Richard, we swapped them around, from one side to the other when the fault stayed on the dashboard. And you may be right, the diagnostics are probably Snap-On as I noticed a lot of Snap-On stuff around in the garage.

I will try giving them a tap, just in case they are not fully seated. Thanks for the reminder to do this.

Pierre3.

Hi Richard, thanks for your advice. I definitely don't need two feet on the brake pedal, perhaps a ships' anchor but not two feet !!!

I replaced the accumulator with a new, OE, item from LR in France, and the pump doesn't start until the fourth or fifth stab on the brake pedal so I am reasonably confident that the ABS pump is OK.

So it looks like I am back to the obvious culprit - the wheel sensors. Maybe I am inclined to read too much into these problems when I should spend more time looking at the problems that have occurred in the recent past, before looking at the worst case scenario.

I think, for the cost that's in it, that I might just buy 4x non-OE sensors, put them in and see what happens.

I don't know what diagnostic computer my garage guy uses but I know that he puts newer Range Rovers on his machine, plus all sorts of other cars. However, I am aware that the P38, being a rule unto itself, may not give up all the necessary readings to guarantee an accurate diagnosis.

Pierre3.

Hi guys, just a sort of generalized question - the ABS/TC lights are showing on the dashboard display. I have changed the two front wheel speed sensors with working, second-hand, Wabco sensors and there are no irregularities showing on my local garages' fault diagnostic computer. So the two other things that I am wondering about are - is the problem either the ABS pump, or could it be a fault in the dashboard display unit ?

The brakes do appear to be working fine, and I haven't noticed any change in footbrake performance.

Pierre3.

Richard, I could get a used cooler, possibly with the switches still attached, but a couple of issues occur. One is that I have recently fitted a new cooler radiator and oil pipes due to a leak in the original radiator. I got a very good offer from Maltings for the whole kit so I don't want to change it back out for a used item. But it is a good suggestion which, in other circumstances, I would have gone for.

Secondly, the cost of having a used unit sent from the UK would be almost as much as buying a new switch on its' own. By the time I pay for the radiator [ £30/£40 ?] and then pay the courier, plus the usual nonsense of VAT and duties, I think that I would be up at close on £80/£90. I may as well pay another £10 and buy a new one .

Aragorn, I didn't realise that auto's have a gearbox oil cooler built into the radiator. To be honest, it is not something that I have ever had an issue with before, but that doesn't mean to say that there wouldn't be a cooler fitted somewhere.

Pierre3.

Good advice all round. I suppose that one could look at other automatics, and how many of them have a gearbox oil cooler fitted. I don't think that it would be many. I have had a whole selection of things like Jag XJ's, Mercs, and other Japanese 4x4's and I never came across a gearbox overheating problem, no matter how hot the weather.

That's not to say that any of the above don't have a gearbox cooler, but I never came across it before.

Maybe I will just leave it for the time being as I don't tow anything.

Pierre3.

Richard, I can only say -- whoooops !!!! I was looking at those cylindrical canisters from under the car, and trying to see between the bumper and the radiator so I thought that, because of where those pipes go, the canisters were a switch of some kind.

My mistake does explain why I couldn't figure out how to attach the sensor. And the red one is the right one for the later car cooler fan - £92.00 !!

As Jim AHH says it may be the most economical solution to just let the fan keep running. My only concern is whether running permanently will shorten its' life expectancy before it packs up. As Jim says, running during the summer can't really do any harm, I suppose.

Anyway, very many thanks for correcting my basic mistake. I will now make sure that I am looking at the front of the car and not the back !!!!

Pierre3.

Richard, you may be right. I think the customs here always assume the worst !!

Pierre3.

Well, I am very surprised to find that DPD have kindly delivered the said package without any further issues.

I emailed DPD yesterday and pointed out that the parts were second-hand and around twenty years old so I wasn't bothered if they wanted to send the parts back to the sender as the chances of providing the paperwork that customs are looking for are next to nil. I suggested that after five days they could just return them to the sender.

It looks like that, because the duties, VAT etc. [€15.00] had been paid, and it really isn't in DPD's interest to have send the parts back, DPD may have persuaded customs just to release the parts. Whatever the reason the parts are now in my garage.

Now I just hope that I have bought a pig in a poke, and that I can sort out the ABS/TC issue, at least for a while.

Pierre3.

Hi, I hope that this may be a last question for a while !!!

About two weeks ago the gearbox oil cooler fan started running as soon as the ignition switch is turned on. So I got under the car to see what may be the problem, and I found two cylindrical type sensors screwed onto one of the supply pipes. But, despite hours searching, I have not been able to find any information about replacement sensors.

I have found a couple of different part numbers, STC3338, and NSC101060, or FF012060, but these appear to be flat sensors which screw straight to the side of something, perhaps the gearbox. There is a few bits online about about the gearbox oil cooler fan running all the time but nothing about the parts needed to solve the problem.

I appreciate that no many people here have 2.5 DHSE's but perhaps someone may have found a solution to the problem. I am including a picture, from somewhere online, which shows the same set-up as my car uses, and it can be seen that there are two round cannister type items on one of the pipes. One seems to be to switch on a dashboard warning light, and the second seems to be the fan switch. I think that it is this switch that is stuck closed, keeping the fan on permanently.

Pierre3.

One of the major advantages of ex-UK stock is that [a] it is generally much lower mileage; [b] it will generally have been better maintained; [c] the vehicle will have suffered much less ownership abuse; and [d] there is usually much better specifications on UK vehicles, so that you will almost never find a sunroof in a car fitted with aircon, and vice-versa, because duty and VAT has always been charged on every "extra" fitted.

Top of the range ex-UK models from Merc, BMW, Land Rover etc. etc. will always have better specs than Irish sourced vehicles. For example, on a Lexus IS300h sourced in Ireland the car will only be fitted with boring, standard, multi-spoke alloy wheels, whereas in the UK there is a 300h Premier model with really nice 5 spoke alloys of two different sizes, wider on the back than the front. This model was never available in Ireland.

Again, if you look up something like a BMW X5 40e, 2016 or 2017, the one for sale here will either have well over 100,000 miles on the clock, or you won't be able to find a 40e hybrid, only 3 litre diesels, but always, always with huge mileages.

But, as I mentioned earlier, the UK is more or less off limits for good used cars due to the extortionate charges applied to used vehicles.

So a nice donkey is looking like a very attractive proposition.

Pierre3.

Ha-ha, if you took your Euro sambo's with you, you would probably have to carry certs of origin for the items, with you !!!!

I think that the French generally have a "Live and let live" attitude to a lot of things, unless you really Pi** them off. Although they can be difficult about somethings, seemingly if you want to do building works from what I gather.

I have never understood the crassness shown by Irish customs over the years when dealing with anything to do with cars. I have always been of the opinion that the Irish government are generally anti-car, and always have been. The taxes on cars, and car parts, has always been ridiculous. About 30 years ago there was a very big difference in the price of new cars between the UK and Ireland, so much so that there was a thriving trade in people in the UK buying new cars in Ireland and importing them into the UK and saving several thousand pounds.

Then the EU came along, with the trade equality rules between members, and all of a sudden anyone could buy a used car in the UK and import it into Ireland. But the motor trade fought tooth and nail to try to stop imports. So they are as happy as pigs in sh*** now the UK is out of the EU. It means that they can price everything as they please, because there is no longer any cheaper alternatives. Just piracy.

I will take your advice about the fuel lines into consideration, maybe this is the best solution. Certainly a lot cheaper than buying new fuel lines.

Lastly, one thing I like about Land Rover France - when the items arrive and you look at the receipt there is nearly always a hand-drawn smiley on it !!

Pierre3.

Pierre3.

Hi Richard, that's the point of all this, the Irish customs are making it difficult, as usual and as they always did in the past, before the Eu rules were applied, to import anything from the UK now that the UK is no longer an EU member.

Another small example - my wife used to buy chicken stock cubes from Tesco's, but about two months after Brexit happened all Tesco's stock cubes, with the exception of vegetable stock cubes, disappeared of the shelves here. When I asked why it turned out that there are ingredients sourced in the UK and the EU but made in the UK, and to have the items sold in the EU Tesco have to provide certificates of origin for every single item used in the manufacture. So Tesco just stopped selling them here. To be able to buy them we have to go up to Northern Ireland, although recently there have been occasional times when some have appeared in some stores.

If, in my case, all that I require is the commodity codes that wouldn't be to bad. My guy has those, and they are on the customs document on the front of the package. It is the other stuff that becomes a problem, full itemised commercial invoice which clearly states country of origin, and description of goods. The commercial Invoice must be on the sender’s company letterhead. The guy that I am buying the parts from is a fairly normal P38 breaker, who supplies parts all over the UK, and having spoken to him this afternoon, he admits that he isn't set up to export to the EU.

Anyway, I have decided to email LR France, from whom I have bought before, and hopefully they will come back to me with a n affordable [just about] price for new ABS Wabco sensors, although I suspect that I will be faced with a €600/€700 bill for four items. If they come in too expensively then I will buy spurious items and hope that the two front ones, once replaced, will last.

My current issue to having to buy and fit two new fuel pipes from the fuel tank. I got a contact to pump out the tank, but when we dropped out the tank we found the pipes are badly corroded, and we had to put everything back together again - very carefully !! So that's another €500, on top of the cost of the two new rear air bags, the new handbrake pads, the new propshaft rubber doughnut, a new rear UJ. I also need a new gearbox oil cooler fan switch [£120 or thereabouts] plus the front ABS/traction control sensors !! And the possibility that I may need to buy and fit new new EAS levelling sensors, around £110 a piece - a further £600.

Unfortunately, things are getting to get rather out of hand, especially when the car spends more time being repaired than being driven these days. I have spent around €2500 with a distance driven of 120 miles this year, so far. And this month I need to pay €1100 in road tax for the next twelve months.

A BMW X5 hybrid is really starting to look cheap, as the road tax is only €170 a year here, and the insurance is the same as the P38, around €650 a year. The only downside is the cost to import a 2016 X5, in total about €30,000 including paying around £20,000 for the car itself in the UK.

So, important decisions to be made. If I could get a good price for the P38 then I probably would sell it, but even with a lot of new spare parts fitted I probably won't get much over €3000 for it. People don't really want them over here, particularly with the cr** coming from customs over import duties etc. etc.

I will give the Donkey Sanctuary a ring and see if they will do me an exchange instead !!

Pierre3.

Well, I have today found the result of Brexit, and its' real implications.

I bought a set of second-hand, original ABS wheel sensors [Wabco], and a rear centre seat belt buckle, the small one in the middle of the rear seat, with a second-hand value of £50, which included the DPD carriage fee.

I received an email from DPD to say that the Irish customs have pulled the package of 4 sensors and the seat belt buckle, for inspection. Now they are looking for certificates of origin, and all this stuff - full itemised commercial invoice which clearly states country of origin, commodity codes and description of goods. The commercial Invoice must be on the sender’s company letterhead.

Being as the parts are from a P38 breaker the chances of my guy having all this nonsense at hand is probably nil. So, a first delivery never turned up, now I need to supply this documentation, and I expect to find that the delivery has been sent back to the UK. And this is a direct result of Brexit.

But I suppose that I can just pay out for new new Wabco, instead !!! Or buy the airfare to the nearest airport and collect them. Either option doesn't make sense.

It does, now, make me understand why people convert to springs. Before the nonsense that is Brexit it wasn't a big deal to get second-hand stuff sent from the UK, now it is becoming a no-no.

Oh well, at least this will push me to make a decision about my P38. I don't think that I can justify buying new parts every time something goes wrong, and, anyway, not all parts are available new. So if I can't buy used parts without all the documentation then the vehicle could, possibly, be no longer repairable.

Pierre3.

That's very good information - thanks for your clear instructions.

Pierre3.

Excellent explanation, Richard, thanks a lot. Unfortunately, I will have to do this on my own as herself isn't into getting under cars !!!

At least I have two 6 ton axles stands, and a proper workshop, 2.5 ton trolley jack. So I will just have to hope for some good weather, and I can at least do the calibration. Whether that sorts out the strange behaviour of the rear going up and being slow to come down is another issue altogether.

Pierre3.

Hi, again, thanks for the advice.

I have to say that I didn't think about the fact that if all the blocks were in place then the levels should be correct. I suppose it is obvious really, as the blocks are doing the height figures. As is explained - if all four height blocks are the same, correct height then the car will sit at those same height, regardless of the slope.

Having read the replies I would say that the slope in my driveway isn't too bad. From the advice here I doubt that it will be of any significance.

I think that I was only considering the rear levels, and not including the fronts. Time to get out my blocks, therefore.

Thanks to all for your invaluable contributions.

Pierre3.

Hi, thanks for all the advice.

Pete - the LED's do flash correctly when the switch is pressed, both up and down. When you refer to the driver pack, and the capacitors, are these [or this] a replaceable single item ?

Richard, Aragorn, I have a set of height adjustment blocks that I bought three years ago, but to be honest I have never had a need to use them - up until now !! I can understand the reasoning for not having a default set of EAS figures but I just thought that there might be something along those lines. The most difficult issue is trying to get the car level as my driveway slopes slightly down, and the two sides towards a drain in the middle.

If I take off the handbrake the car will roll forward fairly easily so it could mean getting a garage to do the levelling adjustment, to make sure that the car is on a level surface. I have been thinking whether I could jack up the front of the car and put concrete blocks under the front wheels, but I suspect that trying to then lift the car to fit the different height blocks will mean hours of work.

Pierre3.

Hi, I have spent two hours reading through the various threads etc., and RAVE, hoping to find the default EAS height figures, as per the factory. I have come across all sorts of different figures, such as the sizes for cutting the measuring/setting rods, or the height of the wheel arch, measured from either the ground upwards or from the "centre" of the wheel cap. But I can't find a straight forward set of figures as set by LR.

I have a slight issue with the rear drivers side [RHD car] remaining high, as in the highest height, after the car has been left sitting for a week or so. It is possible that it is the drive causing this, but I don't think so. I have just fitted two new rear Dunlop airbags as the originals were looking a bit tatty, but the levels are still acting in the same way as before.

I need to check the figures with Nanocomm, but I would like to know what the default figures are, just in case the programmed figures have been changed for some reason.

I noticed, today, that when I went to a shop, with a very level carpark, that the rear of the car remained sitting at full height for some reason. After pressing the switch, on the dashboard, a few times the car then reacted to the selected heights, but back on the road, for some reason, the car lifted up to full height before dropping back down as the speed went over 30 mph.

Any advice would, as always, be much appreciated.

Pierre3.

I went through the ordering process, online, and including shipping the wheel sensors STC2786 come in at €291 including local taxes [I think] and delivery, which is €15.00

The biggest problem with LR Direct is that you can't call the place, the phone number says to use the contact form on the website. It is also quite difficult to use the on-site contact form because most of the pre-prepared entries require an order number or a part number, and there is nowhere to add text. I think that the only line is the last one "Suggestion or other enquiry". Anyway, I just sent an inquiry via "customerservices@lrdirect.com". I did get a reply which says that LR Direct are going to contact their genuine Land Rover suppliers, and see if they can then give me a date for delivery of some wheel/ABS sensors. And I didn't even give them a part number !!

I will await their reply with interest.

Pierre3.

Hi guys, thanks a lot for all of your advice and information.

I appreciate the advice from Aragorn, but perhaps he will forgive me if I say that I want to do a lasting job with the ABS sensor, in as far as you can do a lasting job with them, the little buggers !!! But I would prefer to pay a little more, maybe around 50% more, for a known reliable product. I honestly am getting too old to be crawling under Mr. P38 to fix his regular oddities when they crop up. I don't mind every couple of months, having to get under once and fix a problem, but not every couple of months all the time. I did that all the time, when I was younger, and working on various Fords, but now I am as old as Mathoeselm's goat !!!

Harv, as with Richards' reply, and my own experience, I have found LRDirect to be good, just provided that they have the part that you need. I like them.

Pierre3.