Bit of this, bit of that on all 3 of them. Lubricated one bonnet catch on mine, traced the slight coolant leak on the Ascot and got the red one running a lot better by changing the CPS and TPS.

The state of the fleet today.....

Does anyone recognise the red one? The registration number seems familiar to me but I don't know why.....

Marty, I'll be down on the 23rd to pick up the steering column, ABS modulator and a front bumper to send to Spain and give a hand clearing the remaining stuff out. Do you want me to bring my trailer so I can drop the two engines off at V8Dev to save you having to pallet them up and send by courier?

Anyone else going to be there on the 23rd?

We had a TD5 Disco at work and that would always start easily during the summer, come the winter and it would fire up but cough and splutter for the first few seconds. Turned out only 2 of the 5 glow plugs were working....

Chrisp38 wrote:

it's an empty box behind the battery on petrols.

Only on the Thor, it has the engine ECU in it on a GEMS.

I'm not a diesel guy either but one job, in fact the only job, I have done on a diesel is the spill pipes. That started normally it was just using a lot of fuel as it was chucking most of it over the floor and the underside of the car.

Ascot now has an Mot, with no advisories! It also has a rattle which is the front passenger seat belt buckle. Doesn't rattle with the belt plugged in but drives me bonkers when it isn't.....

Hi Karl, glad to see you are still around. Insurance is one concern I have at the moment. Dina, my partner is currently paying £163.50 for fully comp on a 2007 Mercedes SLK280, a two seater sports car with 231bhp from a 3.0 litre V6. But she wants to claim the Rioja Red 4.0SE P38 we have just picked and is talking about selling the Merc. Now the 2007 SLK280 is the worst to get from the point of view of road tax as it is rated at 227 g/km so, as that is over the 226 g/km for the highest band, she is currently paying £59 a month in road tax. The 2008 model of the same car has been factory remapped, produces the same 231 bhp but has CO2 emissions of 225 g/km so the road tax would be halved. The P38, being a '98, is on the flat rate of £26 a month but what is her insurance going to be?

I can relate to the insects, on one trip through Poland we went through a swarm the size of small birds with a shell like a flying beetle. Went with an almighty splat against the windscreen and wipers and washers stood no chance.

Anyway, today, preparation for the Ascot MoT tomorrow while Dina got stuck into cleaning the interior of Cherry, the name she has given to the Rioja Red new one. Seeing the state of the interior she was dealing with, I thought I'd got the better end of the deal.

Did a bit on it yesterday as it would fire up on petrol on all 8 but when cold on LPG it would only run on 6 which told me that one of the ignition coils was failing. Replaced them with a spare set of coils someone had given me years ago and it fired up instantly on all 8 on both fuels so I figured all I had left was the cosmetics to at least make it vaguely respectable. Started off by putting the suspension on High and blasted the underside with Screwfix degreaser, left it for a couple of minutes and then rinsed it off with the pressure washer. Then dropped it down to Access and started on the rest of the bodywork. Pressure washer to get the worst of the bird droppings off it, then Snow Foam and a soft brush to get the rest of the muck off (and the green on the roof) before rinsing it with the pressure washer again. It actually started to look respectable. The wiper blades were completely shot but I had a pair of nearly new Bosch ones in my car from when I took them off to fit the Aero blades as the ordinary ones were freezing solid and not wiping in Latvia in December, so put those on it. Checked that the washers worked and they did, so about all that was left was the lights.

Switched the sidelights on and none were working, no little green tell tale on the dash either. Dip and main beam worked as they should but sidelights are mandatory for the MoT so I had to get them working. Checked at the BeCM and I could ground the requisite pin and the sidelights came on. Checked on the wire from the switch and no ground with it in the sidelight position. Faulty switch then. Fortunately I had a spare light switch which I'd found the other day when looking for the aspirator for Nigel I thought I had but didn't find. Fetched that and started taking the dash apart to swap the switch. Now the dash only went back in a few days ago as it has an intermittent distribution blend motor problem. As the book showing on the HEVAC isn't an MoT fail I thought I could leave that until any more serious stuff had been done. So out comes the dash, switch out, plug in the new one and still no sidelights. Checked continuity between the switch and the BeCM and there wasn't any. Somehow, a single wire (at least I assume a single wire as everything else seems to work) has broken somewhere in the loom between the dash and the BeCM. Chopped it off at both ends and soldered a new length of wire in. Checked it before putting it all back together and I now had sidelights, so the dash went back in (again).

Final check, LH rear sidleight bulb blown and one of the side marker indicators was a bit feeble. Pulled that out to find an amber bulb (as it has the 2000 style clear indicators) that was just about managing to light but only just. Pulled it out of the holder and the wire terminal broke off the bulb. Bugger, don't have a spare, so put a clear bulb in so the indicator is a dirty white (from the moss growing inside the lens). I'll find out in the morning if the tester takes exception to it.....

However, this is nothing to what Dina has achieved.....

As I mentioned previously, the interior of Cherry was absolutely disgusting. Filthy and full of dog hair everywhere (even inside the front passenger seat belt buckle). I took the centre console sides and gear lever surround off and took them into the house to clean them in the sink while Dina started with the drivers door panel. Her theory was to start at one side and work her way across to the other before getting stuck into the back.

This is what all of the door panels looked like.....

and the carpets......

But this is how the first door panel came out

Door panels and dash plastics were done with Auto Glym Vinyl and Rubber cleaner, while she used Vanish carpet cleaner on the carpets and other cloth bits. I'll get some more pictures later as most of the front of the car has been done now. The filthy seats have come up pretty well and the pillar trims were taken off as the flock covering had turned black with mildew, so the flock was cleaned off leaving the shiny plastic underneath. It looks so much better already and Dina reckons she's still got another full day to get it all done.

Pierre3 wrote:

I can never understand why car manufacturers make it so difficult to change stuff like light bulbs. They must think that their bulbs never fail when you see some of the stupid steps you have to go through, just to change a bulb.

OK, I know the wire clips holding the bulbs in on a P38 are a bit fiddly but they could be worse. Try changing the sidelight bulb on a Renault Megane, you have to take the headlight out but to do that involves taking the inner wheelarch liner out and the front bumper off to get at the fixings for the headlights. Then there are various models of Audi where you have to jack the front of the car up so you can open the little flap in the wheelarch liner, then do a degree in Gynaecology so you can change the bulb by fell through the little hole....

why are manufacturers stopping putting oil dipsticks in cars ???

Because they know that the modern car driver never opens the bonnet and wouldn't know how to use a dipstick anyway. A woman (not being sexist but it had to be) took her car into my mates garage as her washers had stopped working. He filled the tank and they miraculously started to work again. The owner wasn't aware that she had to fill it.

And, lastly [thank God, says the reader], what has happened to having a spare wheel ?? These days, when people get a flat tyre, they sit on the side of the road for a couple of hours until their roadside service provider turns up and fills the flat tyre full of gunk so that [a] the owner gets home, and [b] the tyre garage chucks out the tyre and fits a new one.

Because it's extra weight so the fuel consumption goes up (by 0.001 mpg). Most modern drivers aren't capable of changing a wheel anyway.

I can relate to everything said here. I bought my P38 (for £600) with 205k on the clock, a burst rear air spring and running on 7 due to a head gasket blowing into the Vee. Got both of those done in the first couple of days of ownership and started using it. For the first 18 months or so, I didn't trust it as far as I could throw it. Every time I used it, something else packed up but after working my way through everything, I finally got it to a state I was happy with. Everything worked and it seemed reliable. By 287k miles though the engine was getting decidedly tired and I had a dilemma. Did I spend my money on rebuilding the engine or did I sell it and replace it with a newer, lower mileage one? I decided that I wouldn't get a lot for it as the odd police spec, high mileage and tired engine meant it wouldn't appeal to that many people and if I bought another I would only have to start again doing all the odd jobs I'd already done on mine. People rarely sell a car that is perfect, they sell it for a reason. So I decided to stick with the devil I knew and it still repays me for the attention I've given it every time I use it now.

There's a coincidence, I'm also 68 so was starting the feel the affects of two days heaving on breaker bars and wielding sledgehammers this morning but got out there and finished it off. With all the heavy stuff done, that was pretty straightforward so now it is ready for the MoT test. Just needs a damn good clean and a tank of LPG. Cleaning is scheduled for Sunday as Dina wants to make a start on the interior of the new (to us) red one, so while she is getting stuck in with the leather and carpet cleaner, I'll get the pressure washer out.

Then decided to have a bit of further tinkering on the red one. As it was running a bit rough by the time I got it home, figured that I could well have been dragging rubbish up from the bottom of the tank so started with the fuel filter. What came out was black, and I mean really black. I'd picked up a new filter a couple of days ago so fitted that. Next job will be to disconnect it at the fuel rail and pump some fresh fuel through but that can wait until tomorrow. I have a feeling that at some point I'll be taking the injectors off and cleaning them but I'll see how it runs on clean fuel first.

Mine shouldn't leak as both sides were damp from the axle oil seals so I ordered those too and changed that, Got the first side finished yesterday with a slight delay while I went to get a replacement rubber gaiter for the steering tie rod end (taking it apart didn't split it, it was already perished), Finished putting it together then started on the other side. Much the same, one of the dust shield bolts had to be knocked round with a small chisel to get that out and the hub also needed the sledgehammer to get it out but other than that, all went smoothly. Got the old joints out and new ones in. As well as leaving them in the freezer, I coated them in oil before pressing them in which helped them slide in smoothly and also showed when they were fully home as a ring of oil appeared around them.

Just got to finish it off now on the LH side. Axle oil seal to change, then clean up the hub mating surface, put that back in, ABS sensor to go in, dust shield to go on (I've got some stainless Allen bolts to use on that), disc on, calliper carrier, pads, calliper and wheel and that will be both sides finished. There's probably only an hours work left but I was knackered last night when I decided to call it a day. There is no way the adjustment nut was going to turn, that is well and truly seized in place. Probably the difference in climate between where you are and where I am.

It'll be ready for MoT test then but before selling it I need to sort out an intermittent book on the HEVAC caused by one blend motor and give it a damn good clean as it has been living under a tree and the local pigeons have left their mark on it.....

There won't be any air in the accumulator as the high pressure Nitrogen above the diaphragm causes it to take up the entire space. The diaphragm will be hard up against the opening so you may get a tiny amount of air in there when you change it. You won't need to fully bleed the brakes after changing, just bleed any air out at the first bleed nipple on the brake modulator (the first step in the bleeding process). The most important thing is to de-pressurise the system before unscrewing the accumulator unless you want a brake fluid shower.

Started on a job I have been very wary of for years. One P38 I bought a number of years ago needed new front axle top and bottom ball joints on one side. Everything I read said it was a really difficult job, needed the proper tool at nearly £200 and it was January so working outside wasn't really a fun way of spending a day or two. So I went to a local LR independent and asked them about doing it. Reception guy went into the workshop, came back and told me that all the technicians had said it was a real bastard of a job but said they could do it for £420. So I booked it in. After a couple of days they called to tell me that they couldn't get the ABS sensor out so would have to drill it and add the cost of a new sensor to the job, go ahead I said. Two days later they call to say they had managed to do it but as the front end had been apart it needed the steering alignment doing and the drag link was seized so they couldn't adjust it. I pointed out that they are always seized but with a bit of heat and a big pair of Stilsons, I'd never not been able to shift one in the past. They insisted they had tried that but failed so would have to fit a replacement drag link but would be able to fit a used one to keep the cost down. OK, go ahead then. Two days later it is done and when I go to collect it, I'm presented with a bill for £1080, almost twice what I had paid for the car! Their explanation was that everything was seized solid so it took far longer than it should have done. At that point I vowed that never again would I pay someone else to work on my car, I would do it myself no matter what.

Which brings me to the present day. Having just bought the Rioja red 4.0SE, the Ascot is going to be put up for sale but that needs top and bottom ball joints doing on both sides, both for the MoT and to ensure it goes where you point it rather than wandering all over the road. Marty kindly donated the tool kit for changing them so I ordered the joints which arrived yesterday so I got stuck in. I checked a couple of Youtube videos and it looked like I was in for a bit of a battle. With one side on an axle stand, it was wheel off, brake calliper off, calliper carrier off, brake disc off, dust shield off (Irwin tapered socket needed on the bolts but they all came out rather than shearing the heads off), ABS sensor was tight but came out after a bit of Plusgas and a twist from side to side, hub bolts out and fit an old brake disc on backwards. My trusty club hammer wouldn't shift it but a few clouts with a sledge hammer and the hub, complete with half shaft came out. Now I could see what was in store.

With a clamp type ball joint splitter, disconnected the steering tie rod. A clamp type doesn't damage the rubber boot so it can go back on without having to be replaced. Top ball joint nut came undone easily enough, only to break the taper when it was partway undone so out came the angle grinder to cut the nut off. Bottom ball joint nut came off but the clamp ball joint splitter was too narrow to fit in so resorted to the wedge type and that soon shifted that too. Then it was time to use the tool to get the ball joints out. I cleaned off the rust around the top of the top joint with a small chisel, 80 grit emery cloth and more Plusgas. Fitted the tool and with a long breaker bar started heaving on it. It went tight then suddenly went a lot easier as the balljoint was pushed out, no problem at all. Then to the bottom one and that was much the same, it just came out.

As per a thread on Landyzone and also the Youtube video, the new ball joints have been in the freezer overnight and the holes where they fit have been cleaned up with the 80 grit and I will be putting the new ones in shortly and will report on how that goes, before starting on the other side. The new ball joints came from Island 4x4 and the pictures show them without any nuts but the nuts are available separately, so I'd ordered new nuts too. Only to find the ball joints come with nuts so they are surplus......

leolito wrote:

I think the installer of that system was lazy, or a bit of an animal.

A bit of both I think looking at the rest of the system.....

Both my other cars have got the filler on the space in the rear bumper for a second towing socket, so on one side of the towbar there is the electrical socket and the LPG filler on the other side. It also means I can fill up from either side of the pump. You can't fit a UK/Dutch style bayonet fill nozzle behind the petrol filler flap, it is too big. Some people fit the continental style 10mm threaded nozzle that need an adapter screwed in to fill. They don't meet the UKLPG code of practice so you will have problems getting it certified if your insurance company insisted it was. I also worry about the weight of a fill gun hanging on a tiny little 10mm brass thread after seeing one break off and spray Propane all over the filling station forecourt.

It is a dual ball bearing so there isn't any adjustment like there would be with a pair of taper roller bearings.

If it is, that would be excellent as it will almost certainly be the correct one. From what I can find it seems only base models didn't have it. I was intending waiting until I'm changing the steering column anyway. A day laying in the footwell should be fun.....

Found another bit of the previous owners bodgery today. Set all the windows except the front passengers which just made a clunking noise inside the door and wouldn't set. In the boot was a replacement (used) window regulator so pulled the door panel off to investigate and change it. Regulator was bent and not attached to the window but the glass didn't drop. Channel it runs in had been crushed so it wouldn't drop open.....

Not all have it, see my post above and check the part number on the brake modulator. ANR2239 has traction control on the rear wheels only, ANR2238 doesn't have it.

Getting somewhere on my new one. I can now explain why it is giving a Traction failure and faults relating to traction control, it doesn't have it. The brake modulator is an ANR2238 while the one on my white car is an ANR2239. 2239 has 2 wheel traction control while 2238 doesn't have traction control and unlikely to have been fitted to an SE spec car so it looks like that has been changed. Not dropped the glovebox to check the number on the ECU yet, but I suspect there's traction control equipped ECU in there....

That means it is a 98 model year car so will have the Wabco C ABS system with 2 wheel traction control, your 2001 will have Wabco D with 4 wheel traction control.