So, having read all that - and great thanks GilbertD for laying it out so clearly -I personally could tow a P38 with a P38 as long as the trailer was rated for at least 2,220Kg plus the weight of the trailer itself up to a maximum of 3500kg (the max towing capacity of a P38)..

Eg: If the trailer weighed 1280Kg it must be rated for 3500kg itself.

Super!
And my Jeep only weighs 1450Kg so that would be a snap. It is plated for 3250kg itself so I could possibly find a suitable trailer to tow the Duchess behind the Jeep - but that wouldn't be a huge amount of fun because it doesn't have the (frankly ridiculous) brakes of a P38.

I passed my test in 1990, should be good :)

edit: seems I have BE and also D1E
You can drive vehicles with no more than 16 passenger seats and a driver and with a maximum length not exceeding 8 metres with a trailer over 750 kg, provided that the Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) of the combination formed does not exceed 12,000kg

With two restrictions:

1. 101 - Not for hire
2. 119 - Weight limit does not apply

Seems odd, but I'll take it!

My initial question was really to ask whether a P38 can tow a P38 as this was relevant for a while in Swindon when the Duchess popped a prop shaft, and might be relevant to Mazz1 and her troublesome Diesel.

After having to contemplate towing the Duchess behind Snog last month, neither Marty nor I knew if it would have been legal.
So, does anyone with towing experience (and I know we have at least one, eh Gilbert :) ) know whether it would be legal to tow a 2300kg vehicle on a trailer behind the same vehicle rated for 3,500kg (assuming the trailer was less than 1200kg, I guess).
Cheers!

Lol, I'll bring popcorn to that thread :)

I'd say that's a good summary.
The key question in all of this is whether your fuel pump is genuinely knackered or whether it is simply out of adjustment and needs someone who knows what they are doing (with the correct diagnostics) to set it back to working condition. I can't judge that. I'm sure people on here can, but it's probably going to take a visit from one of us, or from a reliable mechanic to decide whether Powerdrive are correct in their diagnosis.

So, assuming Powerdrive are talking shit (as seems likely):
You need to get your son to come with you next time you visit, and you do need to visit in person.

1. Phone Citizen's Advice, be sure of your rights.
2. Tell PD to stop working on the car
3. Tell them to produce a statement of costs and summary of work to date (it sounds like they won't do it, but you can't pay up until you've got a detailed invoice, right?)
4. Find a BMW specialist that is prepared to work on an M51 diesel engine in a P38 Range Rover. This shouldn't be too hard. You could try phone these guys http://www.apmmotors.co.uk/ they seem to have decent reviews (the only bad one is for "not answering the phone" which is a good sign of a busy shop!) PD have some terrible reviews!
5. Recover your property and have it taken to the BMW specialist. Try getting a quote from Shipley, it can be surprisingly cheap.
6. Laugh heartily at the invoice from "Powerdrive". Tell them you will only pay for work that was authorised and offer to cover their labour costs for the work that was relevant. Negotiate.

I think that when you look at the potential costs involved in getting this car back if you simply cave in and pay up then a day off work and a taxi ride (for you and your son) would be a good investment.

Rutland is right. I think they're probably scared to put anything on paper because it could end up in small claims court.
Mazz, you don't sound like the sort of person who will get intimidated but that's probably what they're hoping. Do you have any large relatives?

So the question remains: Would a BMW tech recognise the FIP on a diesel P38?
Mazz1 - why don't you have a look for reputable BMW people in your area. I'm sure most people with a BMW that's out of warranty will be able to recommend somewhere are their stealerships are fiercely priced for maintenance!

Gilbert, do you happen to know if the fuel pump is a Range Rover or BMW part? After what you said it seems more likely that Mazz1 will be able to a BMW specialist than a competent Range Rover one.

What a pain in the arse :(
Don't be tempted to run it FWD only or you'll soon be in the same boat as me with a knackered Viscous Unit...

Well, there's always www.shipley.com
I don't know what the prices are like for a P38 that won't drive onto the trailer - can yours make it that far?

For my money Marty, I think you're right. Once you've got the coolant system and ancillaries back together just crank it. See how it sounds and if it pressurises. Then if it come up to temp and stabilises do your sniff test and with a bit of luck you'll be good to go. Maybe wear wellies on the test drive? ;)

You could pull the valve covers and check for obvious cracks I guess - I'm not sure if there's a "usual place" where these engines like to crack their heads, I know it's between 3 and 4 on a BMW M20B25 and between 2 and 3 on an AMC/Jeep 4.0 but they're both I6 engines - I haven't had that "pleasure" with a Rover V8 yet....

Perhaps you could ask them what diagnostics they have. If they something generic like "Snap On" then it might be time to explain that P38s are only minimally compliant to OBDII and they require custom diagnostics for anything unusual and these systems are rare and expensive. Then get a "specialist" down with a nanocom - not that any of us are particularly close by, unfortunately :(

Yes, it's partly BS but nothing compared with what they've been spouting and it could give them a face-saving way out.

Marty, I often have those feelings and it was you helping me out with The Duchess that has kept her in the fleet - even if she is in mothballs/slow rebuild condition right now. It knowing what is wrong and having a plan that works for me. Not knowing the problem and feeling like you're standing on the edge of a huge debt-cliff that scares the pants off me!

As for the coolant system I think it's really important to know if your coolant cap is faulty or whether the Audi core was weak. Maybe if you have a spare coolant bottle you could pressurise it with the old cap in place and see what PSI it gets to before release but either way I'd definitely get a brand new genuine cap from LR for SNOG because as you now know, overpressurised coolant is very bad news.

Also you if you have space you can keep one running and one spare :)
Or do it like the Navy: One Working, one ready, one in refit...

...only half joking btw

Mazz1 wrote:

Have to do these replies in short messages as it times out!!!
It looks, at the moment, like I am going to have to purchase some new wheels. Not looking forward to that!!!! Probably, knowing my luck, I will get something that will have problems and the hiccups will start all over again!!! Not being able to get about and my own thing is doing my head in. I am probably too independent but that is me. Hiring something which does not give me pain to drive would mean spending a lot more money. If I did not have the issue with my leg the cost would not be quite so bad but cost it would. Don't get me wrong. I could so easily, according to the consultant, have lost my leg from the knee down. I didn't, thanks to him, but it has left me with the problem when driving. Small cars have the pedals too close together and twisting my foot to get from one pedal to the other really is uncomfortable and I end up with my size 9s on both, if I am not careful.
So. Now to think what to do. To be honest. I haven't a clue.

Maybe you've tried this, but how do you get on with left foot braking in an automatic?

Personally, I'm with Green Flag.

Sorry to hear your woes Marty :( Sounds like a good decision to get out of the way of traffic - a dozy wagon driver is all you need for a catastrophe in that situation.

Good luck with the engine, shame it's such a new built one - it was running beautifully a couple of weeks back.

Let us know what turned out to be the weak spot in the cooling system, coolant into the cabin isn't a great failure mode. IME cars generally boil out of the reservoir which is safer even if you still end up walking. BMW had a recall on some models' coolant caps to prevent exactly this type of incident - did Range Rover?

For the forums:

If you are writing a long post, this forum will sometimes "time out" with a "CRF token expired" error. I think it's CRF. Anyway, if you hit back the text is usually preserved and you can copy/paste it into a new post after refreshing the page. This can be a bit tricky, so the best thing to do is probably to write out your post on Word or Notepad and cut/paste it into your post in one go.

So, how long have you had this vehicle and where did you buy it from. Has it ever run correctly in your ownership?
How far from Portsmouth do you live?
It also might be handy to know what problems you have encountered so far and what steps have been taken to fix them.

Well, I've snipped the blue/white wire on the switch side of the connector to stop the door latch saying the door is ajar (connects to the purple/white wire on the door side). Sadly the little clip that keeps the loom out of the way of the window must have fallen out so now there's some taping up to be done :/

But, now I can shut and lock the vehicle without the alarm going off every few hours and hopefully that will let the BeCM go to sleep and let the battery catch up again!

Still got the viscous to do... but I'm taking her Ladyship out tonight for her birthday. I don't think that the smell of ATF would be appreciated :)

Mine is a smart charger, with four stages - just not a huge one. I'm thinking Solar just to keep things topped up and avoid running cables out the front of the garage. I've seen THIS one on Amazon that connects through the OBD port.

Right, I'll hook it up tonight and see how it goes!
Cheers all.