P38A I'm going to look at this tomorrow, what are your thoughts?

I've been looking to get a P38 for a while and I have found this one near(ish) to me
https://auto.bazos.sk/inzerat/80774652/Land-Rover-Range-Rover.php

What are your thoughts please? I spoke to the seller yesterday, he says mechanically it is very good (not perfect) and he has recently installed new airsprings, exhaust, battery and rebuilt the front suspension (he said it shook the steering wheel at 80kph previously). This indicates it it probably high mileage but that may not necessarily be a bad thing if its well looked after. He said the headliner is sagging but otherwise tidy.

I have been reading up on the P38 for a while now and they seem like marmite. Many people love them and rate them though others say they are very unreliable. What are the top 10 things to check please when I go out to see it? Of course I will check for noise, coloured smoke etc, but other things that may not be so obvious?

Thank you

Just to add, the reason I am after a P38 is that I like the look of it and think it is probably more easy to live with day to day that a RRC. Also i don't mind if it needs maintenance as I am quite keen to learn how to fix my own cars. I've been doing this with my Defender.

I don't know much about p38s and less about Slovakian but the translation brings up 'broken front axles ' is that just a Google/babylon/permalink translation mistake?

Have a read through this:
http://www.mez.co.uk/p38.html

Rrc is easy to live with as it is very basic in diesel form. P38 would never be described in the same way. Total opposites really. Rrc is easy to learn how to fix but the P38 is plug in and read the faults type of car. Defender is equal to the rrc in terms of maintenance and repair, P38 is a different ball game. If you like them then go for it, looks pricey, would be much cheaper in uk.

Steering wheel's on the wrong side ;-)

DanClarke said:

Steering wheel's on the wrong side ;-)

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S'ok he wants to learn how to work on his own cars. He'll have that fixed in no time at all

gold rover said:

I don't know much about p38s and less about Slovakian but the translation brings up 'broken front axles ' is that just a Google/babylon/permalink translation mistake?

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It's a mistake, he writes that the front axles have been 'done' as in rebuilt

Gmacz said:

Rrc is easy to live with as it is very basic in diesel form. P38 would never be described in the same way. Total opposites really. Rrc is easy to learn how to fix but the P38 is plug in and read the faults type of car. Defender is equal to the rrc in terms of maintenance and repair, P38 is a different ball game. If you like them then go for it, looks pricey, would be much cheaper in uk.

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Thank you for reply. Yes they are cheaper in UK but unfortunately I must have an LHD over here as there is no way to register a RHD. I may get a UK donor car later. Can you recommend a good diagnostic tool for a P38? I had a Hawkeye when I still had a D2

mikerajjers said:

It's a mistake, he writes that the front axles have been 'done' as in rebuilt

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Ah right. The joys of translation bots

For diagnostic for a p38, black box solutions nanocom is the top of the class unless you have about 3k for landrover test book
nanocom does all you need and more and can be kept in the glove box.
there are others hawkeye, icarsoft ect but they are limited on what they will do and will not talk to a diesel engine.

mikerajjers said:

Thank you for reply. Yes they are cheaper in UK but unfortunately I must have an LHD over here as there is no way to register a RHD. I may get a UK donor car later. Can you recommend a good diagnostic tool for a P38? I had a Hawkeye when I still had a D2

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Are you sure you can't register a rhd?
Looks like you're in Slovakia and I would have thought that the rules were similar to Czech. I am currently getting my rhd one registered in Czech.
+1 on the Nanocom, there is nothing else close and you WILL need it!

mikerajjers said:

I've been looking to get a P38 for a while and I have found this one near(ish) to me
https://auto.bazos.sk/inzerat/80774652/Land-Rover-Range-Rover.php

What are your thoughts please? I spoke to the seller yesterday, he says mechanically it is very good (not perfect) and he has recently installed new airsprings, exhaust, battery and rebuilt the front suspension (he said it shook the steering wheel at 80kph previously). This indicates it it probably high mileage but that may not necessarily be a bad thing if its well looked after. He said the headliner is sagging but otherwise tidy.

I have been reading up on the P38 for a while now and they seem like marmite. Many people love them and rate them though others say they are very unreliable. What are the top 10 things to check please when I go out to see it? Of course I will check for noise, coloured smoke etc, but other things that may not be so obvious?

Thank you

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top things to check

Air suspension - does it rise in all settings - it wont with a door or the rear hatch open. air bags changed good. ask about the compressor and valve block. no biggie.. a valve block rebuild kit is abou £30 and will take an hour or so of your time. The compressor if not changed or rebuilt can be a failure point. a new piston and sleeve agann about £30 and an hour or so of your time. (it takes about 5 mins of running for the air tank to fill)

check the front right carpet by the tunnel is it wet.. it could be the o-rings leaking.. no train smash the o rings are cheap enough and a bit of buggeing about to get to. lots of write ups on doing them.

i cant give you too anything engine wise as mine is a V8 not a diesel.

the headlining is no great train smash either. a roll of the trim from Martyns with the glue is about £80 in shipping.. i have a roll in my garage ready to do mine .. there's write ups on this also.

check the transmission on a test drive move the gate over into low / high and exercise the running gear. you need to be stationary and in neutral to move it over and ait for the ndication to show engaged and disengaged. ( i make it rule to excerise the 4x4 system at least every couple of months )

the wheel shake is common. mine did it for a spell. correct tyre pressure will resolve this in many cases i run 28psi all round and get even wear accross the surface. the vibration damper could have been at fault. or the bushes.. fair play if he has rebuilt the axles !

the P38 doesnt doesnt like weak batteries, if the alternator is getting weak the regulator can be changed out rather than the whole alternator.

In the fuse box, pull realy RL6 and RL7 if there are signs of arcing the fuse box could need replacing.. again no great train smash see here http://rangeroverworld.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/fuse-box-relays.html

Thanks for the tips so far. I spoke to the guy on the phone earlier. Car has done 297 thousand km and was originally registered in France and had an auto box. It currently has a manual. Should this sort of mileage be of concern? I believe it was used as a motorway cruiser but obviously no way of proving this.

As for registering a RHD in Slovakia it is definitely not currently possible. There has been talk of it theoretically being possible but practically it is impossible at the moment. Czech republic is different I think despite having a lot of similarity with Slovakia in other areas

Is this v8 or diesel? V8 likely to need head gasket; diesel the fuel pump.

Then the gearbox. If manual the DMF might be playing up and making things loud.

Grrrrrr said:

Is this v8 or diesel? V8 likely to need head gasket; diesel the fuel pump.

Then the gearbox. If manual the DMF might be playing up and making things loud.

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i think 2.5 DSE on the tailgate gives it away

Went and saw it today, absolute wreck of a car. Noisy engine with boots where there shouldn't be, EAS a total bodge repair, interior very tatty, climate control had the book icon.

mikerajjers said:

Went and saw it today, absolute wreck of a car. Noisy engine with boots where there shouldn't be, EAS a total bodge repair, interior very tatty, climate control had the book icon.

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So Google translated it correctly , it was 'broke' Aside from that, sorry you had a wasted journey, hope you find a better one soon.

mikerajjers said:

Went and saw it today, absolute wreck of a car. Noisy engine with boots where there shouldn't be, EAS a total bodge repair, interior very tatty, climate control had the book icon.

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The climate control book icon is common, you'll be hard pushed to find one without. it can be as simple as the A?C needs refilling. or it could be the compressor clutch or blend motors, of 3 way switch.

what gave warning flags to me is the modification from auto to manual.

keep looking

gold rover said:

So Google translated it correctly , it was 'broke' Aside from that, sorry you had a wasted journey, hope you find a better one soon.

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Haha yeah! Google's AI could tell just from the picture! It was an absolute shocker, if I was selling it I'd park it somewhere and leave it there as I'd be too embarrassed to sell it! I went and saw another one actually which I didn't intend to as it's had air bags swapped for coils. I would much rather have the air suspension but it does have its own problems if not working correctly. I did like it very much though! I'll post a link