NEW P38 OWNER!

[IamKONG]

hi all hope we are well


last week i purchased my first Range Rover P38 1998 SE 4.OL
picked it up for $2k off my sister, has had head gasket replaced 8oookms ago.


i have previously owned 2 Disco II TD5s and loved them but thought its time for a change!


been doing a bit of reading and learning about them, just throwing out to the experts here what i should be weary of. Its going to be a bit of a budget tourer/fishing get away car. So also seeing what are some mods people have gone for? Suspension, Long Range Tanks ect.


Looking forward to reading and discussing with you all!

[PeterH]

Welcome aboard! Congrats on the new Rangie.
Having owned Discos before would prepare you pretty well for Range Rover ownership.
They are a great vehicle to drive, specially for long trips, very comfortable and safe on the road. Off road they come into thier own, very capable.
I've done a few snow trips and have seen other 4WD's sliding off the icy roads, but the Rangie is very sure footed as long as you drive it safely.
They are a lot of vehicle for the money, as long as you don't mind getting hands on with it when needed.
You really just have to tackle the fixing jobs as they come up, I've probably done almost every job on mine over 6 years, fortunatley most of the issues that do come up are fairly common and chances are someone else has already worked out a good way of solving them, which makes this forum invaluable.

Maintenance is the big thing, if you keep on top of the oil and various filter changes, you can save yourself a lot of headaches at the worst moment.
EAS is brilliant, but it does need attention every few years.
Bleeding the brakes is a big task, but can be done DIY.
Rave manual is a must, (you proably already have one for the Disco), as well as some way of reading fault codes if they arise. I have a faultmate MSV, not cheap, but I've been so glad I have it when I need it.
Good luck with it!
Cheers, Pete.

[IamKONG]

Thanks heaps for the reply!


useful information about the fault reader didnt really think of that and will look into.


definetly know about the maintenance side of thing and am looking forward to getting hands dirty

[TheTree]

Welcome to the madness mate ! :D

Steve

[IamKONG]

Cheers Steve

Digging ya P38 page mate very handy!
Thats pretty much what i want to do with mine
Daily driver thats capable of getaways to secret fishing spots

[daf11e]

Welcome aboard..........and best of luck with it!

[finallyrangie]

Welcome to the madness, and good luck. Lots of clever people here who have helped me very much.

Looking forward to some pics

[redandy3575]

Welcome to Luxury class.

Onto my second P38 now. Still think they're the most capable 4x4 on the market. The p38 turns heads wherever they go with a fresh look in a Japanese saturated field. Just done the North Flinders Ranges in mine, and happy to say my p38 handled it with ease.

My advice to you is not to remove the Air suspension, as that gives the P38 the full capabilities, otherwise you may as well go back to a Discovery.

[IamKONG]

Thanks for the welcomes and tips

Yes i will admit was going to swap the suspension but after research/posts and speak to couple people am going to leave as is.

Cant wait to save up my $$$ and splurge on a bullbar (going xrox) roof rack and new rims (rolling with the triangles at moment not my style lol)

Any one recommend a good rim? Was thinking aome Disco lI's or sunraysia

[finallyrangie]

Keeping the air suspension is the way to go, stick a new set of o rings into the valve block, turned out to be a very straight forward thing to do, and you should be good for a couple of years, mine is just about ready to do again, best bit of preventative maintenance going for the p38.

[Keithy P38]

G'day and welcome mate!

I'm sure you'll fall in love with it just as much as your previous Disco!

I'm a mad advocate for keeping EAS in these things. With simple knowledge of it, you'll have no worries understanding it, and working on it. It's the electrickery that scares people off them, but it is simple at the end of the day, and if the suspension starts doing weird things the first thing ill say every time is the Driver Unit (black box in the valve block area) as the other components are proving more reliable over time and these old busses are getting age about them.

Otherwise, I also agree with the "most capable" comment above. Having just come back from my second Cape York trip in a P38, and yet again the only vehicle on the trip without a single issue (likewise no fluid top ups required either). All others need lifts and fancy bar work to "do it" where the standard P38 just does it too easily.

Enjoy learning, there's heaps, but they are simple once you know how they operate!

Cheers
Keithy

[TheTree]

Thanks for the welcomes and tips

Yes i will admit was going to swap the suspension but after research/posts and speak to couple people am going to leave as is.

Cant wait to save up my $$$ and splurge on a bullbar (going xrox) roof rack and new rims (rolling with the triangles at moment not my style lol)

Any one recommend a good rim? Was thinking aome Disco lI's or sunraysia

Some people have used Disco wheels. Also it seems (from the reports) it's better to stick to 16" wheels .

One thing about the P38 rims is that they have an amazing bead grip, you very rarely hear of a tyre popping off the bead when deflated for sand driving !

Steve

[IamKONG]

Yeah i have heard that, just them triangles be so ugly!!!! hahahaha
found some sunraysia's with 31's on them but yeah still unsure.
a nice set of Disco II's would be good to throw.


but agree definetly staying with the 16's

[IamKONG]

Question


im after some roofracks, and found set of ROLA roof racks that are off a 2003 Vogue RR


Would these fit on my p38 or is it a different set, been hunting info but no luck

[TheTree]

Question


im after some roofracks, and found set of ROLA roof racks that are off a 2003 Vogue RR


Would these fit on my p38 or is it a different set, been hunting info but no luck

I think from what Ron Beckett told me at the Expo, the mountings are different. I have seen Rola racks on a P38 though

Steve

[IamKONG]

***A VERY MASSIVE THANKS***
to everyone for the feedback and info.
i got some messages and scored myself some roof racks and a nice set of 18's with near new tyres.


Keeping my ugly triangle 16s and going to put some decent 265/75's on them for when i go touring, but for everyday driving going to roll in style haha


will post pics once they on and ive given it a very decent once over