I purchased my 1999 p38 new and have maintained her meticulously over the years. She still looks new in and out, and everything works. Love the truck and it is great in the California desert off road. There are around 200,000 miles on the clock. Around 100K, the heads were serviced and gaskets replaced to fix a coolant leak. This has now occurred once again. Robison service has nothing good to say about the Thor motor in the p38. He claims it is the worst ever from LR. Problems with slipped liners from over heating, oil pump failures, poor tolerances in the build, etc. Although I have had no trouble other than the head gasket, it does cause me to wonder whether or not I should spend the $2500 for another head service, or maybe consider a investing instead in a remanufactured engine that has upgrades to solve some of the problems with the original. I do intend to keep the truck (forever!). Not long ago, I replaced the transmission and transfer case with rebuilds, the diffs look great and the suspension is good. I would appreciate any advice/suggestions, particularly about sources for rebuilt engines (short/long blocks).
p38emma
As someone going through a rebuild right now I’d like to comment like the others have just to reiterate that the engine is not nearly as bad as people like to claim. Not even close! I have found over the last several months that the most vocally critical people were also the most expensive. They talk as if the vehicle was made by NASA and since I know better from direct experience, nothing could be further from the truth.
A few months ago I was at Harbor Freight and parked next to a fellow P38 owner. While comparing notes he mentioned he had spent almost 40k to have a local popular LR mechanic troubleshoot and replace parts, and finally just replace his 4.0L engine. At first I thought he had said 4K. No longer must you pay the Land Rover tax!
This engine is so simple and newbie friendly, parts are very cheap if you buy from the UK, and it’s only when you involve a Land Rover mechanic that the vehicle becomes expensive. Crack a beer and watch the Atlantic British YouTube videos covering the head gasket replacement and you’ll realize just how absurd that price quote is. The vehicle in the video is a Disco II, same 4.6L Thor engine, and I'm using it just to show how easy this process really is. Come Monday when someone asks what you did over the weekend you can say with a straight face that you replaced the head gaskets on your Range Rover, it's an amusing reaction to watch.
A few months ago I was at Harbor Freight and parked next to a fellow P38 owner. While comparing notes he mentioned he had spent almost 40k to have a local popular LR mechanic troubleshoot and replace parts, and finally just replace his 4.0L engine. At first I thought he had said 4K. No longer must you pay the Land Rover tax!
This engine is so simple and newbie friendly, parts are very cheap if you buy from the UK, and it’s only when you involve a Land Rover mechanic that the vehicle becomes expensive. Crack a beer and watch the Atlantic British YouTube videos covering the head gasket replacement and you’ll realize just how absurd that price quote is. The vehicle in the video is a Disco II, same 4.6L Thor engine, and I'm using it just to show how easy this process really is. Come Monday when someone asks what you did over the weekend you can say with a straight face that you replaced the head gaskets on your Range Rover, it's an amusing reaction to watch.
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