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MPG...


geoffbeaumont

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Sorry to lower the tone by discussing agricultural machinery...*

Friend of mine has just bought a P38a DSE. He's getting about 23mpg from it, mostly cruising at 55-60mph. This seems a little on the low side to me :blink:

I've driven the truck, and there's nothing obviously wrong - in fact it drives very nicely. Doesn't accelerate that quickly, but I've never driven a P38a before so I don't really know what to expect from it.

It does badly need an oil change which he's going to do as soon as he gets his hands on a socket the right size for the sump plug, he's already changed the air filter. Anything else that should be checked? Does the P38a have a exhaust gas recirculation?

*- Actually, that's grossly unfair. It was much quieter and smoother than my V8 classic. Still slow, though :P

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Sorry to lower the tone by discussing agricultural machinery...*

agricultural eh?

The tractor Geoff is referring too is my new P38a DSE. First of all I am new to the forum so greetings to you all, except Geoff (hi) who I have known on and off for years.

Quite new to landrovers having only ever tinkered with friends defenders rather than owning........ till now.

She seems in good condition overall, few niggles but hey, its a range rover. The economy is quite concerning and I got 25mpg on a 300mile 60mph run. The only thing I can think off is that it might be running cold - the temperature gauge never really went out of the blue - in fact spent most of its time bang in the middle of the blue... Is this normal?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Having tried Halfords and Unipart for a Thermostat and failed, I called the Dealer who want £25 for a thermostat advising that the symptoms indicate a HG failure. Not sure I agree with that, but was wondering if anyone could recommend somewhere that might sell one in the Sheffield / Manchester area.

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What Model Year, Auto or Manual?

If using Paddocks you may want to 'take a view' on whether you want to use Britpart parts.

Some people swear by them, some people swear at them.

My assumption here is that Paddocks ARE selling a Britpart part.

The O ring is usefull to have around, or to put that another way, you are knackered if you need one and haven't got it.

You'd have to ask, but a Dealer Thermostat may have an O ring in the box.

If you buy LR oil filters, for instance, they come with washers and O rings for the filter housing, and the sump plug.

I bought my last thermostat from a Motor Factors, and at the second attempt got the right one supplied.

15 months later the gauge has gone back to reading low; not in the blue, but lower than the correct 12 o'clock position.

Ask your Dealer if they have a 'Loyalty' scheme (the term may vary), whereby you get 10% off parts for vehicles over 3 years old. If not, try another Dealer.

If the thermostat is missing, which your 'in the blue' report might suggest, suspect the fan VC is knackered. Use the one specified for a 300TDi. My Britpart unit, from DLS in Wirksworth, is still workig fine, some 2 years after installing. Use the Forum search as a first step in establishing how to test if a fan VC is working or not.

Re EGR, some have them, some don't. I think the introduction was '97, but haven't checked today. The inlet hose on the inlet manifold is the give away. If it couples directly to the alloy manifold, there is no EGR. If the hose connects to a tin valve, that's EGR. To disable it (and I'd say that's a good idea), look for the 1/4" OD pipe, with braided cotton covering, that goes from the valve towards the bulkhead mounted control valve. Remove the pipe at the manifold end and plug it. Plugging is important, because if you don't it appears to disable the Cruise Control (if fitted).

MPG. Mine was converted (JJF Intercooler and ECu programme) within 3 days of buying it, the cost was included in the purchase budget, but no way on Gods Green Earth are you going to get 35 mpg, unless it's on a oneway trip from the top of an Alp somewhere. Aim for 30 as a 'best' figure. If an Auto, relax, and deliberately drive sedately on acceleration, otherwise the box keeps changing down and the engine rev's it's bolts off. Use the high driving position to look several vehicles ahead and anticipate traffic flow.

Head Gasket.

Look for the obvious signs of coolant leakage at any pipe joint (white crystals), correct any you see leaking, and ensure the coolant level stays up.

Assuming RHD, check the footwell carpet for dampness / antifreeze smell where your left foot rests. There are some O rings above and to the left of your big toe that sometimes leak, dripping onto the sloping side of the transmissiom tunnel, then to the floor. More a problem with V8s than diesels, but it can afflict both.

PS, If you want more 38A friendly forums, use the Mailing List associated with www.Rangie.com, and in any case don't overlook the 38A articles on the Knowledgebase.

The 4.0/4.6 Forum on www.Rangerovers.net has a lot of throughput. Unfortunately a lot is American, but there are some European contributors, so some of them understand the Diesel word. I haven't visited for a month or two, as you might gather, my patience has run out.

The other UK site worth browsing, although weak on Diesel, is www.P38A.co.uk.

HTH, and enjoy a thoroughly civilised tarmac chariot.

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Many Thanks Geoff & David,

Dropped into Paddocks (while closed), but they still sold me a thermostat (Britpart) & O-ring, and I still had enough for a swift half from the change from a £10. Bonus!

It is a 96 Manual, however the oil filter has the plastic not aluminium top which from the workshop manual suggests this is the later engine? Is that correct?

Well armed with thermostat and laptop I will attack it this saturday and see what happens.

Is there a kenlowe fan conversion for this model & does anyone have any experience of using one? Aside from looking sexier I was wondering if there is any economy / power advantage.

Again, Many thanks.

PS. Please forgive my ignorance, but what is EGR? Some kind of recirculation?

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Thankyou,

Has anyone found that the claims on the Kenlowe website are accurate? 8.5% increace in MPG/Power - seems a little too good to be true. Quiter would be nice, and if 8.5% is true then it would pay for itself in a few weeks.

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You could DIY the fan if you want to go electric - just pay a visit to the local scrapyard and find one or two suitable sized fans, then fit a thermal switch in one of the radiator pipes (one of Si's adapters would do a tidy job). I suspect that would work out considerably cheaper than a brand new Kenlowe.

As to 8.5% increase...if you manage it let me know and I'll fit one - but I'll believe it when I see it :rolleyes:

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Hey,

Has anyone here changed a DSE thermostat - looking at the workshop manual seems to indicate the removal of the VC fan is required. Is this correst? If so are there any cheeky (cheap) alternatives to the "special landrover tools" required to remove the fan. (hopefully not including a hacksaw - though with a kenlowe in the offing that wouldn't be such a bad thing)

Many Thanks

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Hey,

Has anyone here changed a DSE thermostat - looking at the workshop manual seems to indicate the removal of the VC fan is required. Is this correst? If so are there any cheeky (cheap) alternatives to the "special landrover tools" required to remove the fan. (hopefully not including a hacksaw - though with a kenlowe in the offing that wouldn't be such a bad thing)

Many Thanks

I'm guessing (could be horribly wrong...) that the P38a viscous coupling is much the same as on the classic - in which case you just need a viscous fan spanner and a big mallet to whack it with. No idea if you actually need to take it off though - that's insane for just changing a thermostat, but the one on the V8 is an utter pig to get at too...

If you happen to be passing this way I've a viscous fan spanner you can borrow, but you shouldn't have any trouble getting one from a motor factor or good tool shop. Laser do one that's quite cheap and perfectly adequate.

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" Has anyone here changed a DSE thermostat "

Yes.

"looking at the workshop manual seems to indicate the removal of the VC fan is required. Is this correst? "

Yes.

"If so are there any cheeky (cheap) alternatives to the "special landrover tools" required to remove the fan."

I used a spanner of the right size (32 or 36mm, or the Imperial equivalent, I forget), jammed a flat screwdriver tip of suitable size between the centre boss and a pulley bolt head. Have the spanner poking straight up, and hold the screwdriver to stop the pulley turning. Strike the end of the spanner in the correct direction, which is ALWAYS the same direction the fan rotates when the engine is running. This might not be the direction you think of, but " the same direction the fan rotates when the engine is running" is ALWAYS correct.

It's a matter of luck if the nut comes free at the first blow. Mine always has.

Forget about a bloody kenlowe, If you have that money to throw around, on a pukka kit or a scrapyard equivalent, you should first spend money on proper tools.

Difflock do a kit of two spanners, or they can be bought seperately. One is a double ended long spanner, 32 x 36 mm. The other is the 4 hole C spanner designed so the holes drop over the heads of the bolts that hold the pulley on.

Frankly the best advice is to fish in a deeper pool, with more people who care about and are interested in the 38A.

Go to www.Rangerovers.net, select the 4.0/4.6 Forum.

Lots of Americans, which can't helped, but also some UK and Europeans with their heads screwed on. They also have Diesel experience.

BTW, you will also need (or should have available) an O ring for the coolant pipe the workshop manual mentions. I don't seem to have recorded it's size, but 22 mm ID by 2.5mm cross section rings a bell.

Good Luck

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  • 5 months later...
Forget about a bloody kenlowe, If you have that money to throw around, on a pukka kit or a scrapyard equivalent, you should first spend money on proper tools.

Well I decided I had some money to throw around and I purchased a Kenlowe. However she runs soooo quiet... more power.... less drag.... and I am getting about 30 Mpg.

Was really worth it IMO, would recommend anyone with VC fan which is getting sticky to change it.

Ben

(PS thermostat was also broken so all mpg gain cannot be put down to the fan entirely)

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I used to have one and on the fuel consumption question it did around 25mpg on everyday use with some traffic and air con running. I did used to use the throttle as well :D Mine was Superchipped which supposedly helped the consumption and gave an increase in torque.

On a mainly motorway run without air con it would do 30mpg or a bit over.

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