and yes, fuel filler flap is on the RH side on all cars no matter which side the driver sits. For it to be different it would involve a different rear 3/4 panel, fuel tank, etc.

Irrespective of drive side, the drivers door latch has 3 microswitches, keyswitch, CDL switch and door ajar switch. A passenger door latch has only two, the CDL and door ajar switches. It is the ground from the CDL switch that allows the tailgate to operate when the RH (no matter if it is drivers or passenger) latch is unlocked. However, the MG passenger latch only has a door ajar switch, no CDL switch, so you can't use a LH drive RH latch in a P38 but you can use a RH drive RH latch but they are just as expensive as the LR latch.

I bought a cheap MG LHD, LH latch with the intention of swapping over the microswitch block into a RHD, RH latch but they don't fit as they are mirror image with the wiring coming out on the opposite side of the block.

Zero compression even if spun over on the starter, suggests a serious leak. You wouldn't get that with a liner or piston ring problem, it would be low but not zero. That suggests a valve. I had a cylinder with zero compression on my boat engine (small block Chevy) and that was a broken exhaust valve spring so it all looked fine initially but there was slack in the rocker. Try checking the compression with the rocker shaft off, that will discount or prove a pre-load issue.

They aren't Dunlop and don't even look like they will fit a P38. The band at the top is similar to Arnotts (which I've always maintained is why they come apart at full extension due to them being at an angle and not straight), the top fitting is wrong too. Rear springs have a D shaped section that has a large R clip going through it not two pins. IIRC the rear springs on a Classic have two pins like that and front springs do but the top of them is completely different design.

The URL didn't work for me but if everything after the ? is deleted, it does. This https://www.ebay.com/itm/285495140785 is what a rear spring should look like.

I don't know, Island will do it and I believe LRDirect will as well, if either is better than the other though, I've no idea.

https://www.island-4x4.co.uk/air-spring-front-p38-dunlop-reb101740-00303a.html
https://www.lrdirect.com/reb101740-air-bag-front-suspension-new-rr
https://www.johncraddockltd.co.uk/reb101740-suspension-air-unit-dunlop-o-e-range-rover-front-1995-02.html

https://www.island-4x4.co.uk/air-spring-rear-p38-dunlop-rkb101460-00304a.html
https://www.lrdirect.com/rkb101460-air-bag-new-rr-rear
https://www.island-4x4.co.uk/air-spring-rear-p38-dunlop-rkb101460-00304a.html

Take your pick. I've included Craddocks as there was a shortage of fronts a couple of years ago when I needed a pair and they were the only place that had them in stock. Since then Dunlop have produced another batch for Britpart so although they come in Britpart boxes they are genuine Dunlop, Britpart are probably the only company big enough to have the buying power to get Dunlop to produce a new batch. Not a lot to choose on price between any of them.

That must be a real base model with no AC and a manual gearbox, I thought the only ones that came with such a low spec also had the diesel engine? At least you have found the problem but your next problem is likely to be finding the correct HEVAC (the one with knobs?) for a car without AC.

You can try wiring directly, that will take the loom out of the equation if it works. According to the BECM SID, a ground on the K line will keep the BeCM awake and, I would assume, if it is grounded then the data won't be detected either.

If you can connect with it wired directly and the BeCM sleeps, then you have found the problem. If that is the case I would simply run another wire from ECM to OBD port which should cure both problems.

Then you can get stuck in reinstating the air suspension.....

Go for the one that is correct for your car, You want the later one, see https://parts.jaguarlandroverclassic.com/parts/index/part/id/9.55821.56301.60883/brand/land-rover/
The one you have ordered won't fit, the size of the hole in the bonnet is different.

Ignore key position 1, all that does is turn on the accessory supply so nothing important at all. To connect to the BeCM the ignition needs to be OFF, to connect to all the other systems it needs to be in position 2 or, ideally, with the engine running.

A lot of the data to the OBD port goes via the 18 way white connector behind the RH kick panel which is notorious for corrosion (water leaks through the pollen filter housing drips directly onto it). Cut it out and solder the wires through directly, noting that one (or maybe two) on the pins have two wires into one pin.

ABS is a strange one. If you want to go into the ABS, do it first before going into any other system and after you have finished, reboot the Nanocom before trying to go into any other system.

You don't need an SD card unless you want to save outputs from systems.

One other little quirk I've found with mine is connecting to the HEVAC. On a first attempt, I always go into Settings first. Often it then comes up and tell me it can't connect, go right out and back in, go to Settings and it connects. After that it works on all menu items. One of my cars has an unlocked BeCM while the other is locked and it does exactly the same on other cars too.

The liquid is condensate from the AC evaporator, it will drip out around the area of the gearbox and be worse when the weather is humid, you will get a lot. More than once I've had people point out that I have a leak when stopped for fuel but it is perfectly normal.

Kwik Fit, ATS, Halfords will connect their machine, poke the button and leave it to get on with the job. When it fails the vacuum leak test, they will tell you that you have a leak so they cant do anything with it. A land Rover specialist may well do the same thing, you need an AC specialist that can fill it with trace gas and use a sniffer to identify where the leak is. Chances are, it will be the top right hand corner of the condenser as that is where they always leak from if you still have the original condenser. However, it might be worth taking it into KwikFit or one of the others and ask them to regas it. It may be that the leak isn't bad enough for it to fail their test so they will gas it and it will at least work for a while.

I was under the impression that the mirrors needed to be far enough out that you would be able to see directly behind the trailer. However, a bit of research has come up with this

So I can see that if you are towing a caravan or box trailer that is wider than the cars existing mirrors, you need the extension mirrors. Despite the fact that the field of view of the Ring mirrors I bought is so narrow that I doubt they meet the rules. In my case, the boat has a maximum width of 2032mm (80 inches) so 143mm wider than the width of the car. But, as it is a boat, it tapers downwards so is narrower on the part of it that is at the height of the mirrors but at ground level I can see what the diagram says I should be able to.

If disconnecting the MAF makes no difference, that suggests it isn't doing anything or the output from it is so far out of what it should be, that the ECU is ignoring it and using a default fuel map.

Used the Ring ones this morning while towing the boat to get new tyres fitted to the trailer (commercial tyres due to the weight and ones dated 2003 with cracked sidewalls aren't a good idea). They fit on OK but are absolutely crap. Flat lenses not convex so while they do allow me to see things directly behind me marginally better, I can still see more with the original mirrors.

Assuming you haven't been losing coolant and regularly topping up so you've ended up with an air lock that is moving around inside the system, then it could be a sender problem. If you have diagnostics, even a cheapo Chinese generic code reader that can do live data, use that to monitor the coolant temperature. The earlier GEMS used two separate sensors, one to report coolant temperature to the engine ECU and one to drive the dashboard gauge. Your later Thor has a single sensor that is actually 2 in the one housing. An OBD reader will display the temperature according to the engine ECU, not the reading according to the gauge sender. That way you will be able to see if it really is getting hot or just the gauge telling you it is when it isn't.

Irwin bolt extractors, I've used mine no end of times, absolutely brilliant things. I had to use them on some of the hub bolts on mine when I did the oil seals, the little 8mm ones are great for getting the flanged bolts that hold the dust shields on too. There's a few jobs I've done that I don't think I would have been able to do without them.

So long as you had another to put in its place, stick it on eBay, someone would buy it..... Did you put another 4 pin diff in or go with a 2 pin in the end?

Going back to the diesel thing I worked on last week, I remember seeing various posts suggesting people check a hose somewhere when a diesel is down on power. When I took the inlet manifold off to get to the fuel pump, I noticed a hose going from the underside of the manifold to a 'thing' next to the fuel filter. That was split at both ends so I chopped the split bits off and refitted it when putting it all back together. When the owner took it out for a test drive, she commented that it had more power when slogging up the steep hill out of her village. When I took it out, I realised just how gutless the diesel version is but she thought it was much better. I hate to imagine what it was like before.

Presumably you've swapped the coil pack over so they are all giving the same resistance? The fact that it makes no difference when running on petrol or LPG shows that it isn't fuel related and must be sparks. A crank sensor normally either works or it doesn't but they normally fail when they get hot and the engine just stops. Let it cool down, or give it a dose of brake cleaner or even cold water, and it starts to work again. There is also the camshaft sensor although what affect that has when it fails I have no idea, I've never known one fail.

Today? Loads of stuff but not on mine. Currently in France dealing with a P38 with multiple problems. Horrendous battery drain, an intermittent instrument cluster (only works in dry weather), unable to sync the keyfobs and a diesel leak.

Decided I'd start with what I consider the easy ones. We'd already identified that the battery drain only happens when the car is parked in its normal parking place and only if the keyfob receiver is connected. If it is unplugged (completely, not just the blue wire), the battery drain is better but still not good. So the first thing I did was pull out a toy I bought myself, a portable spectrum analyser, and this is what I found.....

For those that don't understand what it shows, the yellow trace is live and shows a constant radio signal just below the frequency where the keybob operates. The green trace is a max hold so any instantaneous signals are shown by that. Just above the constant signal is a small one that popped up while I was checking, but the taller one shown on the green trace is the signal from the keyfob. So the inability to sync the fobs and the battery drain when the receiver is connected are caused by the constant one. The constant signal being there keeps the BeCM awake and I was measuring around 1.4A draw from the battery. Back in the old days when I was still working my next step would be to trace where it is coming from and get it switched off. Unfortunately I no longer have the authority to do that, particularly outside the UK.

Fitted one of Marty's fob fix filters and that did what it says it should and allowed the BeCM to go to sleep. But I still had around 0.5A being drawn from the battery.....

Went through the checks in the BeCM SID and still had 0.5A draw. As there had been problems with the instruments, unplugged them and the draw disappeared and it dropped down to 0.012A (12mA). Took the instrument cluster out and opened it up expecting to find corrosion but it looked perfect, no corrosion, nothing burnt. Put it back in and found, after the BeCM had gone to sleep again, it was back up to drawing 0.5A. then realised something. As the battery had been disconnected to stop it going flat, none of the windows were set. It was giving the message that they weren't set but there was no beeps coming from the dash. Unplugged the little speaker on the back of the cluster (with the drivers door latch tripped so it didn't detect that the door was open) and the draw immediately dropped down to 0.012A, the 12mA I had seen with the complete cluster disconnected. Checked the speaker and it was fine but with it connected, the battery drain came back. So, in consultation with the owner, decided to leave it unplugged. She also mentioned that when the dash wasn't working there was a whining noise coming from behind the dash that altered in frequency with engine revs. So it appears that something in the speaker driver circuitry is playing up but without a spare diesel instrument cluster to put in, we'll leave it as it is.

Then had a little break as it started to rain and I had noticed the HEVAC display was only showing about 3 segments. I had a couple of zebra strips in my box of P38 electrical bits, so took the HEVAC out, took it inside while it was raining and did that.

Then came the bit I wasn't looking forward to, the diesel leak. The collective wisdom of this pub had said it was most likely the leak off pipes but could be the top cover on the fuel pump. So I'd taken leak off pipe with me but after liberally spraying everything with brake cleaner to get it clean and dry, started the engine and watched as it started to leak from the top cover joint. Bugger. I don't do diesels and know very little about them but it turns out that once the inlet manifold is off, getting to the pump is reasonably simple. There's a strange headed bolt and 3 Torx headed ones but a 8mm Irwin socket took care of that. It has a seal like an O ring but not round, that had presumably lost its elasticity so wasn't sealing so I put a very thin smear of my preferred Reinzosil on it and bolted it all back together. After everything was back where it should be, I started the engine and no more diesel leak. I'd call that a result and a lot cheaper than the 2,000 Euro plus labour for fitting it the owner had been quoted for a new pump.

All that is left to do now is drive it away from this spurious radio signal and sync the fobs, but that can wait until tomorrow, there's food and copious quantities of red wine about to be served.

The casting on some of the later cylinder heads have a smaller indent for the spark plugs so ones with the 21mm hex head won't fit, or at least there isn't enough clearance to get a socket onto them. Other that that, they are identical.

I've run out of ideas too. I've got a spare Thor ECU if you want to try that (as you have a Nanocom you can easily sync it to the BeCM) but I'm on a ferry to France to sort out another poorly P38 first thing in the morning so I wouldn't be able to send it to you until the weekend.