I've recently replaced the standard dual cone subwoofer with a more "modern" compact subwoofer.
Reasoning was twofold. Firstly I wanted the packing space being taken up by the standard sub and secondly the standard units speakers were torn anyway, so it was just taking up space and not contributing anyway.

I decided to go for a Phillips unit. It is nice and compact and seemed to get some good reviews. It's power requirements also fell within the cars limits, so no need to change out fuses or uprate wiring to supply the sub.
https://www.pioneer-car.eu/eur/products/ts-wx130ea

The new subwoofer fits nicely inside the space between the outer skin of the vehicle above and just behind the left rear wheel arch. This means that the full space previously occupied by the standard sub is now available for packing more beer. Perfect.

I first set about fabricating a mounting bracket for the sub that wraps around the back of the sub tying into the standard mounting holes of the sub:

The idea was to support weight of the sub from the top and bottom with a tight fitting bracket. The sub is supplied with some self tapping fasteners that screw into the sub itself, but I needed the fasteners to be flatter so I used some countersunk M6 fasteners. I tapped the holes in the back of the sub to M6 which worked nicely.

To mount the sub to the car I enlarged two of the standard cable handling clip holes above the proposed mounting location and fitted two rivnuts. Now I had nice threaded holes for the top of the sub mounting bracket to attach to:

For the bottom mounting I welded a nut to the sub mounting bracket (which can be seen in the 2nd image above) and drilled a hole in the body for another fastener to screw into the sub mounting bracket:

The wiring was very simple with the sub only needing a Battery Supply, an Ignition Signal (from the radio to make the unit power up), a Ground Return and an Audio Signal (so 4 wires). These happen to be exactly what the standard subwoofer uses, so I just cut off the standard connector, fitted a DT connector that I had lying around to the vehicle wiring and the sub wiring and tested the unit. Worked well.

The electrical connector I cabletied to the top of the sub mounting bracket like so:

As can be seen from the images above I also stuck some sound insulating/damping material to all the body panels in the area. Without this insulation all the vibrating body panels absorbed the energy making the sub not sound great and diminishing its power quite a bit.

The standard rear wing inner "cover", or whatever it is called, is filled with gaping holes for the mounting hardware and wiring of the standard sub to move through and attach. These holes now needed to be covered up.

I decided to 3d print covers for these holes, in thin semi flexible material so that it could bend and conform to the shape of the wheelarch lines cover thingy. I heated these up, shaped them as required and then fitted them. I didn't take any pictures of this part, but I'll post some picture later. It worked quite well, and I even printed a mount for the subwoofer remote, with a clip in cover, that fits inside one of the gaping holes. Some of the clips holding the covers in place broke off during fitment (layer line breaks) but all in all the covers worked well and look decently good for what they are. Pics of this to follow.

Does anyone have a source with stock for these, specifically LR or Dunlop I suppose are the descent ones?
Front Height Sensor: ANR4686
Rear Height Sensor: ANR4687

Mine are still ok, but getting on, and I suspect there might be a bit on a dead spot on my left rear (haven't confirmed). Anyway, I'd like to keep using the vehicle for many years to come so I'm looking to replace them all preemptively and keep the currently fitted ones as spares.

I can't find any stock locally (South-Africa) and most of the UK online retailers show out-of-stock.

Thanks!
Justus

Another project!

So I've bought this:

It is a Viair 485C and is capable of 200psi at a flow rate of 25l/min and a 100% duty cycle.
It's also supposed to be quiet according to their website (it isn't, not compared to the standard compressor anyway).

Should be good, if I can make it fit that is:

I'll need to redesign a complete new mounting and housing for the compressor and the valve block. Fun!

I'm going to use this thread to just dump information as I gather it, and perhaps think out loud about what I'm busy with. Chime in if you have anything to add, please!
Also, all information here is possibly correct, possibly not. Use it at your own risk! (especially because what I do here might interfere with the vehicles ability to stop)

Vehicle:
2001 4.6 HSE Thor.

Aim:
1) Develop a controller that will allow me to intercept and correct the speed signal from the ABS controller to the BECM to correct for different diameter tires.
2) Have a way to disable ABS at the push of a button without interfering with the working of the traction control.

Hi all,

Hoping someone might be willing to help me out.
I would like to send my ECM to the UK to have it Tornado-ed by Mark Adams, but I would like the car to remain mobile so I need another ECM to keep the car running here in SA while my original ECM is travelling. Additionally I also want an ECM with the Lambda/Oxygen sensor control activated for the two upstream sensors, hence my need for a UK ECM.

All this for a 2001 4.6 Thor (Bosch) car.

Would anyone be willing to purchase an ECM for me there in the UK from an appropriate vehicle and then send it on to my freight forwarder in London who will then get it to me here in SA.
Obviously I'm happy to pay for all related expenses, I'm assuming Paypal would be easiest?

Cheers,
Justus

Hi all,

I removed the 4HP24 from my 2001 Thor this week as it has gone in for a full overhaul. This is the first time since owning Rachel that I have needed to get into that area, and to my shock/frustration I realised that not all the bellhousing bolts were fitted. Another stupid decision by the PO.

Anyway, I need to replace the missing bolts. This is what I have:
2x 82mm bolts
5x 46mm bolts
4x 34mm bolts

Anyone have an idea of what I am missing? Partnumber or thread and length would be perfect.

Thanks!
Justus

Hi all,

Thought I would share this project of mine with you all.

Since fitting the larger tyres to my P38 (235/85R16) the spare doesn't fit into it's usual spot anymore. This past December break I fitted the spare to the roof while we went on a little roadtrip here in SA. It worked, but isn't the ideal spot, mostly because I don't like the look and added wind resistance, but also because my windsurfing gear has to go up there in future. I started designing a spare wheel carrier for the rear in August last year and I've been spending a few hours on it here and there. This afternoon I just finalised the first design revision and sent the parts off for lasercutting. I'll document the build process here.

Spare location on the roof:

Proposed location on the rear:

I'd like to retain the original bumper in this first revision, additionally I'd also like to retain the ability to unbolt the major components and possibly update or change them in future. I'd like to minimize the amount of welding to the existing chassis also.

Overall view:

The carrier will attach and hinge on the chassis on the right rear corner. This will attach to the rear chassis longitudinal member here:

The chassis mount will be bolt on, with only holes drilled into the chassis, no welding. The bolt on plates will be supported on two planes and supported on the inside of the chassis with backing plates to support the load:

The standard bumper will cover all the modifications to the chassis (if I managed to measure correctly, if not, I'll have to make a plan on the fly) with only a hole in the bumper on the right hand side for the swingarm bolt to pass through, as well as holes for the fasteners where the center mount attaches to. The center mount will support the swingarm vertically in the closed position as well as supply a position for the closing clamp to attach to. The center mount attachment will be welded to the rear crossmember (round bar behind the spare wheel well and inside the rear bumper), which is removable and can thus be welded off vehicle.
Center mount attachment:

The swingarm assembly is supported by two deep groove ball bearings (replaceable) and is bolted to the chassis mount with a high tensile M20 bolt. The swingarm assembly will support the spare wheel as well as a mounting location for a high-lift jack.
Swingarm Assembly:

The center mount will bolt to the center mount attachment through the standard bumper and give the swingarm a pace to locate into and clamp onto:

Swingarm located into center mount:

The swingarm is has a secondary locking pin that locates into the chassis mount and this secondary locking pin will also lock the swingarm in it's open position, allowing normal operation of the tailgate.
Secondary locking pin and swingarm bearing assembly:

Hopefully I'll get the lasercut parts before the end of the month so that I can get going with the fabrication!

Cheers,
Justus

Hi all and Merry Christmas!

I've been doing some offroad driving with my 2001 P38 and I suspect I've heard the transfer case chain slipping.
I heard it with quite a harsh downshift from 2nd Low to 1st Low on a steep descent, so the force on the chain would have been in the opposite direction to the usual when accelerating from a stop. It hasn't slipped at all when accelerating, well, not that I have heard anyway. Is this the chain slipping, or possibly something else?

I have been looking through the Ashcroft website (https://www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/diy-rebuild-kits/borg-warner-rebuild-kits.html) and I'm thinking the following bits are a must:

• Borg Warner Chain P38
• P38 Rebuild Kit (I'm guessing this will include the same seals as the Borg Warner Seals listed further on?)

I see the output shaft is also listed, should I be adding this to the list too, or not required?
Viscous Coupling? Mine seems to be performing perfectly at the moment, so no immediate reason to replace it, but if there is a chance that it might suddenly fail while out in the bush somewhere then it might be worth doing while I've got the transfer out? Bit pricey though.

Morning all :)

I have a coolant leak, but struggling to figure out from where. My initial thoughts were that it is the water pump gasket leaking, so I replaced that, but I still have the same leak in the same area behind the water pump above the Cam Position Sensor connector.

These are screenshots from a video I recorded of the area, since my phone actually managed to get in there.
The album and video is here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/fpU8XPnhs76Cmcmc7

I'm not sure what else is in that area that could be leaking coolant? Do any of the front cover bolts enter the water jacket somewhere? I replaced the cam recently so the front cover has been off aswell.

Thanks!
Justus

Hi all,

I'd like some opinions on my V8 situation. 2001 4.6 Thor.

1600km ago I replaced the headgaskets as they had started blowing combustion out of the side of the engine. Not unexpected as the previous owner had decided fancy headbolts were unnecessary and some threaded rod would do just fine. At the same time the heads were skimmed 10thou, valves lapped and and valvestem seals replaced.
I used Elring headgaskets and Allmakes stretch bolts. One of the bolts (rhs head, inner bolt, furthest forward) seemed to go into elastic deformation slightly earlier than the others during the 20Nm, 90deg, 90deg torque procedure. At the time it did bother me a little, but I decided to just soldier on and get the engine together.

After the headgasket job the engine ran beautifully for about 1600km until this past weekend when I felt that the top radiator hose was just a little more pressurised than it should be. I couldn't find anything else wrong and the coolant level remained constant so I chalked it up to paranoia on my part. Drove it to work on Wednesday morning and as I got to the office it had started puking some coolant out of the overflow and the top radiator hose was again pressurised. Something wrong!

Did a compression test last night:
1-->127psi; 2-->110psi; 3-->122psi; 4-->125psi; 5-->124psi; 6-->122psi; 7-->120psi; 8-->120psi

Obviously something wrong on cylinder 2.

So, I'm ordering going for Elring headgaskets again. Is this fine or should I look at something else? (Elring is available here in SA, but I can import something else if it'll be better)
I've ordered a set of ARP head studs (157-4301) this time round. I've seen conflicting info on the torque procedure for these, what did you guys do?

Anything else I need to be concerned about? Anything else to check out?

Want:
As you start driving off, the vehicle automatically locks itself when moving above a certain speed.

Reason:
Girlfriends daughter is driving me crazy asking me to lock the doors after driving off. She isn't wrong, living in South-Africa it is probably a good idea to lock the doors. It'll also be a fun little project.

Initial thoughts:
Design a little module that intercepts the vehicle speed signal and outputs a command to lock the doors.
Vehicle speed can be intercepted before the EAS Controller (Yellow wire right? 12V square wave I assume?)
Commanding the doors to lock might be a bit more complicated. I'm guessing something along the lines of making the BECM think that the user has pushed down the sill switch. Looking at RAVE (not in detail yet) it seems to be the Green/Red wire between either the Left or Right Door Outstation and it's corresponding Door Actuator will be a good starting point.

Anyone else have any further input? This idea is in it's infancy, but I can't see it being too difficult to do. Actually, has it been done? I haven't searched to see if anyone has attempted it yet!

Any pitfalls I've missed in my eagerness?

Has anyone used Island 4x4 recently for international shipping?

I'm looking to purchase a bunch of spares for shipping to South-Africa, but I'm not getting any response from them (nothing in the last 2 weeks).

Cheers,
Justus

I've been troubleshooting an interesting issue with my EAS which is affecting the rear left corner of my P38 (now named Rachel).
It started yesterday when dropping to highway height caused a hard fault. I reset the fault, drove on and got to my destination. On the way home the same thing happened again after dropping to highway height. In both cases the fault was related to the left rear valve.

Fast forward to today. Did some troubleshooting and found the following. Actuating specific valves using the EAS Unlock software from Storey works on all valves except the rear left valve (consistent with the symptoms so far). I measured the current to the left rear valve's solenoid (little black wires into the solenoid body) and there is no current flow when actuating the valve. All the other valves read around 1,2A when being actuated.
Cool, makes sense so far. Checked all the wiring I can get to without removing the valveblock and it all seems fine, so my next step is to remove the valveblock and check the wiring that I can't get to with it installed.

First step is to depressurize the bags for valveblock removal. Here is the strange part: the rear left corner deflated down to the bumpstops! This means that the rear left valve must have been actuating correctly right? Or is there some different logic involved here that I am missing?

For completeness this valveblock and driver unit all came from a wreck that had been put on coils before being scrapped. I rebuilt it (o-rings, diaphragm etc) a week or two ago and it has been working properly until I had this issue yesterday.
I'm going to continue stripping the valveblock out and perhaps swap out the driver unit from the valveblock that I got in the car originally.

Tyres leak, so I'm guessing this is the correct category?

I've just got a really good deal on a set of 235/85r16 AT tyres, same size on the Defenders, so I took them.
The idea is to try fit them to the P38, and if they simply don't play ball then they can be passed on to a Defender.

Any advice on getting them fitted? Mudguards off etc? Spacers on the bumpstops?
I am also planning to recalibrate the EAS heights in the near future (I already have the delrin, just neet to cut it), so I guess I could tweak the suspension heights to give a bit more clearance if required.

Collecting the tyres on Wednesday, so I'll have to start thinking of what to do with the spare in the meantime aswell.
I'm leaning towards a swingarm above the rear bumper. I can design and manufacture this myself.

Good Morning all!
(well, here in South Africa it is now morning)

I've been lurking here for a while getting to know the P38's a little in anticipation of buying my first one. This past weekend I found one that matched my wants and I pulled the trigger. Collected her yesterday:

She is a 2001 4.6 HSE in Blenheim Silver with a Lightstone interior (I think I'm correct with the colour names, correct me if I'm wrong?) and 252000 km on the clock. The previous owner rebuilt the engine about 13000km ago including tophat liners, new bearings, reground crank etc. He also out her back on air, rebuilt the valveblock and EAS compressor along with a bunch of other maintenance items like refreshing the brake system, new oil in the drivetrain etc.

She drives beautifully and I'm really excited about owning her! I've been eyeing the P38s for about a decade now and I've finally decided to pull the trigger.
I'm planning to use her for road trips exploring Southern-Africa as well as just pottering around town. I'm very comfortable with electronics as well as automotive maintenance in general having rebuilt a LR Series IIa as well as a Fiat X1/9 in the past.

My first few bits to sort are the following:

1. ABS pump runs on every press off the brake pedal. I'm guessing the best pace to start will be a replacement accumulator? Anything else to check before I order a new one?

2. I parked her in a level garage last night and this morning she had lowered herself to the bumpstops. My guess would be a leak on one of the corners is causing this. I drove her again this morning and the compressor runs regularly without me adjusting the ride height. My first check has been to park her on a known level surface and I've pulled the timer relay to see which corner is the culprit. I'll start hunting for a leak from there. Any other suggestions?

3. Trim clips! A bunch of these are missing from the interior, especially around the seat bases etc. Any suggestions for suppliers? These are interior colored (lightstone).

4. Radio volume knob and HVAC fan speed control knobs are erratic in operation. Can I just strip the head unit and HVAC unit apart and clean up the contacts on the internal PCBs? The HVAC has some dead pixels so the zebra strip needs doing also.

5. The indicator stalk is wait too eager to self cancel when turning right and doesn't self cancel when turning left. Is there and adjustment somewhere?

Any other urgent bits I should be checking out to get and keep her reliable? General advice or suggestions welcome!

As an aside: this seems like a superb forum with some great advice and lovely vibe (not so common online). Excited to be here :D

Cheers,
Justus