Top P38 Design and Build flaws - Forum vote to come!!!

[DT-P38]

Design flaws
1. Coolant overflow close to main fuse box
2. Air intake too low and no option of a raised one (snorkel)
3.

Build flaws
1. Slippery cylinder liners
2.

Add your thoughts fellow P38 tragics!!!

[PaulP38a]

Design flaws
1. Coolant overflow close to main fuse box
2. Air intake too low and no option of a raised one (snorkel)
3. No usable cup holders
4. No manual release for tailgate with battery disconnected
5. Critical ECU's located at/near floor level
6. Plastic trim around dash breaks first time it is removed
7. virtually any disturbance of heater pipes through firewall will result in heater core o-rings leaking
8. hot-spot in engine fuse box causes failure of RL7

Build flaws
1. Slippery cylinder liners
2. dash anti-slip mat slips
3. crap spring clips in load space floor finisher (the plastic thing that should fold down when the bottom tailgate is opened)
4. inconsistent location/tolerance of chassis rail mount points for bumper/bull bar

enough for now...

[RR P38]

1/ 10 years ahead of its time.
2/ A manufacturer that was prepared to be at the cutting edge.
3/ They didnt test it in Australia under real world conditions/long enough
4/ Built them in RED

Sorry couldnt help my self

Expensive parts supply chain is a good one.

[jsp]

crap plastics,
heater core plastic 90 degree pipe bend cracks,
heater core placement - cant remove without taking out heaterbox/dash
blend motors,
insulation for engine bay fuse box,
radiator only marginal for warm climates,
plastic spigot on radiator for overflow pipe,
plastic parts inside abs unit,
door lock mechanism not robust enough,
no fuel pump hatch in floor,
location of some eas lines close to exhaust,
poor eas programming to limp home in if one airbag is gone - system just trys to fill it until hard fault,
poorly designed windscreen trim attachments - not nice when replacing windscreen,
transmission xyz switch seems to fail often,
cubby box lid attachment not upto prolonged use - breaks,
no low coolant alarm,
grease not applied to various hoses/bolts on manufacture - ie oil lines to oil cooler,
rearview mirrors exploding,
location of ignition coils - moreso on thor based setup
stereo headunit prone to failure,
cruise control - ecu fails - rubber components wear out fast
underbonnet heat management very poor - causes a number of issues above
BECM sensitivity to errant radio signals flattening battery
poor pollen filter placement/covers/seals let water into cabin
poor tailgate seals let water in
headlining material used - I know they are getting old but my sisters 1972 toyota corona still doesn't sag
usable space in glovebox compared to size of the door



just a few little points....probably just me being biased though and having some bad luck!

i haven't listed things which have failed for me but probably aren't common like multiple transmissions and multiple transfer case chains, a few leaking new genuine land rover heater cores, a few becm's etc.

[PhilipA]

Good list . Don't tell the blokes on the 38A Video Thread.
Regards Philip A

[Scouse]

You in here again Philip?

Coming out of the closet soon?

:p:p

[jsp]

Good list . Don't tell the blokes on the 38A Video Thread.
Regards Philip A :whistling::Rolling::Rolling::Rolling:

[redandy3575]

crap plastics,
heater core plastic 90 degree pipe bend cracks,
heater core placement - cant remove without taking out heaterbox/dash
blend motors,
insulation for engine bay fuse box,
radiator only marginal for warm climates,
plastic spigot on radiator for overflow pipe,
plastic parts inside abs unit,
door lock mechanism not robust enough,
no fuel pump hatch in floor,
location of some eas lines close to exhaust,
poor eas programming to limp home in if one airbag is gone - system just trys to fill it until hard fault,
poorly designed windscreen trim attachments - not nice when replacing windscreen,
transmission xyz switch seems to fail often,
cubby box lid attachment not upto prolonged use - breaks,
no low coolant alarm,
grease not applied to various hoses/bolts on manufacture - ie oil lines to oil cooler,
rearview mirrors exploding,
location of ignition coils - moreso on thor based setup
stereo headunit prone to failure,
cruise control - ecu fails - rubber components wear out fast
underbonnet heat management very poor - causes a number of issues above
BECM sensitivity to errant radio signals flattening battery
poor pollen filter placement/covers/seals let water into cabin
poor tailgate seals let water in
headlining material used - I know they are getting old but my sisters 1972 toyota corona still doesn't sag
usable space in glovebox compared to size of the door



just a few little points....probably just me being biased though and having some bad luck!

i haven't listed things which have failed for me but probably aren't common like multiple transmissions and multiple transfer case chains, a few leaking new genuine land rover heater cores, a few becm's etc.

Time for youto choose another brand of 4WD. I hear Saangyon have specials! i.e Musso.....:D They'd compare to this list on a regular scale. No seriously though, it sounds like you bought a second hand bucket of nails from a careless owner.

[PhilipA]

You in here again Philip?

Coming out of the closet soon?



I am always keen to learn something new.

However I won't be having my springs removed for funbags anytime soon.

If I wanted 38A like troubles I could have bought the Vogue SE sitting on Arthur Garthon's lot next to my 93Vogue, and it was cheaper.

Vogue= no power seats, no air bags, no sunroofs, no ABS = no headaches.
I and more importantly SWMBO love old MAX( from the plates)
Regards Philip A

[rofosixone]

how come i dont have those problems ? oh wait headlining sag , right about that one - dont do 130kms on the freeway with all 4 door windows down . ( i pushed up xmas tree clips were saged / solved that sag prob instantly ) truely though, whatever i find is a weak design , i play eng - i mod or change so doesent happen again .

[Grumbles]

The biggest problem with the P38s is that I don't have one. :D

[PhilipA]

The biggest problem with the P38s is that I don't have one

Maaaate , maaaate , maaaate.
I will bet that there are dozens if not scores of willing sellers out there , and they might even chuck in a set of steak knives!!!!!!!
Regards Philip A

[Grumbles]

Steak knives? At my advanced age???? You're kidding. Now if they were offering a vitamiser that'd be a different thing.......lol.

I agree PhilipA - there are plenty of P38s out there which aren't selling too well. Thing is that in order to buy one I'd have to get rid of my almost fully mechanically refurbished soft dash LSE which drives like new and looks almost the same. It's just too big a hurdle to get across [aka get rid of] at the moment. But it doesn't stop me eyeing the P38 off and whimsically dreaming of owning one. :D

Cheers.
Grumbles.

[wanglemoose]

Design flaws
1. Coolant overflow close to main fuse box
2. Air intake too low and no option of a raised one (snorkel)
3. No usable cup holders,... i found a fix for that
4. No manual release for tailgate with battery disconnected
5. Critical ECU's located at/near floor level
6. Plastic trim around dash breaks first time it is removed
7. virtually any disturbance of heater pipes through firewall will result in heater core o-rings leaking
8. hot-spot in engine fuse box causes failure of RL7

Build flaws
1. Slippery cylinder liners
2. dash anti-slip mat slips
3. crap spring clips in load space floor finisher (the plastic thing that should fold down when the bottom tailgate is opened)
4. inconsistent location/tolerance of chassis rail mount points for bumper/bull bar

enough for now...
35616

[WasabiPimpNinja]

35616

Is that CC and Dry??

I found my cup holders quite useful, just not really for drinks.. I can't count the amount of times I've had empty stubbies flying at the radio during a good jump on the skids. Then when they are in the passenger footwell I can collect "fresh" water from the blocked drain on the aircon...


Cheers,
Keels.