muir318 Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Hello all. Hope you can answer a few of my questions.I am looking to buy a 95/96 (N reg)Range Rover 2.5 DSE manual.I have been told it has the bmw engine in it.Does this engine have a timing chain or belt ?Worried about it snapping etc .Also it has 173000 miles on the clock which i feel is a lot but would like to know peoples opinion on this is it still a good running engine with this mileage or should i steer clear?Is the MPG good on these also? I hope you can answer these for me . Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sparkes Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Correct, the engine is a slightly revised version (the details are uncertain) of a BMW M51 engine. This was a well established design in BMW by 1995, when the 38A RR was introduced. Allegedly it was the most powerful (for its capacity) automotive diesel engine available. It's 6 cylinder design gave it inherent smooth running characteristics that were not approachable by any 4 cylinder competition. The cam is driven by chain. They do not normally need attention. 173,000 miles gives lots of opportunity for abuse, so nothing can be definate, in a positive sense. The vehicle is about 13 years old; what mileage did you expect? Properly maintained, regular oil and coolant changes, and leaks attended to, they will easily last longer than that. Expect the oil to be jet black, that's normal. How long have the last three owners held it in their care? The shorter the ownership span the greater the likelihood 'not to bother'. MPG, some people claim up to 30 mpg. This is excessively optimistic as an expectation. Regular short journeys of less than 10 miles should see you the top side of 20. Long motorway style journeys, cruising at 70 or below should get above 25 mpg. Regular use at 80 or above will see this drop. It is a much heavier vehicle than the car the engine was designed for, and the extra work has to be paid for somewhere. Accelerate gently, treat it as a mobile armchair from a club for old gentlemen, and it's a relaxing place to be, well worth the membership fee. It was a high end vehicle, expect parts to be expensive, occasionally you can be surprised at their low cost. If you try to run it on a shoestring, the string WILL snap. If you do decide to buy this, or another example, find the Green Oval site downloads page and collect the appropriate RAVE disc. This contains the full Workshop and Electrical Manuals. You may need assistance to convert the image file into a usable CD, or (as I recommend) a usable set of files on your hard drive. RAVE.exe starts the application rolling, and it uses it's own version of Adobe Reader, not whatever you have on your PC already. (PC, not Mac). This advice applies even if you do not intend to do your own maintenance. The knowledge from the Manuals helps you get the best deal from the maintainer, and helps to avoid you being ripped off. If you are going to ask questions you need to meet the answer half way, don't expect people to rewrite the manuals. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escape Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 I agree with David. I had a '96 P38a diesel myself, which is now used by my girlfriend. It has clocked 340k km (215k miles), without any work on the engine or any big problems, just normal wear and tear. It did get used offroad as well, but apart from some battle scars, it has stood up to it very well. The engine is not overly powerfull and needs some revs to get going, which can be quite annoying towing trailers (as I did). But it's great for gentle cruising, giving us 30 mpg consistently as a daily driver. If you buy a P38a, make sure you check avery and all gadgets, including low range, EAS (cycle it up and down), AC and ventilation, heated seats, electric windows... The ideal place to check for rust is the bottom of the rear tailgate, easily accessed by lifting up the plastic flap between the boot and lowered tailgate. If it runs as it should, it's a great vehicle! I would definitely recommend it (I actually replaced it with another P38a, a 4.6 V8 ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnP38 Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 You might want to check the air suspension. When I bought my 97 Range Rover 2.5 DSE with 130,000 on the clock, had to have all 4 of them changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie50 Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Also check for rattling clutch, I bought one same age and miles, it blew up after 2000 miles, cause was a bodged head gasket job so be carefull, my old classic is better in some ways and is unquestionably simpler. David is on the ball here. I'm in the middle of fitting a BMW car engine to my P38 and considering whiskey for mental support ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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