Anything like this one? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Range-rover-P38-autobiography-convertible-/164516873201
No idea if it sold or just ended.
That depends entirely on what tyres you've got on it. Mine had Goodyear Wranglers and they were absolute crap on snow, TC kicking in every time I went to pull away, ABS clunking away no matter how gentle I was on the brakes and it wouldn't go round corners. That was 3 years ago just before I was driving it Latvia for new year and fitted a set of Vredestein Quatrac 5 on it. They are an All Season tyre but with a snow type tread pattern on the inside edge. I could feel the difference in the wet as soon as they went on and on snow in Estonia they were brilliant. They've now done 60,000 miles and are down to 3mm of tread but in the snow last weekend, even flooring the throttle didn't get the TC to kick in, brakes stopped it and it went where I pointed it. If it wasn't for lockdown I'd be fitting another set for another trip as many countries insist on a 3 peaks marking and a minimum of 4mm of tread in winter.
Sounds like there's parts forwarding opportunities in all directions.....
I went through the painting the forth bridge phase in the first 2 years of my ownership of mine, since then it's been mostly routine maintenance as and when required. OK, so some things go beyond the definition of maintenance but with my sort of mileage I'm expecting to have to do the more major jobs, but I haven't had anything I would class as a breakdown or anything that has stopped me from being able to use the car in over 5 years now.
Once you've got it apart, I'd use a PU adhesive like Tiger Seal to stick back together, that's what's used on windscreens. The last thing you want is a headlamp that fills up with water every time it rains.
About 12 years ago I had a need for something that could tow a loaded car trailer to the south of France and back regularly. I first thought about buying a doggy diesel Disco but as we had one at work and I'd driven it regularly, that meant I would have had to have the nice everyday car as well with two lots of MoT, tax and insurance. I'd previously been running a Saab on LPG and that was far preferable to going over to the dark side so I bought a Classic LSE, 4.2 V8 on LPG. That was good, towed superbly, but it was rotting away nicely and the original air suspension had been taken off and coils fitted so it sagged horribly when it had 3.5 tonnes hanging off the back. Decided I needed self levelling air suspension so bought my ex-police P38. Blown head gasket and a burst air spring but with LPG already fitted, I trailered it home behind the LSE and set to work. 11 years and a further 205,000 on the already high mileage and it is still my everyday car. I've driven it all over Europe, often with a trailer on the back, and, after many hours of work I've got it to the stage where I just get in it and drive it. My preparation for driving to the in-laws in Latvia in September was an oil and filter change and a set of spark plugs. The rear washer is the most troublesome part on the whole car and, despite blasting an airline through the pipe numerous times, it clogs up regularly. A couple of segments on the HEVAC display don't work when it is cold and I noticed a few days ago that my heated seat has stopped working again (passenger one still does so it keeps SWMBO happy). I don't reckon that's too bad for a 23 year old car with 411,900 miles on the clock (should hit 412,000 by the weekend despite lockdown). I doubt a modern one will ever get near that age or mileage before something terminal happens.
What you have to remember is that the electronics in the P38 were cutting edge at the time, far beyond what most other manufacturers were using so there are going to be teething problems. of course there is also the fact that those same electronics are now 20 odd years old and nothing lasts forever, contact tarnish and the bits attached to the electronics like switches, microswitches in particular, fail after millions of operations. Although most think that the introduction of the Thor from 99 onwards was a big change there were a lot of seemingly minor but very important changes for the 97MY where things that had been found to be weak were uprated and changed. I used to know someone in R&D and he told me about one car that had been tested for hundreds of manhours with no failures but within days of it being released to the public was being brought back with indicator stalks hanging off. Seems that engineers hadn't tried pulling on it because you wouldn't but the public had.
There's 4 people in the UK that claim to be able to do BeCM work, of those 4 there's only 2 I would trust. One of them is Marty who is currently in New Zealand, and the other is Callrova. I was surprised when I read that you'd used Turner and were happy in all honesty having seen a post quite recently that was, shall we say, less than complimentary. Then I looked for the post and found https://rangerovers.pub/topic/2216-odd-experience-turner-diagnostics-hemel-hempstead. So did they do a good job or was it all BS?
Looks like Bearmach are selling the Allisport ones (https://bearmach.com/aluminium-header-tank-eu3-diesel-with-bottom-outlet-and-sight-guage-ba-2382) with the sight glass but a generic bayonet cap and not the screw cap that the original one uses. Was going to say I was surprised that Bearmach hadn't told them but I suppose the thinking is that a pressure cap is a pressure cap and the actual design isn't important.
If you think you've got enough room to fit it, I'd go for it although it might be a bit small. Only other comment I'd make is you'd need to change the cap they supply as that one appears to be marked as 0.9 bar when you need 1.0 bar (although that probably would make a lot of difference).
They'd need a good excuse because you don't fall under the distance selling regs.
AlanP38 wrote:
my wife always says I'm shit at communicating.
Don't they all? I thought that was part of the job description? Much like we are supposed to be able to read minds......
+1, it's the same cap as a 5 series BMW of the same vintage. Even the later Classic had a screw on cap (different to the P38 though), they stopped using the bayonet style around 1988.
Looks to me like a Disco 3 grille, bumper and headlights. I like the way the grille doesn't even fit and the LR badges everywhere, including on the steering wheel.
I know they say you have a money back guarantee and assume this is down to the distance selling regulations. If "I don't like it" is a valid reason for getting your money back in full, it's cheaper than getting a hire car for a few days.......
Have a read of the description and note the badges. This guy should change his user name to Confused of Wales......
Manufacturers regard cars as white goods these days. I was talking to someone who works for Tata, not the car division thankfully, and he asked why I run a 20+ year old Range Rover when my local dealer would no doubt give me a good deal on a new or nearly new Evoque? I pointed out that the Evoque doesn't have a separate chassis, a V8 petrol engine that could be converted to LPG and can't tow 3.5 tonnes. He wandered off looking very puzzled. But it isn't as bad as people that buy a car through Cazoo or Cinch without having seen it or driven it......
It isn't only producing parts but it's also what they produce. I was told recently about someone that wanted a set of big end shells for a modern engine, a Ford I think, and was told you can't buy them. In fact, you can't buy any engine internals as the thinking is that if it is worn out you either buy a complete new engine or just scrap the car and buy a new one.
There is, 10 years. Manufacturers are legally obliged to provide support for 10 years from the last date a model is produced. So spares support for the P38 should have ended in 2012 but it's a testament to LRs commitment that they still support them.
It shouldn't drop in the first place. In this cold weather maybe an inch or so but should come back up immediately unless the reservoir isn't holding pressure.