Range rover p38 hard to start, glow plugs. A lot of pics

Hi.
I am new here. I have been lurking trying to find out why my P38 won't start cold. This is what I have tried /learned. These boards are an excellent resource.


My Range Rover P38 became very hard to start when cold or left sitting for a day.
I decided the easiest thing to try was the glow plugs.
I took some pictures as I did the job, I know these models aren't around much, but it may help someone.
I won't know if this will fix the starting issue untill tommorrow, finger crossed, however only 2 of the old ones worked.

I also came across an after market electronics box, which I removed.
This has made the vehicle much easier to drive, as before the auto box would bog down, and the power came in huge surges.
If I was going up a hill, the auto box would not change down untill my foot was mashed into the carpet, then there would be an explosion of power as it changed down, not good. I don't know if the add on box was faulty, or it just didn't work well with the gearbox. Power delivery is now much smoother, and the auto box seems to be working in harmony with the engine.

:welcome2: to the site, a good set of photo's. Normally Power boxes work quite well, maybe yours is faulty
Nice to see a newbie contributing instead of asking the usual questions.

here here,well done and:welcome:

very good right up, well done! very useful pics as im thinking on changing mine soon,oh and welcome!

As the others have said :welcome2:
Although I am classed as a "Petrol...(not LPG) head, I think your photo's and flags are excellent and will help a few of you Tractor drivers, especially newbies or people unfamiliar with the diesel P38's.

You will find this forum has a wealth of information and your contribution has added to it.

As "Datatek" has said....It makes a pleasant change from the usual newbie questions relating to EAS, Overheating and "Where is the fuel filler cap ?"

Well done and keep posts like this coming !!!!!

:behindsofa:

hey,its only his first post,we will have big headed.:clap2:

I just did this exact job recently, one thing I did notice was the intake itself has three t25 security torx bolts on the underside of the manifold. I wanted to remove these and gain acces to the chamber for better cleaning but I ran out of time and skipped it. Has anyone tried to open this up?
Great set of pics btw.

perfect just about to do mine for the first time and this is just what I needed.

cheers

supprisingly no-one has put a how to do video on you-tube!

:welcome:

Well done mate nice to see a positive contribution from someone new. Usually they ask questions get their problem sorted then disappear into oblivion. Again well done.

alexr354 said:

supprisingly no-one has put a how to do video on you-tube!

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Possibly because it's such a simple operation. My view is that inexperienced people should get RAVE and learn how to read and follow it. All is explained and that way they learn. To be honest if you can't do that following the instructions contained in the manual, you should leave your maintenance to someone else.

Top job mate and
:welcome: to the madhouse

wammers said:

:welcome:

Well done mate nice to see a positive contribution from someone new. Usually they ask questions get their problem sorted then disappear into oblivion. Again well done.

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They disappeared into oblivion as this is a thread from June 2011 - but as you say a great first post, pity he/she never stuck around!!

Thanks, sovereign, for the excellent info and pics. Although I've been a DIY mech for many years, the P38 and its complexity make me a bit nervous. Your post gave me the confidence to change my glowplugs today. Some info based on my experience;

Taking my time, it took about 2 hours. Just like you say, as long as you've got some wobble extensions a u/j and a 12mm deep socket, then it can be done with standard tools. The factory manual says to remove one of the high pressure fuel lines, but like you I found there was no need to do that.

Number 1 cylinder glowplug is the fiddliest of the lot, due to the proximity of the coolant hose.

My P38 is a '97 DSE, with the pre egr engine. The alloy intake manifold is fiddly to remove, as it fouls against an air con pipe on the bulkhead. I found that standing beside the passenger side wing and giving it a good yank with both hands worked a treat. Strangely, it went back on no problem!

Now to get the EAS sorted.....

Thanks, your more than welcome, glad it helped.
I didn't have my P38 for long then.
Challenging vehicles to own sometimes, but worth the miles of smiles.

Hi, Great write up and nice pics! (what’s the red wires for? Come on we all want to know)

But I must say…..
Look at all that crap being sucked into your engine!! I hope you blocked off the EGR when putting it all back together!
did my plugs at weekend and after running for more than a year with no EGR I have not even a tenth of the build up you have!

Yea there is some gunk in there.
But following an EGR delete my fuel consumption went up.
Not just off the dash, but brim to brim over months.
Don't know why,so I deleted the delete.

The Red wires?, well there is 6 of them now.

The first two were power for my boost gauge.(ones in the pics)

2 more were added when the unattended cranking started.
Connected to the starter motor relay ground, and a switch in the cab.

A further 2 were added from the ABS pump, to a "pump runnning" light on the dash.
This was after the brake ecu went faulty and permanently powered the abs pump burning it out.

As you can tell some of the problems, I just work around.
On the unattended cranking the only thing I can say it's not the fuseboard.

just bought delphy glow plugs £67

urena said:

just bought delphy glow plugs £67

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Somebody saw you coming from a long way off at that price.