I was wondering if any one could be of help !!I have the chance of a 1997 p38 hse but being a defender slave I don't know if I would be out of my depth or is it a case of youll never learn if you don't take the plunge! it seems straight and clean . has been garaged for 3/4 years on a sorn any advice would be gratefully received

welcome steve, this is a dedicated L322 and L405 forum but some here have experience of the P38 and you should get some info..



thread moved to 'other cars' section.. ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
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sorry I didn't know ! I go the link for this site of a member of my defender forum . but hopefully someone can help

ive had three p38's all petrol. (and lpg) if this is your introduction to the range rover, you might want to think again. (we have had a disco2 diesel, also applies here....)
True they are a nice car to drive. they are very cheap to buy now. even very well cared for ones. but boy, they do have their faults. things that you cant really fix, -especially the petrol engines. (pourous block issue) -it's the way they were designed, and things like the immobiliser, with lockouts, the underseat main ECU or BECM issues. the air suspension. I was a big fan of them, and knew how to nurse/avoid issues etc. to an outsider there is a lot to learn. and forums will steer to right., but they are like a minefield.... of wasps nests,

however, once you have seen the light and skipped to the L322 model you really are into premier league stuff. and the drive and finish is so much better. -you then, cannot go back. think of the early l322 as a big BMW engineered car, and from around £5000 gets you behind the wheel.)

as for the p38, if its petrol it will lose water, ie porous block, if you open the door the dash will beep at you, (if the battery is not flat.) the car will sometimes be flat on its bumpstops as the air suspenssion will settle. if its diesel it will drive like your present car, with the handbrake half on...

Not a fan anymore then

The diesels are not too bad if you have them re-mapped to around 155bhp. Certainly a better engine than the petrol variants including those with an lpg conversion. If converted to lpg, make sure it is a multipoint setup as the single point venturi is pants, check for an after market air filter as the venturi setup will cause backfires and blow the standard air filter box to bits.
Air suspension setup is pretty easy to work with.
Climate control can be problematic, blend motors causing faults, leaking "O rings" at the heater matrix.
Have I put you off yet?
Get a good well looked after diesel (year 2000 onwards the last ones) with a good service history (loads of invoices, etc) to show work done, a good diagnostic kit, workshop manual is essential. Easy to work on if you are electrical and mechanically minded, but a minefield if you are not.
Although johnboyairey has a fair point, the L322 is light years ahead in every way.

Steve. 1968 Series IIA Pastel Green, nearly there project

Vaz,

The earlier GEMS engines are actually better suited to single point LPG then the multipoint. The later THOR engines are multipoint only.

Single point on a GEMS P38 running a set of Mark Adams Tornado chips to unlock the ignition timing will just about stop all back fires.

The standard ECU only allows the ignition timing to be advance/retarded by 3 degrees. With the tornado chips fitted the ECU allows the engine to advance/retard the timing as much as required. To run LPG properly the timing needs to be able to be advanced/retarded by about 12 degrees.

Once you've unlocked it with the chips you shouldn't get a back fire. We've got 2 P38's both running single point systems that we installed ourselves after purchasing the kit from RPI Engineering. Only one of them has back fired in 3 years and it was because the crank shaft sensor packed in.



David. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2007 Range Rover Supercharged in Java Black with Ivory Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior

I had a P38 Vogue 4.6 between 2000 (bought new) and 2004. It was perhaps too new to develop many faults, but did upset me by sticking in low ratio when I was in heavy traffic with a trailer. It was very comfortable (I think the seats are better than in the 322) and when I changed to the 4.4 322 in 2004 I thought the P38 handled better. Apart from the seats, the 322 cabin is more elegant and the 322 has better performance. Off road the P38 chassis limits ground clearance, and I regularly caught the towbar plate on the ground. JLR have said that their Heritage division will support the P38 with spares etc. so perhaps sorting them out would be easier now. My 322s have had numerous faults too. All of that said, when my last 322 engine failed I considered a P38 as a stopgap until I could get a 405 but decided against and got the best 322 I could find instead. One sees few P38s on the road nowadays and very few of the ones one does see have petrol engines - there will be a good reason for that. Only Range Rovers since 1988

I understand the 2.5 diesel can't put the skin off a rice pudding but as you say HSE I'm assuming the 4.6. I had a 4.6 for around three years. The blend motors went, the central locking ceased the drivers door closed (fixed from inside and a total PITA) but that was it. Expect the blend motors to go but if you are lucky they have already been replaced. expect electrical gremlins a plenty. That said I would have another one. I enjoyed the comfort and its no slouch either.

The above faults are all I had but was always expecting something else at any time. My air susps worked faultlessly as did the interior elecs like seats windows roof etc.

The 4.0 head gasket can be an issue and avoid the 2.5 but if you are contemplating a 4.6 then provided you are paying the correct (now very low) price and there is some decent paperwork then go for it. 405 AB exec seats Baltic and Cirrus
93 RR Classic efi

Remember it's easier to get forgiveness than permission!

Gone in order:
4.4 TDV8 SE - gone to a good home
93 Classic hard dash Plymouth Blue
03 L322 Oslo Blue
2000 Disco TD5 ES Epsom Green
98 P38 Rioja Red
89 Classic Cairngorm Brown

Over the years i owned three P38s and were reasonably trouble free. The 1st was a 4.0 lpg and the only trouble was with the lpg system . The 2nd and 3rd were 2.5 diesel and the blend motors went on one of them and the suspension compressor on the other and that was about it . i would describe the diesel performance as adequate and they can easily be chipped if required . Would i have another as a runaround ? ...............yes i would.