Is there a way of working out the nose weight that doesn't involve any special equipment?

If you're one of those people who needs to "trust" their car probably sell it, but get someone competent to fix it either way or you'll lose ton more money.

Shipley -> your house.
Goodbye PowerDrivel.

So it runs well enough to take on the road, but it overheats. Fine - drive it as far as it will go before it overheats and park it.
How far are you from home? how far from a trusted garage?
Do you have AA/RAC/Green Flag?

Get her back together and MOT'd then on a good test drive. Yorkshire should be far enough ;)

I've seen your yard 😉😉

Sounds like good news to me! I'm sorry I wasn't able to be of any use, but maybe the positive vibes helped a bit?

My question would be "how old were your Boge Shocks when you replaced them?"
I'd imagine any new shock would be an improvement over 100k mile shocks, but if they were new then I guess that wasn't a factor.

Gilbertd wrote:

Wasn't a GMP one was it? It could have been mine.......

I think it was a Liverpool copper - although I guess the spec will have been the same.

I think it will depend on how often you're topping up. A kettle boils many litres of water once each, your radiator should really be reheating the same water all the time so the amount of calcium available to deposit as limescale should be very small in comparison.

And you'd be bored with something that didn't have any issues ;)

I had that on the Duchess - drivers side front wheel bearing. Needed a new disk as well.

I once spoke to a traffic cop as he gave me a lift home to Liverpool (long story, I was a student) and he was very pleased with his P38. He claimed that he had hauled artic trailers off the M62 with it when necessary.

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!