P38A Looking to buy first P38 4.6, any quick notes?

Hey all,

I've been thinking a while about changing my X300 XJ6-daily for a while now.
Alongside a wide (Smart ForTwo, via Mini's and Miata's to Pajero/Patrol) variety of models the Range Rovers always stood out and amounted to a fair bit of searches on the trade sites of Sweden.

I never quite read-up on them at all, though (not counting the sort of general idea that everyone seems to think they're crap, present company not included). After a seemingly decent P38 (I generally looked at its successor, tbh) popped up for sale today it was arranged for me to go look at it tomorrow.
I don't really know about any specific things to look/listen for, though.

Any hints on the matter?
I will continue to try to read up in the meantime, but on friendly forums I find that it's often more efficient to just ask.

I've so far gathered that people tend to think that thisV8 is pretty crap, which bothers me a bit - but perhaps not as much as it should.
I'm reasonably adept at doing work on cars myself (barring rust-issues) and have my own garage with a two post lift installed.

Thanks in advance!

The v8 is a v8 and it's petrol so it's not crap. But they could have made it so much better.
The fuel map is poor. The camshaft is poor. The machines used during manufacture weren't maintained and the liners should have been tophatted from new.
Many have been converted to lpg, which is fine in principal, but if it's not tuned right, can lead to hot spots in the head which when combined with the poor petrol map can encourage the infamous liner/block failures, depending on how well the block was made. Both maps can be adjusted to avoid this but the bosch one has to be sent off.
That said, if you maintain it and keep the cooling system in shape, you should be ok.
If i every bought another, I'd make sure it was tophatted. A proper top hat job is pressed into a lip at the bottom of the block, so sealed at both ends, if the block ever decides to crack, it doesn't matter.

There's a few "what to check" threads on here - just search. You will get plenty of opinions on V8 versus diseasel. My choice is the V8.

Read MOT history & look to see if things have actually been fixed.
Most of them leak oil, but it does help prevent rust !!
EAS is easy & relatively cheap to fix. Even a set of replacement air-bags is usually cheaper than spring kit.
As with any car check all electrics work properly.

kermit_rr said:

The v8 is a v8 and it's petrol so it's not crap. But they could have made it so much better.
The fuel map is poor. The camshaft is poor. The machines used during manufacture weren't maintained and the liners should have been tophatted from new.
Many have been converted to lpg, which is fine in principal, but if it's not tuned right, can lead to hot spots in the head which when combined with the poor petrol map can encourage the infamous liner/block failures, depending on how well the block was made. Both maps can be adjusted to avoid this but the bosch one has to be sent off.
That said, if you maintain it and keep the cooling system in shape, you should be ok.
If i every bought another, I'd make sure it was tophatted. A proper top hat job is pressed into a lip at the bottom of the block, so sealed at both ends, if the block ever decides to crack, it doesn't matter.

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Should've probably noted.
I'm located in Sweden. So Range Rovers are scarce here, as is, and LPG-converted cars are none-existent.

And yes, I've seen 'top-hatted' mentioned here and there since started looking into this endeavour. Can't say that I had ever really heard about it before at all and will probably need to figure out what it's called in Swedish to become wiser to the fact if the car in question has had anything done.

pwood999 said:

There's a few "what to check" threads on here - just search. You will get plenty of opinions on V8 versus diseasel. My choice is the V8.

Read MOT history & look to see if things have actually been fixed.
Most of them leak oil, but it does help prevent rust !!
EAS is easy & relatively cheap to fix. Even a set of replacement air-bags is usually cheaper than spring kit.
As with any car check all electrics work properly.

Click to expand...

Yeah, diesel isn't really for me.
Both as a sort of general rule and as it wouldn't really be economical for me.
Yearly tax is almost three times that of the V8 and I don't really drive enough miles per year to eat up the difference in just fuel consumption.

AndersForsberg said:

Yeah, diesel isn't really for me.
Both as a sort of general rule and as it wouldn't really be economical for me.
Yearly tax is almost three times that of the V8 and I don't really drive enough miles per year to eat up the difference in just fuel consumption.

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HGF, dropped liners and camshaft wear seem to be common on the V8.

Love it, live with the cost .

J

Compared to later model Range Rovers the P38 is easy to work on & spare parts are cheap. There are a few parts that are only available from vehicle dismantlers but most everything is available cheap on eBay. The P38 has an undeserved reputation for unreliability but as long as they are serviced & most importantly driven regularly they are great.
They were one of the first vehicles that had significant amounts of complex electronics which were a mystery to most for quite a few years especially as the only way of reading & clearing faults was to pay a main dealer to use a Land Rover TestBook. Nowadays there is a vast amount of knowledge in the public domain on forums like this & the RSW EASUnlock software or a Nanocom are affordable solutions to read/clear faults.

nigelbb said:

Compared to later model Range Rovers the P38 is easy to work on & spare parts are cheap. There are a few parts that are only available from vehicle dismantlers but most everything is available cheap on eBay. The P38 has an undeserved reputation for unreliability but as long as they are serviced & most importantly driven regularly they are great.
They were one of the first vehicles that had significant amounts of complex electronics which were a mystery to most for quite a few years especially as the only way of reading & clearing faults was to pay a main dealer to use a Land Rover TestBook. Nowadays there is a vast amount of knowledge in the public domain on forums like this & the RSW EASUnlock software or a Nanocom are affordable solutions to read/clear faults.

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I suspect parts may not be so cheap in Sweden.


The v8 is lovely when it works but these cars are all at least 20 years old so there will always be something to fix The 4.6 is the one to get. The earlier GEMS might be slightly less hassle but the later Thor is allegedly more torquey. The Wabco D ABS on the later Thor seems more trouble and parts are insane prices if you can find them.


The v8 head gaskets go about every 100k miles. If you don't catch it in time then the heads can be toast. Most liners that will drop will have dropped by now so that horror story has probably passed. A rebuilt v8 by someone like v8 Developments is sought after. The crank seals leak for fun and the front cover for the timing chain.


Air-suspension will fail at some stage. The bags last 8 years unless you buy Arnott gen 3 - don't bother with the gen 2. Compressors fail but can be refurbed with care. Same with valve-blocks. Height sensors and driver-packs can be more fun to diagnose.

If the tyres are scrubbing the viscous coupling in the transfer box may be seizing. At the age and mileage most of these cars are I'd just swap out the transfer box for a refurbed one. Easy in the UK but maybe not in Sweden. Heavy so shipping would be £££ or possibly KKK.

Again, due to mielage the swivel-hub ball-joints probably ought to have been done. Same with radius arm bushes and panhard rod bushes.

Unless you are going off road, don't waste your cash on Arnott Gen3, the Gen2's are perfectly good for road use and will outlast the Dunlop bags.

Datatek said:

Unless you are going off road, don't waste your cash on Arnott Gen3, the Gen2's are perfectly good for road use and will outlast the Dunlop bags.

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That's true although I wouldn't touch Arnott 2 at the moment. Too many failures and they aren't cheap, not in the UK anyway.

Grrrrrr said:

That's true although I wouldn't touch Arnott 2 at the moment. Too many failures and they aren't cheap, not in the UK anyway.

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I have had them on one of mine for over 10 years now and they still look like new, but as you say, since they started making them in the EU (Conti?) there have been a lot of failures.

Datatek said:

I have had them on one of mine for over 10 years now and they still look like new, but as you say, since they started making them in the EU (Conti?) there have been a lot of failures.

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Yes, the sides are Conti. Don't look the same as yours and Dopey's old car. Gen 3 are made in the States and totally different but as you say, insane money.

Take it for a longish drive so that it comes to full temperature. The needle should stay just to the left of straight up. Listen for odd noises and any vibrations. Try raising and lowering the air suspension. Try putting it in low range and driving a bit that way. Check for wet carpets. Could be leaks around air vents or leaking heater core O rings. Do the heating system blowers work and can you direct the air forward, up and down.

I have had my 99 4.6 for 6 years and never had an engine issue. Gone through 3 alternators and have had a lot of monkeying with the EAS. Recently discovered my transmission oil cooler was leaking and Trans was low on oil. I have 2 cars for parts so not troubled for spares.
Good luck with it.