The fob code stored in the becm is always for key #1. The logic then derives the codes for 2/3/4. So you cannot mix and match fobs from different locksets like you can on a D2.

I have the ability to read the fob code from any fob and thus determine the code for #1 in it's associated lockset, but I'd need the key to do so.

Unfortunately so many people blindly swap becms etc to 'fix' an immobilisation or other issue without just sorting it properly, so it entirely possible as you say that it's down to a mismatch there that wasn't properly programmed.

Nicely done!

If refrigerant has leaked out, moisture will have gotten in - the desiccant in the drier is there to absorb moisture in a closed system, so as soon as there is a way for more of it to get in, it will absorb all it can until it is saturated. That's why you should always replace the drier unit on any mobile AC system (or any refrigeration system that otherwise has one) when it has had work done to it - and I'd do it on any system that has sat with no charge in it for some time.

Some manufacturers have started using condensers with the drier element actually attached to them - given the condenser is the bit that cops the most abuse requiring replacement, it makes sense to package them together, protecting the rest of the system down the line.

Moisture reacts with the oil and turns it acidic - this in turn corrodes the system from the inside out.

Vacuuming the system down won't boil the moisture out of the desiccant unfortunately.

Re. the evaporator - it could be the source of the leak, but if you've checked that and can't find visible leaks on it, the only other place that is less easy to get to is the expansion valve block that lives between the firewall side of the evap and the pipe connections in the engine bay. It is removable and has two o-rings between it and the actual evap core - without taking it apart or removing the firewall foam around it, I don't think it is really possible to get an eye on it really.

I've got a Fieldpiece infrared leak detector - its been very good so far. But they're considerably more expensive than the heated diode type.

Running the compressor with no refrigerant in it won't move the UV dye about, as the refrigerant is what carries the oil (with the dye in it) around the system. Nitrogen won't move the oil.

Are you sure you're service fittings aren't leaking? Might not have a complete seal on the quick release fittings. You could try putting a bit of pag oil on the o-rings in those, or around the outside of the connections on the car that they clip onto.

Might even be the compressor seals - more so if it hasn't actually been operated for a long time. They may sort themselves out once it has run with gas in it for a while - but unfortunately the only way really to find out is to get it filled up and cross your fingers. Or - find an independant mobile AC guy that is willing to fill it with gas and dye, run it for a bit, then recover the gas again assuming it makes itself known either via a good leak detector or visible UV dye.

Technically its not legal to fill a system you know is leaking here in the UK, but its not like that stops anyone. Not that I condone it - and gas is damned expensive! But in this case - I'd have no problem doing the above as a last resort to finding the leak. Better fill, lose a tiny bit finding the leak, and then recover the rest to repair, than just blindly fill it and send it when it may dump it all out in short order.

Bit of garnish for the back end... my own design and yes its not an ///M car - but anyone that knows what an M57 is will get it :)

Technically the other day... but I thought it was about time it got some custom badging to better reflect what is hiding under the bonnet :)

I like that Dave. Any chance you could link to slightly bigger pictures?

I haven't sorted out the access flap I cut in my floor after doing my engine conversion - but this seems like a nice solution and I think I could just about squeeze it on one of our printers.

Be thankful it was only a pheasant and not Bambi... I still maintain though - deer and pheasants are equally as fecking stupid animals.

Haven't had a chance to look at the cruise anymore lately, but I've been working on some other bits and still using it daily :)

Short video from an afternoon of offroading a couple of weeks ago - https://youtu.be/J9zTN_6wNw4

In low range you barely need any throttle - if any at all. It just pulls at idle so nicely. The others were impressed at how well it did - and how smooth it looked following them in the 90, bouncing around. AC, comfortable seat, auto - what more do you want.

Otherwise... everything has been more or less fine. Did have an issue with it cutting out after a few hours of running during the summer - turned out to be a worn o-ring on the high pressure pump's regulator. Then had an injector fail. Or possibly the other way around I can't remember. Either way - both now sorted.

Diesel heater's coolant pump started to struggle pumping before giving up completely, so swapped another pump in and I'm back to being able to preheat in the mornings :)

The P38 is now on 171k, putting the engine on err 177k now. 9k done since the conversion 15 ish months ago and loving it.

Oh there are some decent decision features for sure. Generally the ones that don't give you problems. But there are a lot of bad ones too that were either just not thought through, or driven by cost cutting.

Steel encapsulated rubber/rubber foam for example - mudflaps that rust from the inside out, the nudge bar, window frames...

I'm going slight on a tangent - I can forgive the radiator mounts because eh, fixings like that are always going to put up a fight after a while. I just highly doubt LR expected some strange breed of people would actually keep these things going 20 years later :)

The only thing running through LR's minds were the two words 'warranty period'.

And I'm sure that gave them enough grief as it was.

I love my P38 - its certainly one of a kind with all that has been done to it, and I won't give it up. At the same time, I'd quite like to bludgeon some of the design/accounting team with a blunt instrument.

I've only just in the last few weeks 3d printed and fitted some blanks for where the twin towing sockets were fitted - I removed them a while ago as the wiring was a mess and the bumper had to come off anyway. Never planned on towing anything properly - left the tow bar there for the 'get off my arse' deterrent...

Guess if I can legally use it, I'll have to sort out a new socket now!

Ahhhh okay - so you're basing the actual cruising speed on maintaining a solid engine speed? I guess with a manual and no slippage in the clutch that isn't such a bad idea!

As mine is auto that would work when locked up, but at lower speeds it would be an issue. My ECU doesn't respond to the analogue input unfortunately - so it needs the speed in on the individual wheel speed data it would seem. I was lead to believe though that it needed 'other' data - but I've yet to work out what that might be.

Need to get back to it really and test some things - I will report back :)

Interesting, is that sketch just to clear the lights on the BMW dash?

We thought we had sussed the vehicle speed signal going into the engine ECU, but it seems not quite. I'd be taking it from the P38's ABS ECU and converting it to the CAN messages required. I've seen about needing the engine speed and vehicle speed to line up and appease the mapping - though I don't know if I've gotten to that point or not yet.

Brake light switches are sorted on mine and appear to do their thing on diagnostics.

How are you feeding in your vehicle speed?

Interesting - the one on the car is flashed with manual software I believe.

Would you be open to sharing the messages you're sending to appease it? I haven't been able to look at it much lately but I'd like to get back to it.

That looks a lot like what I was getting in my header tank before I flushed it out more thoroughly. Interesting to see it in a worse state.

Well it solved my problem and the engine did thousands of miles without using any more coolant or pressurising causing leaks until we took it out last year - and that was only because it was generally tired, and we did the M57 conversion etc.

So it lasted a couple of years and the engine was, to be fair, given a lot of the loud pedal and was certainly not driven lightly.

But yeah it should only harden under high temperature and exposure to air - as you'd get in the cylinders conveniently. It shouldn't harden anywhere else - but I did as I say find it accumulating a bit of gel like stuff in the header tank prior to another flushing.

I had great success with sodium silicate (the active thing in steel seal) on my V8 - however I didn't leave it in the system, nor did I mix it with coolant. I flushed the coolant out, filled with water and some of the sodium silicate, ran it for a bit, and then flushed/refilled with coolant.

I clearly didn't do a very good job of flushing it out though, because not long after there was some gelling going on in the header tank, so it got another flush/refill. I haven't had any issues with my heater core though being less effective - and its still got the same one in it now with the diesel engine fitted.

I guess that's not a bad reason - if its done well and safely, I'm not hating on it - just couldn't see the appeal but that makes sense.