Gilbertd wrote:
Marty did a kit of parts that allowed 4 door amps from an earlier P38 to be bolted to an alloy plate and wired in place of the DSP amp. However I fitted one and sitting in the boot for hours soldering the 40 odd wires isn't a particularly fun way of spending an afternoon. It did set me thinking though and figured I could use standard Class D amps and crossovers but fitting them inside the original DSP amp case and wiring them to the original socket I should be able to put together a plug and play DSP amp alternative. I've got a dead DSP amp, the class D amps and crossovers, I just need to put it all together (just....). It would probably need the input levels adjusting to match that coming out of the head unit and would need an extra pair of outputs from the rear speaker feeds from the head unit to the amp, but should work. Just need a suitable DSP amp equipped car to plug it in and try it, sounds like I might have just found one......
For the moment I'm going to see how I get on with radio driving the front speakers using the new Disco 2 amp. I have a Bluetooth widget plugged into the cigarette lighter socket then tuned to 108.0 MHz to get the sound from my iPhone. Generally I just use it for running TomTom. Sound isn't perfect as you do get interference. I was going to get a GROM-BT3 but that plugs into the CD socket & requires a working DSP amp.
If you could create a new amp in a DSP amp case that would be perfect I would certainly be in the market for one. If you wanted to use my car as a test bed you are very welcome.
Gilbertd wrote:
Marty did a kit of parts that allowed 4 door amps from an earlier P38 to be bolted to an alloy plate and wired in place of the DSP amp. However I fitted one and sitting in the boot for hours soldering the 40 odd wires isn't a particularly fun way of spending an afternoon. It did set me thinking though and figured I could use standard Class D amps and crossovers but fitting them inside the original DSP amp case and wiring them to the original socket I should be able to put together a plug and play DSP amp alternative. I've got a dead DSP amp, the class D amps and crossovers, I just need to put it all together (just....). It would probably need the input levels adjusting to match that coming out of the head unit and would need an extra pair of outputs from the rear speaker feeds from the head unit to the amp, but should work. Just need a suitable DSP amp equipped car to plug it in and try it, sounds like I might have just found one......
Somebody must be doing something with the dead DSP amps as there are plenty on eBay selling for £50 for spares or repair. If working used units over 20 years old that could fail in 31 days with no recourse are selling for £400 there has to be a nice little market for a modern reliable replacement that fits in the old DSP amp housing.
TBH unless you are someone who wants to keep the car 100% original I suspect that the best longterm solution if you are going to put some effort into it is replacing the original head unit & 'Etch-a-sketch' satnav with a decent modern system with a nice big colour touch screen plus inbuilt Bluetooth etc
nigelbb wrote:
nigelbb wrote:
I forgot to mention that annoyingly on the way to the CT station the sound system packed up with just an annoying clicking in the rear speakers. It's a 2001 Vogue with the fancy HiFi so it seems likely that it's the DSP amp in the boot that has packed up. As I recall these cannot be repaired & fitting one from a breaker could just see the same problem recur. I'd just been thinking on the drive down what a nice sounding system it is but perhaps this is my opportunity to upgrade to a modern head unit?
I've quickly looked at prices. A used amp from a breaker is over £400 with only a 30 day warranty. JLR list a new amp at over £1,200 but out of stock.
Apparently the stereo amp out of a Discovery 2 is plug compatible but only operates with the radio & cassette (not the CD so no chance of using a GROM Bluetooth widget) with the front speakers. I'm tempted to get a used one from a breaker for about £45 with 3 month warranty just as a quick running repair although I also found a brand new one for £249.
Quick update. On eBay I just found a brand new Disco 2 amp XQK100210 for £49.95 local to my UK address so bought it & will collect it when I am back in the UK in the latter half of May.
nigelbb wrote:
I forgot to mention that annoyingly on the way to the CT station the sound system packed up with just an annoying clicking in the rear speakers. It's a 2001 Vogue with the fancy HiFi so it seems likely that it's the DSP amp in the boot that has packed up. As I recall these cannot be repaired & fitting one from a breaker could just see the same problem recur. I'd just been thinking on the drive down what a nice sounding system it is but perhaps this is my opportunity to upgrade to a modern head unit?
I've quickly looked at prices. A used amp from a breaker is over £400 with only a 30 day warranty. JLR list a new amp at over £1,200 but out of stock.
Apparently the stereo amp out of a Discovery 2 is plug compatible but only operates with the radio & cassette (not the CD so no chance of using a GROM Bluetooth widget) with the front speakers. I'm tempted to get a used one from a breaker for about £45 with 3 month warranty just as a quick running repair although I also found a brand new one for £249.
Gilbertd wrote:
I put one of these https://www.gravityperformance.co.uk/product/exhaust/cat-back-exhaust-system-range-rover-p38-mk2-v8-td-94-02/ on mine but with a standard mild steel centre box. Not that much more expensive than a mild steel aftermarket and after going through one every couple of years, figured it should be fit and forget. They also do at mid box delete pipe https://www.gravityperformance.co.uk/product/exhaust/centre-sections-resonator-deletes/exhaust-centre-section-range-rover-mk2-p38-4-0-4-6-v8-94-02/ but not sure if that would make it too noisy and drone on a long run like you do. I know it would drive me bonkers.....
That is a great find. It's half the price of a stainless system from all the usual suspects.
I really cannot see the point in a noisier exhaust for a P38. It's a powerful luxury vehicle with extensive sound dampening applied so why undo all that work? It would drive me bonkers too!
I forgot to mention that annoyingly on the way to the CT station the sound system packed up with just an annoying clicking in the rear speakers. It's a 2001 Vogue with the fancy HiFi so it seems likely that it's the DSP amp in the boot that has packed up. As I recall these cannot be repaired & fitting one from a breaker could just see the same problem recur. I'd just been thinking on the drive down what a nice sounding system it is but perhaps this is my opportunity to upgrade to a modern head unit?
Gilbertd wrote:
Battery may well have suffered if it has been sitting around flat but don't forget you now have a lot more compression that you had before so it will turn over slower.
I need to do a test by swapping for a known good battery & see if there is a difference or maybe just pay £130 for a new one
nigelbb wrote:
We live in Brittany half of the time so the car is French registered. It's booked in for its contrôle technique this afternoon. The CT is like an MOT but only needs to be done every two years at a CT station which are independent operations that are forbidden to do repairs so are very fair as they have no incentive to fail on minor faults so that they can charge to fix them. If there are minors failures you have two months to get them fixed & then have a return visit to a CT station where they will just test the previously discovered faults. I will report back on the outcome.
It failed on a few items. I have two months to fix them. If it fails the re-test I will get another two months to fix them. I think that you can just go on failing & re-testing but obviously that isn't ideal.
Apparently there is a lot of power steering fluid that has leaked. I need to take a look at this tomorrow. The power steering is working perfectly but perhaps not for much longer if it's losing fluid. I will top up the reservoir & then see if there are any leaks evident. I don't recall ever topping up the reservoir so it's not a case of me overfilling it or spilling fluid.
The second fail was on the headlamp orientation. I've still got RHD headlamps which have got some stick on deflectors that enabled it to pass last time but they have probably been moved by the headlamp wipers. I just need to set up the car in front of a wall in the dark & stick on some new ones.
The third fail was on holes in the exhaust system. TBH it is sounding pretty throaty. I had a new exhaust fitted about 6-7 years ago & opted for a heavier duty one that would last but am now regretting not getting a stainless system. The catalysers were OK which was a relief.
Finally it marginally failed on CO emissions. This might be related to the exhaust system but there was just a bit of E10 left in the fuel tank. When I am in France I have been running it on E85 (up to 85% bioethanol) because it's half the price of regular petrol. I hadn't yet tried the new engine with E85 but just after I came out of the CT station the low fuel warning light came on so I went & filled up with E85 from the nearby garage. E85 has lower CO emissions according to Wikipedia. Since I filled up it's running on nearly 100% E85 & performance is as good as ever. I have previously noticed a reluctance with cold starts when running on E85 & having to crank it for longer than when running on E10 but hopefully it's still going to start even if the cranking over is a bit sluggish with the higher compression heads.
All in all I don't feel too bad about the fail as I did zero preparation & didn't even look under the bonnet. None of the fixes is a big deal. I shall have to price up exhaust systems. Perhaps it is time for a stainless system now?
nigelbb wrote:
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
I didn't do it today but a couple of weeks ago but after a wait of over eight months I finally collected the car from V8 Developments. Richard aka @Gilbertd was kind enough to drive me up there after picking me up from Peterborough railway station.
The 150 mile drive home was uneventful but next day I found all sorts of weirdness going on. The key fobs wouldn't lock or unlock the car & the rear wiper wouldn't work or park but just hung down at 90 degrees in the rear window. I charged up the battery & all the problems went away. The rear wiper parked itself & both key fobs operate correctly although I had to do the re-synchronisation by pressing buttons while turning the key in the lock for the spare key. The battery is a relatively new Hankook MF31-1000 & I can only assume that as it had been sitting around unused for eight months that the battery had got nearly flat & driving home with the lights on hadn't charged it up enough. I'm still a little suspicious that the battery has deteriorated with disuse as it's now very sluggish turning the engine over. It starts just as easily as it has always done but previously it turned over much more vigorously at higher revs now every time I start it seems that the battery is almost dead. I bought a new fancier battery charger & the voltage when charging is 14.7V but it seems that the amps it can chuck out have reduced. I'm tempted to just buy another battery. Compared to the final bill of £7K for the new engine £130 for a new battery is peanuts,
Yesterday we drove down to our cottage in Brittany. Normally we travel Portsmouth->Saint-Malo as it minimise driving but my wife had won a return crossing with P&O plus £150 in vouchers to spend in the duty free (mostly spent on fancy bottles of spirits for family Xmas presents). It's about 30 years since I used the Dover->Calais ferry but it's still as slick with loading/unloading as it has ever been. The ship wasn't very full & queuing up for passport control in Dover took all of a couple of minutes. There didn't appear to be any French customs in Dover or Calais. The drive was 600km versus the 115km from Saint-Malo but was uneventful. The engine is more powerful & accelerates smoothly plus fuel consumption is improved a little at over 18mpg cruising at 110-130kph (70-80mph). Part of the reason for the power increase maybe because it turned out that my engine oddly had the old 14 bolt heads from a RR Classic fitted & these were replaced with the correct 10 bolt higher compression heads fitted to a Thor. I've owned the car for twelve years & it had 80K miles on the clock when I bought it but why the old style heads should have been fitted is a mystery. It was mentioned that the engine had been replaced at 50K miles by Land Rover but I had no evidence of this.
We live in Brittany half of the time so the car is French registered. It's booked in for its contrôle technique this afternoon. The CT is like an MOT but only needs to be done every two years at a CT station which are independent operations that are forbidden to do repairs so are very fair as they have no incentive to fail on minor faults so that they can charge to fix them. If there are minors failures you have two months to get them fixed & then have a return visit to a CT station where they will just test the previously discovered faults. I will report back on the outcome.
Gilbertd wrote:
No way Nigel. Your tapping was definitely valve gear, a cam follower or rocker arm. If it was the head gasket it would have blown completely years ago.
I wasn't being entirely serious😀
Morat wrote:
In a perfect world I'd pull the engine, install top hat liners and use unicorn lard to lubricate a set of brand new ARP studs but sadly I'm not in that world yet!
If the driver's side goes, that'll get done on its own too. The engine first started a very slight ticking years ago - in fact Marty noticed it when we (he) did the Heater Matrix. If that was the start of this issue then it took a looong time before it finally blew out the rest of the HG.
I had ticking noise for years on my P38 which was always put down to a tappet but perhaps it was an indication that my head gasket was failing.
A few years ago my P38 was intermittently running roughly. It would suddenly lose almost all power then need to be revved up for a minute or two before it would recover. On this occasion I managed to pull into a lay-by & as I was revving up the engine trying get it to deliver some power there was an almighty bang from the rear. To add insult to injury not only had the CPS finally died but the near side rear air spring had exploded.
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/