RANGE ROVER WORLD South Africa

18" Rims to swoop for standard 16"

2012-02-06T05:28:00.000-08:00

As pictured below I'm after four 16" standard rims for the P38, the Discovery 2 has the same PCD and will be considered.
Tyres will need to be replaced as they have different brands, 2 Good Years and 2 Pirelli's and can be matched up, the Good years are the preferred tyres

Heater pipe looping due to leaks

2012-01-13T07:48:00.000-08:00

Quite a number of overheated engines we have carried out repairs on all have come in with the heater pipes removed and the hoses looped, though this is correct the one important problem we have found with this is the incorrect looping of hoses has either been done incorrectly or the hose has been kinked over so much that it hardly allows for the heated coolant to flow to the thermostat for correct temperature regulation of the engine, in effect causing the engine to overheat.

It is very important that if you carry out the heater core bypass method that there is full flow of the coolant.

As pictured below you can see that the pipes have been arranged so there is full flow of the coolant

Another mistake we have noted is the incorrect connecting of these pipes, remember that coolant also flows back out the reservoir bottle too, if the pipe coming from the engine is opposing the flow from the reservoir due incorrect bypassing then this action will cause a mild overheat situation at irregular intervals.

The below picture is based on the GEMs engine.
On the Thor (Bosch injection) looping the heater pipes involves a bit more but the effect of making sure the flow of coolant is the same as the GEMs, get this wrong and you are 100% guaranteed to blow your engine

Rover V8 Rockers (Not BMW or Ford powered LR's)

2012-01-13T07:36:00.000-08:00

As a rule I hate mentioning a brand of a part but in this case for obvious reasons I’m going to and for the simple fact to try save many owners the misery of asking why their motors are burning engine oil or wearing out internal parts sooner than they should due to loss of oil pressure

You would think a simple part like a rocker would be of no concern, well that’s not the case.
Pictures taken whilst engine was running

Note in the pictures the high flow of oil with Bearmach rockers vs the originals, this excessive oils is flooding the valve stem seals, great for lubricating but there’s another sinister knock off to be had when this happens.

I may have mentioned the brand but can only confirm the case with these and the cause was simple to see why, the machined groove across (there's two) is too deep which allowed for excessive oil to flow.

When the engine is up to operating temperature those valve stems get very hot, the oil that passes the valve stem seal is now abit too much and so a carbon build up is going to occur on the stem, although not right away because you may have just had the heads off and all the valve stem seals were replaced

As pictured below note the oil flow is a lot less as these are original rockers

We carried out this investigation because we were not too happy with the oil pressure results and as they say a picture says it all, in this case there is no question where the oil pressure drop was going.

Always remember to get pressure you have to have a restriction to flow otherwise there is no pressure, when you have pressure you have lubrication.

On the Rover V8 the camshaft is the first to suffer when there is a pressure drop due to the hydraulic lifters position.

Rover V8 - Critical engine failure from composite valley gasket

2011-12-07T13:36:00.000-08:00

I was about to perform a large update of this blog and it will happen very shortly.

However I'm bringing this very important failure to all those that have or about to embark on a journey to rebuild their Rover V8's, it relates to the composite type valley gasket, in other words the one that has the black rubber finishing as per the pic below.

What if the above valley gasket ended up looking like the one below after a mere 5 months and 13000km's in operation following a full engine rebuild.

More...

Not pictured here is the oil pick up which completely blocked up, the result was oil starvation and caused severe damage to camshaft and hydraulic lifters.
The rest of the engine was saved as it was shut down immediately due to a flickering oil light.

The 2nd camshaft (with yellow circles) was the original Land Rover part and was as new when the motor was rebuilt, the camshaft to the top of the picture is the new replacement.

Compare the two and you can see just how severe the damage is.

Camshaft and hydraulic failure picked after removing sump to investigate possible oil pump failure, the remainding oil in the sump had a silver shimmer which indicated that something was seriously damaged.

So what happened:

Bad part, simple and to the point, brand in this case is not important and that includes genuine.

While I say a bad part is to blame for the above major failure we do need to consider another factor.

Engine oils, I'm a big fan of Shell oils and always use Shell Helix HX7 (10W40) - Part synthetic

We use this oil in all Rover V8 engines including modern V8s unless a customer specifies a different brand or grade.

Why am I pointing to the engine oil..... but should I.

Todays modern oils have what the industry call "additive package" to make their oils lubricate and protect our engines better, the problem we have here is that these additives can be quite harmful to old technology parts such as the composite inlet manifold fitted to the Rover V8's.

In theory I'm not blaming the oil, after all good quality oil is important and I'm not about to change that policy

Solution:

Use non composite inlet manifold gasket from a 3.5 V8, yes it is the same port size etc right up to the 4,6

Install as per workshop manual

Non Composite valley gasket.

If gasket is in plastic wrap please remove, its not a sealing agent

Gasket is marked "Front" which must face up and to the front of the engine

If you want it black then use high heat black spray and only do the top (exterior) of the gasket.

You may use a high quality silicon sealant as we do but only around ports and apply to the thickness of lets say cling wrap, in other words very very thin layer and a mere 3 to 5mm in width (Pic to follow)

With immediate effect we will no longer be installing the composite type gasket on repairs or rebuilds.

Brief history:

Engine rebuilt July 2011

Engine failed 3rd December 2011

Engine Oil replaced every 7500km's or sooner depending on condition

Shell Helix HX 7 (10W40) used after 3000km break in period

The worst part about the above failure is it happened to my very own Range Rover, one of two that I own

No doubt about it I was not impressed and it "seems" that this has never happened before....yeah right.

UPDATE:
It seems this is not a unknown problem but at the same time not that common too.
Thinking back on past rebuilds I did notice very small sections of the composite in the sump and merely dismissed it for heavy carbon deposits as it was brittle

Vehicles models we repair

2011-06-12T15:40:00.000-07:00

Description of the vehicles we take on for repairs:

Range Rover:
Range Rover II (P38) up to current L322s and Sports
Disco:
Disco IIs and Disco IIIs
Freelander:
Freelander IIs

We do not repair Series, Defenders, Freelander 1s, Dico 1's or Range Rover classic's.
We do however take on EFI repairs on the above vehicles as we know the system well.
We do not answer over seas e-mails which we have been receiving as different markets vary.

However this is not the case if you are an existing customer with a Range Rover II and on as we realise our reputation in Range Rovers is very high and will gladly help because we know of the bad workmanship out there, we see it all the time..

We are unable to assist in who can repair the above vehicles we do not take on as we operate independently.

Please also note that we do not provide a phone in technical service as this is reserved for our customers who need to confirm a particular query, to our existing and future customers we apologise if you have had difficulty in getting through but we have now addressed this issue which was pointed out to us recently and justifiably so as it hinders our business and has taken up alot of my valuable time.

Also note that the info we have gathered is through our own research and hard work and is for our gain, if you are a independent repairer we are unable to assist in any way with repair info and urge you to carry out your own research to keep pace with the fast moving motoring industry like we do.

Range Rover P38 accessories booklet for reference only

2011-04-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

More to come but just a taster for those who are addicted to the vehicle that brought a new meaning to "Comfort 4X4's" or as most would say "Luxury 4X4's.

This is a scanned original catalog of what "was" available at the time, if you dig deep you may still be able to find the odd "A Bar" (one in stock, rare)

From research there are some bits and pieces still available to buy new like interior wood finish, although aftermarket it does look good and made to a high quality.

Front door wind deflectors are available (15 on order) and we are awaiting shipment...., prices to be confirmed. These will go fast so please reserve as this is a trail run.

P38 wind deflectors, only fronts are available.
Great for when its raining and you still like to have the window open a little

More of this catalog to follow soon

Rover V8 engine (Big update to follow soon)

2011-04-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

We seem to be having a sudden surge of engine rebuilds coming in so I thought for a change we'll snap away and post up some pics for you all too see, yipe the demand is still there three weeks later.
(I say its because we actually care how we put motors back together that customers want us to do there's)

After all we may as well have fun showing you how we go about rebuilding these great engines.
I highly doubt there are other re builders that give attention to detail as we do when rebuilding these fine V8's.

Every single item is stripped down to as far as we can go including the front timing cover oil pump housing and checking the clearance on the rotor parts, on the cover very few realise there are two oil pressure control plungers that require inspecting, here again O rings are replaced as age without a doubt causes oil leaks on the round covers.

In fact if your engine is oily up front its a sure sign these O rings have had it

Right now I'm not going into deep detail so I'll just post some pics to show you all how bad these engines get.

If your motor is hitting around the 230 000km mark and its had some "extended" service oil changes then chances are its going to look like the one below....

There's only one reason why these motors look so bad......bad maintenance and cheap oil, be it by a DIYer or a independent workshop, now you'll understand why I go on about quality of oil so much....yeah I know I never stop going on about it........it seriously is that important

As we started stripping it was clear all was not well..

High sludge build up on heads like this is a indication that valve stem seals are worn if they were fitted to exhaust valves and allowing exhaust fumes to be pushed up back into the engine.

To aid in preventing this happening we remove the catalytic converters which become blocked up over time and add restriction to the exhaust resulting in severe back pressure, it has to go somewhere and this is where it ends up.

But its not the main reason this motor looks so bad, not the worst I've done in the past

These tappet covers will be cleaned and sand blasted and then sprayed to bring them back up like new again.

Clearly someone was here before us, silicone sealant on a composite gasket and clearly a cheap repair

In this state we expect the worst and I wasn't wrong.

This is clearly a DIY repair, if this was a mechanic then his/her certification should be with drawn.

More of the red stuff, (cheap junk) it was plastered all over the engine....

Dirty stuff.....not good....note how badly worn the bearing shells are

Despite the bad state of this motor the cross hatching is still very clear with no severe glazing taken place, the block is yet to be measured up to see if a quick light hone with a flex honer will do, my guess is it will be ok to hone without re-sleeving.

Pistons will be chemically cleaned and inspected, here again it all looks good but the camshaft is no longer usable as 2 lobes are severely worn, new is the way to go.

Overall condition of pistons shows that compression was good (It sounded willing before stripping), the only issue here is the rings were overwhelmed by the extra oil splashed up by the badly worn main and big end bearings

Severe carbon/sludge build up, yipe nasty cheapo oils and lack of oil changes does this.

according to the engineering company heads are good (valves, guides and seats) when we stripped off the heads there were signs that the heads had been off previously, I'm now hoping that all is well with the head bolt threads as they were severely over tightened to a point where three bolts snapped on removal but we got them out...ouch and lucky indeed.

Pity I didn't take a snap of this timing cover before it was cleaned, stripped, inspected and cleaned again.

Even inside the oil pump it looked like the pictures above this one and is not normal even on a worn engine

The oil pump rotor and housing passed the clearance check with flying colours which tells me it was replaced at some point.

TIP: If you have low oil pressure don't straight away suspect the oil pump, other factors like worn cam shaft, big and main ends will need considering but don't forget the rockers, shafts and hydraulic lifters also play an important part in keeping oil pressure up.

Changing oil before it gets dirty is critical to any engine but so is the quality of the oil..

Another tip: Had a call from a desperate owner who just rebuilt his own engine, after 500km's his oil light flickered on idle, after numerous questions I came upon another important question "Did you replace the timing cover gasket" His Answer "No, I just applied Silicon" need I say more, the failure of oil pressure due to a simple low cost gasket can ruin a rebuilt engine in no time, its one of the many reasons why a engine rebuild should be entrusted to pros like us, on average we recheck everything three times, no chances are taken as alot of time and money goes into rebuilding engines.

Anyway.....

Every part of the motors will be cleaned and inspected to like new condition
Non of our cleaning involves sand or bead blasting apart from the engineering company, we use special chemicals that is safe to use on aluminium and is very effective in removing stubborn carbon.

Another successful engine rebuild buy us here at "WILLIAMS 4X4"

More pictures of another engine stripped down, severely worn camshaft pics to follow.

Rusty water pump means that this motor ran without anti freeze for sometime

Oil leaks everywhere along with red silicone sealant means this motor was worked on before and doubt the attention to detail was lacking it should have recieved.

Utter mess.....say no more and we'll have this looking like new in and out.

Red silicone on the valley gasket area means somebody was here that didn't have a clue what they were doing, I see alot of this on DIY repairs as owners are to tight fisted to do it correctly

Front and rear wheel bearing's

2010-06-15T00:04:00.000-07:00

Eventually a batch of wheel bearings have arrived for a new life rolling Range Rovers around town and country side. Dealer prices on these hub units is around R7900 and that's just plain mad.

At any time we have two front and rear hubs in stock with new bearings pressed in.
If your Range Rover has 160 000km or more its time to replace these hubs, some will argue that this is not true but once you replace the hubs you'll soon understand and agree to feel the difference.
After replacing front and rear hubs on my own P38 it has made a very noticeable difference to fuel economy, performance and overall feel of the vehicle.

We send the hubs to a engineering company for bearing replacement, this company have made up a few special tools to ensure quality replacement and they understand our strict quality requirements, its one of the reasons why we deal with them is because their standards are naturally high.

Once the old bearing is pressed out of the hub, the unit is then sand blasted using glass, cleaned and then a new bearing pressed in, finally a nice coat of gloss black paint is added for protection and even here we don't use cheap paint.

We offer these as a exchange only.
Your hub must be original and no attempt to remove the old bearing.
If your hub is not in original condition we are unable to do a exchange.

Front and rear in stock, see parts section for pricing
NOTE: Hubs are sided (pics of front only)

Refurbed hub

Every corner is sandblasted, rust is a metal destroyer

Even the flange face is sand blasted

New bearing within hub

The final product, spray painted for protection

And another boring picture of a hub

All back together, what a difference

*Previous attempts by customers pressing out old bearings have resulted in the hub unit being warped thereby making the old hub useless as it has been distorted by heat, special jigs have been made up to ensure precise fitment of these bearings which require extreme force to press out and press in new bearings, heat can and does make the steel loose its tension ability and if a bearing is pressed into a de-stressed hub the bearing outer race will soon work loose resulting in premature failure.

EAS diaphragm on err bay....

2010-05-23T02:25:00.000-07:00

The genuine part (Pic A)

Aluminium retainer ring is there for a reason

The part that wont work

UPDATE:
I was contacted by one of the owners of the err bay site and assured me that they now have the correct diaphragm manufactured including the inner section, though I was not offered to inspect such part I still cannot say if it's good or bad, please feel free to e-mail me if any Land Rover owners have had any luck with the above parts.

So...
Simply putting it straight the part is not re-enforced with a metal disc like the original is and you cannot use the disc as there is no provision to use the old disc.

I was given this part by a departing customer leaving South Africa.

I have also received a Piston ring for the compressor from the same supplier and replacement seems tedious to say the least , however the compressor upgrade to the larger 327 is still by far the better choice but if you really want to stick to the original compressor due to finance reasons then the piston and sleeve kit is available loose, But on a final note if you don't have the capitol to maintain the P38 and you want to do it on a shoe string then sell and buy something smaller.

The P38 is a toy for the big boys, repair it on a wimp and it will burn you.

For example:

EAS parts as it is are hard to come by, when a part hits the aftermarket we all think "ah that’s great" but as is often the case its of no use once you get down to it.

Our background on pneumatics goes back a long way and we can truly say we are air suspension specialists and proud of it, saving you time and money and hassles in the long run.

Electrical connections

2010-05-22T23:26:00.000-07:00

In the above picture the main fuse box power supply cable has been soldered but underneath there are another three BeCM power cables that should also be soldered and under the right seat on the BeCM the connectors there also benefit from re-crimping soldering, the benefits are worth the effort.

In typical fashion all electrical circuits will benefit from a slight tweaking and soldering is one of them.

Crimped joints over time develop tarnish; this tarnish is a typical and natural occurrence with copper and ends up building a resistance to current flow, this restriction to current flow can cause damage to components from overheating as it throttles the circuit of current.

Tarnish can and does cause all manner of odd operations on vehicle from dimly glowing lights to odd operation of complex electronically operated or controlled devices.

The Range Rover is not immune to these problems as age, time and climate all have undesirable affects on these part's and joins and it’s now starting to show up in true old car fashion.

When soldering the lead flows in between the gaps of the wiring and the lug, this in turn produces a clean connection where electricity can now flow without resistance.

If the problem is left for too long the resistance can increase and cause damage in the form of heat on the affected area and load demand where a electrical component requires more current, if the electronic part is starved of sufficient power it too will over load and blow.

So it all has a roll on effect right from the start when the alternator starts to produce power
Even this simple lead from alternator to battery can cause misery with charging.

On many cars you will see additional cables being added and the main area always seems to be earth straps either from chassis to engine or chassis to battery negative but the positive is also at times boosted with more cabling.

Most times if the affected cable is simply removed and the contact area lightly sanded then cable lug soldered it would solve most of the problems, very rarely is the actual cable at fault and is often accused of being the culprit.

Auto electricians do this so you can see what they have done and can justify ripping you off.
In a nut shell soldering joins is a very good action to take but there are procedures to follow before simply grabbing your soldering iron and jamming your cables with solder.

1) Be sure to remove any muck on cables, use a electrical cleaner or if that’s not available carb cleaner or thinners works well.
2) Use a quality ratchet type crimp tool to re crimp joins before soldering.
3) Solder quality is important, the cheaper solders you can get just don’t cut the grade, silver solder is the best if you are unable to get decent normal solder but it comes at high price tag.
4) Small soldering irons are ok for small wire connections but not for the larger lugs, larger 80watt and up soldering irons are expensive but will pay for itself once all the work is done considering the cost if a auto electrician has to do it, even they at times don’t have all the right equipment despite it being their game.
5) Do not over solder joins as there is no benefit, just enough is right and too much will cause the solder to flow down the cable and make it hard.
6) Carrying out this repair requires time and patience, if you don’t have any then let someone who has patience do it for you.
7) Don’t always assume once you have done this important operation you will now have a racing car at the flick of a switch cos it wont be, in my case I was fortunate to notice a difference, some will, some wont.

Either way it’s a good thing for the future and immediate life of the components.

Rear view mirror

2010-05-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

Most Range Rover owners I know complain about the rear view mirror failing.
Inside is a board of electronic tricks that is reliable but its the glass/fluid bit that fails and leaks which destroys your dash, these are not repairable and replacement is the only solution and somewhat crazy prices.

You now have two options, replace with new electronic type (OEM) or now available manual type
I would push for the new manual type due to cost but I'm also digging about with other manufacturers like Hyundai as there's is alot cheaper and even come with a digital compass, but that's not the main reason

For your info a picture is provided of the inside

Coolant overflow pipe mod

2010-04-02T05:58:00.000-07:00

We all know that a anti-freeze/summer coolant is important in cooling systems on any engine, so great off we go knowing that the engine is well protected, as part of the cooling system there is a overflow to allow excessive coolant mixture to flow out if over filled or to vent excessive air pressure as the engine warms up.

Great, its designed like that but on P38s this vent pipe is badly positioned because as the cooling system starts to vent it does so where there are electrical connectors etc, in the pictures you'll notice two connections and if you separate these (depending on age) you're sure to find corrosion as I did on mine.

These connectors are various inputs into the engine ECU and could give a bad signal.

The mod is very simple and takes around 2 minutes

Cooling system (With gruesome pics)

2010-03-07T02:57:00.000-08:00

IMPORTANT UPDATE:
We are now starting to replace radiators on early (95 on) and later model P38s as well as Discovery 1-2 vehicles at a rapid rate.
If you own a P38 or Discovery 1-2 model then you need to consider if your cooling system is in top condition, if in doubt as the doc says seek urgent technical advice and still in doubt replace or service radiator either way.
A failing radiator will destroy a good engine in no time, at speed on a high way a burst pipe can cause severe damage in 15 seconds

and onto the original post.....

Cooling is very critical to the performance and life of any engine.
Any internal or external blockage of sorts can seriously damage the engine to a point that it becomes useless, in other words the engine can be written off due to heat stress damage etc, believe me this happens more often than you would care to think and it can and probably will happen to everyone at some point, care and attention will prevent this from happening to you now or in the future.

Additives to the cooling system like radiator block leaks etc are at best a very temporary solution and should not be left in the system for long no matter what the brand/manufacturer says on the container, remember they want to sell there product and we tend to believe what we read on these well packaged products.

Every cooling system should be flushed thoroughly every 2 years but more often in severe dusty environments, you may think the coolant reservoir is clear but its in the engine block where most if not all the dust and other debris settles to the bottom of the block creating hot spots.
Hot spots will then cause your engine to loose power and use more fuel, its a delicate balance that’s very often over looked by mechanics and DIYers in all sectors.

Having previously worked and qualified on Earth moving equipment like CAT, Komatsu etc we used to change water filters on service's...... now bare in mind these machines are not cheap to buy so it's no brain storm why they are fitted with these kind of filters to keep the coolant clear of harmful particles like rust, dust and other odd metal bits from the manufacturing process.
The Range Rover is no different or for that matter any other car brand.

Anti Freeze-summer coolant additives:
Now this is very important, to go into exact details would take pages and pages to explain.
Simply its very crucial that the correct type and quantity is added, its aids in raising the boiling point and prevents corrosion, if you live in a hard water area then use distilled water.

Adding too mush additive can also be detrimental to your engine, always follow what the manufacturer specifies and do your self a favour, keep away from cheap anti freeze brands that are unknown, here in SA we have a large selection of both quality and cheap, the cheap stuff is known to cause damage to plastic's within the cooling system, I've seen this for myself.

Below pictures are form a P38, this is common and so over looked.

Below pics:

Just removed from a Range Rover that had a leaking transmission cooler..

Upon further investigating other coolers had to be removed for cleaning as they were seriously blocked.

With the coolers looking like this serious damage to both engine and transmission will occur and worst part is to see all this a complete strip down is required.

Front of radiator (Not visible when in place)

Radiator should be replaced but there is no stock at present so it will be sent in for professional cleaning and minor repair to the top little pipe that always breaks off. (protection shield coming soon)

Fan side, you wouldn't have thought it would be blocked up...

There's a transmission cooler there somewhere.

These are becoming a problem on older P38s

If you see the bottom of the radiator and it looks oily wet then further investigating is required.

Another blocked radiator, the transmission cooler again looked like the picture above and at the time of replacing the radiator (new) around the begining of 2010 it all looked ok, just goes to show how quick a leaking transmission cooler can block up a new radiator, dust over a short period will stick to the leaking oil and build up, as it blocks up the oil is sucked through areas of the radiator that is free and so on until, it totally blocks up.

From a L322......

Drained coolant from a L322 and this was after 3 flushes, it took another 3 more to clear the system completly.

it looks as if another brand of anti freeze was added to the cooling system which caused this milky mix.

NEVER MIX ANTI FREEZE BRANDS due to chemical reactions that will cause severe damage to your motor /cooling system

Cruise control.

2010-03-06T22:44:00.000-08:00

The joys of using cruise control........................ and then it fails

The system uses 3 primary components to engage cruise control.
1. The Vac pump unit attached to the EAS box.
2. Two electronic modules located on right side under lower dash trim.

Rarely do all three items go but it can and does happen, to date I've had to replace all three components on two Range Rovers P38's, the usual problem with a non functioning CC is cracked piping on the system.
This pipe runs from the Vacuum pipe to the brake pedal where it is attached via a vacuum breaker switch.
The pipe ends crack (due to age) on both ends, also note that on the Vacuum pump end the pipe is split into an additional two more shorter pipes, these two need inspecting, any sign of cracks in the piping requires replacement using a suitable thick walled rubber pipe, a good quality fuel hose usually works well.

Pictures of the Electronic modules to follow soon

Ignition coils (GEMs) and not what to do

2010-03-06T22:04:00.000-08:00

Ah the ignition system.......
At some point you are going to pick up an ignition related problem of sorts, be it HT leads (The wires that go to the spark plugs) injectors (Very rarely go) and so on.

UPDATE:
So I've been tinkering with coils recently, my local electronic ECU repair station reckons Hyundai coils are the same, I managed to get 4 for testing purposes on a customers car.....mmmm bad move and they blew at around 500 km's of use so don't go the Hyundai route.

Without going into details of wasted spark technology I'll let the pictures do the talking!

We have brand new coil packs in stock.
Loose single coils R900
Complete coil packs R2870

Brand new coils are available and in stock, loose or complete

Coils can easily be replaced once coil pack has been removed

Later models use the square Bosch coil pack and there are two of them.

Both coil versions now in stock.

Bodge repairs, no Low/High range selection

2010-03-06T10:33:00.000-08:00

Bodge jobs, this is the kind of repair that makes me fume.
Owners as well as repairers take short cuts, the P38 is no vehicle to try this sort of short cut repairs.
Its way to complex with an array of computers to try it and when bodge jobs are done the results are worse than a open heart operation, the time it takes to sort out a major bodge job can be days on end........

In the pictures below is a typical bodge job repair, I was informed that it was carried out by a qualified LR mechanic, Some how I doubt he was a LR mechanic let alone a mechanic at all.

At all the repairs were carried out the Range selector still didn't work so more digging into the workshop manual was needed, what seemed to take forever actually didn't and within 5 mins I had a solution to the problem
To cut a long story short the speed pick up on the transfer box had gone open circuit, in other words it was faulty, slapped in a 2nd part to confirm and by George I now had low and high range operating like it should

The faulty part:
A simple but very important piece of the puzzle, it prevents you selecting while the vehicle is in motion above a certain speed, 5kph I think

Sunroof

2010-03-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

Most of the time when your sunroof stops working it's because a plastic clip mounted on each side breaks
The clips are available (I carry a set of 3) from Land Rover at a reasonable price
Replacement requires sunroof glass to be removed and at the same time inspection and lubrication of moving parts is ideal.

On the subject of sunroofs there is a couple of weak points like leaks.
The drain tubes are well secured but where they terminate at the drain end is a concern point.
The clear plastic pipe is merely popped into the rubber tip end, this drain piece blocks up and
yes you get the picture, water starts entering the car.

However a simple snip off the ends, securing properly into drain end with tape will ward off any
future blockage (see pic below)

Fuse box info and relays, new update with latest easy mod to prevent damage to come soon

2010-02-17T13:39:00.000-08:00

The handbook lists all the fuses but nothing on the relays

RL means relay

Be advised that you cannot use basic relays that are available from auto electrical suppliers or spare shops.

1 RL18 AC control relay

2   RL13 AC condenser fan 1

3   RL11 Head lamp wash wipe

4   RL8 Front wiper interval relay

5   RL1 Front wiper control relay

6   RL19 Engine main control relay

7   RL14 AC condenser fan 2

8   RL2 ABS power relay

9   RL 20 EAS compressor relay

10 RL15 Ignition relay

11 RL4 Right heated front screen

12 RL16 Starter relay

13 RL5 Left heated front screen

14 RL17 ABS pump relay

15 RL6 Right blower motor

16 RL12 Fuel pump relay

17 RL7 Left blower motor

18 RL9 Hooter relay

Apart from the ABS pump relay being black DO NOT install other black relays within the fuse box
The yellow and green relays are different by pin design compared to relays bought over the counter from spares shops

The ABS relay is a special double contact design due to the start up current of 70 amps going through it, you must replace this relay with the correct one from Land Rover as these too are not available elsewhere

Maxi Fuses supply the BeCM with power

3 cables secured onto the underside of fuse box go to the Becm

The slot “Not used” is normally populated with a spare relay.

REPAIRING THE FUSE BOX:

It is possible to carry out repairs to the fuse box but a simple fault like a bad relay can lead you to believe it is the fuse box, a relay can still click and show ok when testing but is another situation when a load goes through its internal contacts

None the less a fuse box can go wrong and is repairable, I've done a few with good results even though they are a pain to do
Below are a few pictures just so you can see how complex they are, its a well built unit using lots of thick copper

The stripping process is easy as to is the splitting the two halves, its the reassembling that takes most of the time with re soldering in new connection joiners, takes around 5 hours non stop.

NEW update from here
A few more pics to be added very shortly on how to repair the above burnt main battery cable connection with the use of a starter motor solenoid copper bolt, this allows for good soldering and wide spread support of current flow.

In the above picture on the left is the original power post in the fuse box, to the left is the starter motor solenoid copper bolt that is used in the repairs of the fuse box.

The above fuse box would in most cases been deemed throw away, this one was so bad I decided to give it a try and the results were positive.

Above pic is to show how the lug needs to be bent to allow for the plastic cover to fit, minor enlargement of the hole is required.

To add the new mod two holes barely larger than the solid core copper cable being used needs to be drilled through the PC board and soldered (As illustrated above circled in red)

The cabling used is normal house electrical sections, preferably the thicker type used for geyser power supply as its rated a higher current resulting in it being thicker and ideal.

This add on can be done without splitting the board sections and a must do even on a brand new fuse box

Its the way these fuse/relay boxes should of been manufactured in the first place......

Interesting that something so basic to make up can have a major impact on current spread, we now carry out this mod to all fuse boxes we repair, better than new and I'm surprised the manufacturers don't do the same...oh wait, if they did they would not be selling fuse boxes

Relays...

Pics on ABS pump relay and other relays within the fusebox opened for all to see regarding why cleaning up the contacts can have a positive effect

Brake Fluid reservoir. A must read for every owner

2010-02-01T14:27:00.000-08:00

This info is applicable to Range Rover Classics with ABS system and ALL P38 models

Click on pictures for a larger, detailed view

Recently after noticing a sudden surge in ABS pump replacements I decided to investigate what was going on, age and mileage seems to play a role here but something wasn't right and here's my findings detailed below, bare in mind different operating conditions throughout the world vary.....

Fault 1: Dark brownish clear brake fluid means its old and fluid has not been changed in a long long time.
Replace fluid and bleed complete braking system, requires around 4 liters of DOT 4 brake fluid

Fault 2: Dark brown but not clear indicates dirt within fluid and urgent replacement of fluid is needed.

Fault 3: Black fluid, probably never changed since it was sold off the show room floor, lets hope the internals
of the brake modulator are tougher than they look, they are not repairable for liability reasons and parts are not available.

Brake fluid must be replaced every two years as a routine, more often at least once a year if used in severe conditions.

Brake fluid is designed to prevent boiling, prevent rust and it aids in lubrication of moving parts..... but not for long as the fluid breaks down.

The above was removed from a 1999 brake modulator.

Concerned, then the safest bet would be to replace.

Use a good quality DOT 4 brake fluid

More details with screen filter removed

The below picture is typical of bad brake fluid from these vehicles and its way to regular that I see this

This is the filler neck, a clear indication that the reservoir must be replaced

Recently I have been contacted with a clean out process I have tried, although it works well to some degree depending on age and state I still prefer to replace with new. So much so that I have replaced mine with new, no point in suggesting something if I don't do it myself for a reason.

ABS Total strip down to follow showing all the bits and bobs for all to see (In progress)

First up to this addition on new info is the dreaded ABS pump relay, as you will see from the pictures the contact pads are burnt, these relay caused a perfectly good ABS pump to burn out, so whats going on....

Well for starters the ABS pump demands rougly around 70amps at start up, when the pads make contact there is whats knowing are arcing on the contact pads, as you can see there are two but one pad will always make contact first, this is the start to a fusing relay, one that will jam and make the ABS pump run continously and burn out.

So whats the solution, at present on the work bench I run a few cycles with the same type of relay and load, the relay cover has been removed so I can see in real time whats going on and its like lightening on those pads.

I have from the begining believed that a capacitor or lets call it a condensor for the guys who are familiar with "Points and condensors" (on non electronic distrubutors) to be the solution and it seems to be working to a large degree but final tweaking to the correct cap in near, the final leg of this minor but important mod is a few days away with easy instructions on how to install the cap.

In the meantime......

Then some brake modulator pics (to be edited)

VCU failures (Viscous coupling unit)

2010-01-21T04:43:00.000-08:00

In side all Range Rover Transfer Boxes (Including late Range Rover Classic) is a part called the VCU (Viscous coupling unit) failure of these is common as it has a limited life span, interesting to note it's not only Range Rovers that are fitted with VCU's but many other 4X4 brands.

How to tell if the VCU is seized up:
Tell tale signs are scratch marks on front tyres (P38 not L322)), heavy steering, high fuel consumption and lack of power.
Also steering shake can also sometimes be included in this failure but not always, worn wheel bearings can induce steering shake.

Jacking up one side of the front axle and ensuring the hand brake is on along with Park if a auto is the correct method, set a torque wrench to 60lbs and rotate wheel forward by placing socket on the wheel nut, you should be able to turn wheel 90 degrees in one minute.
If its failed you'll find it will move barely at first and then lock up say at 45 degrees as the slack is taken up, if so then it's failed the test and a new VCU is urgently.

If your VCU did past the test consider the following to make sure it lasts:
Avoid heavy acceleration
Make sure the oil in the transfer box is a good quality ATF Dexron III, there was a update from Land Rover with regards to this which indicates that the transfer box is lubricant and temperature sensitive.
Also read "Bad oils and fluids" and "P38 Lube specs"

As the Transfer box has not been fitted with a external cooler it makes sense why ATF Dexron III is used.
At present we are investigating the possibility of adding a cooling system as these run to hot in high temperature climates like Africa and most parts of the Americas

The pictures below shows a failed VCU as removed from a P38, there is no visible failure to these as it is internal, these units are sealed and repair is not possible.

The Range Rover P38 history (Mk2)

2010-01-19T21:58:00.000-08:00

By the mid-to-late-1980s, the Range Rover's transformation into luxury express was well underway; one only had to look at the success of the Vogue editions of it to see this. Cannily, Land Rover tapped into the healthy demand for increasingly plush versions of the Range Rover, and ensured that prices remained relatively high, but not hideously so. This pricing policy ensured that the Range Rover would always remain relatively exclusive, but accessible enough for aspirational customers to feel they could reach one. With this, the future for the Range Rover brand was set. With the lower-priced Discovery under development, the intention was to push the original (and best) increasingly up market, ensuring that the Range Rover would represent the absolute pinnacle of four-wheel-drive vehicles.

In the long term, planners knew that the 1970 original - as smart as it was - would need significant development in order to keep pace the development of rival cars. Work began on the project in 1988, with engineering and styling work being focused upon - but at this point in time, no deadline for launch was set. It was not until 1990, and with a budget of £300 million, that the project to replace the Range Rover was formally started under the codename of 38A. The launch date of late 1994 was set at this time. Technically, meeting the demands of the 1990s would be no mean task, but given the excellence of the original, a firm foundation was already in place. Also, because the relationship between old and new, it would be entirely possible to introduce features bound for the new car into the existing one. It was a ploy that had worked well in the past for Jaguar and Rolls-Royce, so in this respect, the Range Rover was in good company.

Of more of concern, however, was the new car's styling. Rather like the difficulties encountered by Porsche when it came to replacing the 911, Land Rover knew that a major part of the Range Rover's appeal was its styling - and it would absolutely need to be right. Therefore, a great deal of care and attention would need to be employed in the development of the 38A's look... it would need to look substantially more modern, yet be readily identifiable as a Range Rover. George Thomson, Land Rover's styling director was handed the project in 1988, and admitted later that he found the brief both challenging and intimidating. "Recreating a classic like the Range Rover is a great challenge - but not an easy one."

Design competition at Solihull saw a shoot-out between rival studies by Ital Design, Bertone, Hefferman/Greenley (they of the Ssangyong Musso) and Land Rover themselves. Only Land Rover's and Bertone's designs were considered worthy enough to be translated into full-size clay.

Thomson needed to weigh up the conflicting stylistic demands of the new project, stating, "We had to produce a familiar, yet contemporary design that would delight existing customers and attract new luxury car lovers." It seemed that there was no shortage of styling houses that were keen to undertake the task, and with the help of Pininfarina, ItalDesign, Bertone and British designers John Hefferman and Ken Greenley, Thomson's team produced five separate models, which all sat on the upcoming LSE chassis with longer 108-inch wheelbase. There was quite a range of designs, from the evolutionary in-house effort, to an advanced Renault Espace-apeing one-box.

Bertone's design was compared with a similarly coloured Range Rover in order to be evaluated for suitability.
Ultimately, only the Bertone and In-house efforts were developed into full-size models, and it was at this point, that market research and customer clinics were set-up in order to ascertain which would be the more suitable design. In one French clinic, which would eventually prove pivotal to the project, it became clear that the Bertone design just was not "Range Rover" enough. Programme Director John Hall recounted,

"...we showed one of the early design concepts where we put a lot of attention into making it compatible with luxury cars. This Frenchman said: "These carrr, eet 'as lost eets Wellington boots." At that time the rear quarter glass actually wrapped around the tailgate, which is a tremendous styling feature, but it wasn't Range Rover; it wasn't tough. The car also had body coloured bumpers which aren't practical, aren't appropriate on a real 4x4 vehicle."

Of all the prospective and existing buyers polled, the weight of support went for the more conservative in-house design, which came as no surprise to George Thomson: "The other designs provided a lot of inspiration, but our familiarity with the product and its customers gave us the advantage." The truth is that on this occasion, as on so many others, being led by customer clinic results led to a rather conservative car, and it has to be said that the final result was handsome, and it did grow on people - just as Land Rover promised it would - but it was not a leap forward in any respect.

It was this model, Pegasus, prepared by George Thomson's styling team that was picked as the winning design.
With the Pegasus styling scheme chosen, it was a simple task to transpose strong and traditional Range Rover styling cues onto it, in order to maintain that family resemblance so desired by the management. These cues were identified as a low waistline, straight flank feature-lines, dark window surrounds, floating roof and "castle" ridges on the front corners of the clamshell bonnet. This was a successful ploy - and anyone from 100 metres could tell it was a Range Rover... one disappointing aspect, however, was the deletion of round headlamps in favour of large, rectangular items that looked out of place on an expensive car, planned for the 1990s. In fact, they looked to be standard Euro-issue items from 1980 and give the front end of the car a look distinctly reminiscent of the Talbot Horizon.

Wind tunnel testing successfully improved the original’s brick-like aerodynamics from a cd of 0.45 to an acceptable 0.38; this was achieved by subtlety altering the rake of the grille, paying close attention to the glazing and adding small strakes on to the rear pillars.

In terms of body and chassis engineering, the P38A (an amalgamation of "Pegasus" and "38A") retained much of the originals underpinnings. The ingredients were familiar: a ladder-frame chassis (stiffened by 18 per cent) with the body compliantly mounted in the interests of NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) reduction. Crash worthiness was also improved, with front and offset impact resistance improved with further chassis reinforcement - the fuel tank was also re-located to beneath the rear seat, and side impact bars were added to all the doors... all in the interests of improved safety.

All of the engines were new: two versions of the Rover V8 were introduced, in 4.0 and 4.6-litre forms. Somewhat rather like the Irish hammer that had several new heads and handles, the venerable and constantly developed V8 continued - the 4-litre version developed 190bhp and 236lb ft torque, whilst the 4.6 developed 225bhp and 277lb ft torque. For the P38A, it was decided to look for a replacement diesel, as the old VM power unit would not cut the mustard in the larger car. Programme Director, John Hall's search for a replacement diesel engine took him to six manufacturers including BMW. "I don't think BMW realised what they had", Hall recalled, "It's probably because the majority of the organization was sporty petrol-engine orientated that the diesel engine is so bloody good." A deal was brokered, and Land Rover gained the right to use the straight-six turbo diesel - some tinkering to the ECU was made in order to give it a more favourable torque curve.

Info gathered from ARonline http://www.aronline.co.uk/index.htm?invoguef.htm

EAS (Electronic air suspension) problems and re-seal

2010-01-19T08:28:00.000-08:00

Where do I begin.....with so many components just for the EAS its no surprise problems will arise like air bags leaking, pipe work been cut and re-joined (joins are a no no) air leaks on valve block, sensors out of range, solenoid driver pack failing (Bad design due to transistor failing within) compressor wearing out etc.

To date here is a list of the most failed items popping up out of the wood work.

1) Worn compressor: fair use, wearing out due to leaks or bad solenoid driver pack or both.
2) EAS valve block leaking: age and heat from engine bay are the main reasons for failures
3) Vehicle dropping: leaking air bags, valve block or a leak on connections and pipe work
4) Compressor working all the time: leaks in system or valve driver pack (attached to side of EAS block)
5) EAS computer failure, rare but they do go

The list could go on and on but over information can easily confuse.

The below pics of a bare valve block is provided for viewing pleasure only, many hours of research into the re-sealing has been done to be able to seal them correctly.

As this is a specialist repair there are few if any apart from myself that are fully capable of carrying out this repair, my past experience in the industry along with determination (Qualified) I can truly say I'm a air suspension specialist along with all Range Rover repairs.

I receive a lot of Rangies in for air suspension related problems and I'm often horrified to see the sub standard of repairs being carried out on the system from people doing it themselves or garages taking a chance, I've had 2002 models in with parts from a 1995 added in as they couldn’t solve the problem, the problem is not the item itself but the repair there is no temporary fix with the system and the only way is the right way regardless of component age.

Upgrade compressor

Unlike the original compressor this unit has a internal overheat protection built in, we have managed to tap into this circuit so that it sends a signal back to the EAS ECU and allows the unit to operates as originally designed.

Note that piston and sleeve kits are no longer available for the original unit fitted to the P38

The new wire (Purple) being attached to the overheat unit within the motor section.

Attachment location not shown.

The above is not always required, depends on Driver pack

Any joins is a sure way to look for trouble, these so called emergency add on kits is not needed until problems arise and only then is the inflate add on kit needed, it doesn't take long so don't install them while everything is fine

Below is a list of items we keep in stock as they are fast movers.

Land Rover dealers retail these for R3600 if you are lucky enough to get a small discount or be charged the full price nearing R3900

The little black round disc is a cause for concern with leaks, even if you remove and inspect this diaphragm and find no holes/cracks it can still leak, the rubber over time shrinks and no longer seals effectively.

Pressure switches rarely give trouble but they do go, it they go then you will find your compressor operating non stop, this will wear out the compressor in no time, compressors can be rebuilt and the piston/sleeve kit is available

R2900, we prefer to repair your EAS valve block and no longer offer exchange on these for in and around JHB customers, exchange units now reserved for out of town customers

All EAS valve blocks are completely stripped down, parts are then chemically cleaned and inspected in high detail, (A magnifying glass is king with the inspection)

Any defective valves are simply thrown away

All O rings along with the diaphragm is replaced

Don't forget a new upgrade compressor is available, these are brand new units and we require your old compressor for the brackets, an additional charge is levied if you want to keep your compressor.

Probe Batteries are utter rubbish...

2010-01-18T14:40:00.000-08:00

Our Range Rovers require a good healthy strong battery, there are many electrical Ecu's etc in today's modern vehicles that demand alot of power to keep things going in harmony and Range Rovers are not shy to call out for a good battery.

The specified battery for the P38 is a sealed maintenance free type with a amp rating of 72amp/h.
The ideal and sensible battery is a 100~115amp/h with 800CCA (Cold cranking amps) these work well and is the same for diesel models which was not available in South Africa (Some diesel models have been privately imported).

The battery that we were supplying was the Probe, after many returns we consider this brand to be utter rubbish and regret ever selling them (Documented Proof). Apart from recently having a go at some knob head who I think owns the company about bad service I think my voice was heard by many when I complained, guess there approach was to start declining batteries I was returning for warranty purposes.

Known faults we had with Probe batteries:
Total failure (within a year) without warning (Flat) indicates a bad cell = crap manufacturing
Electrolyte leaks from posts and top cover, again bad manufacturing process.
Low electroylite level, means faulty cell plates shorting and battery overheats but they say over charging=crap

Incidentally if you buy a Delkor or a Deltec battery you are essentially buying the same rubbish, just different stickers.....I kid you not., Outdoor warehouse sell them, you have been warned.

On my very own vehicle the battery packed up with no hint of a warning and had to be replaced 11 months down the line, what the.....
It now seems to be the norm for them to say that the batteries I return have been over charged, they must think we have no idea on how to test alternators when they come in for a failing battery so good riddance to Probe.

It seems their batteries come in from where ever blank, yipe not branded and stickers are applied when bought so they could even come from shitty North Korea for all we know.

If anyone from Probe ever reads this your batteries are utter crap, now with the new consumer law in place we can merely expose such junk matters of suppliers and they are welcome to challenge us.
Be warned however I will gather more proof than you think and will expose it publicly, the public have the right to know and it cannot be hidden, the dark days are gone hiding behind the law of defamation.
Also note that this blog is hosted overseas and will never be closed, back ups are performed weekly in case anyone wants to hack it.

Although I prefer local content I have yet to find a suitable brand that is ideal for the Range Rover but that may well change shortly after I visited the Automakanik show here in Johannesburg, SABAT urged me to try there new range so we'll see, alternatively I'm keen on VARTA and RAYLITE which I know are very good quality batteries
After all......
In South Africa's hot rugged climate if a battery last 3 years or more on a P38 you are doing well but one year is unacceptable which is what the Probe was doing, one bloody year.......come on

While I'm on about the power source it's worth noting three things:
1) Alternator charge rate.
2) Alternator cable upgrade on the GEMS engine (Bosch injected engines do not require this mod).
3) Battery box and cover present, this is important to keep extreme engine heat away from the battery.

Just so you know what a junk Probe battery looks like, sorry we ever sold these but no more as I had to apologise cap in hand to customers who we supplied these too.

I bought a Shitty Probe deep cycle battery awhile back, possibly two years now and its no longer usable, this battery was being used as a source in my van at the time and always questioned its ability to hold charge which I returned no less than 5 to 6 times for testing in the warranty time, each time they told me it was good but it wasn't so there you have it, buy a Midas battery for now as they are made by Exide.

Fresh air vent intake system (Below windscreen)

2010-01-18T05:46:00.000-08:00

Ventilation intake (Below windscreen)

If your pollen filters look like the below picture its time to act

A critical area of importance to take note of and act on is the fresh air vent intake system, usually there is what seems to be a foam type of cover mounted from the inside part of the grill, this foam piece is a disaster zone as it's not compatible with the harsh work it has to do.

Pic below shows where it all ends up, note how its blocking up the water channel.

Ever got into your P38 and wonder why it smells and feels so damp.......as the picture below shows the foam that was originally placed just on the inside of the plastic grill piece is no longer.

What happens is leaves and other debris like bugs and dirt build up on the pollen filter housing and even though the housing is quite well designed and stands a good 3 inches higher so as not to let water in but if the water channel fills up it still gets in, this is just one of a few places where water makes its way in.

Between the pollen filter housing and the body it screws down onto is a good rubber gasket and this is where it seeps through, after all its not a submarine and was designed correctly for the use intended.

In a nutshell if the foam piece is breaking up this repair job is over due, your air suspension can be affected due to water running inside through wiring.

Note: There is a join in the channel to the fire wall, this join faces up and even though it looks flush its possible water may enter through this wide section, sealing up is a simple task using a good quality non acid releasing silicone.

Since doing this my left foot well is dry

Another very easy simple mod is to drill or slot the pollen filter covers, this will allow water that gets past the seal to drain away instead of making its way through the filters and into the cabin area

Pictures below are from a scrapped P38 and pictures were taken for illustration purposes

This picture shows another potential water entry spot (Left side)

View of drain hole from vent grill area, note debris build up

and some more...

Range Rovers World (South Africa)

2009-11-07T23:29:00.000-08:00

Hi fellow Range Rover owners.

This blog is about Range Rovers, the information provided along with pictures in many cases will be of immense help in not only getting the best for your Rangie but preserving it for future use.
Here you wont find info on how or why the P38 came about, that info is already well documented on the net and in print.
The information provided by me and others may not be used for personal gain in publications be it in print or paying for info on the net or otherwise, its here and its for free. (copyright applies) both info and pictures

Why this blog was started:
I bought a P38 some time back after aborting my Range Rover classic project due to rust problems, pity really as it would have been a good 4x4 vehicle but all good things come to a end and Its now in about a million pieces
And so the P38 came home and I started my tinkering....yipe, in no time I discovered how a perfectly good 4x4 was converted into what I can only describe as a glorified pavement crawler like those Samtungwang Rectums we see all over the place not to mention the very over rated Hyfungis types
The P38 demands and commands respect where ever they go (and so rightly so) and at the same time require repairs to be carried out with the highest standards possible, this includes parts, lubricants and physical work
The dreaded Air suspension is the talk of the all those non Range Rover owners, little do they know what a difference it makes off roading with such a set up, the Rangie still and does turn circles around even modern day 4x4's of serious makers out there, though I would agree that the Land Rover Defender, Range Rover classic's are also very very serious off road 4x4's.
The starting point here is about mods to the EAS system, be it compressors, layout etc. and other detailed repairs or mods as time marches on, where it will end is anyone's guess, I hope you enjoy and can benefit from the info provided, and yes I repair P38s for a living and can do 70% of repairs mobile fully equipped
I'm a fully qualified mechanic so rest assured quality is 2nd to none.

As my saying goes "To know one is to own one" and now I'm looking at buying the new RR3, donor RR3 welcome, seriously...
Parts supplies are well covered, be it genuine Land Rover, OEM or after market parts, new or quality 2nd hand units meeting only as new conditions, anything less is not considered as usable
At present repairing P38s has taken a whole new twist as I have begun the process of no longer accepting 'other' vehicle brands for repairs, in other words I now specialize on Range Rovers only of the Land Rover range.

A cautionary note on repairs to Range Rovers:
These vehicles demand workmanship of a high standard and so time is of a critical issue, many times we regret but delays do happen if a booking is made, so far delays of up to a week can be expected but not always so, vehicles requiring extensive repairs can take between one to two weeks to complete.
At present this blog will be updated as time goes on to bring it up to full operating capacity.

P38 Lube specs

2009-11-07T22:31:00.000-08:00

Been asked many times what Lubes to use and so here is the correct specs for you to see.
If you recently bought your P38 and was told that its been fully maintained to a high standard either by a independent or dealer I highly recommend changing ALL fluids, every drop as I have seen so many of these so called well maintained vehicles with extremely out of date and heavily contaminated oils.

Bags of old

2009-11-01T13:59:00.000-08:00

Air bags/air springs or bellows call them what you like but another odd area that is over looked.

Regular inspection of these items is required as to is a thorough check for leaks on the rest of the system.

A soapy solution is a great aid in a squirty bottle to determine leaks on the EAS system, spray away and be dazzled by all the bubbles..

The below pic shows that the previous owner (Was sold to present owner like this) wasn't prepared to spend

on the car so opted for a partial spring mod......

crazy as this is very dangerous

Here it is in picture, believe it or not people do utterly dangerous mods to there cars as many buy them for the bling factor, bad move as the P38 is no bling car for those who cant afford to maintain them, I get calls from owners of P38s saying they cant afford to pay the money required to fix them.

Its bizarre how so many say "I picked it up cheap".......I wonder why it went cheap in the first place

Air leaks repaired with glue......yeah right

Air filter replacement

2009-11-01T13:47:00.000-08:00

Air filters, and we all thought simple enough just replace every now and then.
Well not so as believe it or not there is a art to carrying out such a simple task.
Recently whilst carrying out a full service on a Rangie it was the air filters turn so off comes the cover and low and behold it had one but....it wasn't the right size and was sitting all comfy at the bottom of the box allowing dust and all manner of debris to collect up against the fine mesh screen located in front of the MAF sensor (Air flow meter)
As pictured this was the correct size filter but whoever replaced it didn't make sure it was installed correctly
And keep away from those so called Performance filters, yeah those so called cleanable re usable 10 million times rubbish as they are nothing but trouble on everyday use cars, worse so on 4x4 applications

And to cap it off, somewhere some how somebody has to break the rules

This filter was removed from a 2001 4.6HSE P38

Watch out, this is what happens when you don't carry out regular servicing

Seeing this abit to frequent and can do some serious harm to your engine

Bad oils and fluids

2009-11-01T13:39:00.000-08:00

Oil is a item many owners or garages seem to ignore, why this trend is increasing I'm not sure but its not a sign, every Range Rover I have carried out oil changes on has been very disappointing.

Firstly transfer box oils are not being changed and if they are changed the wrong type of oil is being used, I've drained out SAE90 oils on many a transfer box and with very high metal content, not only is the wrong oil damaging but its effectiveness to be cooled is not going to happen.

The correct oil for the transfer box is ATF (Automatic transmission fluid) Dexron III, other brands list it under other types for example Shell call it Donax.TA, TZ etc
ATF is used in the transfer and auto box along with the power steering but check with supplier if it can be used in all as some are listed not for power steering use.

Engine oils:
I Prefer to use Shell Helix Diesel 15W40 or Shell Helix 10W40 HX7 as they offer great protection on the Rover V8 motors with its flat faced hydraulic lifters.
Another good oil is the Castrol Magnatec, along with the Shell Helix HX7 they are both Part synthetic oils.
It is not wise to use a fully synthetic oil on a medium to high mileage Range Rover II

Ever walked into a spares shop and noticed the odd cheaper oils on offer vs the known brands like Shell, BP, Castrol, Mobil, Caltex etc, compare the prices and you'll notice a substantial difference, now ask yourself why....... Many cheaper oils out on the market are simply junk and can and do contribute to carboned up piston rings and valves carboning up, Its one of many reasons why I insist on a good branded oil in any engine.

I have walked into many garages (including dealers) and have seen the cheapo oils laying around.
Its all about profit and the ignorance of understanding quality oil's vs the cheap junk.

The pic below is from one of the many Range Rovers axle oils that has been drained.

2009-10-11T14:27:00.001-07:00

Another day of cleaning.....gee does it take awhile

One of my two P38s, did have black rims and now fitted with 18", dont like them so 16" going back on when I can find a set, if you want to swop let me know

Compressor upgrade.....at a better price than the original by far

2009-10-10T09:40:00.001-07:00

Larger compressor:

This air filter mod was performed after I discovered how much fine dust makes it past the original filter, the piston and sleeve were well worn where usually a replacement compressor would have been called for and these are not cheap, some where in the region of R6900 (Retail) is the figure going around but they can be repaired or even upgraded for alot less. I prefer the new compressor upgrade as it makes economical sense.
I'm no longer in favour of repairing the outdated and underrated compressor for three reasons.

1. Original compressor is R6900 if you're lucky vs upgrade of R3470 fitted (correct installation required)
2. Every original compressor has needed extensive repairs (brush box etc) making repair costs more than a
    new upgrade unit.
3. Failure of repaired units is around 30% and have been written off due to extensive brush box wear,
   in other words the actual bush is beyond satisfactory wear making repair costly, so I advise going the new
   upgrade route, it makes sense and it works really well.

One of the reasons why I prefer a new upgrade compressor: