What the software can do is here http://www.rswsolutions.com/index.php/p38a-eas-unlock-videos. Despite being free it is actually very good and if your EAS system has gone into hard fault, you need to be able to reset it before it will start to work again. If you've got no leaks, then the most likely cause of a problem is an iffy height sensor, but you still need to identify which one.

You need diagnostics, either a Nano or similar or the free RSW software and lead (like this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fits-RANGE-ROVER-P38a-EAS-AIR-SUSPENSION-FAULT-CODE-RESET-DIAGNOSTIC-PC/122111172488). Going up to high signifies a soft fault (which would have cleared if you had switched off and restarted), dropping to the floor shows it has hard faulted and has to be reset.

Without knowing why it has shut down you won't be able to faultfind it. If the system detects a fault it shuts down to protect itself but you need to identify the fault. The thermal switch is in the back of the compressor, unplug it and check for continuity between the orange and black wires although I very much doubt that is the fault. The thermal switch only kicks in if the compressor overheats which it won't do unless you have another fault, either a worn out compressor or leak. It is supposed to reset when it cools down but they tend to saty open circuit is they have operated lots of times. Even if you jump the compressor to build pressure, the ECU has gone into fault mode so won't try to do anything until reset. Did you have any other warning signs? Dropping to the bumpstops overnight or taking a long time to rise up to normal?

I bought a Britpart one as it was cheap, in stock and came with a 2 year warranty so I figured changing it every 18 months or so wasn't such a big deal. Although the holes lined up, the bottom ones were too small so had to be drilled out.

Clive603 wrote:

Running General Grabber HTS tyres at their recommended 35 psi all round.

Recommeded by who? Pressures should be 28 psi in the front and 38 psi in the rear, although I tend to run a couple of psi higher all round, particularly when doing a long distance towing job.

Lpgc wrote:

Am I right in saying that one such firm's re-design of the RV8 which was a 4.6L version was adopted by LR for the now familiar OEM 4.6 ?

There was a stepping stone which was codenamed the Iceberg engine. Perkins did some development work for LR to see if they could produce a diesel version of the V8. The bottom end was strengthened with cross bolted main bearings and various other mods done including increasing the stroke. Although the diesel version didn't happen, this resulted in the 4.2 litre version that was fitted into the LWB variant of the Classic. The 4.0 and 4.6 litre versions fitted into the P38 benefit from the stronger bottom end but the 4.0 litre shares the same bore and stroke as the 3.9 in the Classic (which explains why they are both 3950 cc) while the 4.6 uses the same bore size but with a longer stroke again to give the extra capacity.

Getting back on track. If the core plugs on the rear of the engine block are leaking, they lurk behind the flywheel so it is an engine out (or at least move it forward to separate it from the gearbox) or gearbox out job. No easy option and if one is leaking, usually caused by the cooling system having been filled with plain water so they rust through from the inside, then the others will need doing too. I've got the same problem on the Ascot but the ones I can see leaking are a couple on the sides of the block (including one hiding behind the engine mount), so they can be done with the engine in place. But if they are leaing, the ones on the back aren't going to be far behind so will need changing too. I've got the core plugs, the Loctite to coat them in when the new ones go in, the engine crane to lift it and move it forward away from the gearbox, all I'm short of now is the time to do it!

and cut holes in the front wings for Sport vents that don't do anything......

V8 Developments will do everything RPi will for lower prices and without having to put up with the bullshit. But why only 5.2? What's wrong with a 5.4 http://www.v8developments.co.uk/products/engines/long_engines/5.4_litre/dominator/index.shtml

It gets it's ground through the RH front door latch but all that means is if the front door is locked it has no ground so can't be opened. If it is unlocked then the ground will be there and it will work. Presumably you can open and close it properly? If you can then it is likely the switch in the latch in the lower tailgate is either broke or the latch itself has worked loose so it isn't closing fully.

There's pots on the back of the instrument cluster that allow you to alter what the rev counter says. One is for offset and the other for slope, so you set the offset so it reads correctly at idle, then the slope to get it right further up the rev range. The speedo is the same, how do you think IRS managed to calibrate mine for plod? If you are prepared to spend a bit of time tweaking, you can get them both spot on.

No, about 4 feet further back......

I didn't remove my bumper either. In fact, I think the only way my bumper will come off is with an angle grinder as the last time I tried, as I heaved on the bolts I got that familiar, this isn't turning, it's twisting and will shear off if I carry on, feeling. The only slightly awkward part is getting to the bottom bolts but a 3/8 drive socket and extension fits through the lower air vents to get to them.

I would think the gear shift points won't be far wrong. I've only ever driven one diesel and that didn't shift up until it reached 3,000 rpm. Someone on the other side was complaining that there's had started doing that (and hadn't previously) and was asking what the cause might be, so maybe that isn't right. My 4HP22 changes up at under 1,500 rpm on a light throttle, 2,000 ish if I'm giving it at bit of welly, or anything up to 6,000 with the Sport button poked. So I would have thought that would suit the low down grunt of a diesel anyway. I believe the Thor gearbox ECU can be reprogrammed anyway.

If you wanted to stick an old 300TDi motor and manual box in it, do away with the ABS, EAS and probably the BeCM and run all the electrical parts directly from the switches, probably anyone could do it. But all you would be doing is recreating a mid-1980's Classic in a P38 body. There's a very good reason why modern cars use data buses. Back in the mid to late '80's, I did some work with BMW when they had just released a new version on the 7 series which had gone over to CAN bus. They reckoned that on the previous version the single heaviest item on the whole car, heavier than the bodyshell itself even, was the wiring loom. By going to CAN they had knocked something like 200 kgs off the weight.

Sloth wrote:

I can't see it being that easy though or someone would have surely done it by now.

Not necessarily, the sort of people that are into engine swaps are those with a mechanical bias who steer well clear of anything involving electric, particularly data, it's all a black art. There's been numerous different engines fitted into Classic Range Rovers, Defenders and Discovery 1's as they are pretty basic and don't involve any data bus. Even low volume manufacturers steer well clear, even the Morgan uses the 14CUX controlled version with a distributor when it would be so much better, and stronger, with a GEMS unit in there.

I can open it but all I can see is individual copies of RAVE for each differnt model. I assumed he'd spent hours on the Wayback machine copying and pasting each of the pages from the self help bits.

DavidAll wrote:

Crikey that is an epic Gilbertd!

After struggling for hours to get it out and the replacement back in again using the trolley jack and blocks of wood method, I figured if I was going to do it again I'd make life a bit easier for myself. I made up a bracket that I could bolt to the bottom of the T case. I used a large socket welded to it that was a snug fit into the hole where the trollet jack pad would normally fit so it held the T case level and at just the right angle to slot it back in. I also cut the heads off some Toyota cylnder head bolts which had the correct thread so I could put those into a couple of the mounting holes and slide it in on them. That way it went in straight so less chance of damaging the new oil seal when putting it back. Managed to get it out and back in again on my own rather than having to rope my son-in-law in (a useful source of brute force and ignorance) to help get it in.

RAVE says to always change the gearbox output shaft seal if you take the transfer case off. I swapped my TC in an effort to track down the source of a driveline vibration only to find that not only did it not cure the vibration but the one I put in had a worn chain that would skip. So I put my original one back in. On neither occasion did I follow the instructions to change the gearbox output shaft oil seal so it had to come out again to do just that as it was peeing out all over the place.

This one https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RANGE-ROVER-P38-4-6-HOLLAND-AND-HOLLAND-2001-VERY-RARE-COLLECTIBLE-P38-R-R/323888589385 looks to be in need of more than the seller is telling. Unless it is parked on a slope, it looks like it is well down on the RH side (and as there are no pictures of that side you can't say for certain), book showing on the HEVAC, centre bulb out on the message centre, the sort of thing you'd expect on a P38 being sold by someone that doesn't really know, or care, about it. But worst of all, it'll need a complete respray as it's had the light guards fitted so each wing with have had a couple of holes drilled in them. I suspect a respray in the correct colour and finish will be getting on for at least half what he is asking for the car......

Ahem, not trying hard enough. Last Saturday but in all fairness, it's only done 19,000 in the last year......

Admittedly I did expect him to find something that I hadn't noticed but he couldn't and was pretty gobsmacked too when he saw the mileage.

I'd also go with RH Front latch too. When the locks start to dance you sometimes find that only 3 of them do, the one that doesn't is the one that is faulty.

Latches on 94-01 cars are the same as fitted to the MG F and, as LHD cars are pretty rare in the UK, Rimmers have latches at clearance prices. RH https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-FQJ102281PMA and LH https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-FQJ102292PMA