Unfortunately by then it was about a month after I had received the order when I actually got to open it.... I had been away working and ordered the parts to (hopefully) arrive before I was due to go away so I would be able to have done the water pump aswell, and then not have to rush later... Parts didn't turn up before I left (again usually they have been really good - if things are in stock, which all my items were at the time, then they are usually there next day... and I'd left an extra day spare, but this time didn't turn up as quickly).

I tried calling them about it when I did return home and open the box, but got no answer on the phone, and I had to get the water pump done that day as I was having to drive somewhere that night for work, returning the next day, and then buggering off to Europe again the following day, so I ended up getting one from the local LR independent place so I could do the job.

My next order with Island 4x4 also wasn't great - there were a couple of parts that were 'to order' plus a couple of days... fine.. no problem.. but I then had to chase them up after a week to finally be told that the part I had ordered wasn't available from their supplier and they didn't have one of the other items in stock either (valve grinding stick - I tacked a few other tools onto the order to take it up to £50 to qualify for free shipping!).. Which is fine, if you don't have the parts, then no problem - but I shouldn't have to chase them up for an update a week or more down the line.

A bit like trying to deal with Land Rover themselves... ordered new keys for my P38 and the 2 restoration ones which had the keys nicked from the workshop.. on the 23rd DECEMBER... and trying to get any answers out of my dealer is like getting blood from a stone. I've called them 3 times now, and every time they have vowed to get in touch with JLR and call me back 'that afternoon' .. and every time have failed to call me back. Now it's been nearly 8 weeks, I've very tempted to walk into the dealer and ask to see the manager and ask if I would have had the same treatment if I'd walked in there to spank away £75K on a new RR, or if it's only because I've ordered 3 items for a 15+ year old vehicle that I'm being given shit service...

Pads shouldn't be too bad to change... the shocks are pretty quick to change on the front - but still not fun in the rain!

I know what you mean about the Island 4x4 website - though I haven't ordered from them again since the last time they sent out my new OEM waterpump loose, and the gasket box taped in the top of the box, which was subsequently torn in one place and the tape damaged the surface where it had gone across. Previously to the last couple of orders I wouldn't go anywhere else, but the last 2 orders have left me with a bit to be desired!

I will probably order from them again at some point as they do seem to be cheaper than most places - even for OEM parts...

Ok, you had me at flashing... well that and key fob...

I'm away working at the moment and haven't had my laptop on in the last couple of days - but I'm about at the weekend so will check back in then and hopefully be able to answer any questions :)

I would say that the difference between the 3.5 and 3.54 would be minimal, but I wouldn't recommend doing just the one end!! Would probably toast the viscous coupling before moving to the rear diff... but who knows what the outcome would be after that!!

I like the colour of the new one!!

Maybe yours was one of the first Bosch versions brought out by Land Rover - or if it was owned by LR for the first 2 years of it's life, then it could be a 'pre production' model for the Bosch system... AFAIK all Bosch versions came with side air bags, so it's in line with the rest of the spec.

I also have a problem... now owning 3 of them... I really have to start getting some work done on them but since I have the most of March off, I am hoping to start getting stuck in!

Drop me the VIN number of the new one if you want and I can have a look at it in Microcat and see if it has any of the build options listed!

Yeah, the rear is a nice piece of cake compares to the front... especially as the hubs have never been apart before!!

I think there is an option on the P38 front diff on the Ashcroft transmissions website to upgrade the diff centre from 2 pin to 4 pin - so I presume that they just fit a 'standard' front ring & pinion to the 4 pin centre... Extra £50 on top, plus apparently an extra charge if you then return a 2 pin unit - so I'm guessing somewhere in the £100 region on top to make the front one a correct 4 pin diff...

Also looks like they do 'HD' ring an Pinions in a 3.5 ratio (close enough to the stock 3.54) which are selectable for front/rear if you wanted to upgrade yourself just those components for a cool £195 an end!!

dave3d wrote:

I have never replaced a diff and am no expert, but wasn't there a discussion on the "other" forum about front and rear diffs being physically interchangeable but the teeth are cut differently? It yours has failed in just a few months it maybe the problem.

The front/rears are physically interchangeable, yes. I have a rear 4 pin diff in the front of '01. I put it in on the back of into from the 'other' forum where people said they were interchangeable - and this was before the discussion on the teeth being cut the other way, so going forwards, it is effectively running in 'reverse' (if it was fitted to the rear axle) all of the time.

That being said, I had swapped it before this was all discussed - and it's now done nearly 15K miles on it, and I haven't noticed any difference... All the whines I had before are still there (done UJ's, complete new front prop, brand new 4 pin rear diff that I got for a steal, replaced transfer case as the chain in my old one was stretched and skipped teeth under hard acceleration), so I've come to the conclusion that my whines are actually from the gearbox itself...

I'm coming up on a diff oil change again soon, so I'm going to take a good look at the filler plug and the oil that comes out to see if it looks like there is more than normal wear going on in there... I'm still expecting a second hand, 4 pin rear diff in the front to be stronger than the 2 pin one that Land Rover put in from the factory... all the rumours about the post '99 having a 4 pin front diff is a load of shite in my opinion... my front had definitely never been removed before and was original and I pulled a 2 pin one out!

Could build a 12v - 5v power circuit to power the BT receiver... 12V in, 5V regulator, couple of smoothing capacitors, and then 5V out to the BT receiver. This could then be fed off the ignition switched feed at the radio for example - or wherever is convenient :)

I get the same occasional 'click' in the steering when going over bumps. I have tried tightening the steering box a bit, but think it could do with a bit more.... I haven't done the intermediate shaft yet, but it's on the list to do.

I've also heard that the splines in the steering column itself can wear (on the bit that telescopes outwards) and that can also cause excessive play in the steering. I have a spare steering column kicking about from a vehicle that was stripped for parts, so I was planning on swapping it out at some point just for the hell of it to see if it made a difference...

Well, I've decided to take the plunge and see if these LED H4 headlamp units are any good.. most importantly - to see what kind of beam pattern they produce

From memory we've got a set of the early style headlamps at the workshop, which have HIDs in them from when we stripped the RR. my plan is to do a side-by-side test of 1) standard halogen lamp, 2) HID lamp that's in the unit already and 3) the LED H4 version.

I picked the pair of H4 LEDs up for about £32 delivered - and claim to be about 2000lm on low beam, and 4000lm (total) on high beam. Which will be nice... if they give a proper beam pattern and aren't going to blind other drivers. They are a COB style (chip on board) LED which gives you one source of light - rather than the silly ones that have LEDs around in a ring and claim to be '360 degree' because that's the bit that messes the beam pattern up from what I gather.

I'll see what they're like when they arrive and try and get some pictures of the install and testing. If they are junk, then I'm sure I'll find a different use for them... but for £32 I figured it was worth a punt!

Good to know... one bit of the HEVAC I haven'ts had the fun of playing around with yet!

Had to do it a couple of times when testing other people's BECM's in my RR to make sure that they actually start the vehicle etc before sending it back... until I get the keys for my other P38's and I can use one of them as a test subject!!

It's funny... I've just been working/fixing a BECM for a guy today which had a problem the opposite to yours. There was no power getting past RL10 - so after a few hours of poking around - finally found a tiny break in the track under the relay, so had to put a jumper wire in.

Hopefully he'll have it back tomorrow and it will all be fine.. I do wonder if one of the small tracks on yours has just burnt through or something - so causing the opposite problem.

Marty

It should keep them closed if the recirculation button is pressed and the orange indicator is on above them...
I wouldn't have thought it would open them up again on power up and reset to open position but can't say I've tried it!

Once you get the new BECM power board installed and it running properly, and are ready to do the ECU swap...

Remove old ECU,<br/>
Refit new ECU,<br/>
Before trying to start it, with the nanocom, key in Pos II, Go into P38 -> Motronic -> Motronic -> Settings. Arrow across to the 3rd page and at the bottom is 'Immobilisation Code' write this number down.<br/>
Then exit out back to the list of ECU's.<br/>
Turn ignition OFF (BECM responds best to diagnostics with ignition off)<br/>
Go into BECM -> Settings -> Alarm. You should get 'DIAGNOSTICS MODE' on the message centre. Don't worry if you don't just yet as long as you can still talk to the BECM!<br/>
Arrow across to the last page and you will see a box with 'Immobilisation Code' above it.<br/>
Tap the white box, and delete the original digits. Write in the digits you wrote down from the settings in the engine ECU.<br/>
Press Red X once,<br/>
Press 'Write Settings'<br/>
You'll get a confirmation.<br/>
Then exit out and 'DIAGNOSTICS MODE' should disappear from the dash.<br/>
Done.<br/>
Then put key back in ignition, and start her up!<br/>

Hope this helps..

Marty

GazGuzzler59 wrote:

Thanks for inviting me over to this forum I will keep spreading the word

Also if any members in the west mids fancy a get together. I have a country pub and restaurant with a massive carpark, could probably hold 60 P38s!!

Neil
The Anchor Inn
CV100RT

That's a fairly central place aswell (well maybe not for Gordon...) but could be worth trying to organise a meet together at some point!

Hi Ray...

Good to see you made it :)

Hope you get your replacement power board from Toronto soon and can get up and rovering again soon!

Marty

It's a bit cold here in Swindon too... only about -2/3 but it's all the moisture in the air here that makes it feel colder than it is...

Was in Oslo a couple of weeks ago and it was -14.. Still it was a crisp cold, and didn't feel as bad as it does here! Still no snow here yet so I can't go playing :(

I'll have a look at the compatibility list - but I don't see the difference with navigation/no navigation (I assume it's talking about the factory installed Nav) if this unit connects to the CD changer... The navigation on the DSP system feeds as an input directly into the DSP amp and it does the muting/switching over - so don't see the problem..

The only thing it would do.. is if you have the navigation on and are on the phone - it would mute the audio from the head unit (in this case phone call) and give you the nav directions. I don't know if it mutes all doors for the nav or just the drivers door - as I've never had a fully working system!!

You show up as a member when I look Richard, but it doesn't show myself...

So looks like it shows all 'other' members other than you if you are logged in.

It looks a bit strange to me, but just gives a list of names, and a member number - even though there isn't any real order to it.