I purchased my P38 with 80W/2 Autobeam branded H4 LED bulbs installed. One bulb has now expired.
Upon checking online, there’s various LED bulbs across various power outputs. Although skeptical of the specifications sellers list for their bulbs, I’ve found one that is 100W for each bulb. Apart from potentially blinding other users, would this fry anything?
Gilbertd wrote:
Chances are the slider on the calliper carrier has seized so the calliper can't move from side to side. So unless you can free that up, you won't be able to fit the new calliper. Ideally you will need a new carrier too.
To bleed a rear calliper, all you need do is plug the pipe when you take the old one off so you don't lose too much fluid. Connect the pipe, open the bleed nipple and with someone pressing the brake pedal, get them to turn the ignition on so the ABS pump runs. As soon as air stops coming out, close the bleed nipple and that should be it. Just make sure the fluid level doesn't drop too far or air will be drawn in at that end and then you will need to do the full bleed procedure..
Thanks. Brake pads & discs should arrive today, but my caliper order was cancelled.
When the mechanic jacked the car and rotated the wheel, you could instantly hear a grinding sound.
My rear left passenger brake has worn out, and the disc has also become damaged. The right side is fine, so I do suspect a seized calliper.
Having never done such a job before, do I need to bleed the system (having the other half press the brake pedal a few times, before I connect the hose back up)?
Seems a simple job but want to be certain.
Tackling another job (will check RAVE when home). My front propshaft snapped (maybe a seized VC). Now, my front differential is making noises - confirmed by a 4x4 mechanic. (I’ve done the tests for a seized VC, all good) So, I’d want to change the oil to see if that helps.
Anyway, I digress. It seems fairly simple. Is this correct?
Oil - 1.6L of 75w90
Syringe
Oil pan + magnet for any metal
Do I need new plugs?
TIA.
Upon further research, I found your recommendation of using pliers to pull the cables from inside. This has worked for all three attempts today. (Extremely ideal as I was able to top up the car with oil) However, I feel that this is not a permanent solution. I sense that one day, I'll pull the cable with such force that it will snap.
When I had the bonnet open, I had my other half pull the handle to inspect the latch's function. They both move as standard. I did want to add WD40 for good measure, but I have lost it lol.
Gilbertd wrote:
v8vroom wrote:
What concerns me is that my car does not display “oil pressure low”, yet the dipstick shows nothing. It doesn’t help that the car was on a minuscule incline, but the engine was cold for an hour, so I’m not sure what to trust.
There is no display for Oil Pressure Low, only the light, and if nothing is shown on the dipstick, you've got no oil in it!! It should show between the two notches, the top one being Max and the bottom one being Min. Any less than that and I am not surprised you have tappet rattle. The oil is circulated around the engine so once the top end is being lubricated and the hydraulic tappets filled, you've got nothing left! Fill it up to the Max notch. What oil you use is pretty much irrelevant if you don't put enough in it.
The only time the "oil pressure low" light illuminated was when I was going downhill and taking a roundabout at a bit of speed. Never has it come on since.
That's because you have very little oil in it and a combination of downhill and turning meant there was nothing left in the sump for the oil pump to pick up. Keep running it like that and you will very soon be looking at another engine rebuild.
It also doesn’t help that the previous owner didn’t include a temperature sensor when upgrading the header tank, albeit being a better material.
There never was a temperature sensor on the header tank, the temperature sensor is on the top of the inlet manifold. It is two sensors in one housing, one to feed the engine ECU (the temperature you see from OBD) and one to feed the temperature gauge on the dash.
Thanks, this makes a lot of sense.
Why I assumed the car had no "temperature sensor" is because it was aftermarket and the needle would start from 0 and stop just before "half", so I assumed it was not operating as standard. That is somewhat reassuring - knowing the car itself was not overheating. I've ordered oil today, and to my surprise, it will be arriving tomorrow. I'll gradually fill it up on flat ground and use the dipstick as a measure of where to stop.
I should note, the tappet sound was there when purchased, and when my mechanic had inspected the car, so not a direct link to low oil.
nigelbb wrote:
After I had V8 Developments rebuild the engine in my P38 Ray's recommendation was to use Valvoline VR1 20W50 changing oil every 5K miles.
I made a post about my camshaft rattle and what oil to use, and I had briefly mentioned the same oil. My engine was rebuilt, and it was also recommended to use that very one. What concerns me is that my car does not display “oil pressure low”, yet the dipstick shows nothing. It doesn’t help that the car was on a minuscule incline, but the engine was cold for an hour, so I’m not sure what to trust. I’ll have to get the car on flat ground and assess properly. I may also trial another oil - Smith and Allan 20W-50. The only time the "oil pressure low" light illuminated was when I was going downhill and taking a roundabout at a bit of speed. Never has it come on since.
It also doesn’t help that the previous owner didn’t include a temperature sensor when upgrading the header tank, albeit being a better material. Time to use an OBD scanner for my CarPlay system. Oh, I also have a coolant leak, which is great. Potential lack of oil + a coolant leak is an interesting situation lol.
My 4.6 V8 was rebuilt at 165k, before my ownership. There's a constant tapping sound regardless of engine temperature when the engine is on.
I did take it to my mechanic, and he suggested it was the camshaft.
I've lived with this for 8k miles now, but I'd like to know if there's anything that I can do to suppress the sound. Upon checking online, there are only two options that I can think of:
Of course, if the camshaft is knackered, the above won't do much but I thought I'll try the cheaper options first.
Gilbertd wrote:
But the V8, if running properly, is as smooth as you can get. Anything else will be somewhere in the drivetrain.
There's small things that I need to do that should not take more than 10 minutes
I'm being lazy!
Gilbertd wrote:
Quite possibly. It's a 24 year old car so it is very likely to have slack in the top and bottom axle ball joints (not detected on an MoT unless done by someone that knows how to check them), Panhard rod bushes and radius arm bushes. Any of which can cause the steering to pull one way or the other. £1,000 is about right for top and bottom ball joints as even experienced LR mechanics don't like doing them as they can be a real pig to get the old ones out.
A noisy diff is also a sign that it is getting worn and will need to be replaced sooner or later. You may well have damaged it when the front propshaft let go.
I’m in the process of job hunting so if all is well, I may just patch this sweetheart up. The smallest of sounds/vibrations get to me so a 4.6 V8 probably wasn’t the best option to buy, but if I can get the car feeling smooth once more, I’ve got no reason to sell.
Right,
I took it to a 4x4 specialist who has a wheel alignment system. Although skeptical about new mechanics, this experience was somewhat refreshing. Perhaps you may disagree with their statement.
A technician with 20+ years took a look and after an hour or so, came back and said prior to the alignment, there’s other work required, else the car will still continue steering towards the left. With a hefty bill of £1000, I said I’d think about it. I’ll either patch and keep or sell this within the next two months.
In addition, when driving, I would hear a whirring noise. He said it’s the front differential.
v8vroom wrote:
v8vroom wrote:
So, after delaying the job, I thought I’d try another method.
I zip tied the lock so it was out of the way, and to avoid hurting my fingers, I just used a long nose plier to get the short end behind the little plastic part.
The only issue I have is I’m finding that the pin hole is not aligning at all. I can, however, manually align this myself if I adjust the plastic hook. I wonder if this is normal or that I’ve done something wrong.
Ha,
Fixed this issue not long after replying. I sold the P38 and bought another. It seems the problem persists with the passenger door. No idea how I did it before, but I'll check my own notes soon!
Unrelated to this, I know my remote can be weird at times, so I'll use my physical key to unlock the car. In a Lidl carpark, the car refused to unlock..could not do anything but laugh. Eventually, it unlocked. I am aware that the mechanism is mechanical. Perhaps a WD40 job?
Gilbertd wrote:
The switch is under the RH latch, so if that one is releasing, it will show as open even if the LH latch is still closed and the bonnet won't open. Sounds like your LH latch isn't releasing.
Could this be as simple as buying two latches? I can't imagine this has anything to do with the bonnet pegs.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205871475222?_skw=p38+bonnet+latch&itmmeta=01KBM9SB4G510BMKMCAVPHMHKH&hash=item2feee56a16:g:XHEAAeSwIl9pJKUc&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1emqboaPPv3SQ6VOCL3CJ2kiE1Xw3bVzQAnSsPwB11w7OuC%2BzUG9epZDksUbr5ZIsJMJWH5QSoNtBvUEbXXsp6vAlhDye5FnyWyGBcLxs6NT28KPE%2F2HQW1ftMRV02RRgwuymDGTZrCLM%2BTLa3bFxGd7PRpGgk0AvILpKQ%2FZp2SpidHni86KK2e7pbC9Jmji%2BZ5lRGvYjKuPosn0JxLndWLzM9fUxcP4RaTRGu0otIrs5091Qb%2BC1ZjCSvXEVwSymqS48BAU8cYPJS%2BmIQBf%2B1la4uIsSEfeCn4E3IckrgFyQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR76y5YndZg
At times the bonnet opens, which was great as I needed a coolant top up.
I may sell this P38 so I’d like to fix this problem. This is a good video
https://youtu.be/nraZ7D-DwGA?si=Rfi3o_gLR6oHPikk
Gilbertd wrote:
You've found a dickhead. A minus figure for toe is toe IN, which is why it is pulling to the left. Taking it somewhere that understands a steering box is far better than KwikFit. It's only taking as much time and energy as it is because you are entrusting it to people that don't know what they are doing (and charging you for the privilege).
A sticky calliper would cause it to pull one way and the easy check for that is to check to see if one front wheel is hotter than the other immediately you stop driving. The hot one is the sticky one.
If the steering box is a long way off centre, then the power steering will cause it to centre incorrectly but it has to be a long way off. With the wheels pointing straight ahead it is simple enough to open the bonnet and look at the pointer on the steering column collar.
Airbag light has nothing to do with an ABS sensor. Do you mean the ABS light?
You can't grease the viscous coupling, it is a sealed unit inside the transfer case.
It wasn't KwikFit, oddly enough, they were the ones who got it right the first time but "we charge £80 but between you and I, I can do it for £50 cash" threw me off. Not going there again.
Will give it a try tomorrow, thanks.
I did open the bonnet (it actually opened when I assumed it was stuck. Probably got lucky), but I did not know what I was looking at. I know which side it is located, but with the LPG setup in the way, I wasn't sure where exactly to point my eyes at. I'm going to use a bright torch and dig my head deeper down lol.
Sorry, yes. ABS light - my old P38 had this issue. Then, I had my Nancom to inform me of which side it was. I'll disconnect one at a time to clean the connector and see if it makes any difference. If so, that's the side to replace.
VC - meaning he greased the propshaft UJs yearly.
Gilbertd wrote:
Why do you think it is the steering box? Was it driving straight before you paid someone that doesn't understand how it works start playing with it? If the problem was tyre wear, then that should have told you what it was. Wearing the inside edges is too much toe out, wearing the outside edges is too much toe in, wearing both inside and outside is too low pressure. Squealing when turning sharply may be low pressure or could also be a seized viscous coupling. As you destroyed a front propshaft, unless it was extremely worn and had never seen a grease gun in the entire life of the car, I would still suspect the viscous.
Regardless of where I left the toe, the car kept on moving left.
So I've just returned from the mechanic - it's a lost cause. I said I need toe OUT between 0.5 and 0.15, so he set the figure to -0.8, (adamant on this meaning TOE OUT), yet now it still veers to the left.
I'm spending far too much time than I'd like on this car. In true humour, the glovebox opened up once again, so I'll tighten the screws soon, and the airbag light illuminated - which I suspect is a dodgy ABS sensor.
What if the steering box is off? What if I even have a sticky calliper? I am within my depth, but I don't like how much of my mental energy this is consuming! Luckily, there's a Landrover 4X4 garage nearby that does it all, so I'm going to ring them tomorrow and see what they say.
Yeah, the VC is still on my mind - the previous owner mentioned he greased it yearly. Another reason - I did get my alignment done from KwikFit, and it actually worked - steering straight and did not drag, but it did not hold for too long.
Gilbertd wrote:
Also point out that if their machine shows anything but zero on the rear, it hasn't been mounted properly.
I’m convinced it will be the steering box and they won’t know much about this car, so they will probably adjust the drag link to attempt to fix it (assuming this is a valid method)
I’ll get them to adjust the toe first and then touch the steering box.
I'm just going to return to the shop and show them the specified toe range of 0°05' to 0°15' toe OUT.
Following from the other thread, I want to inspect the steering box.
Do I view it from above/below? If so, what am I looking at? What are the steps?
I am aware of aligning the 'two' lines together, but no idea where to begin/what to undo.
Gilbertd wrote:
It sounds like the drag link and steering wheel were correct but by maladjusting the toe, it has pulled it out. Once you get your head around how the system works and what each adjuster does it becomes clear. The link between the steering wheel and LH wheel won't have changed, so it is only the RH wheel that is pulling the steering one way or another. You can even change a tie rod and reset the alignment simply by doing what you have done. Adjust it a bit one way or the other until the steering wheel is back to how it was. If it was straight before, it should be straight afterwards.
Spent some time this morning making adjustments. I've got the wheel awfully close to straight now, yet the car still veers to the left. Pardon the ignorance, as this is all new to me - maybe I am doing something wrong.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/0e3z9kB01lDOivFCY34XVN4qA - as you say, "One end of the adjuster has a left hand thread while the other is a right hand thread so turning the adjuster sleeve one way shortens it, the other way lengthens it. "
I was rotating the left-hand thread this entire time by clamping pliers onto the centre hex. Under the right set of locknuts, I've noticed there was also a thread underneath. Was I also meant to toy with this? If not, then this is starting to point to the steering box. I've had to cut this troubleshooting short as I'm leaving to drive soon - I hope the additional 200miles do not eat into the tyre.