sheltie50

Frontera, tried a few, quite nice on road, average off road, expensive parts, Shogun, close to Frontera. Classic Range Rover, expensive to run, good cheap parts, easy to work on but the older the better, P38 can be a challenge. Disco, will rust in the same spots as R/R, same back up as R/R most parts are the same. Without doubt if you want a 4x4 which can do all you ask of it you really need a Land Rover product, you can tow all day, go off-road, wash it off and go to the hilton for your meal.

Lots of people asking the same question around the world with very few answers, I hear winch and bumpers are available in USA but are expensive, maybe there is a bolt-on list out there for the P38 but I haven't found it yet. Must get my classic running again.

As you found the 1/2" drive isnt strong enough, need 1", swinging it on the starter against the chassis should work if the battery is good, had to put jump leads on the last one I did just to get a good swing. If you use heat dont get it too hot.

Thats a very good point q-rover !

Could you use a solar charger just to keep a trickle going in, there are quite a few advertised for caravans.

Just the same so long as it's not Salsbury, make sure that the brakes are disc and not drum.

While your in there, if it's a LT77 (reverse gear away from you)have a look at the forked spring at the bottom of the gear lever (they can break) check for anything stiff or seized and lubricate every moving part. If it's the later box (reverse towards you) much the same applies, have a look at a manual and all will be explained.

The Bmw disesal engine suffers from a hot start fault, work arounds are on the net and ones with a timer are better. The engine can be bad to start for a number of reasons have you checked that the heater plugs are working if so will it start well when hot, is the battery in good condition and does the starter motor spin it quickly everytime.

The can be sob's to bleed does the pedal feel loose, is the master cylinder ok?

If the heater plugs wernt of the best quality it would be worth checking if they are all working. Is the battery ok and does the engine spin over quickly and maintain it's cranking speed or slow down a lot, could point to poor battery condition. Is it ok hot.

Thats one for the memory banks, no wonder it took a while to find it, thanks for letting us all know.

Cant remember where the fuel pump is mounted on a 91 but earlier ones were on the (in your case) drivers side of the rear chassis, they had a filter in the bottom and were really good at holding water. My classic pump froze a few years ago while on the move and it took some time to find the problem.

Might be better to find a LT77 Box from a Disco, there are different input shaft lenghts i some and I dont know if the VM box can fit possibly not but, sure someone with the knowledge will be along soon.

Look for a good and full service history,one with low miles, find a P38 without faults and dont be tempted to think "it's only" if there are any faults or warning lights on anywhere, run away quickly. Look for suspension lowering quickly with engine off and that it performs all actions perfectly and quickly. Check the condition of air bag suspension. Check ALL electronic functions including heater actions and then check it all again. Make sure it starts hot and cold and that it starts with low fuel in the tank. Get it up to speed on a decent run, make sure it doesnt shake at speed. Buy very carefully as they can be a real drain on your pocket, a good one could be very nice indeed but a bad one is a nightmare.

Found it-----Copied from another site, thanks to the author. I have just fitted a reconditioned ZF autobox. I have filled the box with the correct amount of oil but have no drive at all, forward or reverse. Why? The first thing to do is to remove the oil cooler pipe from the bottom of the gearbox (put a container under the open end to catch the oil) and start the engine. You should get a good flow of oil. If not the pump has been broken during installation and will need replacing/rebuilding. The torque convertor must be fitted to the gearbox, located correctly on the pump and locked into postion before the gearbox is offered to the engine, otherwise damage will occur to the pump, resulting in no oil flow and subsequent to other parts of the autobox. top

Might be wrong in this case but it's quite easy to break the oil pump when refitting the box I know of one recently where this was the cause of no drive after replacing the box. It's documented as a warning some where, maybe rangerovers.net or the like, cant remember just now.

Yup, Alternator busted, Did the same myself in a blank moment.

This is very simillar to one up here, occasional overheating over a long period some water lose then total failure of the cylinder head gasket, eventually the engine would not even start.

I have to agree with you Darren, in terms of reliability the older product was better however, there are fewer rust problems with the newer L/R's

Check fuses 8 & 17. Sound like blend motor failure although I am not able to link it to any of the conditions you've experienced maybe someone can offer a better explaination. There is a good piece on this link http://www.rangerovers.net/repairdetails/blendmotor.html and with that my bleepers gone off bye!

My 95 P38 DSE has many issues but rust isnt one of them, almost no rust anywhere despite nearly 2 years in our rather harsh climate the only sign of anything is at the bottom of the tail gate, they do seam to be less troubled than some models

Dont know if this helps but when I converted my RHD RRC to 200tdi and Disco box I found that there were some differances when the handbrake changed from linkage to cable but the mouldings were all there ready to be drilled and tapped, had to use the original brake and backplate, if your towing a lot the cooler might be a good idea but for normal use ?? not sure if you will need it sure someone will though.

I had the same feeling after many years RRC ownership and found a diesel with rust free body and known service history, what a pig of a thing it is, a real dog, the later V8's have problems which you can see in every second post on any Land Rover site. Land Rovers are in my opinion the only vehicle worth owning but the P38 what were they thinking !!BMW X

In addition to the above, the bottem of the B post and middle around the dood lock, check the area around the C post inc rear arches which inc seatbelt mounts, chassis around rear suspension mounts and towards the rear. Dont be put off by all this but do have a good prode around your prospective purchase.

Have a look at the air filter and work on through the turbo pipes, one could be de-laminating and collapsing under load