Buying/building a reliable late P38. Possible?

[4X4V8]

So the P38 is an itch I feel I must still scratch... meaning I have owned 2 D2s but I have always wanted a P38. Looked at a few, scared away by many.

So now they have depreciated a little, is it possible to buy and build a reliable P38 for less than $10k? Or am I kidding myself?

I have an XJ Cherokee at the moment, total cost is about $6k, incl purchase price of $750. I have spent a lot on parts, but have bought a lot of parts. Also, they have been easy to replace.

I bought the XJ 9 months ago. I have travelled 16,000km since, most of that towing 1800kg. I like this vehicle. It has been totally reliable; the parts I replaced were preventative maintenance (entire cooling system, front susp bushes, CPS, TPS, rear diff re-build was the only surprise.

So I need better towing capacity; the XJ's 2250kg is not enough for what I have planned. The P38's 3500kg/350kg will do perfectly.

Yet I need something I can count on. Yes, I love the P38 and perhaps I am preaching to the converted, but what do you think?

I can do everything in terms of work on the vehicle except a full engine rebuild (so liners is a dilemma... do you only buy a P38 with top-hat liners?) I hear the trans and diff are pretty much okay, but that liner issue... it's an $8k fix with top hats. I can buy a stroked 4.8 XJ Cherokee engine for $4.8k, although I won't get my required towing capacity.

So work with me. I want a P38, but I have to let go of that dream if it's going to bankrupt me and keep me in the garage constantly.

What do you think guys?

[mtb_gary]

4X4V8. Totally doable. You may find it is a little rough around the cosmetic appearance to keep the purchase cost down, but as long as the cooling system has been well maintained I doubt you will have troubles with slipped liners. For myself irregularly tow my 2 tonne boat, I can recommend the 4.6 without hesitation. Also good to be able to put whatever load in the back and know that the car is going to be level. So moving a back end full of pavers (seats folded down then stacked up to the height of the seats, start the car up and she's sitting level again ;). Then there's the fun you can have off road :twisted:.

Gary

[Keithy P38]

You can buy a race prepped 4.6 with top hat liners to your door for less than $7k, $8k seems steep for a rebuild!

Ill vouch for a reliable P38. No worries, doable for less than $10k with change.

I want to pick your brains on the XJ! Can you measure the length/diameter/mount hole of your front bump stops? It's the final part of my lift kit and XJ seems to be a very close match but NOBODY on the jeep forum even commented on my post after 3 months of asking!

Key points - HEVAC, EAS, cooling system. If you can tick all three boxes as being in excellent order or completely cactus then I'd buy it. Perfect working meaning $$ saved on repairs, cactus meaning $$ saved on purchase price.

Cheers
Keithy

[rc42]

In short, yes, it's possible but you need to be either lucky or careful, I was the former and my P38 is still going well.

I'd suggest careful checking in the engine bay to look for any signs of overheating such as traces of coolant on the sound insulation under the bonnet.
Also, pull the dipstick feel the oil in your fingers and check the smell, a service history showing oil and filter changes at least annually and ideally every 5,000km or so would be ideal.

At the end of the day though you may get a problem free engine or it may blow the next day, but that's probably the same story with any used 4WD, the slipped liner issue doesn't seem to be as common as some make out though.

The EAS system is awesome when working but you'll need to get comfortable with working on it, especially if you travel into the bush. The other electrical systems are very complicated and the connector quality is not great so they are very prone to corrosion and odd problems after 10+ years of use and abuse.

I recently upgraded mine to Arnott air bags and new foam cell shocks plus a full replacement Superpro bush kit, I'm also a big fan of Molybdenum Disulphide based oils in the engine and diffs so it's now as quiet and smooth to drive as the day it left the factory, a truly amazing vehicle, nothing else comes close.


Good luck with your search

[davidsonsm]

If you want a truly presentable and reliable P38, and I'd question whether there is such a thing at their current age, then as a minimum I'd suggest working through the following issues during the first year or two - they're all known issues and will fail at some point:

Install Arnott gen 3's.
Buy Hawkeye diagnostic tool or similar.
Rebuild eas compressor and perhaps get a spare as well.
Rebuild eas valve block. Replace drier canister, exhaust filter and compressor inlet filter.
Buy spare air hose and fittings.
Install a manual inflation/bypass system.
Replace all filters.
Check sunroof drains are clear and attached.
Replace all fluids.
Shockers.
Handbrake gator.
Headlining.
Pillar moulding clean.
Blend motors.
Heater O rings.

It can be done for under 10k depending on purchase price and how much you're prepared to do yourself. Plus of course how extreme you want to make the vehicle. But if you will allow it, they can be bottomless pits. Yep, I have been bitten. My name is sean and I'm a P38 tragic. But I've done considerably more than is listed above. After all she is my mistress.

[Hoges]

The more I hear from my friends in the motor trade about the currrent crop of CRD engined vehicles, the more I am convinced to maintain my P38.:D

Preventative maintenance is the key, which may mean replacing stuff that is still OK but near the end of its service life. Depreciation is the highest cost of owning any motor vehicle. If you crunch the numbers re. fuel costs, depreciation, service costs etc then a modern petrol engine still comes out ahead of the CRD.

My SIL still has his '94 Patrol with the std 4.2 diesel. He worked up the Cape for years and did the Cairns-Weipa run several times a season... 4 of his workmates have "upgraded": one to a BT50 and three to 3.0 Patrols... all of them have needed new engines at less than 80,000km!

4x4V8... the P38 is built like a Meccano set.. if you have the time and know how, you can lean on the accumulated knowledge here and you'll be in a confident position to enjoy the ownership.

Suggest you also peruse newrremedies (http://www.rangerovers.net/newrremedies.html) to get a view of additional owner knowledge out there for free!

[benji]

Your ideas sound realistic. If you weren't willing to work on the car yourself, then it probably wouldn't be viable.

I would say eas is the most unreliable thing on these cars, and I havn't taken a spanner to my eas in almost 4 years. In saying that though, I've done a lot of work- it's 17 years old with 250000km after all.

The vast majority of the time, cracked blocks/liner problems is from being overheated.

You'll love the comfort over the Jeep!

Sent from my GT-I9305T using AULRO mobile app

[TheTree]

Hi

Just to give you an idea of what I have done to mine in the last 9 months

Service Programme (http://p38.hts.com.au/service_programme.html)

Steve

[davidsonsm]

[QUOTE=SteveFarmer;2040750]Hi

Just to give you an idea of what I have done to mine in the last 9 months

Service Programme (http://p38.hts.com.au/service_programme.html)

Steve

Yep - most of that looks familiar. Sean (davidsonsm)

[Keithy P38]

Is the gap on your plugs set at 0.7mm due to LPG? Seems small considering our recommended gap of 1.1mm!

[mogswoffy]

:)


I know someone who has one

[Keithy P38]

Mogswoffy, if I had a spare bit of coin I'd be in your P38 right now!

[4X4V8]

Thanks everyone for your replies. In the last few years I have mostly given up on mechanics, only shopping out the work I don't want to or can't do. This has given me a new view of RR ownership. Getting $2k-plus bills from LR mechanics was killing me with the D2s and mostly why I sold them. Plus the three amigos flashing all the time, the 4.0 engine that began to sound rattly (was it my imagination? not sure) - it made owning the things too stressful. Every time I jumped in to start the vehicle it felt like yet another problem cropped up.

I'm encouraged by those who've taken the preventative maintenance method and have had reliability. That's what I've done with the Jeep.

Before I bought the Jeep I was hunting around for a P38. I couldn't find one I wanted at the stage - the closest I came was with a car that the owner gave the big pull though - he sounded meticulous and you could tell by the way the car was presented and the long list of replacement parts. When I asked him why he was selling, he sounded rather resigned when he said he was sick of spending all his weekends under the bonnet fixing things! That did put me off a bit...

Keithy P38 I'll get you those XJ bumpstop measurements, but bear in mind mine is the XJ update, which has the rubber bumpstop seperate to the housing. Earlier ones had the rubber and housing as one part and that bolted into the frame.

I'd love a diesel but really that is well out of my price range and I'm not buying till next year anyway... sorry!

rr 747's 1995 HSE for sale looks stunning and while I prefer a Thor, if only I was in a position to buy one now - that would be on top of my list...

I think I'll start taking P38s for test drives at the car yards. I want to get a feel of what they're like again and see what condition they're in these days for the money.

[Keithy P38]

Thanks mate!

P38 bump stops are push-on items anyway, so I'm glad you have the update!