[tom1disco.300]

hi guys, im thinking of chopping my 90 in for a diesel p38,now some would say im a mad man, but its cold, and its un compfy, slow and its got a top speed of 70 on a good day, that's no joke!! so i drove my dads 4.0 to work the other day, and smiled all the way there, loved it, air suspension, heating, and it was like sitting in an arm chair, so i drove it all week and suffered no money after,hahaha! but was soo worth it! so iv been looking at the 2.5 dse, but a manuel as i get bored with auto, and better mpg! unless its a v8! so i was just wondering what you guys think of them, in standard condition, im not looking for anything quick, just compfort, and tunes, and something i can potter around in and get a return of 25 maby 30 mpg! is that possible! im not wanting speed, i like torque, so not bothered about speed, or top end! how reliable would you say they are as iv heard not very, and im a landy mechanic, so i will service every six thousand, and look after every weekend! what are your thoughts? iv been told the 2.5 can do less mpg than a v8, but unless you are ragging the life out of it, i cant see it! and im not bothered about 0-60 ither! thanks guys, Tom.

 

[Datatek]

hi guys, im thinking of chopping my 90 in for a diesel p38,now some would say im a mad man, but its cold, and its un compfy, slow and its got a top speed of 70 on a good day, that's no joke!! so i drove my dads 4.0 to work the other day, and smiled all the way there, loved it, air suspension, heating, and it was like sitting in an arm chair, so i drove it all week and suffered no money after,hahaha! but was soo worth it! so iv been looking at the 2.5 dse, but a manuel as i get bored with auto, and better mpg! unless its a v8! so i was just wondering what you guys think of them, in standard condition, im not looking for anything quick, just compfort, and tunes, and something i can potter around in and get a return of 25 maby 30 mpg! is that possible! im not wanting speed, i like torque, so not bothered about speed, or top end! how reliable would you say they are as iv heard not very, and im a landy mechanic, so i will service every six thousand, and look after every weekend! what are your thoughts? iv been told the 2.5 can do less mpg than a v8, but unless you are ragging the life out of it, i cant see it! and im not bothered about 0-60 ither! thanks guys, Tom.

Diesel is better with auto as it has little low end torque, you can still use the gear lever I do.
Diesel is more reliable than the V8, mine has a long term average of 24mpg, on autoroute runs to the UK it gets close to 30mpg. MY2000 and on are better. Had mine 5 years, lots of niggles but never let me down so has been very cheap motoring.
EAS is good if maintained, air bags will need replacing on any car you buy if they have not been done. Don't buy one on coils, it's a sign of poor maintenance.

Lots of threads on what to look for, any sign of overheating, walk away.

 

[plumbfisher]

Hello Tom, I had a series 2A for nineteen years... loved it, thought I'd never part with it. But I'd always like the P38. I knew someone who had one from new and wanted to get a new one, so last year I bought it from him. Paid 3k, (same as I got for the old Landy, it was exeptional). It is a 2.5 DT auto. FSH at same main dealers from new, no expense spared when things needed sorting, so it is a good one. And I love it. Like you say, comfort, warmth (or cool in summer), good sounds etc. I've also had it in the woods and across muddy fields with trailers full of logs, and it clicks and whirs and just goes. I get average 24.5mpg overall. Take your time and get a good one, you'll find one, they are out there. You won't regret it. There's loads of good advice on here about what to look for (and also about how to sort things,which you will need to do). Good luck

 

[Saint.V8]

I have a '96 4.0 SE P38, its converted to LPG, and returns 13 odd MPG on gas...this is roughly the same running cost as the diesel...

Just passed MOT, passenger blend motor is iffy, A/C doesn't work, non-factory sunroof that works and doesn't leak, a little rough round the edges and the central locking doesn't work!

lpg £0.69 per litre - Diesel £1.35 per litre....

0.69 / 1.35 = 0.51 (ratio of LPG to Diesel price)

13mpg / 0.51 = 25.4 theoretical mpg....

I get Diesel running costs with a V8 sound track

How's your Deffie?? Wanna swap??

 

[Hairy]

Had my 2000 2.5 dse for 3 weeks now and love it, just working my way though it bit by bit doing the things that can go wrong before they do, parts are easy and cheap to find and can do a lot of things yourself to save money, you get good advice from peeps on here and the search at the top is bloody fantastic for things that you want to know and how to do things.

 

[Datatek]

I have a '96 4.0 SE P38, its converted to LPG, and returns 13 odd MPG on gas...this is roughly the same running cost as the diesel...

Just passed MOT, passenger blend motor is iffy, A/C doesn't work, non-factory sunroof that works and doesn't leak, a little rough round the edges and the central locking doesn't work!

lpg £0.69 per litre - Diesel £1.35 per litre....

0.69 / 1.35 = 0.51 (ratio of LPG to Diesel price)

13mpg / 0.51 = 25.4 theoretical mpg....

I get Diesel running costs with a V8 sound track

How's your Deffie?? Wanna swap??

Not to mention the risk of a dropped liner

 

[matt1987]

Ive had my dse auto for 3 yrs its had a fip,2 air bags, front and rear brake pads. I avg 20mpg around town and 28 to 31mg on a run

 

[wammers]

Not to mention the risk of a dropped liner

Less likely on a 4.0 to be fair but they do make very efficient steam generators from time to time.

 

[Datatek]

Less likely on a 4.0 to be fair but they do make very efficient steam generators from time to time.

Thought the bore was the same on the 4.0 and the 4.6, the extra capacity coming from the longer stroke on the 4.6. that being the case, can't see the risk of a slipped liner would be any different, certainly slipped liner threads are not exclusively 4.6's.

 

[martynv8]

No difference in the risk of a dropped liner on 3.9/4.0 or 4.6. All the same bore. Only safe block is the 3.5.

 

[tom1disco.300]

Hi guys, thanks for all the reply's, much appreciated and all the advice has helped, everyone has told me the 2.5 is ****, but i thought they were alrite! I will be looking for a dhse Manuel as the fuel economy will be better, i can control when it changes not the person in front! I will look for one and a good one, service every six thousand, and overhaul suspension, add a few nice little extras, and look after it! I want the Harmon kardon, and a lowish mileage, around 100k! Anyways,ill shout on here when iv found my range rover, and hopefully wont have too many issues! Anyways, thanks guys, much appreciated! Tom. oh and what sort of mpg are people getting out of a Manuel? Sensible driving! Thanks guys!

 

[2.0_hippo]

Go for an L322

Better MPG and the TD6 pulls like a train


:behindsofa:

 

[robhew86]

from your post it comes across fuel economy is a big thing....if it is dont buy a RR!
Expect low 20's around town and no more than 30 on a run...

 

[tom1disco.300]

Thats okay for someone that has the money to buy one! I cant afford to have one and wont get a finance on a car as its risky and in this day and age, if you miss a payment your screwed! No car! P38 is cheaper to repair and im capable of fixing it, or having a chance to! But i do like the l322! And l322 are all auto, so no.good anyways! Thanks tho!

 

[tom1disco.300]

I'm not after fuel economy, but i don't want to get 14 mpg, witch is what a v8 does, my 90 only gets about 25, and my first car was a series so even worse! I just want to know what people get!

 

[robhew86]

I'm not after fuel economy, but i don't want to get 14 mpg, witch is what a v8 does, my 90 only gets about 25, and my first car was a series so even worse! I just want to know what people get!

Can't see why you would want a manual then IMHO....
RR's are all about auto's and that fookin awesome H gatier the P38 auto has, wish the 322 had one...

 

[Saint.V8]

I'm not after fuel economy, but i don't want to get 14 mpg, witch is what a v8 does, my 90 only gets about 25, and my first car was a series so even worse! I just want to know what people get!

If yer 90 'only' gets 25....don't expect much more from a Diesel P38 even if it is a manual!!

 

[quavey]

What sort of mileage a year do you cover? I get about 16 knocking about out of my 4.6 and 21+ on a long motorway cruise.

When you factor in the difference in fuel cost its probably not that much different, I would say a post 2000 diesel is going to have held its value far more so you will in theory get a better petrol for your money, or the a petrol the same condition as the diesel will be cheaper. Plus the petrols are generally a better specification.

Plus having the V8 is automatically cooler, as mentioned above I wouldn't really entertain the idea of a manual P38 BUT you can get a 4.0 Manual if you've really got an itch to move levers around for fun. Being a manual it should provide slightly better fuel economy than the auto and I can see the appeal slightly of being able to blip an RV8 on the downshift especially if you've done a centre box delete like I have.

 

[stopover]

Whatever you buy immediately put it on new shock absorbers (Boge) and a new steering damper. It will ransform the car (advice from Druim I followed - transformed it!)

 

[Hairy]

Whatever you buy immediately put it on new shock absorbers (Boge) and a new steering damper. It will ransform the car (advice from Druim I followed - transformed it!)

+1 for that, did mine and feel like a different car, doing the air springs next so should get even better.