still tell something wasn't right. 4 new air springs and a full set of Bilstein B6 dampers later, things were really good. The car feels tall but that pig-iron chassis pulls down the CG so it handles better than it has any right to. Maybe I blamed the 21s incorrectly but driving one on 16s years later the ride was supple but really controlled (also on B6s). I don't think this chassis is cut out for big wheels (not looking to start a fight about it though). A tremble in the steering was fixed with a new (also Bilstein) steering damper.
Later on the drive home I noticed a weird thudding noise and jumping sensation on full throttle and on hills. That proved to be a stretched transfer case chain. We got that and the refrigeration fixed and all was well until the MoT test. Needed a new exhaust, track rod a drag link (could have done just the ends). Those last two were the missing pieces in the handling puzzle. Suddenly the steering was lighter, more responsive and had less slack around the dead-ahead position. The exhaust is a Janspeed cat-back which sounds gorgeous and passes MoTs.
It really grew on me and passed some MoTs with advisories.
Then dropped a liner. It was decision time. Had the rebuild done. I'm All-In.
More recently it had a misfire diagnostic computers weren't showing a reason for. A very experienced guy at a nearby garage said it was a fractured flex plate triggering the knock sensors. Absolutely spot on. Changed it for an uprated spring steel alloy one from Turner Engineering. Also added a Prins LPG system they'd retrieved from a Maserati. Found a Turner ATB diff on Facebook for good money, it's on the back but I might move it to the front when funds allow.
It's on the drive with the roof liner out at the minute. Left sun visor kept going mouldy then the whole car got really damp inside. Turned out to be a leak on the seam under the roof rack trim on the passenger side. I fixed it by taking the roof rack trim out and drizzling Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure (not making that up) into the visible part of the seam. A good 5-10ml two or three days running. You can do this without removing the trim at the sides or the nightmare one at the top of the screen, so it's well worth a tenner to try before doing anything more drastic.
Need to repair the sunroof mech when I get a weather window. All tips appreciated.