I didn't have a problem with a flat battery on my P38 for many years when I lived in the country but when I moved into the town & had to park the car on the street I encountered problems. I had the RAC out several times & became very adept at entering the EKA code with the key before I discovered from my forum researches that it was the RF receiver. I had a Gen 1 of course. I tried a Gen 2 which was better but the battery was still going flat if I left the car for more than a few days. I bought an alleged Gen 3 from eBay which was no better then the Gen 2 so I suspect that it was really a Gen 2 that had been 'upgraded' with a green dot sticker. I finally opted for a brand new genuine Gen 3 that cost me about £250 & completely solved the flat battery problem.
I was surprised at how cheap a new starter motor is. At £88 for the cheapest it's almost worth buying one to carry as a spare. https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-NAD101490P
Even a genuine replacement is only £221 https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-NAD101490E
`Rimmers also have a set of brushes if you want to refurbish your starter motor https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-STC4465
Pierre3 wrote:
A couple of days ago the door lock threw a wobbler, which I have seen mentioned a good few times. I went to get out of the car only to find that all the doors were locked, but when I pulled up the drivers side lock button [in the door] all the buttons hopped up, the doors unlocked, except for the drivers' side door, and then immediately locked again.
I was able to get out the passenger side, and this morning, having followed advice from a RR guy in Wales, Iain McKee, I opened the drivers' side lock so that all the locks are open. Currently, the car now unlocks and relocks without a problem, but the latch is still an issue, in that it will still bounce back open when I go to close the door.
So, would I be right in saying that the door latch unit, with the micro-switches, is goosed and needs replacing ?
Pierre3.
Back in March when this happened to me it turned out to be the Bowden cable running from the latch to the interior door handle that was sticking. The spring in the handle pushes the cable to reset the position of the latch & with the cable sticking it doesn't return to the correct position. It's a simple repair.
https://rangerovers.pub/topic/1620-what-have-you-done-to-your-range-rover-today?page=49#pid37133
Black Box Solutions are selling all Nanocom Evolution kits for 15% off with code XMAS22. UK purchasers can also take advantage of a VAT free purchase that reduces the price even further (provided it doesn't get noticed by customs). https://www.nanocom-diagnostics.com
Clive603 wrote:
If you are unfortunate enough to break plastic parts I've been impressed with the ability of Pattex superglue to rejoin things when used with the plastic primer pen thingy. Comes up it LiDL occasionally at sensible prices and, like all superglue related stuff, keeps well in the fridge. I'm told Pattex is a Loctite brand so it ought to be the real deal.
Won't do miracles but if you can avoid bending things when putting them back together it will hold the plastic projections on the back of trim panels well enough to get the clips home. Pretty good going in my book as there is next door to nowt to glue. Unfortunately around 50% failure rate on removal so be prepared for re-gluing.
Clive
Pattex superglue is available from Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pattex-Ultra-Gel-Super-Glue/dp/B0000WPL7U?th=1
Personally I would quite happily have the sunroof sealed up. I like having the extra illumination from a window in the roof but why on earth would you want to have a noisy breeze coming in the car from above? There is a perfectly decent climate control system built into P38 that provides fresh air at the desired temperature.
The Hankook MF31-1000 is currently available from Battery Megastore for £95.27 delivered with coupon 10%BLKFRI-HANKOOK https://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/product/hankook-heavy-duty-commercial-battery-mf31-1000/
I have ordered parts from RLD on several occasions & found they have good prices & good stock. Here in France if the part is in stock if I order before 5pm parts are delivered by noon next day.
I drove mine for several hundred miles with a blowing head gasket as I assumed that it was the exhaust blowing somewhere. Performance was unaffected it just got too embarassingly noisy to continue driving. I have no idea if it did any permanent damage driving it with the head gasket blowing but it's currently in the hands of V8 Developments waiting for them to get round to refurbishing the engine.
Gilbertd wrote:
Drained over 5 gallons of foul smelling stale petrol then dropped the fuel tank on the Classic. Did battle with hose clips and hoses that haven't moved in 32 years and finally gained access to the pump. 4 out of the 5 screws holding the old pump came out but, as usual, one put up a fight. Pump out, new one in and put it all back together. Went to the local garage, took out a mortgage and bought 2 gallons of petrol. Put that in the tank, tried starting it and nothing. Confirmed the pump was running, disconnected the fuel line at the filter and put my bit of hose with the priming bulb on it. Seems that 2 gallons isn't enough to cover the fuel pickup on the pump. This is going to get expensive......
In 1990 a litre of petrol cost about 40p which adjusting for inflation is about 80p in today's money so fuel cost was not the same issue it would be today.
Gilbertd wrote:
nigelbb wrote:
Yesterday I drove my 2001 Vogue up to Lincolnshire so that V8 Developments can totally recondition the engine
I bet you overshot the entrance. I have every time I've been there......
Amazingly I didn't miss the entrance. My satnav informed me I had arrived at my destination in the flat featureless Lincolnshire countryside with no sign of 'Cobweb Farm' but I drove slowly another fifty yards & saw the sign on my left.
Harv wrote:
Should be good for another 300,000 miles!
I hope so. I have owned the car for over eleven years. Its 21 years old & my aim is to spend a bit of money on it to make it as reliable as possible so it's good for another 21 years. I spend half my time in France where E85 (85% bioethanol) is widely available at about 80c/l versus E10 at €1.839 so running costs are much lower & I haven't had the cost of an LPG conversion,
Yesterday I drove my 2001 Vogue up to Lincolnshire so that V8 Developments can totally recondition the engine. It's been blowing from a leaky head gasket for a month or two & getting louder& louder. At least it made the 150 mile journey OK. The plan is to get it done over the next few months when they have a chance to work on it. Aside from reconditioning the engine they will be putting on a new Airtex water pump & a good quality OEM fan viscous coupling plus new HT leads for starters.
They showed me some engines that were ready to be shipped out. It's surprising to see the shiny aluminium rather than covered in oil.
Here is a list of what is going to be done:-
4.6L Top hat linered block
New pistons
New piston rings
New main bearings
New big End bearings
New cam bearings
New core plugs
Fully balanced assembly
Pocketing of pistons
Lapped and polished crank
High torque cam kit
Camshaft
Timing chain set
High rev Lifters
Running in oil and additive
Comp head gaskets
Comp head bolts
Fully reconditioned cylinder heads
Acid dipped and chemically cleaned
New valves
New guides
New valve stem seals
New valve springs
All required gaskets and seals
Labour
Fully refurbished rocker assemblies
Adjustable pushrods
Fit exchange front cover, including new oil pump gear and uprated oil pressure relief valve kit, fit exchange sump
Fully refurbished rocker covers
Uprated flex plate for flywheel
Removal and refit of engine including, plugs, filters, fluids etc
Lpgc wrote:
It is an interesting subject.
I wondered about setting up a makeshift system for the house or caravan using car parts... possible? I could work it out but if you have the answer already you'll save me the job lol - How powerful an electric motor would be needed to drive a car AC compressor? I know another motor or 2 would be needed to push air through the evaporator and reducer. Maybe use Hanson quick release fittings to make for a portable system?
For the domestic systems (and I suppose EV systems which can also supply cold air or heat?) how is the system reversed... Surely not as simple as reversing the pumping action / spinning the motor the other way?
I would guess that it would only work if you had a very small room although a caravan might be OK. When you consider the volume of air in a car versus a house or caravan you will know why the compressor is so tiny compared to that in a domestic A/C unit.
KCR wrote:
Found it now ... BTR2697LUM out of stock ... now I am searching for a substitute, I guess this kind of finisher is in many cars.
On the jaguarlandroverclassic.com site it says
"SUPERSESSION INFORMATION
This part has been superseded by one or more of the following parts
AWR2191LUM (AWR2191LUM - Land Rover Finisher-sunroof)"
& this part is available for £61.10 inc VAT https://parts.jaguarlandroverclassic.com/awr2191lum-finisher-sunroof.html
Gilbertd wrote:
I don't think anyone without the kit will have done the job when you can take the car in and get it tested for leaks and refilled for £50 or thereabouts. It isn't something that many people here will attempt.
ATS have a perpetual Groupon discount offer. Currently it's £37.99 for an AC recharge. At that price I don't know why anyone would attempt a DIY recharge.
https://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/ats-euromaster-5?deal_option=f726311d-bfd0-433c-afc1-419f0428134a
leolito wrote:
Well, yes and no, you have also deteriorating further hand and block which could be reconditioned and saved for another engine in the future. Do not know the policy of V8D (still pondering on how I will get my engine done and how), but from a mechanical perspective it would be a pity to totally ruin what left.
Sorry, I am a romantic :-)If you expect to use the car these 6 months, maybe not as "intensive" use as originally planned, Richard's idea is not bad at all. And will save you some money on the trailer trip to V8D!
I'm not planning on using the car at all except for the 125 mile journey to V8 Developments.
Gilbertd wrote:
I suspect yours is sounding just like this one that did exactly the same thing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKEqPY5rX7A
The head gasket was blowing out the side to the outside world, drove perfectly OK although from underneath you could actually see sparks of tiny bits of burning gasket material being blasted out the gap when it was revved.
That's it exactly!
The VINs quoted ie GEMS up to WA410481 & Thor starting at XA410482 have the format of two letters & six numbers while the last eight digits of my VIN are 1A458723.
nigelbb wrote:
Yesterday we drove down to Brittany again. This time I took the ferry from Poole to Cherbourg. It's a bit further to drive than my preferred Portsmouth to Saint-Malo route but we had been over in the New Forest for a college reunion so I thought that I would give it a try. When I checked in at Poole I chatted through the open window with a chap who was giving us directions who commented that my P38 sounded a bit noisy but I didn't think that it was any worse than normal. It's had a loud ticking from the engine for 8-10 years. It's probably a tappet but has never seemed to get any worse. Oddly it was even an advisory on the MOT last year. However I became aware as we were driving from Cherbourg to our cottage that it had developed a throaty roar when accelerating.
This morning I had a look to try & figure out what was up. It's definitely noisier when the engine is revved up but it's hard to place exactly where the sound is coming from. It sounds like a blowing exhaust but I clambered under the car & can't see any obvious holes. I couldn't feel any leaks either but the front pipes heat up quickly so it's not easy to get your hand in position while lying on the ground. I'm reassured that I probably don't have anything as deteriorated as @Garvin's exhaust in the photo above so for the moment I shall just keep on driving until it reveals itself by deteriorating further. If it doesn't get any worse then when I am back in the UK I will take it into the independent Land Rover garage that I took it into last & get them to have a look up on the lift. I've ordered some exhaust bandage & mastic from Amazon which will be delivered on Monday. Even if I don't get to use it next week it will be a useful addition to my emergency repair box in the boot.
To complete the story the verdict of the garage was that it's not an exhaust problem but a blown head gasket. It's now so noisy that it's basically undriveable but does still rev up & accelerate well. I have been pondering having the engine reconditioned for a couple of years & knew that I was living on borrowed time since an overheating problem was fixed with several bottles of Steel Seal about 18 months & 15,000 miles ago.
I have spoken to V8 Developments & for about £6,500 they will do a complete turnkey operation taking the engine out doing the full reconditioning then bench running in & refitting the engine back ready for me to collect the car. Unfortunately they have a long backlog of work & won't be able to do my car until the end of the year. I spoke to my goto P38 guru @Gilbertd who suggested a temporary fix by simply taking the heads off & putting on a new head gasket without skimming the heads or doing any other work knowing that it was going to be reconditioned in a few months. I was tempted but I would not feel comfortable knowing that there was the potential to fail again. More importantly my wife wouldn't feel happy with us driving backwards & forwards to France knowing that we might break down again. We have had a few minor issues over the last few years & instead of remembering the many journeys that passed without incident she remembers the coolant boiling over while we were queuing on the dockside at Caen & the water pump failing taking out the serpentine belt & fan (this was the only breakdown that required the car to be recovered) & the problem with the driver's door that required me to get in & out via the passenger side & wriggle across into the driver's seat.
I have put the car in my garage & paid £1,000 deposit to V8 Developments so now it's just a matter of waiting until they can fit me in. I'm in two minds a to whether I should get the car trailered up to Lincolnshire or drive it up myself. It's a 125 miles & 2 hours 15 minutes according to TomTom but apart from sounding like an old tractor it still seems to be running well. Inside the car the soundproofing is very effective so it just sounds a bit growly but wind a window down & it sounds really bad.