P38A Upgrade - Advice sought

[DeanoH]

I'm at the stage where I want to do some reliability/ performance upgrades to my 95 HSE. I've already replaced the shocks with Bilsteins and have replacement airbags coming. Old ones work OK but didn't seem a good idea to stress 14 year old rubber. I've got the brake modulator mod kit down from Russell in Qld as it seems like a sensible mod. I can use the off road wheels off Kayes D2 so where to next ?

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/08/364.jpg

My thoughts are for reliability upgrades as a priority over performance mods but need a bit of direction.

Electronic diagnostic tools such as a fautmate look good but expensive and I'm confused which to get. Is there something that can do the P38A as well as Kayes D2 TD5 without having to sell the kids into slavery ?:) Not a bad idea though.................think of the money I'd save.

I'm not looking at 'bush bashing' or mountain climbing just want decent reliability and performance off road (bit scared of water though, this things got more electronics than the space shuttle). And of course stick it up my mates in their Nissans and Toyotas.

Input please.

Deano

[PaulP38a]

I'm at the stage where I want to do some reliability/ performance upgrades to my 95 HSE. I've already replaced the shocks with Bilsteins and have replacement airbags coming. Old ones work OK but didn't seem a good idea to stress 14 year old rubber. I've got the brake modulator mod kit down from Russell in Qld as it seems like a sensible mod. I can use the off road wheels off Kayes D2 so where to next ?
Great start, although probably unnecessary for light off-roading. Are you going the Arnott Gen III airbags?



My thoughts are for reliability upgrades as a priority over performance mods but need a bit of direction.

Just service it regularly and keep an ear out for funny noises. Be wary of excessive coolant consumption.

An EAS emergency bypass kit is a must have in my view. Andrew E on this forum sells them, or get one off eBay.


Electronic diagnostic tools such as a fautmate look good but expensive and I'm confused which to get. Is there something that can do the P38A as well as Kayes D2 TD5 without having to sell the kids into slavery ?:) Not a bad idea though.................think of the money I'd save.

Faultmate is a good investment in the longer term if you want to diagnose and clear all kinds of faults. Short term, get EASunlock and the serial-to-OBDII cable to read and clear EAS faults. Handy for adjusting EAS height too.
I'd vote for selling the kids - mine anyway:)



I'm not looking at 'bush bashing' or mountain climbing just want decent reliability and performance off road (bit scared of water though, this things got more electronics than the space shuttle). And of course stick it up my mates in their Nissans and Toyotas.
If all you want to do is stick it to Toyos and Nissans in the rough, you don't need to do anything at all... my first P38A did just that without any mods except Cooper ST's. My current one does it with road tyres on ;)

You're right to be fearful of deep water without a snorkel. We are working on this. As a start, tape up the drain holes in the bottoms of the doors and make sure the seals are good. Apply a liberal spraying of WD-40 around the engine bay before entering water. Be mindful of the air intake in the LH guard and the plastic wheel arch cover that gives it just a little protection.
Cheers, Paul.

[DeanoH]

Thanks Paul for the reply.

Re Arnott Gen III's. Brilliant design, the 'upside down' piston concept looks like a good idea, but I was turned off by the comments that the ride is harder than with 'normal' bags. One of the reasons I like the RR is its soft comfortable ride and I don't want to compromise this.

There are several reasons why I'm changing the bags, one is that the previous owner (for 6 years) only used the car 3 months of the year and let it sit for the rest and I'm concerned that the rubber will be unhappy about being flexed out of its comfort zone. Another is that when I changed the shocks I let the front end dangle and both airbags 'popped' one at the bottom and one at the top. Frightened the hell out of me when it happened but went back together OK, or nearly so. The front RHS now droops overnight, probably means I didnt put it together quite right although I did use copious quantities of rubber grease. Serves me right should have been more careful. So I've got to pull it down again anyway. Is there a clever way of releasing the air from the bags without scaring yourself to death?

Am buying Airbagman bags from Kalincho as he has new ones and is selling his RR. As he doesn't need them now he offered them to me at a good price. Also from what I can tell new bags will be longer than old ones so hopefully won't drop off if I over extend the suspension in the bush.

Hope this sounds half way sensible .

Re cooling system. Doesn't leak at all, touch wood. Will be giving it a major going over before summer so as to keep it this way. Am a bit paranoid about over heating in this engine as it seems the major killer of them. New hoses, thermostat and flush any other suggestions ?

EAS bypass should give peace of mind even if I never need it. Must remember to leave 12 volt compressor in car.

Fortunately my laptop, Toughbook, has a real RS 232 port so should work OK without one of those USB adaptors which I reckon are pretty flakey. Threads mention Rave and other CD's. Any suggestions where to start here ? Manual and parts list on CD would be a good investment I reckon and just download EAS software ?

Ever noticed the bigger kids get the bigger the problems become and the bigger they get the more they cost ? If sex wasn't so much fun I reckon the human race would have died out years ago. Am I allowed to say that here ?

Nah, the kids are good; borrow the RRC bring it back filthy, no fuel, staked tyres and now crook power steering. Pumps making awful noises and pumping froth. Dunno what I'd do without em, all that spare time..........................................and money. Shouldnt whinge , they could be out beating up pensioners, breaking letterboxes or worse still..........................driving Prado's.

Already got the ST's on Kayes off road rims 255/70 16's. Hadn't had a puncture in 10 years and put rocks thru 2 last month on our Central Australian / Kimberley jaunt. Luck of the draw I suppose. Still not the tyres fault and I like the Coopers.

Overall the Rangeys in pretty good condition. Always kept under cover, and only 146,000 Km when I got it. For $8K I reckon it was a bargain.
And the best part, the colour. Never lose this one in the car park.

Deano

[PaulP38a]

Hi Deano

Simplest and least frightening way of depressurising the EAS is to use EASunlock software with the OBDII to serial cable, and let it depressurise the system for you.

If you get the EAS emergency bypass kit, it is easy to gently release the air from one corner at a time by pressing down on the valve for the corner you want to work on.

Re cooling system - I recently swaped over to the red stuff from the green stuff. Amazed that I could see previously unnoticed leaks... and now my engine is in pieces... but that's another thread ;) I'm also swapping over hoses for the fun of it. Thermostat? Dunno, I'd be inclined to leave it alone unless you suspect a problem.

You can buy Rave from Dave's Interesting Things (http://www.davesitshop.com/davesitshop/) on this site (also helps to keep AULRO running). I keep an ISO image of Rave permanently stored on my computers and mount it as required using Daemon Tools or UltraISO.

Yep, download EASunlock from RSW Land Rover Reset Tools - EASunlock (http://www.rswsolutions.com/index_easunlock.htm) and don't foget to make a donation to Storey for his excellent work if you find it useful :)

The S.E.X. word doesn't bother me but beware of Ron's swear filter if you decide to use any euphemisms for it :eek:

You say you're in West Gippsland - Moe? or further west? I spent most of my teenage years in Traralgon and went to school in Sale. We used to have a saying about Moe, but I can't repeat it here :o

Cheers, Paul.

[justinc]

Check this out Deano, some nice accessories there...pretty exxy when new:eek: also, looks like a Codan or Barrett remote head HF in the dash? Don't think much of the ashtray contents though:(

Vehicle Detail - Pickles Auctions Australia (http://www.pickles.com.au/damaged/vehicle/C1997-Land-Rover-Range-Rover-P38A-HSE-Wagon-7-Seats/itemid-1-252137861/lotid-0)


JC

[PaulP38a]

Check this out Deano, some nice accessories there...pretty exxy when new:eek: also, looks like a Codan or Barrett remote head HF in the dash? Don't think much of the ashtray contents though:(

Vehicle Detail - Pickles Auctions Australia (http://www.pickles.com.au/damaged/vehicle/C1997-Land-Rover-Range-Rover-P38A-HSE-Wagon-7-Seats/itemid-1-252137861/lotid-0)


JC

Perhaps the PO couldn't figure how to empty the ash tray so trashed the car instead ;) You know these Rangie owners tend to be a fairly precious lot...

Those front and rear bars are very sweet - I'm jealous.

Notice the pic of the engine bay? had me my scratching my head for a moment until I realised it was probably a pic of an old Honda Civic or Accord.

[justinc]

Perhaps the PO couldn't figure how to empty the ash tray so trashed the car instead ;) You know these Rangie owners tend to be a fairly precious lot...

Those front and rear bars are very sweet - I'm jealous.

Notice the pic of the engine bay? had me my scratching my head for a moment until I realised it was probably a pic of an old Honda Civic or Accord.

Paul, yes I had a laugh too, the early Civic 1.6 would be a bit underpowered under that hood:p

Nice barwork etc, pity I'm not closer, I'd be interested in the vehicle for a few bits:(

probably go cheap, any P38a as a water damaged write off would be a repairers nightmare:eek:

JC

[PaulP38a]

probably go cheap, any P38a as a water damaged write off would be a repairers nightmare:eek:

Been there, done that :(. My "black beauty/black hole" HSE drowned last November and was a stat write-off. I'm sure the wrecker who bought it did well from selling off the parts though.
According to my mechanic, the engine just needed one or more new pushrods and a new BeCM. He reckons it would have been back on the road for about $5K... but the insurance assessor knew better :o
I still get bitter about that...

[DeanoH]

probably go cheap, any P38a as a water damaged write off would be a repairers nightmare:eek:

JC

Thanks for the info guys.

I'll do my best to steeer clear on Rons wrath, .......................run spell check through everything and make sure the grammars right.

As you say a drowned P38A would have to be anyones nightmare. Even so the metalwork has to be worth a quid and would look good on mine. Wheels the same even the spare complete with Michelin. Though if the HF box is below the water line it will be throw away by now.

Dunno about the Honda engine though. Took me 5 minutes to figure it out, knew there was something wrong.............must be getting old.

Worth a look though............................................ Kaye would be 'extatic' if I bough another car home to add to the 'fleet'.

95 P38A
86 Classic
93 Troopy
93 Twin Cab Hilux 2WD
86 Mercedes W123
84 Mazda T3000 Bus

plus her D2

still............................................. ......Hmmm.

Deano

[DeanoH]

You say you're in West Gippsland - Moe? or further west? I spent most of my teenage years in Traralgon and went to school in Sale. We used to have a saying about Moe, but I can't repeat it here :o

Cheers, Paul.

I'm at Tynong North, between Pakenham and Drouin just North of the Highway. Beautiful area but rapidly becoming an outer 'suburb'. Not as rural as it used to be.
Moe..........Hmmm. I'll let that one go through to the keeper.:wasntme:

Deano

[andrew e]

Check this out Deano, some nice accessories there...pretty exxy when new:eek: also, looks like a Codan or Barrett remote head HF in the dash? Don't think much of the ashtray contents though:(

Vehicle Detail - Pickles Auctions Australia (http://www.pickles.com.au/damaged/vehicle/C1997-Land-Rover-Range-Rover-P38A-HSE-Wagon-7-Seats/itemid-1-252137861/lotid-0)


JC

Justin, This is Pearcys old car, he drowned it - see thread on page 2 - myp38s death. I confirmed with him last night that the bullbar, rear carrier and uhf have all been removed several weeks ago. So pickles is trying to scam an internet bidder into thinking these are still on the car.


Andy

[Scouse]

Thanks very much for that info Andy. I was tempted to bid on this one :(.

[andrew e]

Thanks very much for that info Andy. I was tempted to bid on this one :(.

from what he was saying, the front bar was a completely standard arb D2sahara bar, with the mounts cut off and welded into another position.

[peacey]

Does any one want me to post pics and measurements of mounts?
Snorkel will be finished fitting on saturday do people want this posted to?
Still have to fit kaymar rear bar on to new car, do people want measurement and pics of this?
Deano im in cranbourne if you want any hints.
Paul carputor will be fitted tghis weekend i will post this to.
As far as EAS goes mine on either car has only failed to bump stops once. Turn of car give it 2 minutes to sort it self out start up.
Had car wanting to lock on full height plenty of times in old vechile while playing same as before after hitting the black stuff turn off for 2 minutes still quicker than **** around with gadgets to get it to desired height if i bothered at all at 100kph full height still ok.
As for air bags unless they are cracked or dried out will perform for a long time put to full height and short the body so it raises flex on side as much as possible and look at condtion. They last on trucks and buses for there working life if not over loaded.
Had test book interface (got damaged in old car will be making another) never used it for eas the car sorts this out for it self.

[justinc]

Justin, This is Pearcys old car, he drowned it - see thread on page 2 - myp38s death. I confirmed with him last night that the bullbar, rear carrier and uhf have all been removed several weeks ago. So pickles is trying to scam an internet bidder into thinking these are still on the car.


Andy

Many thanks Andy, I have an associate that was pretty keen too based on the pics:mad::mad:

Terrible to see a vehicle like that off the road:(

JC

[DeanoH]

Snorkel will be finished fitting on saturday do people want this posted to?
Deano im in cranbourne if you want any hints.


Hi peacey

You're just down the road. Comiserations on the old RR. I assume from all this you have a plan b ?

Very interested in your snorkel upgrade. I'll PM you with my mobile if that's OK ?

Deano

[peacey]

no problem always happy to help a fellow p38 owner

[DT-P38]

Peacey, I am in Eastern Melb too (Nth Balwyn) and am interested in aything you can share abotu snorkels. Please do post photo's. Thanks, Dave

[PaulP38a]

You're a good man Peacey - I look forward to seeing your new projects coming to fruition.

My Dad's still in Melbourne. If I'm coming down that way for a drive, I'd like to come and visit you sometime and see all your cool toys :D

Certainly would like to see pics of your projects. If you need space to host them on the web, I have loads of space available at http://paulp38a.com (http://paulp38a.com/)

Cheers, Paul.

[willem]

Justin, This is Pearcys old car, he drowned it - see thread on page 2 - myp38s death. I confirmed with him last night that the bullbar, rear carrier and uhf have all been removed several weeks ago. So pickles is trying to scam an internet bidder into thinking these are still on the car.


Andy

True - I rang Pickles and after half a dozen times of speaking to a machine I got thru top a human being who actually had a look at it and confirmed that those bits were gone. The car actually looks quite a mess now. You will notice that the pics on the Pickles ad have changed since then!

Willem

[peacey]

anyone know how much it went for?

[willem]

anyone know how much it went for?

No - I didn't bother to go to the auction when I realised those bits were missing. I notice from your pics on another thread that you've already got the bullbar on your new P38. Looking good with the snorkel too!

Willem