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Is fun an anagram of difficult, confusing and expensive? As in F-ed Up Nightmare? Fila's unpredictable nature? Foreign unorthodox nonsense?  Or indeed all of the above. Anyway, on the vehicle front I lied a bit. Coming home last night and both high and low gear lever position indications were lit, which ain't supposed to happen. The box changed happily in high but I could not shift to low. Hooking up the Nanocom showed a "gearbox shift fault" message and wouldn't clear. I left it hoping that a plug or something simple got dislodged when we dropped the X-member on Wednesday, although it was fine the other day and yesterday morning. So this morning was resolution day. Knowing there are a couple of P38 owners on here, I've put together a handy little pull-out-and-keep Guide to Success:- 1. Go down to car park with an attitude of hope over expectation 2. Put key in ignition - Hmm, all selector lights illuminated, so there's been no magical change overnight then - as the fault came from nowhere, is it not reasonable to suppose that the reverse may apply? 3. Crawl underneath and poke around a bit, noting that where we were working and supporting the g-box the other day is not near any wiring or plugs 4. Key back in and observe no improvement in patient health 5. Plug in Nanocom 6. Observe there is now no fault logged, yet symptoms persist 7. Remember what all the IT whizzkids advise and disconnect battery 8. Go upstairs for a cup of tea and for fun, read the RAVE manual 9. One brew and two cigarettes later, return to vehicle, connect battery and hey presto, problem gone and normal high/low service resumed 10. Feel smug  still a bit clueless  but happy  and that's what matters In addition I spliced and soldered the two washer level sensor wires together, shut another alarm up and restored full wash/wipe functionality! Not a bad morning's work. |
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eternaloptimist
Posted a lot
Too many projects, not enough time or space...
Posts: 2,578
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Ah, the Microsoft repair method. Turn it off, battery out, battery in, turn it on and bingo! Leaves those who have faith feeling happy, and cynics like me feeling vaguely distressed that something that happened for no discernible reason and was 'fixed' without anything actually being properly repaired with the application of a tool/force might happen again at a really unhelpful time.
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XC70, VW split screen crew cab, Standard Ten
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THE_Liam
Yorkshire and The Humber
If at first you don't succeed... HAMMERS.
Posts: 1,363
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Foul unusual nibbles?
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Ah, the Microsoft repair method. Turn it off, battery out, battery in, turn it on and bingo! Leaves those who have faith feeling happy, and cynics like me feeling vaguely distressed that something that happened for no discernible reason and was 'fixed' without anything actually being properly repaired with the application of a tool/force might happen again at a really unhelpful time. Agreed, hence the "clueless" bit. But so often with P38 ownership things appear and disappear with no logical explanation. Think of it as owning your very own Bermuda Triangle. You know stuff happens but have no logical reason as to why. That way you can sleep nights! |
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Oct 24, 2014 23:26:50 GMT
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Just got back from 2.5 weeks in VietNam, 3rd time I have been there now, lovely place, lovely people, changing fast though. This is the first time we ever had any one spruik to us as tourists, all very polite, you said no and they were OK, this is unlike a lot of other places like Thailand and Bali where it is over whelming they way they will never leave you alone and do not take no for an answer - well not me because I am 195cm and have a poison disposition that every one understands... but for a lot of people it is stressful in those places, I am sure this will happen in VietNam in 10 years (unfortunately)
I will say georgeb, Hanoi is great (probably my favourite with Hoi An) but it is interesting to see the country really is 3 very different zones North/Center (Da Nang and Hue) /South with every distinct people. The "feeling" of Saigon will be very familiar to you - just another large Asian city
Like most of Asia, they do eat everything if you look in the right places The absolute worst is a raw blood dish
Dog is generally a north thing, and very expensive/celebration meal, if you see a place advertising Cha, that is good (Pork), Cho, not so good
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Contrary to popular opinion, I do have mechanical sympathy, I always feel sorry for the cars I drive.
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Oct 24, 2014 23:37:31 GMT
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That pretty much sums up the buffet served up at a party I was at a few years ago! |
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Oct 24, 2014 23:45:05 GMT
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Just got back from 2.5 weeks in VietNam, 3rd time I have been there now, lovely place, lovely people, changing fast though. This is the first time we ever had any one spruik to us as tourists, all very polite, you said no and they were OK, this is unlike a lot of other places like Thailand and Bali where it is over whelming they way they will never leave you alone and do not take no for an answer - well not me because I am 195cm and have a poison disposition that every one understands... but for a lot of people it is stressful in those places, I am sure this will happen in VietNam in 10 years (unfortunately) I will say georgeb, Hanoi is great (probably my favourite with Hoi An) but it is interesting to see the country really is 3 very different zones North/Center (Da Nang and Hue) /South with every distinct people. The "feeling" of Saigon will be very familiar to you - just another large Asian city Like most of Asia, they do eat everything if you look in the right places The absolute worst is a raw blood dish Dog is generally a north thing, and very expensive/celebration meal, if you see a place advertising Cha, that is good (Pork), Cho, not so good Yes, now you mention it, there were no touts in Hanoi at all when I was there. Shame it's changing as, like you say, it puts a lot of people off if they don't know how to deal with the pestering. What was also interesting, and surprising, as I'd been instructed to buy some gold ("Verrry cheap there" said Madam), was that not a single shop assistant would even acknowledge my existence, let alone sell me anything. Maybe they thought I was American? Don't know, but distinctly different to anywhere else in Asia! Everywhere else i.e. hotel and bars were fine but presumably because they have more exposure to foreigners. But yes, Hanoi had a generally nice "small town" feeling rather than a typical Asian mega-city. |
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Last Edit: Oct 25, 2014 22:10:42 GMT by georgeb
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Oct 25, 2014 22:08:47 GMT
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Yesterday morning I had to pop out for something and whilst admiring my only half illuminated gear shift and natty operating washers (even the headlight wipers work now!) I approached a right hand bend. At this point, my left foot started to go cold as what felt like half a gallon of water ran onto it. God, what now? First thought was pollen filters so when I got home I raided the stock cupboard for a couple of new ones - must get another order in. Got the old ones out which I'd changed around 8 months ago  Yup, they needed doing. However, there was no sign of water anywhere, so next up was into the overalls and get underneath. Left hand air-con drain was dripping happily but the right appeared dry. Sticking a little finger into it resulted in the other half gallon and assorted detritus filling my armpit. Lovely. Out for a test drive and all remained dry, but one horn has decided to stop working. Wonder what today holds? |
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Forgot to mention that I received an envelope from those nice people at Gaydon. What I was after was a build date which turns out to be 31 January 1995, so next year we can hold a 20th birthday party. Yes, yes, any excuse for a bit of a do!
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Just got back from 2.5 weeks in VietNam, 3rd time I have been there now, lovely place, lovely people, changing fast though. This is the first time we ever had any one spruik to us as tourists, all very polite, you said no and they were OK, this is unlike a lot of other places like Thailand and Bali where it is over whelming they way they will never leave you alone and do not take no for an answer - well not me because I am 195cm and have a poison disposition that every one understands... but for a lot of people it is stressful in those places, I am sure this will happen in VietNam in 10 years (unfortunately) I will say georgeb, Hanoi is great (probably my favourite with Hoi An) but it is interesting to see the country really is 3 very different zones North/Center (Da Nang and Hue) /South with every distinct people. The "feeling" of Saigon will be very familiar to you - just another large Asian city Like most of Asia, they do eat everything if you look in the right places The absolute worst is a raw blood dish Dog is generally a north thing, and very expensive/celebration meal, if you see a place advertising Cha, that is good (Pork), Cho, not so good Yes, now you mention it, there were no touts in Hanoi at all when I was there. Shame it's changing as, like you say, it puts a lot of people off if they don't know how to deal with the pestering. What was also interesting, and surprising, as I'd been instructed to buy some gold ("Verrry cheap there" said Madam), was that not a single shop assistant would even acknowledge my existence, let alone sell me anything. Maybe they thought I was American? Don't know, but distinctly different to anywhere else in Asia! Everywhere else i.e. hotel and bars were fine but presumably because they have more exposure to foreigners. But yes, Hanoi had a generally nice "small town" feeling rather than a typical Asian mega-city. According to SWMBO, northerners are very rude and sly. Her family hails from Tra Vine in the far south. |
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Last Edit: Oct 26, 2014 8:13:53 GMT by mrabody
1995 Range Rover 4.0
1995 BMW 320i Saloon
1989 BMW 325i Touring
1991 Mercedes 300TE-24
1991 Mercedes 190e
1970 Sunbeam Imp Sport
1966 Valiant 200 Custom
1964 Ford Fairlane 500 Station Wagon
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According to SWMBO, northerners are very rude and sly. Her family hails from Tra Vine in the far south. So no bias there then! No doubt the people in the north would say that the southerners are indolent and lazy. Good to see a North/South divide alive and well. |
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Having returned from a stressful few days consuming cold beer on the beach in Boracay, I realized that my valve block rebuild kit, posted on 22 September, still hadn't arrived despite me asking those nice people at the Philippine Post Office to have a really, really good look for it. So the next step was to mail the seller, BECM Doctor in California (Scotty on the RR.net forum) and ask if he'd send another kit via courier this time, and asked for him to give me a total cost. The response? “George we’re in this together brother!!! I'll get that kit to you even if I have to bring it myself!!! You paid once and you have nothin to show for it!! This time it's on me...  Scotty” Can't fault that for service. So I mailed my suspension swap guy with an update who promptly replied saying that the suspension height selector switch he'd ordered for me was being held by customs! Why, for God's sake? The more I think about it, the more I become convinced that someone in Customs is building a P38 from scratch, using all my “missing” parts! |
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We know a song about that!!  |
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fer4l
Posted a lot
Testing
Posts: 1,497
Club RR Member Number: 73
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We know a song about that!! One piece at a time - and it didn't cost me a dime... ? ;-) |
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THE_Liam
Yorkshire and The Humber
If at first you don't succeed... HAMMERS.
Posts: 1,363
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To be fair, having spent 3 weeks arguing with HM C+E about a piddly electric aerial coming from Germany I can sympathise, although it's far more hassle for you  |
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pauls0
Part of things
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I can sympathise too George, especially having just had another battle with customs and couriers here in Peru. This time I was hit with 23% import duties ($266) plus S/.400 (about another 100 GBP) for "handling & admin" fees by the Courier..They tried to get another S/.100 off me saying I had declared the manufacturers incorrectly on the paperwork, then I pointed out that I never filled in the manufacturers´details, and if there was something written there then someone else was at fault - all went quiet for a day or so then I got an email telling me the parcel had, as if by magic, suddenly been released and was on it's way...
Still, at least the parts arrived. I'm still waiting for some things sent via the postal service back in September...
I really must put SWMBO's name on parcels, gringos do seem to end up with more delays and charges when receiving bits... It's and expensive business running a Disco 3 here.. There are a few P38s for sale at the momento, prices seem to be around $12000 -$13000...
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We know a song about that!! One piece at a time - and it didn't cost me a dime... ? ;-) That had sprung to mind! To be fair, having spent 3 weeks arguing with HM C+E about a piddly electric aerial coming from Germany I can sympathise, although it's far more hassle for you Just don't understand how an innocent little switch comes to be held by Customs! I really must put SWMBO's name on parcels, gringos do seem to end up with more delays and charges when receiving bits... It's and expensive business running a Disco 3 here.. There are a few P38s for sale at the momento, prices seem to be around $12000 -$13000... Can't really claim racial prejudice here as the guy that's ordered the switch for me is a Filipino, so it looks like they're simply tossers to everyone equally. Most stuff by courier tends to arrive okay, it's parts that are either posted or are coming as part of a container shipment that fall foul of Customs here. Having a $500 limit, including delivery charges, is a bit of a bummer now though. The prices they are looking at for P38s there seem similar to here (apart from mine, where he wanted twice that - bless him) at around 11-14k but generally only one or two for sale at any given time, so not a huge choice. They all seem to be 1995-7 as well for reasons I can't fathom, don't think I've seen a later one. Ah well, all it's doing is delaying the return to air suspension, nothing catastrophic, just frustrating. |
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THE_Liam
Yorkshire and The Humber
If at first you don't succeed... HAMMERS.
Posts: 1,363
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I've been meaning to ask you George, what's it actually like on coils? I've been offered one cheap that's had a coil conversion and the only ones I've driven have been on air. I don't like the idea of it but then again, this is hugely cheap.
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Actually, now I've gone back to 16" wheels from the 19s that were on before, it's not too bad. The coils give a less compliant ride and this was made worse by the low profile tyres. With the 165/70s on now it gets some comfort back and you could live with it with no problem.
I wouldn't let being on coils deter you completely, except to wonder that if the previous owner couldn't be bothered to look after the suspension (which is, after all, a fairly simple system) what else have they ignored?
However, if engine, box and body are good, along with all working electrics, go for it. They really are a lot of motor for the money in the UK now.
Top tip? Buy a Nanocom ASAP. Best investment you'll make.
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THE_Liam
Yorkshire and The Humber
If at first you don't succeed... HAMMERS.
Posts: 1,363
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Actually, now I've gone back to 16" wheels from the 19s that were on before, it's not too bad. The coils give a less compliant ride and this was made worse by the low profile tyres. With the 165/70s on now it gets some comfort back and you could live with it with no problem. I wouldn't let being on coils deter you completely, except to wonder that if the previous owner couldn't be bothered to look after the suspension (which is, after all, a fairly simple system) what else have they ignored? However, if engine, box and body are good, along with all working electrics, go for it. They really are a lot of motor for the money in the UK now. Top tip? Buy a Nanocom ASAP. Best investment you'll make. Thanks man. To be fair, it has had coils fitted because the current owner couldn't be arsed fixing it properly, its been offroaded heavily so the body is poor, and it's been used as a workhorse so the interior needs a thorough decontamination. However it's £700 with a years test... |
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Or indeed all of the above.
still a bit clueless 
but happy 
and that's what matters
