Reg

Hi, P38's (usually 4.6's) suffer from a cracked block behind the liner, this is hairline and needs to be tested by pressure testing the block when it is hot. There should be no way for water to get into the bore this way on a good engine as the block should keep the water away from the outside of the liner. Usually caused by overheating especially with the engine running lean uphill towing a trailer. Sometimes the repair can be achieved by removing the liner(s) and fitting top hat liners which have a sealing rim machine on their top outside. Prevention: fit a Tornado chip in the ECU this will stop lean mix problem, flush or replace rad & thermostat, use quality antifreeze. Dont use a non LR experienced garage as the usual scenario will be test the block (cold) result no leakage, blame the heads, skim, refit, flush rad, change oil, new antifreeze, big bill, overheat within days. I bought my P38 from a guy who's beloved car went thro the above sequence, so wifey said no more B***** Range Rover. Sell it on Ebay. Suited me I wanted a good cheap car ready to fit a new RPi hand built engine. Good luck I hope it is the head gasket.

Hi, here is one I did earlier on my S1/S111, it is a modified Disco box and steering column driven by a Ford type PS pump. The front X member was cut off and a channel steel substituted which also locates a couple of towing lugs. The box is bolted thro the chassis using doubler plates both sides and 1/2" tube inserts inside the chassis and on top. Drive is taken off Military double pulley. The drop arm fitted straight on to the series linkage, steering is light with no wander at speed using a 15" steering wheel. The seals gave up this month after dripping for 5 years, so I got a £12 rebuild kit which my local garage fitted.( I know my limits). In this conversion you can see I fitted quick release wings, using a drilled and tapped Ali angle bolted to the bulkhead with exposed bolts down the outside of the wing. The rear flange of the wing was cropped off at the bend and the wing's mounting holes were slotted to slide out. All lighting wires were routed through a quick release multiplug. Less than 8 minute job to get nice and close up to most engine compartment jobs. Remote brake servo is under wing behind a splash plate, engine is S111 as is the running gear and pedal boxes. Parabolic springs and extended shock mounts. Fiat Panda seats. Army desert sand paint which never looks dirty. Local police dont turn a hair at wide wheels, no doors and windscreen down when it gets hot. Yes it does have inertia seat belts fitted to the ex army roll bar.

My first P38 V8 was a low mileage "London Car" which had been used for shopping and short runs. It came with a tappet tick which drove me mad for weeks whilst I tried to sort out other niggles. Flushing different oils etc never cured the problem so eventually I ignored it and the car ran for 3 years til I sold it. The car only suffered a broken water pump in its time with me. On the subject of water pumps check for end float, I left it too long and ended up with a broken bearing, fan blades thro the rad, plus a big bill for transporting the motor home. Luckily the pump siezed big time and the noise of the shrieking belt and remodelling of the radiator was enough for me to shut down before the temperature went up.

Hi, if you have got burned or contaminated oil in your box it will not drain out of the torque converter or transfer box unless it is pumped out by running the gearbox in neutral. If you do this you will discharge almost all of the fluid. Suggest you then add some cheapest fluid and pump this thro to flush out as much as possible. When you then refill it will take the full amount but you will have to run the gearbox between to fully fill the torque converter and transfer box. Your box will probably not have a dipstick as it was deleted on later models, there is a plug on the side of the gearbox to fill it. Dont just fill up to the plug and leave it, the box will suck in lots more which could be the reason why the problem happened in the first place when it was serviced by an inexperienced tech. See a good FAQ help list on Ashcroft transmissions website, this will tell you how to do it. Hope this helps

I have a 4.0 SE which has been re-engined with a Cosworth 4.6. The auto box which came with the 4.0 is making some noises when cold so I'm considering getting a SH unit fom Ebay which will go to Ashcroft for rebuild. Ashcroft suggest the stronger 4.6 box but they cannot confirm whether it is totally interchangeable, has anybody done the change or are there some bits which are incompatible?

Check out any wiring in the vicinity of the brake drum, maybe you melted something!

Hi, I have run LPG cars going back to the 70's. I gave up running LPG when the installation cost skyrocketed to take account of those new fangled ECU's etc. All these cars were fitted with American Impco or Smiths systems which used a vacuum operated diaphragm working on a similar principle to an SU carburettor. The biggest system was fitted to a Jeep Cherokee using an Impco Vaporiser and a Smiths Converter. The smiths unit incorporated an air cleaner and sat on top of the carb. It was fitted with spring loaded flaps which prevented damage from a backfire. Even then the venturi ring was considered a cheap and nasty way of getting gas into the engine. I ran several Granadas a V4 Transit Van and a 2 Door Rangie all doing in excess of 90K miles each on gas. The granadas used to kill their hollow brass petrol floats if they got a backfire, they looked like someone had hit them with a hammer. Plastic floats never broke. Having said this I rarely experienced a backfire and it was usually down to overdue maintenance. I recently acquired a P38 (Gems) which had suffered a serious engine overheat having been fitted with a multipoint unit squirting into the Plenum chamber. To get the car going again I ditched the LPG system and put in a new Cosworth lump. On top of this I had to fork out for a new Petrol Tank and pump, a Plenum Chamber and the extra labour cost of taking those worthless bits off. The car was also fitted with old illegal tanks which did not have shutoff solenoids fitted, the mini petrol tank was sitting on top of the gas tanks! The previous owner was driving around in a very dangerous vehicle!! Currently I have no plans to go LPG again, but if I did a multipoint would not necessarily be my choice. The system is only as good as the installer.

Hi, My 98 SE Steering column flops about and makes clikking sounds, I have removed the cowling and done the usual WD40 tricks, the column moves up and down and in and out but will not select a fixed up down position. Is there a fix for this or should I start looking for a second hand top column?

Hi Adam, Ive just had my S reg P38 fitted with a new RPI Cosworth Engine, Koni shocks and various bits to bring it back from an Ebay dead engine buy. Usual story previous owner had local garage fix his gaskets and pressurised block to test for leaks, he paid about £600 for the job which failed almost immediately. Cracked block behind liner was the cause, as it is in almost every case. RPI fitted a brand new lump complete with rechipped ECU, with about 500 miles on the clock Im getting 19 mpg on a run with a 4.6 L. I have got the same prob as you with the rise & fall steering adjustment, it just flops up and down making a ratcheting sound. Did the same as you took all the bits off the cowling and prodded around in the works to find out how it was put together, no result without further stripping down. The pin locking the steering drops back into place but does not engage the lock to prevent it moving. Can anybody advise how to fix this, or would a second hand top steering assembly be a better route. ++