nigelbb wrote:

I had always thought that the Gen 3 RF receiver wasn't released until several years after production of the P38 had ceased so was never fitted to any P38 from the factory.

That was my understanding too but if you pop the cover off and it looks like this one https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275633163269, with the second circuit board, then it is a genuine green spot.

I was asked to plug the Nanocom into a '99 diesel yesterday. The problem with it was the idle was hunting between 500 and 1200rpm and it had stalled at junctions a couple of times. The owner had checked a few things himself and found that the air filter element had collapsed so he had replaced that and it seemed to cure the problem for a couple of days (although he said it still didn't seem 100%) but now it had come back. He had also removed a tuning box but that had made no difference either. It has had the EGR blanked if that is at all relevant.

Read the fault codes first and there was one for low boost but as it had occurred at 61rpm, that would seem to be an error as there won't be any boost at 61rpm and a low fuel pressure code at 0rpm so that would also seem to be erroneous. Cleared the codes, checked the Turbo-Intercooler- Intake hoses and no sign of any splits or anything that would suggest a leak. Started the engine and there was definitely boost there when revved. So used the Nanocom to check the inputs to the ECU. Most of them meant absolutely nothing to me (knowing naff all about diesel engines) but one stood out. The intake air temperature was showing -38.88 degrees C. On a petrol that would mean the sensor was open circuit, so unplugged the MAF (as it appears that much like the Thor petrol, the temperature sensor is incorporated in the MAF sensor) and gave the plug a squirt of contact cleaner. Interestingly, with it unplugged, it made no difference whatsoever to the running. With it plugged back in, it was still showing -38.88 degrees so we assumed the sensor is dead.

On a petrol, the intake air temperature only has any affect if it exceeds 55 degrees C when it richens the mixture, so assuming the diesel is the same, ignored that for the time being. Wondered if the diesel has the equivalent to the reset adaptive values on the petrol so went into the Utilities and there were two options, Reset ECU to Robust and Reset ECU to Non-Robust. Had no idea what either of these mean, I chose the non-robust option and as soon as I hit the button, the idle dropped to normal speed, it stopped hunting and it ran as sweetly as any oil burner ever can. It seemed that we'd cured it. Switched it off and restarted it a few times and each time it would fire up normally and the idle was perfectly stable. I then recorded the inputs on the Nano in case anyone can see anything obvious but as it was running perfectly at that time I suspect not (but if anyone is interested, it's here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_0mA98hkmP2nPpYaJqkcNJLPQ9VayrNp/view?usp=sharing).

Owner has ordered a replacement MAF sensor but I'm intrigued as looking at the Nanocom documentation when I got home, it appears that the Reset ECU commands should only do anything on a brand new ECU so shouldn't have had any affect yet as soon as I hit the button, the idle stopped hunting and the car then ran perfectly. Anyone got any clues?

No, they are plug and play. The Gen 2 has a blue dot, the Gen 3, the good one, have a green dot. However if buying a used one you don't really know if someone has put a green dot on an earlier one. Even a secondhand genuine green spot will cost you around £200 whereas Marty's filter, which does the same thing, is around £80.

There are 3 versions of the receiver, all operating in the 433.9 MHz licence free band which is for 'Momentarily Operated Low Power Devices'. The first generation are terrible and will respond to any transmission on that, and other nearby, frequency which means key fobs for other cars and other wireless devices such as doorbells, burglar alarm, weather stations, oil tank level senders, kids toys, etc. The selectivity was improved on the second generation but can still be affected and they both share the same problem. As soon as they receive a signal, they wake up the BeCM waiting for the correct code to unlock the car and turn off the immobiliser. If they get a signal but not the correct code, the BeCM goes to sleep after 2 minutes until the next time it is woken up which means in a densely populated area with lots of wireless devices, the BeCM can be constantly woken resulting in a flat battery in a very short time.

The third generation is completely different in as much as the receiver looks for a legitimate code before it wakes up the BeCM, so it will still wake it up if it sees a transmission from another P38 fob (as that will have the same preamble before the actual code) but won't wake up the BeCM if it receives a signal from anything else. So, if you find your battery goes flat overnight (or in 3 or 4 days if the car isn't used regularly), there is likely to be a source somewhere nearby that keeps waking the BeCM. The answer is to fit either a gen 3 receiver at around £400 or a Marty Cox filter. Marty developed the filter that plugs into the receiver that blocks the command to the BeCM unless it sees a legitimate P38 unlock code and is far cheaper than a gen 3 receiver (see http://www.p38webshop.co.uk/).

To check if yours is being affected, when the BeCM is awake the LED next to the gearchange lever will glow dimly and go out completely when it sleeps. So if you are suffering battery drain you can sit in the car at night looking at that.

Finding sources of interference was work before I retired and it isn't just the P38 that is affected, BMW cars of similar age were just as bad and so where a number of other makes.

He does, he hasn't advertised it yet but it is going to be expensive. It is the only LHD Linley made and is in the US. A P38 fetches a higher price in the US than here anyway so with shipping, import tax and VAT, it will go for over £100k.

Fuel pressure should be 34-37psi so dropping to 29-32 would explain why it runs better with the return clamped. If the pressure rises with the return clamped, the pump is supplying enough pressure and the filter isn't clogged, so that would point to the pressure regulator.

Lambda sensors, if working correctly, should show 5V for lean and 0V for rich. However, a dead sensor will show a permanent 5V.

That sounds about right. They used to be around £250 plus VAT.

To get yours refurbed, send it to Jon https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404025564146. Any decent key cutting place will be able to cut you a replacement dumb key blade (they use a BMW blank made by Huff), I had a couple cut by my local Timsons but when I went in recently to get a spare cut for a new car I've got they told me that as a company they have stopped doing them as far too many didn't work. Land Rover could supply a genuine one but their website now shows them as no longer available so they may have run out, try asking at your local main dealer. Alternatively, Classic Rides North Wales (crnw.co.uk) can supply a non-flip remote key.

If the car locks and unlocks itself, that isn't anything to do with the key, it is one of the front door latches. The one that doesn't lock and unlock is the failing one.

Breakers tend to leave the carpets as they are such a pain to get out and not the easiest of things to store until a buyer comes along. A car that is ripe for breaking will usually have been neglected too so beige carpets are likely to be in much the same state as yours too.

Try giving Dave at East Coast Range Rovers a call on 07527 953807 and see if he has any or has a car for breaking that has some decent ones in it.

Have you had the plugs out yet?

If the cooling system gets pressurised, when you switch the engine off, coolant gets forced into the one cylinder with the leak, hence asking if it fires up on 7 as the one with coolant in it won't want to fire initially.

If you have a steam cleaned spark plug or it is pressurising and the pressure is staying, then not so much a slipped liner as a weep around the outside of the liner. If they have slipped you will hear it as they move up and down with the piston and whack into the cylinder head but with a weep they don't move, the combustion pressure gets into the coolant passages.

The genuine replacement O rings are the correct size and it is worth spending £3 each for genuine LR ones rather than saving a few pence on aftermarket which are also the correct size) but on the one I took out someome has used generic O rings that were the correct diameter but too fat.

Lez wrote:

I have a invoice in the file for new hevac o rings being replaced 10k miles ago

That proves nothing. A friend bought a car recently, the carpet was damp and most of the dashboard wasn't fitted correctly. Previous owner told him he'd recent had the O rings replaced but from the state of what we found when taking it apart, can only assume it had been done by a gorilla. O rings had been replaced with generic ones which were too thick so has been squeezed out of the grooves and were still leaking.

As the coolant passages run at each end of the heads, the usual head gasket symptoms don't usually happen so you won't see oil and coolant mixing, although you might see steam out of the exhaust.

Take the spark plugs out and if any look steam cleaned compared with the others, there may be a weep around the outside of the line on that cylinder. If when started from cold it initially fires up on 7 with the last one chiming in after a few seconds, that again would suggest a slight weep on one cylinder. The cooling system will pressurise when hot but if that pressure disappears once it has cooled down, then there isn't a weep. The top hose will get hard when it is hot but if it is then left overnight and there is no pressure there, you're OK.

There's lots of places where coolant can leak from, heater core O rings, the multiple hose joints, etc, so losing coolant is more often leaking rather than anything else.

Back end is quite different too. On the L320, the spare wheel hangs underneath at an angle (making it awkward to fit an LPG tank) whereas the L322 has a spare wheel well.

L322 is monocoque construction and doesn't have a separate chassis but the L320 does, so doubtful the towbar is the same.

Welcome. If the contacts on the switches inside the stalk get dirty, no matter how much you poke the sliding button, nothing happens. You can undo the 3 small Torx screws from the back and get in there with contact cleaner.

If that is all you have to worry about though you're doing well.....

Not sure what you are looking at but a leak from the valve cover would be far worse than that slight staining if that is what you ware referring to. What plugs are they? LR suggest Champions but modern Champions aren't the same quality as 20 years ago Champions were. Most of us run NGK plugs.

You've got that horrible SAI system to fight your way past too....

On a GEMS the fuel pressure regulator is purely mechanical (diaphragm and spring) so not going to be affected by the temperature sensor. What does the fuel pressure read when running and what does it read with the return clamped?

It will with them being that far out. Standard heights must be between 85 and 130 bits and ideally less that 8 bits side to side.