ARGH! What do I look for?

OKay, so my mate who's good Landys has dropped out of coming to view a P38 DSE with me. I just want a really quick check-list of things to watch out for.

Like, the air suspension - how long should it take to get from the lowest to the highest setting? My friend said, look for blend motors on the air con, air bags looking worn, leaks, excessive smoke, welding in the arches (which it has in one).

I know there's an issue with the one of the rear doors not opening when you press the button. Is this something I should REALLY watch for?

Basically, I just want a quick crib list I can just consult and poke around when I'm there.

(I am still looking around at the common problems on here too)

Go with the knowledge that if you find too many obvious faults then are usually a lot of hidden faults
Walk away if unsure,unless you are very rich

Main one is head gasket
Take it for a good run the longer the better then check the radiator pipes! If there hard run away when engine running and warm you should be able to take the Expansion cap off carefully without it ****ing water everywhere .
Look at the hevac if it has a little picture of a book it has a fault and that could be a mine field
Drivers footwell near clutch should be dry to the touch
Eas should go to selected height within 3-4 seconds (unless youve being playing with it then the tank may have emptied)
Other than that check all button/swiches open each door from inside and out
Lock/unlock with each remote and check each door does lock/unlock
Try the remote from a distance too about 10 meters(shows if hes covering a rf fault)
If the owner will let you try it off road! It dont have to be a mountain just wet grass will do give it a bootfull see if the traction control kicks in
And lest but not least dont get drawn in!! HES SELLING IT FOR A REASON

gfromleeds said:

Main one is head gasket
Take it for a good run the longer the better then check the radiator pipes! If there hard run away when engine running and warm you should be able to take the Expansion cap off carefully without it ****ing water everywhere .
Look at the hevac if it has a little picture of a book it has a fault and that could be a mine field
Drivers footwell near clutch should be dry to the touch
Eas should go to selected height within 3-4 seconds (unless youve being playing with it then the tank may have emptied)
Other than that check all button/swiches open each door from inside and out
Lock/unlock with each remote and check each door does lock/unlock
Try the remote from a distance too about 10 meters(shows if hes covering a rf fault)
If the owner will let you try it off road! It dont have to be a mountain just wet grass will do give it a bootfull see if the traction control kicks in
And lest but not least dont get drawn in!! HES SELLING IT FOR A REASON

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Disagree

Take it for a good run, make sure the gearshifts are good when you boot it if it's auto. Turn it off and see how hard it is to re-start. Watch the temperature gauge and see it gets to the 12 oclock position, if it stays in the blue, suspect the stat has been removed to hide a problem. check the bottom of the RAD gets hot.
If it has not had new airsprings, budget to replace them.
Not a good time of year to buy and with the problems you have already mentioned I would think it's not worth a lot
There is an exhaustive list somewhere on LZ

gfromleeds said:

Main one is head gasket
Take it for a good run the longer the better then check the radiator pipes! If there hard run away when engine running and warm you should be able to take the Expansion cap off carefully without it ****ing water everywhere .
Look at the hevac if it has a little picture of a book it has a fault and that could be a mine field
Drivers footwell near clutch should be dry to the touch
Eas should go to selected height within 3-4 seconds (unless youve being playing with it then the tank may have emptied)
Other than that check all button/swiches open each door from inside and out
Lock/unlock with each remote and check each door does lock/unlock
Try the remote from a distance too about 10 meters(shows if hes covering a rf fault)
If the owner will let you try it off road! It dont have to be a mountain just wet grass will do give it a bootfull see if the traction control kicks in
And lest but not least dont get drawn in!! HES SELLING IT FOR A REASON

Click to expand...

10 metres, 33ft? Mine has never worked from that distance, 10 feet more like.

Datatek said:

10 metres, 33ft? Mine has never worked from that distance, 10 feet more like.

Click to expand...

Mine works from my front door which is about 10m away from where the rf unit is in the car

gfromleeds said:

Mine works from my front door which is about 10m away from where the rf unit is in the car

Click to expand...

+1 (is that 11 meter)

So, I bought it. DT County. So far, so good! EAS appears to be working well, no problems seen so far. Let's hope it stays this way for a while! Might post some pictures up if you guys wanna see it?

jammy137 said:

So, I bought it. DT County. So far, so good! EAS appears to be working well, no problems seen so far. Let's hope it stays this way for a while! Might post some pictures up if you guys wanna see it?

Click to expand...

Now you're going to spend, spend, spend, hope you saved loads for upcoming Grats anyway Shame about the derv thing


Good service should be first on list, all fluids and lube those U/J's

Check the airsprings, if they haven't been done, replace them before it lets you down, literally! Also change the ATF and filte in the box if it's auto, should be done every 24K but is rarely done by dealers.

Pics please
The diesel is better in my opinion
Yes its slower but has less problems and cheeper to run
Add a powerbox and it'll change into a different beast, giving the v8 boys a run for ther money
but beware of flooring it from standing cos it'll do the gearbox in

I purchased mine for £3000, mechanically sound. She still cost me much more than that to restore her. And she keeps wanting more spent each month. Still, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my Range!