P38 2.5DSE buying advise please

[tel]

hi guys im thinking about buying a p38 dse for an everyday drive seeing as i have a family on the way i want something big and safe for the little one

question is though what are they like to live with everyday and are there any known faults apart from the air suspension that are costly to repair

im currently driving an audi a3 which im looking at getting rid of for this,

one im looking to get is around the 2000/2001 mark

[gibbon]

Stuff the P38 and buy an Audi Quattro A4 or A6 advant!

I sold my P38 for an A4 advant with the 150bhp 2.5 v6 diesel, absolutely awesome and flawless returning upto 48mpg on a run.

Unless you need the P38 for towing heavy trailers etc, then I'd always stick with the audi's!

[tel]

i love my audi dont get me wrong its running around the 220bhp mark best car ive ever had by a mile but it will need to be towing my bobtail and the audi's not quite up to the job

[Dunc]

My mate Thorpe is about to sell his.

It's a cracking tool but (and don't tell him i said) it's not flash enough for him. He's into Beemers (tool).

Anyhow, what to check;

I'll ignore body because that's obvious. Most important, as i told Thorpe when he got his, is the air suspension and the gearbox buttons. If they all work then the bills wont be as big!

Thorpe's has the BMW engine and goes really well for a big bus with a relatively small diesel and an auto tranny.

Check the the alloys are right for the truck too. That might sound really minor, but if they've been changed for the wrong offset (which we saw on one truck) then it'll wear the tyres wrong and they aren't cheap to replace, if you replace them with quality tyres with the right load and speed rating.

Try and get one with the Harmann Kardon stereo upgrade. Gobsmacked by the sound in Thorpe's.

Best of luck with the search.

[tel]

thanks for the info dunc

are the bodys on the p38 galvanised? as they dont seem to rust as much

[q-rover]

No

If I was to buy a new(SH) car, I wouldn´t buy another P38.

Not that mine has been troublesome, or is uncomfortable or anything, but

it just isn´t suited to what I want a car for.

If you just want it for driving on road, then why a big 4x4 that doesn´t have good fuel

economy? You already have an Audi, why not just get a bigger one, A4 diesel?

If you don´t want to be at the mercy of garages, then either go on an electronics

course and learn how to use a multimeter properly, or budget for a diagnostics set

as well. I wouldn´t be without my Blackbox kit, although I havn´t had to use it that much.

[tel]

reason i want a p38 is they look well specd up and comfortable and i need something that can tow my bobtail without breaking into a sweat

[q-rover]

reason i want a p38 is they look well specd up and comfortable and i need something that can tow my bobtail without breaking into a sweat

im thinking about buying a p38 dse

Are you sure...

[tel]

you tell me! the whole point of this thread is to get advise

[David Sparkes]

I think what q-rover is getting at is that the diesel 38A is generally considered to be underpowered, and that's before you hang ~2 tons on the back. Some people are happy to use them as tow vehicles, but I can't say I'd want one.

Incidentally, I have run a Diesel 38A for 9 years. After my research, and test drives, I booked it in with JJF for a big intercooler and fuelling re-programme the very day I brought it home. This makes a good difference, but as you have shown a preference for 'performance' motors I still don't know if even a modified one is suitable for you.

You can only tell after test driving an example, and I am not volunteering you mine.

By the by, the air suspension system, like anything else on the car, is only expensive if you pay someone else to fix it.

Rover Renovations is the source of supply and expertise on the suspension system. Set their site to display prices in UK pounds and have a browse. Only think of maintenance to it's standard spec. As you will know from your toy car, upgrading with performance parts costs a lot more money than standard. As such, you should not complain about running costs if you start using maintenance as an excuse for upgrading.

Most of the bodyshell is aluminium, over steel frames. Use a magnet if you want to check which is which, but be aware that a strong magnet will 'soft stick' to aluminium, because the magnet is picking up the steel that is behind the aluminium. The most noticeable body corrosion point is the lower edge of the lower tailgate. That's it.

If it's important to you, the standard paint is extremely good, and can be brought up to a very good shine.

The advantage of the post 2000 MY is that you get virtually all the goodies, particularly ETC on all four wheels.

The BMW diesel has a reputation for poor warm starting, and can blow it's head gasket if it regularly overheats. Generally both those traits are in older vehicles. There was an engine upgrade for (I think) the 99 model year, evidenced by the inlet manifold being in black 'plastic' not grey aluminium. People cannot retro-fit the inlet manifold, as the manifold attachment studs were re-orientated IE the cylinder head changed as well. The water pump also changed at some time, from a plastic to a metal impeller. I have never seen anything on official documentation that said exactly what engine upgrades were put in place by BMW, but as they reportedly had problems with this engine overheating (under arduous Continental European usage) when used in their own vehicles, it would not surprise me that a post 2000 MY vehicle gained from some improvements as well.

BMW considered the engine good enough to be the basis of a 4 valve 3.0 version used by themselves, and Land Rover in the early days of the L322 Range Rover.

Good Luck.

[tel]

thanks for that that was a good read

i do like performance cars yes but im after a sensible comfortable family car for the missus and baby to be comfortable in for the trips to cornwall etc

so speed isnt an issue atall would i be better looking at a 4.0 with lpg kit rather than the dse then?

[q-rover]

If your thinking about V8 you might as well go for a 4.6.

The best thing to do is find 2 vehicles and test drive them.

1 DSE

1 V8

With the V8 you can put a LPG tank in the spare wheel well, loosing

the spare wheel, but no boot space.

[tel]

ive been told that the 4.0 was better than the 4.6 and to stay away from it

so many people say so many differant things

i think as said a few test drives are in order missus only has 1 request that it has cream leather so the engines up to me

[David Sparkes]

Re 38A use, I am not a fan of the V8 engine in any guise, for reasons of unreliability, and fuel consumption.

I'm aware of LPG, but it restricts the range on a full tank, adds another complication when the engine starts to misbehave, costs about £2k to install a good sequential system that won't backfire, and pinches A LOT of luggage space.

You are looking for a 'Wife and Toddler' friendly transport system; I don't think she would be happy without a spare wheel, but selling that issue is up to you. Would she change the wheel in the event of a puncture? If not, would she prefer the car to be transported somewhere, or prefer a mechanic to change the wheel?

A wheel and tyre is very heavy, you need to devise a good method of securing it in the load bay.

If you get permission to do away with the spare wheel, some of these problems go away.

I have assumed that on some occasions the W&C will be in the car while you are somewhere else.

By 2000MY the 4.6 may have been fixed regarding the issues that make it unreliable, but you will have to research with someone else for that.

Actually, the problem appears to centre around high cylinder head temperatures occuring while running with weak mixtures. These occour on light throttle use, which is why the 4.00 is 'safer', it's generally working that bit harder. A 4.6 with something on the hook will also be working that bit harder. Of course, you never know what usage the previous owners subjected it to.

Cheers.

[MrDiagnostic]

Hello,

i have had both a Diesel P38 & V8 4.6.I am currently running the V8 and love it,it has the cats removed and sounds awesome,It also has 22 inch rims on it so looks good to.The diesel p38 was good as i had a plug in power box on it,the v8 hof power is brilliant,i would not go back to a diesel !

Here is a few things i would check if your thinking of getting a P38.

Check all electrics work, ,As any thing not working could be a problem with the becm (expensive to fix)

Check Hevac control is working and it does not have the book figure in the display (as this is a fault)Check the heater works properly as this could be the blend motors playing up(a pain to fix)

Check the air suspension works on the buttons properly(if you dont mind laying under the vehicle put the vehicle up to its highest setting and have a bottle with water and a bit of washing up liquid and spray round all the air bags as this will tell you if they are leaking)

If its a diesel and it has over 100,000 miles on it ask if the inboard fuel pump has been changed as they start to fail after that mileage and can lead to low fuel pressure when the fuel tank is on low level.Also warm the engine up to temp then switch it off to see how it starts(if it takes a while to start there is a mod you can do ,to make it easier to start when hot.

Then you can drive it ! to see how it drives,ask if the abs pump and air suspension pump has ever been changed .

Cheers.............

[tblandy]

Dont buy there there the Biggest Heap ever mad by landrover and thats an achievment! We buy and sell 4x4 for a living and trust me there not the best choice, i can sell you one though? lol

Buy a 300 Auto soft dash, 20 x the motor!

[Dexter Morgan]

When I first went looking for a P38 I got a mass of contrasting and conflicting opinions. All I can tell you is what I've learnt from my own experience having only just brought the one I thought to be perfect for me.

When looking at one your considering on buying check around the back end and under the interior carpets, if there are signs of rust then don't pay big money for it or walk away. I was told that by a co-worker who's done weilding on a few of them and an MOT examiner who's a mate of mine.

The V8's seem to have problems when they've been overheated, from what I've been told they are an alluminium head and body with steel liners. When this combination is overheated the engine tends to be duff and apparently the best move to make is just to replace the entire lump with a reconditioned one.

Look for oil leaks, if theres oil around the back of the engine in one case with one p38 I nearly brought, then you might have a rear crankcase gasket leaking, to replace the gasket in question on the particular car would have involved having the gearbox dropped at a cost of £705 according to a landrover dealership.

If your after an LPG fitted on go for a multi point system and make sure its been certified, the single point systems are cheaper and have smaller tolertances in setting up, causing them to go wrong easier, I've been told in some cases they can be set up wrong, blow back and smash the air intake box to pieces.

It seems a case of when you get a good one you get a great one and when you get a bad one you get a really naff one, I think its also fair to say you in most cases get what you pay for. With that in mind I can give you the number of a garage in Hinckley who specialise in 4x4's who will sell you a top notch p38, his prices arnt the lowest but if needed he will put a freshly reconditioned engine in for you for £1500 and gaurentee it for 12months. He'll also fit a multipoint LPG system on it for you for £1000 i think it was... He had some very tidy cars on his lot.

I've been told to keep away from the special editions and to unhook the tailgate from the central locking to avoid problems with the central locking, but I havn't seen any reason to take those suggestions seriously.

I would lookout for mainly, air suspention issues, rust around the back end and the suspention and overheating problems in the V8's

However all this is all I can remember off the top of my head at the moment so it might not all be 100% accurite

but I for one don't "need" a p38, but I love them and have dreamed about owning one for a long time, and now I do

[tel]

THANKS FOR THE INFO MATE