2000 Range Rover 4.0 SE P38 - DHTC - Daily Hauler & Tow Car

Having snapped a front brake disc on two occasions, I think overall you have had a lucky albeit inconvenient escape!

P38 has had a very busy day



Collected this



Loaded to the brim with that



Literally



450 miles - 28 gallons x petrol - early start and many, many hours later I arrived home - and despite the miserable wallet busting 16 MPG - its still the best / most stable / most effective / most comfortable tow vehicle that I have ever driven / owned / loaned / hired etc

I've had a 2007 Range Rover L322 Supercharged for four years that I flew to Texas from Oregon to pick up. Once fully serviced and fitted with Tow package, first things to go were the rear seats (in storage since). Brilliant tow vehicle..., I hardly notice hauling my cargo trailer, even with the cargo loaded to the headliner in the Rover (not an uncommon occurrence).

Does suck fuel when hauling, but oh so comfortable while doing so..

Lance - I also removed the rear seats form mine when it arrived hence it becomes a luxury van on some occasions - I will have to put the seats back shortly though has its due its MOT in February - and would fail with them not fitted (buckles for the rear seat belts are in the seat bases and are a testable item)

Save yourself the hassle - belts aren’t testable if there’s no seat fitted (front passenger or back).

7.1.1. & 7.1.2.

You do not need to inspect:

a belt fitted with no corresponding seat
a buckle or stalk with no corresponding belt

Great memory jog.,I remember circa 1972-3 as a kid in Westbury-on-Trym (NW Bristol suburb), once in a blue moon we'd get a Rag & Bone man come through our neighborhood with a horse-drawn cart. We'd rush out to pet the nag but my Dad rushed even faster with his shovel to scoop up it's dung...and deposited it straight onto the roses. True story! John

Thanks for that samta22.

Interesting reading of the P38 v Discovery 2, but they fall into the same trap as many, quoting that, "but be very wary in the mid-price range, as rectifying any of the potential problems with engine, electrics or air suspension requires expensive specialist knowledge. There’s no such thing as a cheap P38A; buying a car with problems at a knock-down price will inevitably cost far more in the long run."

Yeah, we can all buy dog but this just perpetuates the myth.

1) it's a Rover V8 for God's sake, how hard can it be?
2) 400 quid for a Nanocom will diagnose, and rectify, 99.9% of your electrical issues, or at least point you pretty much straight to the issue. Most are sensor faults or old faults that haven't been cleared.
3) Air suspension is, apart from the solenoids, simple mechanics (should that be pneumatics?). The parts are available off the internet for suspension and brakes at sensible money, and I've rebuilt both systems, right through on mine. Again, the Nanocom will reset ride heights after rebuild

I enjoyed one bit when doing brakes. The sage advice was that if your brake compressor is leaking fluid from the body, it's toast and expensive to replace. As I'd done brake lines, brake modulator, accumulator and pump o-rings, it was pushing the problem up the system. Split my pump from the motor and found the shaft seal was goosed. A replacement was a quid here, as it's identical to those used in domestic water pumps found in virtually every house. Three years later, still going strong. Total cost of brake pump rebuild? Four pounds.

Yeah, there are issues you should walk away from, but sometimes, it's worth a punt if you invest (modestly) in the kit and you've got a bit of confidence.

Another reason why your lift is so useful makes easy work of getting the P38 up off the deck safely and at a sensible working height.

Nothing like a last minute MOT fix



Although it went through last years test without issue I was advised to change the HID headlamp bulbs that came with the car when I purchased it (apparently there is no beam pattern with them)



MOT is today and I managed to change the bulbs at 1600 hours yesterday



Replaced with some H4 Zenon intergalactic much brighter than anything whatever



That will do the job - don't really use the motor at night but went to put some fuel in it last night and they are certainly better than the HID that were fitted - I will remove the wiring / drivers for them at a later date - fortunately they had not removed the 3 pin bulb connector so it was a simple plug & play procedure