2000 Range Rover 4.6HSE Auction deal

3315 Views 26 Replies 9 Participants Last post by p38rangebryce, Aug 4, 2018

p38rangebryce

Discussion Starter · Jul 31, 2018

Hello all, I have just purchased a 2000 Range Rover 4.6 HSE from an online auto auction. It has a little over 91,000 miles on it, and so far i've noticed a few little caveats with it.
(1) Water builds up inside the spare tire area
(2) Massive brake fluid leak from rear passenger tire area (I noticed the brake fluid tank had nearly nothing in it, so i topped it off, causing the ABS, TC, and brake lights to disappear, only for the "LOW BRAKE FLUID" light to come on whilst driving, and i realized i was leaving a trail behind myself. Not sure what is causing the issue, but it nearly leaked all the fluid i added.
I intend to use this car as a daily driver. What should I expect? I'm only 18 years so I don't have a ton to fork out for repairs, but so far the only issues i'm seeing are the brake fluid leak, and smaller things such as my drivers window gets stuck about halfway down, and my clockspring was bad (already replaced, horn's working now.) I am very new to the world of Land rover and just looking for some people to share their input on the reliability of something like a 2000 p38 with 90k ish miles.

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1 - 20 of 27 Posts

koen110

· #2 · Jul 31, 2018

It's hard to comment on reliability since everything depends on the maintenance it got from the previous owner(s).

Fix the brake fluid thing first. Jack it up and remove the wheel where the leak situates and investigate the situation. The brake system is not complicated, check the lines and connectors, maybe the connector just got loose?

Richard_G

· #3 · Jul 31, 2018

Most likely place for a leak is a short metal pipe between the two flexi hoses high up on each side. You'll need a crows foot spanner to get to the top union other than that, it's a simple enough job to replace.

johnno42

· #4 · Jul 31, 2018

Well depending on what you paid for it, which I'm guessing is not a lot, fix the leak in the brakes and drive it until it dies.

Its just a matter of getting someone to pump the brakes while you look for the leak and if it is a bad as you say it will be pretty obvious. If you get stuck, you'll get lots of advice here.

Drill a hole in the spare tyre well to get rid of the water. If you are worried about the window, have a look inside the door for the problem but personally if you can live with it then I wouldn't start fiddling around.

A good idea for an older car is to get top of the line roadside assist so if and when it breaks down you can get it towed home.

The main problems I see on this website seem to relate to the air suspension which is easy to fix and the electronics around immobilisation. I haven't had any problems with the latter, but make sure you have the EKA code in case the car throws a hissy fit.

otherwise good luck with it.

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chris no 10

· #5 · Jul 31, 2018

As the previous posts tell you where to look for your brake problem, so I won’t, what I will say is try to not let the system empty completely, there’s a procedure to bleeding these.
if you empty the system, these aren’t like most cars
that take a few minutes, last thing you want is brakes not upto par .

p38rangebryce

Discussion Starter · #6 · Aug 1, 2018

Thank you everyone for your input. So far with the brakes, I have learned that the leak is from the rear passenger tire area and I am jacking it up and having someone look at it. I paid $1500 for the car and about $300 to have it towed to home. One thing i've noticed is when the master cylinder is completely full of brake fluid all the lights go away (ABS, TC, and ebrake light) and the brakes feel great. When it starts leaking out it will display the low brake fluid message and once most of it is gone the brakes become really spongy and near useless (i've made sure to not let it go completely dry). Other than that, the car runs great and feels great whilst driving. Also the air suspension works fine but sometimes can be finicky and not want to change height (maybe just a button issue? or it being 18 yrs old) not sure if anyone else has had this issue.

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johnno42

· #7 · Aug 1, 2018

You need to read the book on the air suspension, it won't change height with a door open for example. If it takes a while to rise when you start the car its because the airtank is empty from a leak and it takes the compressor a while to catch up.

The main problem around the air suspension is from leaks either from the bags or the valve block. You know you have a problem if it drops to the bump stops over night and takes a while to come back up, but if its holding air or comes straight up when you start the car then that is as good as it gets.

p38rangebryce

Discussion Starter · #8 · Aug 1, 2018

One other question, does the P38 take unleaded or premium gas? My sticker on the gas cap says "UNLEADED FUEL ONLY" which I understand to be 87 octane, and from what i was told the truck takes Premium / 93 octane .

johnno42

· #9 · Aug 1, 2018

In Australia its 91 Octane which is the basic fuel but I think the system is a bit different in the US so 87 is probably ok. Google reckons US/Canada ratings are 4-6 octane ratings less than those used in the rest of the world. Have a read in the handbook to see what it says, shouldn't be any need for premium as the compression ratio is quite low. There are high compression motors, but not in Australia, maybe in the US?

p38rangebryce

Discussion Starter · #10 · Aug 1, 2018

Handbook tells me to use 90-92 octane fuel. Also running into an issue with the locks where they randomly lock and unlock themselves, tried to research it and figure it out but have had no luck yet.

NorCal RR

· #11 · Aug 1, 2018

Premium gas is unleaded gas so these two things don't contradict each other. Look at the door latch trouble shooting guide to figure out which door latch needs replacing which is the most likely cause of random self lock/unlock. A replacement latch is around $250 at Atlantic British. You really should stop driving until you fix the brake fluid leak.

p38rangebryce

Discussion Starter · #12 · Aug 1, 2018

NorCal, haven't driven the vehicle yet aside from taking it on a quick spin around the block to test it out, in which i realized the leak and haven't operated it since. Aside from that it's just been moved around my driveway and into my garage.

JohnnoK

· #13 · Aug 1, 2018

NorCal RR said:
You really should stop driving until you fix the brake fluid leak.

Absolutely, and do all 4 corners while you are at it.

p38rangebryce

Discussion Starter · #14 · Aug 1, 2018

Meaning all the brake lines on each wheel? Sorry, i'm a newbie when it comes to brake work.

Richard_G

· #15 · Aug 1, 2018

The most likely place for the leak is the pipes marked 11 and 12 on this diagram (ignore that it says Right Hand Drive as it is obviously LHD, the caption is wrong). These pipes rust and leak. Bleeding the rear brakes only is easy as long as the fluid level hasn't been allowed to drop too low. Get your assistant to press the brake pedal and turn on the ignition to cause the ABS pump to run, then open the bleed nipple and bleed the air out. No need for pumping the pedal, the pump does that for you.

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Richard_G

· #16 · Aug 1, 2018

As said, doors locking and unlocking by themselves will be a faulty door latch. Marty_NZ does refurbished ones with new microswitches for about half the cost of new from AB.

The confusion regarding the grade of fuel it needs is that in the UK, where the car was built, we use the RON method of denoting the Octane of fuel, in the US, you use the AKI rating which is different (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating). So what Land Rover and us refer to as 91 Octane (perfectly acceptable for use even though you can't buy anything lower than 95 Octane in Europe) is marked in the US as 87 Octane. No need at all to use 93 Octane AKI as that is equivalent to 97 Octane RON, all you need is Regular.

p38rangebryce

Discussion Starter · #17 · Aug 1, 2018

Hello all, I left the truck super locked last night because I was testing the locks (mistake) and my key fob doesn’t work so I used the key. Now I can’t get any of the locks to respond except the driver’s door and the alarm system stays on with the engine disabled.

Richard_G

· #18 · Aug 1, 2018

You need to input the EKA with the key in the drivers door lock. However, that does assume you have the EKA and the fact that it didn't operate the central locking and turn off the alarm and immobiliser would suggest that the faulty door latch is the drivers one. I think you now know why the previous owner put it on the auction site. You need at least one working key fob and decent door latches or you are in for a whole world of grief.

I would suspect that either the CDL switch or the keyswitch is playing up. You can turn off the alarm and unlock the other doors by pulling the door panel off, unplug the connector to the latch and ground the blue/red and green/red simultaneously. The central locking should fire into life and unlock all the doors. They will relock again once you take the ground off but should then unlock when you reconnect the latch. With any luck, that should allow you to also start the car.

You say the keyfob doesn't work. Does the LED flash when you press a button? If it does then it may only need to be synced to the car.

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pwood999

· #19 · Aug 1, 2018

If it's passenger rear LHD, then if you're lucky it will be pipe 4 (flexible) or 12 (steel). If you're unlucky it will be at the bend in pipes 9 & 10 where they turn over the rear cross member. In this case remove the passenger side wheel arch plastic inner covers (front and rear), and you will see the pipes. They are best removed in sections & usually break at the corroded part as you pull them out !! There's a handy joint (13) behind the Right front wheel arch cover.

I just renewed the pipes from front to rear on my 1998 last weekend, so the pipe routing was like the inset picture. Worst part was disconnecting the old seized joints. Buy copper-nickel pipe and a flaring tool. Then watch the youtube videos several times & learn how to flare the ends. Then straighten the pipe from the coil, and

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p38rangebryce

Discussion Starter · #20 · Aug 1, 2018

Quick update, I managed to get the superlock/immobilizer off by fiddling with the battery (connect, reconnect) and jiggling the lock open and closed to where it finally unlocked the rest of the doors. Phew. Thank you all for your input as i'd be lost without it. It's currently in the shops for a state inspection/ brake line fix / oil change.

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