Range Rover P38

[Fuji Shooter]

I must have watched Layer Cake too many times as I have a burning desire to own a P38.

 

Besides air bag sag, rust under the rear hatch, lining failures on V8 and faulty blend motors anything else I should add to my list.

[Walker570]

I have a 1989 Land Rover 90 which is fitted with a 4litre V8 from a P38. The chassis was getting tired and I said to George, Land Rover Guru, at Atherstone, that I was considering dropping it and buying a P38. After he descended from 10,000ft ... I could hear him swearing all the way up and all the way down ... he persuaded me not to go in that direction. My Landie is booked for a new galvanised chassis in February. Nuff said ?

 

On edit, my engine was hand built and I have had absolutely no problems with it..just covered 100 thou. Change the oil frequently and don't over rev them, just grab another gear. That was advise from the Rover Specialist Engineering Dept., back in 1971 when I took Roger Craythorns Hill Rallying winning Range Rover to compete in Belgium. Got to be one of the best engines ever developed.

Edited December 27, 2016 by Walker570

[dodeer]

I like the P38 and had one in 2.5 DSE spec. Good to drive, and off road was very good.

However like most lndrovers it always had issues and eventually the gearbox wouldn't go into reverse or park so it went off to the scrap merchants

[Albert 888]

Alarm, window limits,leaking in,oil leaks. I have 2.5D with 200 thousand on the clock and love it. Compressors you can get a £12 kit for instead of buying new. Loads of stuff on the net to help you fix it. Get one bought you only live once.

[ferguson_tom]

My mate is a land rover dealer and he refused point blank to sell me a tidy P38 he had come in as part ex because of the trouble he knew it would cause me.

[Twistedsanity]

The aa and rac said they were the cars they were called out to most making them the most unreliable but as they are the most common of the 4x4's it would make sense that more calls are to p38's

[Fuji Shooter]

Cheers guys. Still thinking about buying one but trying to find a minter with full history and someones no expense spared toy is finding difficult. Most people buy a snotter for a couple of grand and then realise it has had no routine maintenance done in the last 5 years so can't afford to get it back on track.

[Twistedsanity]

My builder has a Snotter he paid a few grand for, few hundred thousand on the clock and he has replaced the entire suspension with springs, it won't change up through the gears until it gets hot and it messes itself everytime he parks it up anywhere an looses about 1/2 pint of diesel

[Albert 888]

Mine was £500,it's quite presentable, was well looked after and waxoiled to death,all work done at landrover specialists. If your not mechanically minded it could cost you a fortune. Im happy with it and will drive it until something major goes. Im on my second the first was a 4 litre v8 on lpg that was great but poor n lpg. Next Spring summer I'm doing a 50/50 mix with new veg oil and diesel as a trial.

[figgy]

Best thing to do with a P38 is throw the engine away and fit a Perkins 3.8 diesel from agri vehicles like combines or even the JCB turbo diesels have been implanted. Make great boat tow and launch vehicles.

I think they are the last Range Rovers you could comfortably take off road properly.

[Walker570]

Agree to a degree figgy, but I love my V8. However I had a Classic which was professionally fitted with a 3.5 four cyclinder Nissan Japanese engine and it would pull a house down. The car was a rust bucket but the engine just kept going and did 30 to the gallon. My 4litre V 8 is doing the equivalent of 34 mpg price wise on LPG, compared to buying petrol.

 

Agree that 4x4s have become too urban and wonder just what will arrive as the new model Land Rover.

[Fuji Shooter]

Saw a nice Classic RR at a recent Landie Show with a TVR engine fitted. Sounded amazing.

 

On the up side I managed to find a local garage that specialises in Range Rovers and have a few P38 to take a poke at.

 

http://www.primoris4x4.co.uk/used-vehicles-in-salford-oxfordshire

[figgy]

The later model p38 Classic models 2.5 diesel were fitted with the BMW units and were a good motor. The earlier Italian diesels were poor with each cylinder having its own cylinder head.

 

The amount of times over the years I've been so close to buying a P38 or classic but shied away at the last minute. As the more I looked at them they all had faults.

Edited December 29, 2016 by figgy

[Albert 888]

Half shift oil seal next job on mine

[bang bang birdy]

I have one and love it it has cost me a few quid but I wouldn't change it

[Albert 888]

Listen to the owners not the mate of a mate.

[sky gipsy]

I too allways steared clear of P38s until one came up for sale round the corner from me, an ex police training vehicle, 4 litre v8 manual, a basic spec, but with a few extras fitted by the Special Vehicles department at the factory, for a few hundred pounds. Got to be worth a go I thought. It has been great for 4 years now (touch wood!) & has taken me round Scotland with no issues and all over the place shooting. True they used to scare folk, my old man was a workshop foreman at a dealers when they came out and yes, like many new models they had horror stories and people struggled to get there heads round the new technology, but they have been around a long time now and there are many independant Land Rover garages who know who to mend them.

Common problems are air springs - not dear to buy and quite easy to replace, Alarm problems causing battery drain - fit a latest model receiver at £100ish or take off the ariel wire (like I did!) and no more problems, Auto gearboxes do get tired - find a manual if you can, much nicer to drive IMO

So, I would look around & try to find one someone has for sale that has owned for a while and like I said, find a man with diagnostics who knows his way round them better than most bar room mechanics for any repairs and they are good motors and easy to keep on top off & wont rot away like the old Classic.

 

 

[cuffy]

I've had my p38 for 5 years with no problems other than the blend motor thing .