Yep, it was early stage gasket loss to outside on no 4. The left hand one I did before went at no.3 in the same place. I sent it for skimming today, and drilling that f-ing exhaust bolt

Driver's side, Gilbert? I previously lifted the passengers side as one, but driver's side has been a PITA, and I don't think I would have been able to safely remove the head bolts without getting the exhaust manifold off ( oh yes, one of the exhaust manifold bolts sheared too - mirror image of the one that sheared on the passenger's side). I'm now down to one earth strap at the back of the cylinder head and I can whip it out. Why the hell did LR think it would be a good idea to fit a load of inaccessible M6 bolts around the heat shield? Grrr

Thanks Rutland, I was planning on pulling the injector lead too, to stop the excess fuel - sounds like a sobering experience you had there. Anyway, I did a short drive as proposed ie no 4 with a disabled HT and injector, and it would make it to the next service station like that, but I'd worry about going a long distance, that said lesser cars run on 4 cylinders, so 7 might have been ok in an emergency.
Thanks also GIlbertd, i think this is me. Have started tear-down already, I couldn't resist, once i had the diagnosis, and I have all the parts on hand. Let's see what the head gasket looks like tomorrow - once I've navigated the usual crap with the heat shield bolts, I might have to try and pull out the cylinder head and exhaust manifold in one go

Last weekend I started to get cheep cheep cheep sounds from my V8 under any kind of load (but not idle). I replaced the LH head gasket earlier this year. This time it seems to be the RH one. Not sure what triggered it, I had a minor over-heat in slow traffic on a hot day a couple of weeks back, but pulled over very quickly, let it cool, and as soon as I was on open road the RR ran fine.
After removing the HT leads to plugs 2/4/6/8 one by one - the cheep disappears on 4 - so I'm hypothesising there's a failure coming on 4, which I'll deal with in due course. I'm just trying to work out how driveable this is...if the HG leak goes to a full chuff chuff steam engine sound, and I were in the middle of nowhere (say 100m away from home) and I had to remove the HT lead and disconnect the injector on no 4, would that do any damage to the engine (and assuming the other 7 cylinders run fine, which they do)? I'd much rather be able to self-recover than call out Admiral and wait x hours etc etc Tnx, Rob

ie PU seam sealant... good shout... I smeared some on both sides of a new gasket, so far, so good

The Bearmach gaskets I was using are a composite of aluminium between two fibre layers. I doubt BM made that design up, but just in case I've ordered a LR original for a couple of pounds more, and will revert to using hylomar, as that seems to have produced better results. As you say Gilbert, there's always RTV if i run out of other options, and I also ordered some normal gasket paper in case I need to go old school and make my own.

D1E is for a minibus though, and I don't think the P38 qualifies ? Legality aside, I think it's a question of weight of the vehicle vs loaded trailer and the quality of the overrun brakes on the trailer, and the height/ dimensions of the load bed. My Dad recovered my P38 20 miles in his Disco (and trailer) and it was not the most comfortable driving experience tbh , we had to go nice and slow on all the corners/ RABs etc, and I don't think we went above 40 on straight roads. The trailer deck wd need to be 5m+ long, and 2m+wide, to enable you to get the P38 properly loaded ie neither nose heavy nor falling off the back. It wd have helped if I'd had the nano to be able to send EAS to bump stops - ie it's not just weight, but also centre of gravity. I think the cat B restriction above says it all " and the fully-loaded trailer doesn’t weigh more than the unladen vehicle" it wouldn't be fun...better to find a truck.

Tnx Gilbert, I'll retorque the exhaust manifold and see what happens, gotta be worth a shot

I had a short in my seat which was blowing one of the fuses on start-up. I tracked this down to the lumbar support ( tho I was sure it was going to be the seat heater). I depinned it from the BECM connection, and so i have everything else working except the lumbar support Being a quasi-perfectionist (struggling to get excited about my non-operational cruise control) I was wondering whether the lumbar support pump/ bladder would be the sort of thing that was easier to replace, or it's fairly rudimentary once you're inside the seat? Has anyone had a play with this before?

Ta, Rob

or the "nose" for the top hose... First weekend I got my P38 it over-heated because some fool had fitted a second thermostat in the coolant elbow. I subsequently put on a new gasket and used hylomar on both sides. I pinched the two bolts up as much as I dared, but the joint still (very slowly) wept coolant. After doing a head gasket I did the same - gasket and blue hylomar, and got a torque setting from my Defender 4.0 (26.45.01) of 21 ft lb (the P38 manual seems to overlook the torque for this joint, presumably since it's meant to be empty). Now I've got a new-fangled low range electronic torque wrench I redid the joint with a fibre gasket but no hylomar (manual says not to use compound unless explicitly advised) - now seems to be weeping worse, even after after i flattened it off with 2000 Grit. Has anyone found an effective method for doing this joint?

Pretty sure I have some kind of impending gasket failure -sounds like a budgie tweeting when under load ( and not in motion). MOTd last week, lol. Will compression test it, and kick myself if the failure is in the same place as last. Hope you get a fair wind to France, Gilbert

Sure, this particular fix goes way above my head. My comment was more general though, unless an owner is willing/ able to get stuck in and do the maintenance on a P38 it's not going to be economic in the long term. Being able to find the specialist when you need ( and avoiding the charlatans) is obviously critical too, else it becomes even less economic. And not having to rely on it being working when you need it ( I think I have a head gasket on the way out as of this weekend) I know we aren't all here purely for economics, of course... I just don't think I'd recommend my mum get a P38, even/ especially if she lived just round the corner

Bummer - I got a 4 pin from Ashcroft. Not too bad to fit, although it does require you to be able to bench press the weight of the diff. Ashcroft are v efficient

From where I sit it may be time to cut your losses, and stop throwing good money after bad. To own a P38 then you need access to free mechanic labour, a willingness to spend time researching all its quirks/ foibles and a desire to never be beaten. Unless the vehicle has been well maintained all its life, then it's hard to reverse 20 odd years of decline.

It may be cheaper in the long run for you to find something simpler.

My Accumate Pro ( smart charger) has been connected for 4+ years continuously in the garage beneath my house to recharge a 24V Toylander which often needs a full recharge after use. It has never caused any issues. Often used on the P38 too. You can also buy multiple connectors ie other than Croc clips, perhaps not a towing socket, although I'll have to investigate

Just buy a trickle charger Morat....mine's an Accumate Pro - 12v/24v, polarity protection built in. Run it for 5+ years, good piece of kit

ALR1051? I have a couple of spares if you want them

On aluminium you need an etch primer on bodywork, even if using coach enamel, else there's no key for the colour to bond to, but I've only come across spray etch primer in the past. The theory goes that aluminium forms a chemical layer of aluminium oxide that must be etched into. But I have hammerite (am a big fan) on my P38 rocker covers at the mo - which seems to have coped with the heat v well for the last 6 months, I don't think i primed them either.
On the AC pipes, I've been playing a lot with a Castrol High temp bearing grease left over from rebuilding the Defender's wheel hubs. So I would maybe coat the aluminium pipes with HT grease before then putting on a physical barrier of rubber hose (old coolant hose ?) sliced down one side if the pipework is particularly exposed. BTW, the HT grease seems v effective on powder coating and black ABS - the oil helps restore the colour, and leaves the surface moderately sticky/ a bit waxy. The rear ABS either side of the tailgate has lapped it up, and now looks great. Acetone also works a treat in stripping the crud off the outside of the aluminium metal work - less keen about letting it near any rubber (or paint work, or ABS....), but it flashes off v quickly. While i'm brain dumping, Clarke do an excellent Aluminium cleaner which I've used for checker plate - paints on and then washes off - not sure it's advisable for ali in sensitive areas though - you'd need to be able to remove the components and strip to ali only

Fun vid of the triallers

Erm, I just noticed - Are you planning to wash those glasses and drink out of them after? Remind me to bring my own glassware should I ever be invited round to yours :o)