Well, progress has been a bit slow.
I put the car in the workshop and removed the bull bars from it and then started stripping it down to get the gearbox out. However, due to work and other commitments progress has been slow.
I've got a new genuine flex plate ready to go in, i've ordered a full service kit including new gearbox oil cooler pipes and I've ordered enough oil to change the engine oil, gearbox oil, transfer box oil, and both diffs.
Hopefully I'll get it finished this week and we can see how she goes!
David.
Evening guys,
I'm after a spot of advice...
I'm about to put a new gearbox into the DSE, however, with this being a 99MY it doesn't have the transmission dipstick fitted to it. From previous experience, it's much easier to fill the transmission and to check the level using the dipstick from above then it is using the fill plug on the side.
I've got a 1995 MY 4.6 breaker with the dipstick and tube still on it, is it possible to retrofit it to the DSE whilst the gearbox is swapped out?
Thanks!
David.
Seeing as I'm about to be replacing the gearbox on the DSE I was thinking of flushing the oil cooler. I don't know what's gone wrong in the old gearbox and I don't want to risk any more damage then necessary by any crap that might be floating around in the oil system.
I've been looking on Google and found a video on YouTube of Eric The Car Guy flushing an oil cooler using a can of spray solution.
I can't find anything similar in the UK so I was wondering about flushing it backwards with ATF or possibly Diesel, I just wondered if anybody had any suggestions or ideas.
Thanks
David.
I'm fairly certain this was electrical as the flames appeared to be directly under the fusebox, closer to the wing then anything else. Just as the engine cut out I got all sorts of electrical warnings on the dash before it cut out, one of which was Alternator Fault. I can't remember the others.
Gordon and I went for a run in our 4.6 tonight and picked up a 4HP22 gearbox so we're almost ready to get the DSE repaired now. I'm going to order a new flex plate from Land Rover tomorrow. For £47 it seems stupid not to swap it whilst we're in there.
I thought that this car would have the later door latches on it, I checked the part number for the chassis number with Land Rover this morning and thankfully it's the earlier ones with 2 plugs which should make sourcing one a bit easier.
Anyway, until I can clear a route through the workshop to the ramp, there's not really much more I can do with it.
David.
Hopefully I can use the torque converter from the original gearbox, and I guess it'd make sense to change the flex plate whilst I'm in there.
David.
I said to Dad about doing a V8 conversion on it on the way home from collecting it and he told me not to be stupid lol.
I've just managed to get a box for it tonight so I need to collect that this week.
I'm sure it was the fusebox on mine that caught fire, when I opened the bonnet to see if it was smoke or steam (it was right where the coolant pipes run through the bulkhead that it was coming up between the bonnet and the scuttle) and it looked like the fusebox was engulfed in flames.
I've got the wheels that are on the Diesel advertised already and have had a couple of bites. There's all the chrome bits on the bull bars and the side steps that I don't like so will be removing and selling them too.
David.
In June 2014 my old P38, a 1997 4.6 HSE that I'd spent 2.5 years putting into concourse condition caught fire. I was on my way to London with my Xantia Activa on the trailer behind me. It was heart breaking as it was the only car I’d kept for 3 years and not wanted to get rid of.
Here she is the night before we left in all her former glory:
And this is how the Xantia and I finished our journey to London:
I didn’t realise it at the time but it knocked my confidence and trust in the P38 massively. We still had 2 others at home and I could not relax or get comfy when driving them so I bought myself a Supercharged L322. My next knock came when I tried to take one of the others for MOT and ended up with the fire brigade at that when I had flames coming from the front wheel due to a seized brake caliper.
I then sold the red P38 and we kept only our Oxford Blue 4.6 HSE. The bodywork on this one lets it down but mechanically we’ve done all the work to it and it drives beautifully. The other night I stupidly forgot the trailer was on it and as the windows were all steamed up I jackknifed the trailer and caught the O/S/R door with the trailer.
I then started scouring eBay and Gumtree for an Oxford Blue door and ended up finding the DSE that was local and in Oxford Blue that didn’t drive. The listing said it was a manual so I started researching the possible faults and decided it might have been the selector pin so if it was better then I expected I’d repair it. I then rang the guy and decided that I’d buy the car however upon collection found it to be in much better condition then I expected it to be… I also looked in the window and saw an automatic gear lever in there!
The car hadn’t moved in over a year so the brakes were stuck on but thankfully the winch on the trailer had enough power in it to break them free. I winched it on and we set off for home. It was pitch dark and the car was in a place called Forth, about an hour from us. Our 4.6 P38 was running like a dream, and towing the loaded trailer beautifully. When we were passing Hillington on the M8 (about 15 minutes from home) the P38 beeped 3 times and showed “EAS Fault” on the dashboard.
Thankfully it didn’t shut down to the bump stops and we managed to complete the journey home. The next day I went out in daylight and had a look at the DSE and noticed that the suspension on the 4.6 had sagged at the rear.
The DSE turned out to be in lovely condition:
I detest the after market wheels on the car so today I made a trip to Kilcreggan which is about an hour from here to pick up a set of Comet alloys. It’s a set of 5, 4 of which are great but the 5th is a bit of a mess.
I spoke to Ashcroft Transmissions for some advice on the gearbox. The car has no drive whatsoever but when you move the gear selector there is absolutelty nothing that happens. They advised that with the car in P if it will roll then the transfer box is knackered, if it won’t and the Park break works then the gearbox is knackered.
Having carried out the tests it is indeed a gearbox fault. I’ve managed to source a 4HP22 gearbox locally for £150 so I think I’ll begin the process of swapping the gearbox.
Today I decided to have a look at the compressor on the 4.6. It was bought from Island 4x4 in 2011 but has only done about 20k in the car. It turns out that the bearings in it are knackered.
So, it looks like I need to order a compressor.
I’ve got a 4.6 breaker which has a good 4HP24 gearbox, however, I’ve decided that I’m going to buy a 4HP22 for the DSE and keep my HP24 just in case I need it for our 4.6.
I’ve been offered one locally from a 4.0 so need to check that the internals are the same and it’s not going to cause me any problems with the ECU’s etc.
Anyway, that’s the last week covered and me up to date now :)
David.
Well I had a look at the map this morning and realised that although Kilcreggan is within spitting distance of Dunoon, it's over an hours drive. The ferry that goes to Kilcreggan is also a foot passenger only ferry and I decided that they probably wouldn't like me carrying 5 Range Rover wheels onto the boat as a foot passenger. For some reason, Dad didn't seem up for sliding a bar through them and carrying one end either.
So, we had a nice run out in Dad's i6 Freelander 2 to stretch it's legs and we collected a set of Comets.
I got home this evening and carried out the test that Ashcroft Transmissions suggested. The car does indeed hold itself stationary on the trailer when the bed is tilted and as soon as I slip it into neutral and release the winch it takes off down the bed.
I used Dad's 1997 4.6 HSE to tow the DSE back to ours and about 10 miles from home it went into an EAS Hard Fault. I looked at it with Testbook and found a fault saying the air pressure was permanently low. I'm not surprised really as the compressor on that's been noisy for a good while. Stripping it down today I found that the bearings in the compressor were knackered allowing about 5mm of side to side movement.
The compressor on the DSE looks new so I've swapped them temporarily so that the 4.6 can go back into service and I'll order another one up. The one that failed was 5 years old but has only done about 20k in that time which is a bit disappointing as I'm sure there's no leaks on the system. When I cross reference the part number from the Island 4x4 invoice with the part number on the website it shows as being a Dunlop compressor.
Hey ho, a fun day!
David.
I spoke to Ashcroft Transmissions this morning to find out what the cost of rebuilding the transmission would be. They quoted £750 + VAT to rebuild it. Although from the symptoms I gave them apparently it could either be gearbox or transfer box although the symptoms were definitely mechanical.
He suggested putting it in park and seeing if it would move, if it moves then the fault was with the transfer box, if it doesn't move then the fault was on the gearbox.
The car is still on the trailer which is a tilt bed. So tomorrow, I'll tilt the trailer and remove the straps from the wheels, whilst in park I'll then release the winch and see if the car moves. Hopefully that will allow me to make a decision as to whats at fault and where to go next.
I'm popping across on the ferry from Gourock to Dunoon tomorrow to pick up a set of Comet wheels for the car, at present it's got a set of 19" Range Rover Sport alloys and a set of 20" Eltex wheels with General Grabbers on it.
I can't help but thinking that the fact it's wearing 2 of the 20" wheels on the back and 2 of the 19" wheels on the front might have something to do with the fact that it was for sale with no drive from the gearbox.
David.
Thanks Dave.
I've been having a fiddle again today, there's absolutely no attempt to drive when selecting the gears. I need to get it off the trailer and onto the ramp so I can get under it. I think the first port of call is going to be to drop the fluid from the gearbox and see what story that tells.
I've got a spare 4HP24 gearbox here that is still attached to my 1995 breaker that I bought with a knackered engine. I'm keen to try and get it out so I can see whats what with the two of them sat side by side.
Annoyingly though the first hurdle is going to be to sort the drivers door latch, the door is stuck shut and won't open from inside or out. Whenever I unlock the car the central locking opens then locks straight away. Using the key from the outside doesn't make any difference either unfortunately.
David.
Well, up until now I've only ever fiddled with 4.6 V8 Range Rovers, that is until tonight, when I collected a 2.5 DSE that was to cheap to walk past.
The car is a 99 V registered Oxford Blue DSE with Sandstone Leather, the car has 2 sets of wheels with it, both aftermarket, one of them is a set of 20" Eltex alloy wheels which Paddock retail at £410 a wheel including tyres, and the other set is a set of 19" Range Rover Sport wheels. I've already sourced a set of Comets for the car so both sets of these will be for sale. It's got Sat Nav but it doesn't power on and it's got an after market stereo fitted to it.
The main problem though is the gearbox - there's no drive at all. The selector is incredibly stiff, when you pull it thought the gears the indicator on the dashboard changes from P, R, N, D, 3, 2, 1 and when you move it to low it beeps and the light flashses and it says LOW on the dash but there's no clunk from the transfer box motor. In High or Low there's not even an attempt at drive. There's no noises or clunks as you move selector and when you rev it there's not even a shake from it as if it's trying to drive.
Unfortunately there's no dipstick on this one so checking the oil is a bit more tricky. I need to get under it and check the selector cable hasn't broken or come free from the gearbox, other then that, is there anything that is worth checking?
I've got a 4.6 breaker complete with a 4HP24 box on it, I've read a few things on the net and think with a bit of fettling it might fit. Does anyone have any information that could help?
Thanks guys,
David.