From watching what it does when driving and the affect a TPS that hasn't been calibrated has, I think the IACV adjusts to maintain the idle speed but also acts to raise the revs at very small throttle openings. So it will sit around the 15-30 steps figure at idle but if you give a very small amount of throttle, rather than relying on a tiny movement of the butterfly, the operation of the TPS causes the IACV to open up to raise the revs and give a clean transition from idle to above idle but not by much (a bit like the progression jets in a carb). I had an iffy TPS which meant I could not hold the revs at around 1,000rpm, it would idle fine and it would run at 1,300 rpm but no way could I hold the revs anywhere in between. The TPS wasn't reacting to the small throttle movement so the IACV wasn't opening at small throttle openings and there wasn't enough additional air getting past the butterfly to raise the revs until it opened a bit more. Once you are running normally, it closes back down to the idle opening ready for when you come off the throttle.
However, that isn't going to give incomplete combustion and a high HC figure but a weak spark would.
Posted my last while you were posting pictures of the plugs. 2 and 3 share a coil as do 4 and 7 so I suspect a replacement set of coils might be a good idea.
When you say the cats are rattly, do you mean you can hear something rattling inside or does it just sound like a rattle? Gutted cats without adding a tube inside do make a rattly sort of noise as the empty boxes act like some sort of reasonator box.
That's a very good question. If it was bought already converted to LPG it is quite possible the cats have been gutted and will still sail through the LPG emissions test but fail if tested on petrol.
There was someone in the discussion on the other side (who I think is now also on here) that went for the Klebers and rated them very highly. I also considered them but went with the Vredestein Duatrac 5 in the end which are superb if you want an all season road tyre.
You've got them the wrong way round, CO limit on petrol is 0.2% while it is HC that is 200ppm. High HC is showing unburnt hydrocarbons in the exhaust so you have incomplete combustion caused by either a weak spark on one or more cylinders or too much fuel going in on one or more. Which two plugs had slight sooting on them? Were they two that share one coil which would suggest one coil pack is weak. It would also explain the slightly uneven idle. Otherwise you could be looking at leaking injectors that don't shut off fully so are dribbling extra fuel in. As a percentage of how much is supposed to go in, it would be far greater at idle when the injectors are only open for a short duration while when the revs are higher they will normally be open for longer allowing more fuel in and less time for additional fuel to be dribbling in. You ,might have an injector or two that needs a clean. I used this method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUUgR94drxg to clean injectors but used a 12V supply and a 3.3 Ohm resistor in series with it. If you don't have a spare Schrader valve, you can indulge in a bit of bodgery as in this method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rk0tKtiVic
On a GEMS, the Nanocom (under Inputs, Air and Idle) shows idle air valve as a number between 0 and 200 (showing the number of steps), correct being between 15 and 30 at idle when hot. However, if you have a weak coil it will be opening more than it should to keep the idle revs correct. If you find that you can't adjust it down to zero, then it is trying to compensate for something else. .
It's a hell of a lot easier to just put the tyre sizes into the calculator I linked to. If you use the tyre comparison tab, you can enter two tyre sizes and it calculates Diameter, Width, Sidewall height, Circumference and Revs per Mile. It also shows pictures of the two tyres side by side as well as speedo error.
There was a discussion on the other side a few months ago and someone found that anything larger than original won't fit. See https://tiresize.com/calculator/, diameter of the 255/65x16 is 29.1" while the 70 series is 30.1".
dave3d wrote:
BFG nearest seem to be 255/70 R16
They definitely won't fit in the spare wheel well. But the AT3 in OE size doesn't look that expensive to me, see https://www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre-details/general-grabber-at3-255-65-r16-109-h-bsw#261367880. Can't fault Oponeo either with delivery far quicker than mytyres.co.uk and blackcircles and often a lot cheaper too..
We all know that the ultimate battery for the p38 is the ginormous Hankook MF31-1000 (the one that just fits in the hole) but the last time anyone checked, they were being shown as no longer available. Well thankfully, now the weather is about to get colder and batteries are going to start to show their age, they are back. https://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/hankook-mf31-1000.html
Harv is spot on, it shouldn't drop at all. My Ascot hasn't been run in at least 4 weeks now and is still sitting at high where I left it. If you pull the timer relay from under the passenger seat when you are going to be leaving it for a couple of days and it doesn't drop, it is self levelling. If it does, you've got a leak.
If you listen to some people (RPi for instance) they all drop liners, some say Thor is better, others say GEMS is better, some say that the 4.6 is more prone than the 4.0 litre. In reality, the GEMS and Thor use the same block, only the ancilliary bits are different, more 4.6's have suffered slipped liners than 4.0 litre ones but only because they sold more 4.6 versions than 4.0 litre ones. If it is going to slip a liner, it's almost certainly because you've overheated it and whether it is a GEMS, a Thor, a 4.0 litre or a 4.6 is going to make sod all difference.
If it is trying to change height and it doesn't happen within a certain length of time, it decides there's a fault so shuts down. I suspect you were driving around with one light lit and the other flashing while it was trying to do something but couldn't as there wasn't sufficient air there. The two big clues to it needing attention are dropping while parked overnight or taking a long time to rise when it is started.
Not quite everybody..... I had a Classic LSE that had been converted to springs but as I used it mostly for towing I got fed up with having the headlights pointing skywards, so bought my P38 purely for the EAS. It was bought with a burst rear airspring (and a blown head gasket) which I replaced, used the free EASUnlock software to reset the ECU and up she came. In the 10 years and 178,000 miles since then, I've replaced the front airsprings (as they were also the originals), fitted a new seal in the compressor and a set of O rings in the valve block. It just works and what other item on a car only needs attention every 15 years or so? My partners Merc broke a rear spring, her daughter's Nissan broke a front and the front springs broke on a pair of Saabs that my ex and I had at different times. So coil springs aren't that reliable either.
No, a P38 isn't a sports car and I wouldn't have thought EAS would be right on one either (even though numerous modern Mercs and Audis have also gone over to their version of EAS), but what it does give is a far superior ride. As I mentioned earlier, it's what sets a P38 apart from all the others.
The Thor has a little more bottom end grunt than the GEMS (due to the longer inlet tract) but I also wouldn't discount a GEMS (although as I have 2, I may be a little biased). Pre-97 had a few more weak points but there were quite a few mods done under the skin from the 97 year model onwards. Even then, most were parts that were superseded so if you needed, for example, an underbonnet fusebox, the new one was a different design to the original so would bring it up to later spec. At the end of the day, you are looking at a 20+ year old car, so what's the odd year here or there, how well it has been looked after is more important.
Bolt wrote:
Question for the gallery: Can you drive on 3 well inflated bags in case of catastrophic failure of one?
You can but it'll sit at a very funny angle with the diagonally opposite corner being high.
Best (only) deal for emergency valves is https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/P38-RANGE-ROVER-AIR-SUSPENSION-SYSTEM-EAS-EMERGENCY-VALVES-SET/272726482487
Although I've got a couple of servicable air springs, I have never carried them with me. I suppose if someone was doing a lot of serious off road stuff (or running Arnotts) it would be a good idea but not with Dunlops under normal use.
headlight wrote:
Looking online it looks as if I might have to travel a few miles to be able to look at some as there doesn"t appear to be any close to me.
Where are you?
Forget welding or bodywork unless you are really unlucky. A P38 isn't a Disco that starts to dissolve as soon as the sky clouds over, rust simply isn't a problem. The chassis is built with much thicker steel and doesn't suffer while bodywork will only show signs of rust around the rear wheel arches, front edge of the bonnet and bottom of the lower tailgate (which is alloy but can still corrode. Diesels are a bit sluggish (and that's me being polite so as not to offend the diesl owners on here too much) although they can be chipped to get a bit more out of them, but even then, they are still thirsty, for a diesel, so the running costs of a V8 on LPG is probably the same or slightly lower. Don't even consider a car that the seller tells you has been 'upgraded' to coil springs, you'll just be buying a pretty Disco. The air suspension is what sets the P38 apart from everything else, is simple (once you get your head round it) and dead easy and cheap to repair. Make sure you get two working keyfobs, if you have to lock and unlock it by putting the key in the keyhole, it will lock you out and immobilise itself in the very near future. The cooling system is the most important thing on a V8, make sure it doesn't overheat and doesn't show signs of gloop in the cooling system. Brown coolant with copper coloured flecks in it should cause you to run away very quickly.
Get a good one, or one that you need to spend a little time on and once you are happy with it, I guarantee you'll be doing more miles in it than your van. I've done nearly 200,000 miles in mine in 10 years, 320 of them this weekend!
Lol. Or as my missus said, if you want to know who really loves you, lock the wife and dog in the boot for a couple of hours and see which one is pleased to see you when you let them out......
Could well be. I had a very slight knock from somewhere on the rear of mine a few years ago although that was suspension movement related but only noticeable at low speeds. Spent ages trying to find something loose with no joy until I took it into a mates workshop, got it up on a ramp and got his apprentice to keep bouncing the car by hanging off the towbar. Turned out to be coming from one of the rear shocks but not from a top or bottom rubber but from inside the shock itself. Somethng had obviously come loose inside as once it was off there was about half a millimetre of free movement..
Bolt wrote:
It just seems you are always on line either here or there.....no matter if I was in Calif, Oz or Hawaii.
On another note, Is it just me, or has .net become P-38 Kindergarten lately?
Between "RichardG" and Escape, you ARE the forum!.........Good job!Back to topic: I will grab a few speed controllers when I see them. Lots of pick your own type wreckers nearby!
I usually check the forums in the morning (to delete the Russian spam), and when there's nothing worth watching on TV in the evenings (which is most of the time). So it might look like I'm always here but I do have a few hours off every so often.
Yes, .net is filling up with newbies asking the same stupid questions and the odd know-it-all who need bringing down a peg or two every so often. As even RRTH hasn't put in an appearance since the revamp, someone has to slap them around a bit.
I'm bunging a speed controller in the post for James in the morning but they are always useful to have a spare.