[tompage81]

Hi all,

I've recently purchased a 2002 Range Rover HSE 4.6 here in Florida and am due to collect it this coming friday.
It has been converted to coil springs and has 114,000 miles on it.
I've spent a few hours looking through it with a mechanic mate of mine and although it has a few minor fixes(i hope they're
minor),for the most part its in incredible condition.
List of issues:
Very slight coolant leak (haven't found where its coming from yet)
Fuel filler cap button on the dash doesn't open the outside filler cap(i imagine this button just needs replacing?)
Sat nav has been disconnected and i imagine the unit needs replacing.
Neither of the heated seats work (is there a quick fix for this or it it a pain in the prostate to fix them?not that i really need them in Florida but its always good to have the options)
One of the bonnet struts (hood struts) needs replacing.
serpintine belt looks to have a little bit of wear on it so i guess i should change that just to be safe.
The AC blows nice and cold but when i check the engine after running it for a while the low side pipe in the engine has lots of ice on it.Is this normal or a fault somewhere?
The book symbol appears on the AC controls sometimes and then disappears again?

Also the remote key when pressed doesn't do anything.Now the key looks like its been to hell and back but the light glows strong when its pressed so i'm wondering is it just a matter of changing to fresh batteries or could the remote key have been somehow disabled by the previous owner?

Its been a childhood dream of mine to own a P38 and I've been getting so excited that my wife (3 months married) is getting slightly jealous that i'm spending so much time talking about it and researching it instead of paying full attention to it lol.Wait until i get it lol.

I'd like to give it a facelift when i get it and re-spray the front grille black and also update the left and right front indicator lights to the clear type instead of the ones that are on it.
Will also take off the rear brush guards and update the front and rear Range Rover Decal to silver to make it pop against the grey
Any suggestions or fixes to any of the above issues would be greatly appreciated.

Tom

 

[marty_nz]

Congrats on the purchase!

A few thoughts:

Coolant leak: Check the carpet in passenger footwell, and try to feel the foam under the carpet - especially near centre console. Heater core o-rings are known culprits for coolant leaks - and should be looked at sooner, rather than later. Other points to look at: Water pump - you can just see it behind the fan/pulley - have a look around the bolts (and at it from underneath) and see if there are any coolant stains. Also, the throttle body heater plate is another culprit for leaking.

Fuel filler cap: May be as simple as the plug has come loose from the button, or it could be the latch solenoid itself.

Sat Nav - Easy way to see if it needs replacing is to connect it up and see what happens. If you get a white screen on the dash, and nothing else - it's toast.

Heated seats: Covered in detail on the main site to repair them... the heater elements fracture over time, and this stop it from working. Almost always in the seat cushion, not the back rest part. There is good coverage on the main site on how to repair them... If you look under my username and threads, I've posted a shortcut to fixing it, which means that you don't need to fully take the seat apart. (you do need to take it out of the vehicle - but it's 4x Torx T50 bolts).

Bonnet strut should be easy/cheap enough to do..

Serpentine is easy/cheap to do - just need a socket (with a long handle) - I forget the size, sorry - to hold the tensioner in to get old one off/new one on (can look at the water pump whilst it's off for the coolant leak...

Facelift - The lights you have are the later model... the older ones were solid orange lenses. My 2001 has the smoked orange Euro type, but I'm not sure if they were introduced in the US... I could be wrong - I've never lived in the US!! But the ones on your 2002 are the later style... Look on the main site at the model year specs, and there are pictures of the older, completely orange ones...

Rear Lamp guards... I'd keep them to be honest - The're fixed on by having a couple of holes drilled in the bodywork - so you'd have to fill them somehow.. I found mind hand when I had a disagreement with the corner of the house - couple of scratches on the lamp guards, but at least the light cluster is intact!

Best of luck with the Rover! looks nice!

Cheers,
Marty

 

[tompage81]

Hi Marty,
Thanks for all your advice and tips,its very much appreciated.
The passenger side foot well does look like it was damp at one stage but is bone dry now and even after driving her for over an hour there was still no dampness so i originally thought it might be the o-rings but seen as its dry now i wasn't so sure.
Is changing the o-rings a really major job or is it something i could do myself using a workshop manual?
The clear indicator lights i was looking to change are the ones you will see on the European Range Rover below.A set of new ones go on ebay for around $110 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Range-Rover...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3f1aaf2c01 ) and i think they'd give it a fresher more up to date look.

One thing i forgot to mention earlier is that there is (what looks like ) an antenna cable hanging down from the inside of the boot when i open the lift gate.The dealer said it was for a window antenna.Is this correct and if so do i need it for something?Was just wondering if it was somehow connected to the fact that the remote key/central locking doesn't work by clicking the key?

Thanks again.

 

[tompage81]

A few more pics of the back (still debating on whether to leave the brush guards on or take them off).I think a set of OEM running boards in black would look incredible on it.I have attached a pic below of a UK RR that i really like with the clear indicator lights on the front and also the OEM running boards.I looks incredible.I would love for mine to be a grey version of that lol.

 

[marty_nz]

Hi again,

Regarding the O-rings - have a look on the main RR.net site in the "Common Repairs" section - the're a good tonne of information pertaining to a lot of issues that people have had on these. the O-rings - if they're not wet around there now, then I guess they've been done - and don't need doing again until you get more coolant drips! It's an easy enough process - though there have been a good few shortcuts found, and written about (on the main site there's writeups with pictures, shortcuts etc!)

Can you get a picture of the cable hanging down in the boot? will make it easier to identify...

The lights you have pictured are the "Smoked" euro look - which I've got - they are nice... But since mine'a late model too - I wonder why they weren't fitted to your US spec one in the first place?

I personally like the lamp guards, I have them on the front too (were on there when I bought it) - and have had side-steps on all 3 of my RR's. I also have the A bar with spots (once again bought it like that - though my previous ones, I've bought one serperately and had it fitted)

A picture of mine - with the side-steps, and light guards:

That was taken just after the new A/T tyres were fitted

Cheers,
Marty

 

[bomana]

Like Marty said, those are not the US spec lights. US spec lights have an additional 'side light' running light in them. You can order the smoked euro look ones from the UK, but you will need to put a resistor (I forget what size) in the plug so the BECM doesn't complain about broken lights everytime you turn them on.

 

[tompage81]

Thanks Marty & Bomana.
Marty your truck looks incredible,very sharp and tough looking.
Just out of curiosity,what did those running boards set you back or did they come with it?I've been looking at the very same OEM running boards for mine but they're in around the $800 for a pair which seems a wee bit steep to me.
I'll take a picture of the cable when i get her this Friday for sure.
First thing that's going to happen Friday when i drive the 3 hr journey home (grinning ear to ear like a Cheshire cat) is I'm going to put her in the garage and start by taking the grille off,sanding it down,priming it and spraying it.Then the bumpers,fuel cap switch and slowly work my way to the sat nav.

 

[marty_nz]

Cheers! That was before she'd had a clean too!!

All the extras: light guards, side steps, nudge bar, spot lights were on it when I bought it.

The OEM boards are a bit expensive it seems - Maybe look around at breakers yards of something to see if you can nab a pair second hand (I bought my first P38 side steps online - I just got the Rivnuts installed for me, as I didn't have the tool to do it)

Looks like you can get them from the uk from a few places for about £250 - would be plus shipping (about $400 at current exchange rate)

Either that or maybe look in eBay again, and see if you can find a second hand set... the seem to hold up pretty well (unless they've been banged up or bent) - if the brackets are a bit rusty, then a good wire brushing and some black metal protect paint will have them looking like new

Do you mind taking a few pics of your grille as you do it? Mine is looking a bit faded, so thinking about doing it at some point!

Cheers,
Marty

 

[tompage81]

Well even before you washed her she is still a nice looking motor.
I actually wanted one in black with cream leather interior (because black on a p38 shines up like a nice new penny) but after a year or so of casually searching here in Florida i decided on the grey.Here in Florida P38's aren't as common as they would be back home in Ireland or especially in the UK and any that you do find tend to have either very high miles on them or have cracked leather from a lack of treating and of course (as you know) Florida is situated roughly about a quarter of a mile from the surface of the sun lol which peels the clear-coat and cracks up the dash and leather in no time.
Until i moved here from Ireland a year ago now i had never seen a car or truck with the clear coat peeling off (but then again you need sunshine for that to happen and we don't get a massive amount of that back home).
The OEM running boards are definitely something i was to install because i think they just really pull the truck together and give it that finishing touch (just like on yours) but will wait until everything else is taken care of before i get them.
I was considering taking off the front and back bumpers and sanding/priming and spraying them too (black) but my father in law reckons they just need about 6 coats of armour-oil to bring them back to life.
I'll take plenty of pictures of the grille respray and put it all up here in great detail.
I watched wheeler dealers a few weeks back when they bought and fixed up a P38 and the one thing i couldn't understand is why they didn't touch up the front grille,it really let the finished product down.
Once again thanks for all the advice and tips mate and i'll keep you updated with regular progress reports.

 

[marty_nz]

I've wanted one in the Black/Cream combination for years - but never could find one at a decent price! The always seemed to go for a few $1000 more than the other colours! But, even though I've had a tonne of things to do on this one, and the list still goes on - I do love it to bits!

I've never been to Florida - but wouldn't mind at some stage! What was the reason for your move?

Running boards - yes, I can see where you're coming from with them - does seem to finish the look off nicely...

I have also seen that wheeler dealers episode - and picked so many holes in their work! Like replacing the EAS pump - but not actually looking into WHY the pump had died, and why the vehicle had dropped to the bumpstops whilst he was driving it (probably shoddy old airbags or leaky valve block!) There was something else that bugged me about it too - but can't remember at the moment!

I guess I have made the grille a priority yet, as it's hidden behind the nudge bar/spots - and being as I have the nudge bar fitted, I need to remove the bumper/nudge bar before I can access the screws holding the light guards/grille on... still, I've had it all apart before, and cleaned up a load of rust, and repainted the brackets - so hopefully will all come apart a bit easier next time! Means I'll be able to clean the light guards too (and paint to match the grille)

Keep us updated on the projects - she definitely looks like a nice RR!

Cheers,
Marty

 

[tompage81]

Hi Marty,

Ya i know what you mean about the price difference.There was a 2001 4.6 HSE at a dealership close by here and it was Black with cream interior and very very nice.Low miles (If i recall at the time around 70k).I really wanted it bad and made him an offer of 7k cash into his paw but he didn't take it.I went back the following week and it was gone.Did i ever regret not getting that but then again the heater core had been by-passed and there was a bit of work to be done on her but she really looked the **** man.
I moved to Florida because my girlfriend (now my wife of 3 months) at the time is from here and also because the economy in Ireland is in the ****ter right now and was offered some great opportunities in Renewable Energy here so jumped at the chance.I know Renewable Energy & Range Rovers don't really go hand in hand but the way i look at it is by working in Renewable Energy I'll be cancelling out the Range Rovers damage to the environment and therefore am carbon neutral lol.

What bugs me about wheeler dealers (and don't get me wrong i do really like the show) is the big deal that Ed China makes about every little job.Its like every little job he does is the end of the world lol.I mean he's a mechanic,just roll up your sleeves and get on with it man.

I do really like your truck though Marty,it looks tough as fcuk.See the colour and finish you have on your bottom bumper (either side of your nudge bars),that's the kinda finish I'll be aiming for with the grille on mine.
Would you consider painting your nudge bar with the same colour and finish as you have on your bumper?
I think that would really be the cherry on the top for yours.

Cheers,

Tom.

 

[marty_nz]

Hi Tom,

Yeah, I was looking at a 2001 black/cream when I was looking to trade my '95.. it was a 2001 with reasonable miles... dealer was after $21k NZD (this was 2008 though).. I ended up with my cobar blue/cream '98 for $12,500 - but with $4K trade on the '95 - so for $8500 I got a '98, in a nice colour, with the cream leather.. It drove well, had side steps, I put my nudge bar/spots on it - and it was great... had higher mileage, but still ran fine

Then sold it for $8500 when I moved to the UK...

Know what you mean about the economy... I moved to the UK in the middle of the recession, and it's been pretty tough - but I think NZ has been hit too - and there's even less opportunities over there in my line of work (I'm a Lighting/Audiovisual technician for live events)... a lot of it was corporate - which of course as recession hit - they stopped spending money on conferences, awards dinners, christmas functions etc...

I like your thoughts on the renewable energy vs range rover... nice theory

My current one does look pretty solid alright - I want to get a factory winch tray to put on the front - but they're as rare as rocking horse sh*t these days... I do have plans back at home for the cutting templates etc to make one - must remember to grab them!

The bumpers on mine are colour coded with the rest of the vehicle - Java black - which is why they look shinier than the nudge bar. I am thinking of tidying the nudge bar up, but don't think it would look right glossy like the bumper.. The nudge bar is also a thick rubbery foam substance, which covers the steel framework (supposedly so it's more "pedestrian friendly" than a full steel bar! Though padded or not, I think it's the 2.5 tonne ramming it home which is more likely to do the damage!!) I wonder how well paint would adhere to it - so I might just try and find something to recondition the rubber so it looks a little less "aged" compare to the rest of it!

Maybe a flat black on the grille, lamp guards, and nudge bar might look ok...

I've got to recondition the rear bumper at some point - from the disagreement from the house... and it had parking sensors installed in it (which didn't work properly) that I want to remove and patch the holes up... still, a bit further down the list at the moment!! Will have to put a pic up when the brakes are done... the calipers are now yellow... but it should contrast with the black alright, and be hidden mostly by the wheels! (they didn't have black caliper paint in stock, or I would have gone with that!)

A pic for you of the inside... I replaced all the carpet from beige - to black - due to the rear carpet being ruined by mould from a clogged/leaking sunroof drain (Previous owner actually did NO maintenance at all, or even any form of servicing...) I figured black would look neater - and saved me having to try and match up new beige carpet, to 11 year old faded and dirty beige carpet in the rest of the vehicle!! There were many four letter words used in the carpet replacement, but it looks the part - and was actually cheaper to do the whole vehicle, then to try and source a single piece from a range rover just for the back... go figure...

Marty

 

[tompage81]

Hi Marty,

Do you find the economy to be better in the U.K than it is in NZ?
I have a few mates living in NZ and they seem to be quite busy all the time but i guess it
depends on what line of work you do.
Audio - Visual eh?I studied Audio-Visual Technology in L.I.T. for 2 years before starting my electrical
apprenticeship.Worked in the movie industry in Canada for a while (lived in Vancouver from 2007 - 2010) then doing electrical on movie sets and got into the whole renewable energy gig when i returned home to Ireland in 2010.
Sounds like a really good job though man,you'd probably make a killing on that over here in the states.

I see what you're saying about the nudge bar,wouldn't like to be hit by 2.5 tonnes of air let alone a P38 tank lol.
According to my father in law (and he's like a modern day MacGyver),faded plastic needs 3-4 coats of armour oil to begin with and should be left sitting then for a while because the plastic will soak up the first few coats.Then another coat or two will finish it off to leave the original colour in it.I'm gonna try this with mine this weekend on the front and rear bumpers so I'll take before and after pictures and see how it turns out.

You did a hell of a job on the carpets inside,wow i don't think i would have even tried my hand at that but fair play it looks amazing and really looks well with the black.Did you have to take out the two front seats in order to get that carpet in place?either way it looks like new.

One thing (well two things really ) i keep forgetting to ask you about is the AC in my truck is really good but my buddy Sam (the mechanic) noticed that the low side pipe had a massive build up of ice on it after the AC unit had been going for an hour or so.Is this normal?I mean it looked like the inside of a freezer.He said at the very worst its the blender that needs replacing and is not a big job.any input on this?when i was driving it i did notice at one stage or two that you could visibly see the air coming out of the vents (almost like smoke but not obviously),is this normal?

My biggest concern with this truck is the key.When i press the key it does nothing at all but the light on the key glows strong.Is it possible that the remote central locking / immobilizer has been disabled by a previous owner?
This truck was a U.S. government owned truck for most of its life so was regularly serviced etc etc but to have a functioning key remote is something i'd definitely like to have.

Thanks again Marty,you're truck looks the business.Lucky you in that you couldn't have possibly moved to a better country for spare parts lol.

 

[marty_nz]

Erm, economy... well, I haven't been in NZ for 3 1/2 years now - so not entirely sure what the economy is like at the moment... However, I have heard that a couple of the companies I used to work for are now not the same as they were, people have changed, standards have dropped etc - so I'm glad to have got out when I did...

Things are pretty dire here in the UK at the moment - I've had a few months this year with no work at all - the down side of being self employed... however, it has given me the time and motivation to get stuff done on the car - even though it's meant spending a bit of money (well, a lot - and most of that unplanned) - but it's kept me from going insane, and the way I figure it - I get to have a (hopefully) fairly reliable range rover, so that when I DO need to get somewhere for work at the drop of a hat (it happens a lot!) then I can confidently say yes!

My Girlfriend's mum is from Ireland - up in Donegal.. We were over there at the start of August tripping around.. I literally got both of my diffs swapped out (the old ones had a load of play in them and had a lovely drivetrain whine) the day before heading off - and have done about 1400miles in 2 weeks..

I've done a bit of work in the movie industry - just as an electrician - running cable, setting lights up etc.. well paid - but boring at anything! I'd love to work in the states, but the only problem is getting the ol' green card... and the industry is very unionised over there... I don't like the whole having to go up a chain of command, to get them to go down a different chain of command, just to move an audio flightcase that's in the way of lighting... because it's "not my job to do it". At least that's what I've heard the industry is like... I'm a firm believer of everyone mucks in and gets it done!

I'm interested to see how your bumpers come out - might try the armour oil on the nudge bar - may give it another lease of life for awhile!

Carpets... not just the front seats came out - the back seats, centre console, the works... the factory carpet goes up and over the transmission tunnel in one piece...

Few pics of it in the making... (sorry for hijacking!)

The reason for all the underlay is because the factory fitted/moulded foam was soaked with water, and rotting... I tried to get a replacement piece - but no luck - out of stock in Europe!

As you can see - Centre Console gone (above) - I did 2 seperate bits of carpet in drivers/passengers footwell - and then filled in the middle, so everything fit back together properly. Centre Consol back in (below)

Lots of random bits of trim... luckily got it all back in the right places!

Passengers footwell nearly don - seat to go back in. (I used the fact the seats were out as a reason to pull them to bits to fix the heated seat elements)

Was a mammoth task, lasting a good week and a half. There's a few bits that I'm not happy with - a couple of seams etc - but without the ability to form mould the carpet like LR did, it's the best I could do... it is passable though, and most people don't notice the bits I don't like!

Anyway - back onto your rig...

The A/C - I'm not really sure to be honest... the A/C in mine isn't working at the moment (It's on the 'list') but there are only a couple of things that I can think of. One is that it's a pressure switch (the RR's have a trinary switch, and if you search on here for that, then I know I've seen a couple of posts regarding how to test it. I don't know though if you have to discharge the system to replace it). If you haven't already, then look in the FAQ's stickie and download RAVE (the workshop manual - electrical troubleshooting manuals etc) it has EVERYTHING you need to know - from how to remove some random bit of trim, to how to pull the engine to bits, to how the thing is wired... sometimes I find it's lacking in a few areas of detail, and sometimes it's a bit confusing - but on the whole, anything I want to do on the RR, I look in RAVE first - then search this site to see if anyone's found a shortcut!

The only other thought I have for the A/C if it's not a pressure switch, then maybe the system is overchargerd - and there's too much gas in the system - ie: it's going through the evaporator in the car, where it usually picks up heat, for return to the condenser, but if it's over gassed - then maybe there's too much cold gas coming into the evap, and as it's pumped around - there's not enough time for it all to be evaporated, so some of the liquid is returned alone the low pressure side?

Oh, and one other thing... possibly the evaporator temp sensor... I was reading about the sensors (my diagnostics said a couple were faulting - so decided to read up on them).. and (from RAVE) it does say that the evap sensor is used by the system to prevent freezing... I guess when it detects the evaporator is getting too cold, then it shuts the A/C off for a bit to defrost it etc, then switches it back on... I guess failure or false reading of the sensor could cause it to keep running to the point of freezing...

I presume your mechanic's "blender" is the blend motor - they do fail, but I wouldn't think that's a reason for the system to ice up.. they just mix the amount of cool air, with the hot air, to acheive the desired temperature.

If you can get access to diagnostics for the vehicle, then it may give you some more clues as to what's happening in there! I've bought my own, and would offer to help... but a bit far away!!

I could be completely wrong, because as I say - I've not had the chance to do my research on the A/C system fully yet, and get my head around it before trying to fix mine! Try a search on here for cold low pressure lines or something and see what comes up... or google search for more specific terms like "Ice on low pressure A/C pipe" you'll have more luck with google on that, as the forum search ignores everything with 3 letters and below...

Key Fob: try and get this sorted as soon as possible - if the door latch for any reason gives up, then you won't be able to get into the vehicle at all if the remote doesn't sync... That is worst case scenario, but a few people on here have found that the microswitch in the door latch fails, and remote has lost sync etc. The alarm receiver is on the right hand side of loadspace, directly behind the back seat, by the window, under the plastic trim... basically if you remove the plastic trim by the window (a few press fit plugs, and then lift up gently as it's clipped by the window), then you should see it up by the window, on a ledge, closest to the rear door. It's a little black box, and has 2 connectors into it - one is a coax type cable, the other is the vehicle connection.. These vehicles have a nasty battery drain habit, due to stray RF waking the BECM up - and flattening even a perfect battery in a couple of days. A lot of people disconnect the receiver - which shortens the range of the key fob working, and means that if there's a lot of interference, you might not be able to get the key to sync properly.

There is an updated receiver (finally - it only took LR 3 goes to get it right) which fixes the issue of the vehicle waking up all the time - it's not cheap, but it is worth it! (I had that problem the day after getting the RR home... I spent the £170 to get the updated receiver - and it has been left on occasion for 4 weeks at a time with no issues)... the usual culprits are wireless garage door openers, wireless weather stations etc...

Also, if you haven't already, read main site and the owners manual (if you don't have the paper copy, then there's copies in RAVE) for the various different tricks on getting the key to sync properly. Sometimes it can take a couple of goes, but failure for it to sync generally means something else is going on (and gets outside my scope of knowledge sorry!)

Apologies for the long post, and for hijacking it with carpeting pics...

Hope the info is useful though!

Cheers,
Marty

 

[tompage81]

hi Marty,

Jaysus man you did one hell of a job on that RR of yours.I'd say all in all you've pretty much stripped her apart more or less and put her all back together again.Fair play to you.
Just looking at the pictures you just sent,to say it was a mammoth task is one hell of an understatement.
I think if i ever tried my hand at that I'd end up with about 10 pieces left over at the end of it all and start scratching my head wondering where in the hell they came out of lol.
You're not hijacking at all,I'm as interested in hearing about your exploits with you're motor as you are with mine so hijack away I'm like an apprentice learning all your tricks haha.

Ya honestly the money in the movies was really good but the hours were just fcukin brutal man.
What part of Donegal is your girlfriends mum from?I love that part of the country,really friendly old fashioned Irish people up there.My sisters boyfriend is from that neck of the woods and its kinda hard to know what he does be saying half the time coz his accent is so thick lol.
I'm from Clare myself,down on the west coast (from a small village just outside Ennis).
Did you do much driving around Ireland or was it just Donegal ye hit?
I haven't been home since may 2011 just waiting on my greencard to come through here and then i can come and go as i please.

Here in Florida there's no unions much that I've come across at least.I think that's more so it the big cities like NY etc.
One thing i will say for the states though is there really is a lot more opportunities to succeed at what you do if you have the motivation,skill and ambition to back it up.
I was moving to the U.K. myself until i met my wife and women as you know have a way of changing even the best laid plans but I'm glad i moved all the same.
I work for myself too and have a small electrical crew working for me while getting the solar off the ground also but I know what you mean about sometimes having no work it happens to us all.What i find here is that when it rains (which is not often) the phone suddenly stops ringing but from Friday onwards i too will have a cure for the boredom lol.

With the AC on my rig i like your suggestions but will have to muck around with it a wee bit this weekend and find out what the issue is with it if there is an issue at all because its working fine but i just want to keep it that way because whatever about not having AC in the UK,you sure as hell need it here man.gets up to 110degrees here on occasion and the humidity can be a killer.

That co-ax you mentioned at the back window?Remember i was telling you about the cable that looked like a co-ax that was hanging down at the back where the ceiling meets the back window???I bet you that's what that is man.Its probably disconnected there somewhere so that's another little job for Friday lol.
I have read quite a bit about the receivers being overly sensitive and that when the trucks are parked in airport carparks for a few days the radio waves kill the batteries.
Do you by any chance have a link to where you bought your receiver?
Where do you source all your parts for your rig Marty,off the net or at a dismantlers?
Keep your posts as long as you like,you're a fountain of knowledge and I'm only too happy to chat with you about this stuff.

All the best,

Tom.

 

[marty_nz]

Hi Tom,

Yes, it was a bit of a task, alright! There are still plenty of things I don't know about these things! and I definitely don't consider myself an expert... there are people on here with loads of experience in different fields!

I've done the interior stuff, carpet etc - I've also put a split charge system in - with a second battery in the boot. My other bits I've done are mainly to do with the stereo and sat nav - as the factory amplifier was missing when I bought the car - so beavered away at collating all the data about the wiring etc, and figured out a way to get a system working. The sat nav was an interesting challenge - putting in an aftermarket touch screen in the area where the factory screen was... but still making it look like it should be there, and isn't out of place!

My girlfriend's mum is from Ardara, about 40 minutes north/west of Donegal town. Nice place - but not a lot to do for a week!! But it is good to be able to relax! We caught the ferry from Holyhead to Dublin, then drove up to Ardara from Dublin the next day. We spent a week in Ardara, and then went south to Bundoran for a night, then on to Limerick, before crossing back to Rosslare, before catching the ferry back to the UK.

Was a good road trip - I think if I was taking the RR back, then I'd try and do more of a road trip, and go to more places. I was over in Killarney a couple of months ago for work - and have been on tour to Dublin and Belfast before - but there's still loads of the country to see!!

I have considered moving to the States, or Canada - but more a case of seeing what the missus wants to do etc.. besides, I don't think I could give up the RR at the moment either - put too much work into it, and there's no way in hell I'd get back what I put into it!

Back to your RR though..

A/C If it's the sensor, then it's probably a fairly good idea to get it fixed!! The air con should still run pretty cold.. Also, if it is over gassed, then it is worth getting it sorted, as I don't know what the repercussions would be with running it like that in the long term. I do understand the need for A/C over there!! I had put mine quite a way down the list of things to work on - but there have been a few days over here, and when in Ireland, where some A/C would have been nice!!

Regarding the Key/Lock thing... I'm not sure the coax is the one - because the aerial lead for the alarm receiver comes out at the bottom of the pillar, under the trim (the aerial is screen printed onto the rear glass on the right hand side as looking in the loadspace). If I recall the alarm aerial is a blue piece of coax, with a white? connector. There's every possibility that it's been disconnected and left like that under the trim though - but taking the plastic trim off and having a root around can't hurt.. (can also check the sunroof drain too as it's just in front of the alarm receiver - good to make sure they're clear, as they cause issues like mouldy carpet - which causes you to rip out the entire interior )

Parts: I generally shop online, as there don't seem to be any breakers near me. eBay is a wonder for that, but for new parts, I generally try to use Island 4x4 - as in the UK, the shipping is free over £50 - they have pretty good prices too.. I also use LRdirect as they have the same free shipping deal over £50 - and they can be cheaper on some parts.

Otherwise for any second hand or smaller stuff, eBay is the first port of call as a lot of the breakers list parts there anyway. I just always shop around - as some places have better deals on some parts, others have better deals on others etc. I know Island 4x4 ship internationally too...

Alarm receiver - I shopped around a LOT as they are expensive - and I think I ended up going with a 4x4 place on eBay. was £170 for the unit, but it does work! Never had a problem since, and don't have that doubt in the back of my mind of "will it actually start"! Yes, airport parking garages used to be a big culprit, because there were obviously a lot of vehicles, and the RR would pick up other vehicles key fob transmissions, wake up, and then see if it was a valid unlock code. If not, then the BECM would stay awake for a couple of minutes - drawing about an amp of current, before going back to sleep. Then, next time receiver got a trigger, the process would repeat.. doesn't take long for the battery to go flat when this is happening all the time!!

In later years though, with wireless technology becoming more apparent in the consumer market, and everyone wanting wireless this, and wireless that - the frequencies used by the RR for the remote, are being used by other devices... generally things like wireless weather stations - that have like a sensor down the garden, or in the shed, garage, upstairs in the house etc. Also a good few remote garage doors (my relatives where I'm staying have one) run on the same frequency band, and instead of it being other car remotes waking it up - it's the constant transmissions by these other devices that cause the wake-up, drain the battery circle.

Yes, you can disconnect the receiver to do it - but it does reduce the range a lot. In my case, even with it disconnected whilst waiting for the replacement to turn up, I often had to unlock with the key in to door, because the strength of the interference was still enough to make it difficult for the car to decipher if it was the key transmitting, or something else. (though the interference didn't seem to wake the car up anymore...)

The part number for the US version (the UK vehicles use 433mhz, and the US ones 315mhz - so the receivers aren't interchangeable) is: YWY500200

You may be fine where you are if you plug the antenna back in - not everyone seems to have the battery drain issue - but if you do, then that receiver is the only ACTUAL fix for it, without leaving anything unplugged, etc. Only word of advice... I wouldn't go for anything that says "Modified" or is Used, but with that part number... only go genuine - as LR are the only ones which produce the receivers, and yes, it's expensive - but I've seen a few listings for the part number of my one, and they don't have genuine box etc - which makes me wary... there is no part number stamped on the unit itself. Some of them have a different coloured "dot" stuck to them, but in reality, it means nothing. The only way to check is by opening the unit up.. (http://www.mez.co.uk/page12.html ) a little way down, there's a picture of all 3 different revisions in bits.. They are the UK ones, but I presume the US ones look identical - and just have a different crystal on the board for 315mhz, instead of 433mhz.

Cheers,
Marty

 

[tompage81]

Hi Marty,

Don't sell yourself short man.I'm sure there are a lot of geniuses on here but you did a bang up job on the carpets and i read your sat-nav install and you did a hell of a job on that too so fair play.I've been reading all i can about P38's for the last year in the hopes of buying one and everyone i mentioned it to was like "What? a P38?jaysus you don't want to buy one of them they're riddled with problems".
What I've said to all of those people (including my wife who now after a lot of gentle persuasion is fully behind my purchase and is feeding off of my excitement lol) is that i could care less if it gives me trouble because I'll get more entertainment out of fixing any issues with it then i would from a run of the mill vehicle (like my current explorer (what a pile of garbage lol)).

I can imagine there wouldn't be a whole lot to do in Donegal especially if ye were out in the sticks up there surrounded by endless fields etc.You probably drank your own body weight in tea over there lol,they drink so much tea up that neck of the woods that they get the tea sweats haha.

Honestly if i had your rig and looking at the amount of time and effort you've already put into it I'd be in no rush to move to another country neither man.Just as a side note while i think of it,what do you think of the Bosch engine vs the GEMS?
Is the Bosch a better (less prone to engine failure?).
On the key issue,I'll have to look for that receiver bow that you were talking about on Friday when i pick her up.
When the dealer brought me out the key the day i first looked at it i pressed the buttons on it a few times while standing at the drivers door and nothing but at the time i didn't know to actually stick the key in the lock and try pressing the buttons.I have since read on the forum about re-syncing keys that may be out of sync but I'll replace the batteries in it first before i try any of that stuff.
I sure as hell don't want to go out to my truck every morning to find the battery flat but where i live here in Florida is surrounded by tree's and dirt roads so it might not be an issue parked here at home.Then again there are two huge cellphone towers close to where i live lol.

Once again Marty you're a fountain of knowledge and have more top tips than Ed China lol.
Thanks for imparting your P38 wisdom,I appreciate it mate.

All the best,

Tom.

 

[marty_nz]

No worries - I wouldn't have been able to do half of the stuff I have, without trawling through thread on here (sometimes years old!).. Definitely a great site for that!

I've been doing a writeup on replacing dashboard lights with LED's too - I've done all the fascia switches, window switchpack, HEVAC, and the instrument cluster - most of it is in white now, which looks a bit more updated that the factory green! I've got a couple of little tweaks to do, and still have to try and make the HEVAC white, instead of green - but struck the issue of the green colouring being moulded into the buttons! BOO!

Haha... Donegal.. hmm, I don't think it was tea they were all drinking... well, some of them - but in Ardara, there's a main street, and a population of something like 2500... and 13 pubs.. yes, 13..

No wonder there's such a problem with alcoholism!!

I too am lucky that my girlfriend supports my enthusiasm with the RR (She was one who actually told me to get another one...!) but I do wonder some days if that enthusiasm will one day run out... I'm sure she wonders what the hell I'm up to sometimes, whenever she's out here, something from the car is in bits!!

GEMS/Bosch... umm... Well, my first 2 were GEMS, and they ran ok... This one is (obviously) Bosch, and it seems to be nice enough - I don't seem to notice too much of a difference in driveability, but working on the engine is a bit more of a task, because of that banana sculpture of an inlet manifold!

I'm sure there are some differences, and subtleties - but engines aren't my strong point! I know how they work, but I've never stripped one down!

I think that at some point in their life, every RR WILL need the engine rebuilt - it's almost one of this facts of life - but when I need to do mine, time and space dependant, I will look at doing it myself, as it will be a nice learning curve! I think there were a bad batch of blocks, and there have been many theories I've read of as to why - some say the aluminium wasn't as good - some say that as the tooling got more worn over the years of production, the tolerances were greater - but I also believe it comes a LOT down to maintenance and driving style...

If it's kept in good condition (the cooling system is the most important part to look after with these engines) and not ragged all the time (sometimes difficult to tell if the service history is sketchy) then they'll last a lot longer before needing work. Pretty much the same with engine really - but the fact it's a big hunk of aluminium up there, with as some have said, fairly small water cooling jackets for it's size, can make it more prone to failure - if not looked after! But really, as I mentioned above - engines aren't my strong point.. any knowledge I may have of them, is purely from reading threads of other people's issues - and also a bunch of articles online about the Land Rover V8 - and in some of them people have made their opinions/conclusions as the why they fail - and what can be done when they do.

I think the general consensus is if it starts to overheat, then STOP! yeah, you'll probably have a head gasket to replace, and heads to get machined - but you could save yourself a cooked block..

Let us know how you get on with your various projects etc - And take LOTS of pictures - whether you post them or not... I keep mine as a reference of what I've done, and how things have some apart.. you never know when they could be useful - and as they say - a picture paints a thousand words!

Only a couple of days left

Marty

 

[tompage81]

Hi Marty,

If you think Ardara is bad man lol.I come from a tiny village called Quin (population of 400) and there are 4 pubs lol.
My nearest town is 7 miles away (Ennis with a population of 25-30,000) and there are 75 - 100 pubs in Ennis lol.
The pubs in Ireland are more of a social gathering point than anything else,its just while people are there to socialize and meet and greet with their mates that they also happen to get a little bit thirsty haha.I think the year round miserable weather has a lot to answer for too.I bet you had fun in the pubs in Donegal though?The best pint of Guinness i ever had was from a small pub in Bundoran in Donegal.Not like the stuff they call Guinness here in the states.

Sucks about the green buttons.I noticed that one of the bulbs on my HeVAC seems to be blown too along with a few of the LED's (well i imagine LED's on the liftgate brake light.easy fix though I'm sure.
If you're like me then i don't think your enthusiasm will ever leave you for the P38.My only dismay is that they finished them in 2002 which sucks because I'd love to have had one for the rest of my years.
Personally I don't all that much car for the third generation of Range Rovers,I think the designer must have had his head up his ass when he put pen to paper to design that.Its such a big ugly looking thing and after they struck gold (in my opinion at least,some say P38's are bland and boring but not me) with the P38 design its just a shame that they messed the follow up so much.
The newer ones like the sport etc are nice enough on the outside but one you get inside them (its like from the third generation onwards) the interior is just so cold,boring and lifeless.
The P38 interior is a happy place to be and is real cosy.I compare it to my mechanic mates newer Ford F150 or another mates newer Dodge Ram 1500.They look nice enough from the outside but inside everything is so grey and nasty and just well. . . . boring as fcuk man.
Once again its just my opinion and what do i know but the P38 really does it for me inside and out.
I was hoping to get a P38 with the original air suspension still on it and when i contacted the dealer he assured me that the truck i was going to see had the airbag suspension on her so i the 3 hour journey and stuck my head underneath and was like "What the **** man???its been converted to springs???I just drove 3 hours because you told me it was original and you haven't a clue what you're talking about".
I used that as a bargaining chip to knock a further $1000 off the asking price as i told him it would cost me $3000 to convert it back to airbags (hey if he didn't know that it had springs in the first place then he sure as hell wasn't gonna know how much it cost to put them back on right?)
I'm not going to put airbags back on it though I think I'll just leave her as she is and tidy her up a bit.

I'll take tonnes of pictures don't you worry and they'll be up here as soon as each job is done.If i get stuck on a job they may be up here even sooner than that lol.
I'm counting the hours lol.

All the best,

Tom

 

[marty_nz]

Hi Tom,

Yeah, pubs are a gathering/social thing in Ireland my girlfriend and most of her family are very musical, and quite often play music in one of the pubs in the evening - creates a good atmosphere! But the locals definitely do enjoy a good pint, or few - and it's a little bit strange to see so many old men (mainly) so drunk they can hardly walk... every night!

The HEVAC bulbs are accessible from the rear of the unit, except one, which is under the "auto" button (Main site has a good writeup with lots of pics on changing the backlights)

The High-Stop light in the tailgate has a plastic clip in cover over the access to the lamps - there's 5 of them, in twist lock bases. About 1/4 turn loosens them, and they come out. the bulb itself is push fit (from memory) into the cap... so can be easily pulled out and replaced.

I'm not as much of a fan of the L322 as the P38 - though the shape has grown on me over the years.. however, they are bigger than the p38, and I know some of the lanes I've driven down so far are only *just* wide enough to get this one down! Also the other thing that puts me off a little bit is the fact that they have even more electronics than the P38 - as in they have an ECU for what seems like EVERYTHING. And I know they had a bunch of issues from the factory, like front diff's eating themselves because of prop-shaft misalignment or something like that. I read a long article on it one night, and apparently LR didn't acknowledge it as a design problem until 2008... 5 years after they started making them... Kinda put me off, because if something as major as that got missed - then who knows what else is lurking under the trim!

I do also prefer the slightly squarer shape of the P38 though - looks to me a bit more rugged than it's newer sibling! And I still feel like I'm driving a leather armchair around!

Re the EAS... that sucks they didn't know what they were talking about - but good that you got a grand off for it... nice bargaining... you can spend that grand on maintenance

To be honest - get to know all the air suspension parts, and then have a look under the hood... most people that get coil conversions done don't actually bother to understand the EAS system... I know people do it if they're going to be off-roading pretty hard, and I can understand that. But I think most of the people who do it and then just drive on the street, do it because they get told it'll cost $$$$$$$$ to fix, not worth the hassle etc etc.. Anyway - chances are, you'll look under the hood, see the EAS box, open it up and see an air compressor and valve block... If the rocker switch is still on the dash, then chances are the ECU is still under the LH front seat, with some bypass device plugged in, either there or at the BECM (under RH seat)... Because they rip the air springs out, fit coils and a bypass cable/box to tell the EAS it's been overridden - and leave all the original EAS equipment in place...

So the cost of 4 air-springs, an air compressor and valve block overhaul kit and a couple of afternoons/weekend's work - then you'll probably find that the EAS will work as new... (A lot of the issues with EAS stem from 3 things... Leaky bags, leaky valve block, or worn out compressor..) New bags are a lot cheaper these days, and due to so many people wanting to do work on the system themselves, valve block rebuild and compressor rebuild kits are also affordable, and a lot cheaper than even second hand units, and replacements..

You have the advantage with coils, that if you do decided to go back, and re-build the compressor/block, that you can take it out of the car and do it at leisure, and still use the vehicle I'd have to do mine in a day, or park it up for a couple of days, as I'm still on EAS - and it don't work too well with them bits removed!!

Cheers,
Marty