P38 Paul

Trumpet fanfare , IT GOT US HOME . Cheers for everyone's support , I couldn't have done this without the forum I'm sure . The journey took just over 6 hours as I took it very steady from the start & didn't drive above 60 mph , I kept the cap loose for all of the journey & checked under the bonnet every half hour , the temperature gauge is still a bit up & down but seemed steadier on the motorway maintaining about one third of the way up the gauge , it lost no water whatsoever during the whole journey . Here are a couple of pictures I took or the rad & the recovery of the vehicle , sorry about quality of the photos but it was getting dark after a 8 1/2 hour wait for recovery . Last two pictures are the split on the top of the rad , around 4" long .

D Day , Here we go .

Hi Dave , is it good or bad that there seems to be no real pressure in the system ? There are no apparent leaks anywhere that I can see & I have not had to top the water up .

Hi Piloti , no , not towing a caravan thank God , however today I took the car out for a run to warm it up & pulled into a layby , everything was hot even the small black hose that I blew through the other day , so I carefully undid the expansion cap to check for any bubbles & not one bit of pressure in the system , just a small hiss , the water was hot but no bubbles at all . However the gauge is still showing half way up a hill & into the blue coming down the hill , on this occasion I had the cap on tight for the test . I will give it a longer run tomorrow before the dreaded trip home on Monday.

Will do David , thanks for your advice .

Hi all , I have refitted the rad & it took just over an hour , cable tied the lower fixings as they only supplied the nuts & not the bolts so that will have to do till I get it home , I also had to trim one of the lower brackets to get it past the viscous couplings it was just to wide . I blew through the small tube to clear any fluid inside it & then refilled the system with just water for the moment , I then started the car & drove it for a couple of miles the topped it up as necessary , I then drove it carefully for 10 miles & noticed that the tempreture gauge was very erratic, it was climbing to just under half way when going up the hills & into the blue when coming back down so I don't think that's to bad , maybe it just needs to blow out any trapped air that is still left in the system . Just an idea , but would the lack of antifreeze make it run hotter or cooler than it normally does ? Am going to risk driving it home 160 miles on Monday , wish me luck .

Ok then lads & lasses the rad has just arrived , it's in the middle of a hail storm & I reckon I am going to get wet , wish me luck . Hello Piloti , what is this expansion tube that I need to blow down , is that the small black plpe that runs from the expansion tank to the rad & why does it have to be cleared of any old coolant ? Will it not do that itself , regards Paul .

Just got the old rad out of the car & everyone is correct " WHAT A PIG OF A JOB " the two bottom bolts are a rusted mush but have now been cut out , the fan & shroud are still in place & what a tight squeeze it was to get the rad out , let's hope that I don't damage the new rad when I try to put it back in . The tools I have are very basic & consist of a small set of spanners , a pair of pliers , two screw drivers & a collection of cable ties , glue & gaffa tape so no chance of removing the fan . So here I am at the caravan awaiting the arrival of the new rad & will update you on any progress or failure that I encounter when refitting . Thanks for your help & any more suggestions on the refitting of the new rad will of course be most welcome . Paul .

Hi , I am on holiday at the moment & the rad has blown in the car , can I change the rad without removal of the viscous fan as I only have a very basic tool kit , will order a new rad tomorrow if I can fit it , your urgent attention would be appreciated .

Excellent 😂

cheers for that , been looking for the Rave manual for ages .

My thought would be the glow plugs if its a diesel .

Petrol / Diesel m/Y ?

hello mate , where did you get your rave manual from , been looking for ages for one , regards Paul .

Is the top hose hot all the way down to the thermostat ? if so , & the bottom hose is cold the only thing in the way is the thermostat . If the top hose is cold at the thermostat it could be blocked or collapsed inside therefore restricting the flow , good luck , I feel your pain .

You are going to have get the spanners out again my friend , good luck .

Its going to have to come out , its only a few hours work 😬 take some sandwiches with you & a hot drink , good luck with this one , regards Paul .

It may be a duff pump with the impeller just spinning on the shaft or the pulley spinning on the shaft , but my gut feeling points to the thermostat that's at fault .

First , I would take the thermostat out altogether & see what happens , then second , I would check for a blocked radiator & if you still have no joy , then third , I would check the water pump again , these I understand are the only things that can stop the water flow , good luck . Regards Paul .

Hello Escape , hope you are well . So in your valuable opinion , what is the best way to get into a P38 that is super locked as this is surely going to happen to me one day , regards Paul .

Thanks for your help guys , I replaced the discs & pads again yesterday & low & behold " it was the drivers side disc again " I cant keep going on like this , are they not supposed to last more than 10,000 miles ? The passenger side one was perfect so I am going keep that one with its pads & fit that on to the drivers side if " or should I say when " the drivers side warps again .

Ok , thanks for the replies , I needed to know as I think I have a warped front brake disc & no way to check which one it is without spinning the wheel , I recon I will change them one at a time to find the problematic one . If its the drivers side I recon that I have a problem as this is 3rd time I have done this within 20'000 miles & each time being a warped drivers side disc .

Hi everyone , just a quick question . Is it possible to turn the road wheel ( when jacked up ) on a P38 without having to disconnect the prop shaft ?

😢😭