book on hevac on hse 4.6 1995

just booked it in with the main stealer for friday.
getting pressure tested and full diagnostics and a regass and they are going to
plug it in testbook to investigate the book. all for £70, seems reasonable.

thanks for all advice and i will report back friday

Stealers must be getting desperate these days too, I guess sounds like a good deal for that. Thing is, don't agree to any repairs from the stealer though, as they will be very very expensive from a main dealer unless you have very deep pockets indeed. But great to get the diagnostic and the pressure test etc as you can then get the work done yourself or priced up far cheaper than a stealer. Also remember that a lot of staff at stealers don't know much about the P38 anymore, as it vanished off their floors many many years ago now, and they may try to completely buls**t you - another poor guy on this forum ended up with a huge repair bill and a stuffed up Rangie after the stealer had a go at it, and they had the cheek to tell him he needed a new BECM, new this new that new car etc etc etc. after they screwed up! :doh:

At least with a pressure test / regas (fairly generic for most cars) and a diagnostic plug in they can't do much damage!!!

hunterandthehunted said:

just booked it in with the main stealer for friday.
getting pressure tested and full diagnostics and a regass and they are going to
plug it in testbook to investigate the book. all for £70, seems reasonable.

thanks for all advice and i will report back friday

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i would take the manager around the car and explain exactly what is working and what you require. take some piccys of whatever you can. not the work to be done and then if anything is different when it comes back, sue the **** outa em!!!

thanks i will be catious, the heating has decided to nor work again today unless i push the program button also noticed that coolant is coming out of the overflow quite alot.

what's the ambient temperature where you are? if below 28 the unit will try to raise the temp to the level you have set by blending hot air from the engine bay. when you switch the ac off it'll just vent fresh air from outside (unless you switch on the RECIRCULATION button and then it'll just recirculate the air that's already in the cabin). the "ac button" by the way should actually read AC OFF? which is why it lights up if the ac is off and vice versa. but you also have the book symbol and rangiegal's right, blend motor or dodgy head unit most common faults behind that.

whoops. was only reading p2 of the thread when i wrote that and didn't even notice p3! erm...

rasheed said:

what's the ambient temperature where you are? if below 28 the unit will try to raise the temp to the level you have set by blending hot air from the engine bay. when you switch the ac off it'll just vent fresh air from outside (unless you switch on the RECIRCULATION button and then it'll just recirculate the air that's already in the cabin). the "ac button" by the way should actually read AC OFF? which is why it lights up if the ac is off and vice versa. but you also have the book symbol and rangiegal's right, blend motor or dodgy head unit most common faults behind that.

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Sounds more and more like a dodgy head unit (the control unit below the stereo) with these intermittant faults. Be very, very careful with the stealer and what you agree to - make sure they know you want a diagnostic and a regas / pressure test, nothing else (unless you are nuts, that is!)

rasheed said:

what's the ambient temperature where you are? if below 28 the unit will try to raise the temp to the level you have set by blending hot air from the engine bay.

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Blending hot air from the engine bay sounds like a load of hot air to me:doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh:

i have come to the conclusion that the whole car is a pile of ****, everything i look at seem to have a problem.

can some one tell me how to test the condeser for leaks or if it is operational bearing in
mind that the aircon does not work

hunterandthehunted said:

i have come to the conclusion that the whole car is a pile of ****, everything i look at seem to have a problem.

can some one tell me how to test the condeser for leaks or if it is operational bearing in
mind that the aircon does not work

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Spend 50 quid or so having it re-gassed with a tracer dye included which will show you the leaks. (Halfrauds have some cheap offers on this).

Or assume it leaks, as they all seem to after 5 years or so, and spend £75 and buy yourself a new condensor on Ebay or Rimmer Bros etc, fit it yourself, not difficult, then have it leak tested and re-gassed as above.

hunterandthehunted said:

i have come to the conclusion that the whole car is a pile of ****, everything i look at seem to have a problem.

can some one tell me how to test the condeser for leaks or if it is operational bearing in
mind that the aircon does not work

Click to expand...

1995 cars with complex electronics etc are bound to develop lots of problems in their doddering old age......14 years is a helluva age for a modern car P38s are prone to all sorts of problems as they age even further, much of which can be sorted out without main stealers getting involved, as it is financially certainly NOT viable to get main stealers involved with cars of this age - as I've said before, most of the techs who work in such dealerships don't remember the p38, let alone have worked on one and know its foibles!!

A P38 is not a car to buy if you expect smooth perfection / no running problem......go for a Jap 4x4 in that case, Nissans and the like :doh: I had a Patrol that had done 300 000 miles and only ever had one clutch plate and a few oil changes in 10 years of ownership.....then I part-exed it for my p38 5 years ago!!!

when you say its not difficult to replace what exactly is involved. i managed to break off a bleed pipe off the rad yesterday and now i am told i need a new rad. mind you its holding out with superglue at the moment...:crazy:

A P38 is not a car to buy if you expect smooth perfection / no running problem......go for a Jap 4x4 in that caseyes i agree there

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...


i have had a shogun for the last 10 years but fancied a change.
i bought it on impulse really and expected some problems. but it seems that everything is wrong with it. i am even beginning to think it has head gasket problems after reading some posts regarding coolant

hunterandthehunted said:

...


i have had a shogun for the last 10 years but fancied a change.
i bought it on impulse really and expected some problems. but it seems that everything is wrong with it. i am even beginning to think it has head gasket problems after reading some posts regarding coolant

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14 year old P38 V8s are always going to have problems unless they have been absolutely perfectly maintained and even then there is no guarantee on things going wrong.
The confirmed history of a car of this age is really important - like has the original engine been changed / rebuilt/ liners etc? If not, a 14 year old V8 is certainly going to need something big done sometime soon.....Also, has the condensor ever been changed and when? When were blend motors redone if ever? Has the RF receiver been exchanged for the later model? EAS - when were airbags changed? The list goes on and on and there's loads I've left out- :doh::doh:there are a lot of early model (pre 1997) P38s out there that are real dogs, (ebay gets most of them) with loads and loads of faults many of them massive - not that all post-97s are that great either, but the older they are the worse the condition, quite often due to very high mileage and lack of (expensive) maintenance.......

Best thing to do is to decide if you really want to dedicate time and money to P38 ownership - if you do, then make a list of problems and prioritise.......engine probs are obviously priority, as are EAS and BECM faults, but I find an aircon essential these days too, so spent time and money sorting mine out...

I think Datatek is right - get a condensor - they sell for £73 new on ebay - and change it or get a local garage (NOT a stealer) to fit it, and regas / check pressure - under £150 and it may be sorted. Blend motors=£2000 from a stealer fitted, £340 from an independent I've listed on here, HEVAC unit £285 for a new unit, around £80 for a used one (don't use ebay unless the unit is warrantied as its a dumping ground for faulty HEVAC heads.)

Welcome to P38 Land - :welcome2:may your pockets be deep enough to survive!!!!

hunterandthehunted said:

...


i have had a shogun for the last 10 years but fancied a change.
i bought it on impulse really and expected some problems. but it seems that everything is wrong with it. i am even beginning to think it has head gasket problems after reading some posts regarding coolant

Click to expand...

i had a 1995 pajero b4 my rangie, near immaculate and low miles it never missed a beat and cost nothing cept for normal maintenance/service was sad when it went i just hope (if i decide to keep it) the rangie does as good, the towing capabillities of the pajero far suppassed the rangies

yes i originally thought the blend motors???? so i got in touch with jason. but since the heating now seems fine along with all the vents blowing as they should he also says the condensor. he also says i need a new rad because the bleed/breather pipe i broke off will not be able to hold the pressure with it being stuck back on with superglue.

so he is coming saturday:-
to supply and fix a new rad and condensor
change the oil and filter
pollen and air filters
spark plugs
coolant change
radiator cap
transmision oil and strainer
thermostat
and possibly a fuel filter ( if it will come off without disturbing the pipework )
plus he said he would if me some pointers.

trouble is now i am thinking the car has head gasket problems, so is it all worth it.
and no i have NOT got deep pockets.
i borrowed £2000 to buy the car and the £650 for having the above work is my
savings, so after that i am skint "as they say"

hunterandthehunted said:

yes i originally thought the blend motors???? so i got in touch with jason. but since the heating now seems fine along with all the vents blowing as they should he also says the condensor. he also says i need a new rad because the bleed/breather pipe i broke off will not be able to hold the pressure with it being stuck back on with superglue.

so he is coming saturday:-
to supply and fix a new rad and condensor
change the oil and filter
pollen and air filters
spark plugs
coolant change
radiator cap
transmision oil and strainer
thermostat
and possibly a fuel filter ( if it will come off without disturbing the pipework )
plus he said he would if me some pointers.

trouble is now i am thinking the car has head gasket problems, so is it all worth it.
and no i have NOT got deep pockets.
i borrowed £2000 to buy the car and the £650 for having the above work is my
savings, so after that i am skint "as they say"

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I'm pretty confident that Jason won't do work which doesn't need doing, so if the blends are ok (he'll check them) then he won't change them.
The 4.6 engine is very sensitive to temperature so best to have a system which can be properly pressurised, ie the rad change. If you want a working aircon, it sounds as though the condensor is a must. Its difficult to decide when to stop with repairs on a 14 year old car - they are brilliant vehicles if they are kept in good condition, which, as they get older, means expensive things go wrong.

The head gaskets are always going to need doing sometime on an old V8 engine - 14 years is quite an age, really, and the V8 will need this kind of maintenance at some point. A competent workshop can do the job for around £500 including the skimming, that's about what I paid. Then all the hoses and clamps should be changed as well, when you do the heads, as they perish over time. A lot of p38 owners are skint......:doh: :doh::doh:

A lot of the work you have Jason organised to do is stuff you could do yourself, so you can save a ton on maintenance costs if you do oil changes and pollen filters etc yourself instead of paying a mechanic to do it, even if you use one to do more complex things!!

Jap vehicles are much cheaper to maintain and probably more reliable, but then they also aren't Range Rovers....I've owned both, I loved my Patrol, but I've loved the Rangie as well, despite it costing a load more to maintain. P38 Ownership is not a cheap way to own a 4x4, sadly, and to make if affordable you have to learn to do some of it yourself.

:doh::doh:

yes i can do an oil change etc my self but because he is coming from wolverhampton and i live in norwich, it has got to be worth his while plus i get to see him do the work and learn a bit. how much would all that lot cost if i took it to a local garage or dealer.

when i inquired about a service, all i got was "we will check this and check that" and included a basic oil change and filters etc..

He knows his stuff, you won't be disappointed. Dealers and garages will cost a lot more than he charges, and he is fully Land Rover trained. Its a case of how much you want the p38 really, as to how much you eventually spend on it - it certainly isn't going to make you money when you sell it someday, but if you invest in sorting out major problems, it will run for a good few years yet. I paid £17K for my p38 over 5 years ago now, and thought that was a good deal then as it was a special edition which cost nearly £60K new...its worth about £5K now, but still running sweetly for the most part, and I'm not sorry I did it as I've loved driving it for over 100 000 miles......

i bought the car with 12 months mot and it has recently been converted to springs and eas has been overridden and displays eas manual on the dash...


is this a positive or a negative??????????