Omega Owners Forum

Chat Area => General Car Chat => Topic started by: Elite Pete on 27 December 2013, 16:24:35

Title: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: Elite Pete on 27 December 2013, 16:24:35
I'm thinking of selling the Omega and buying a W reg 4.0 Range Rover with LPG. I've had a 4.2 LSE Classic about 10 years ago and I don't think there's much difference between them. Anyone got any advice? TIA :y
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: Elite Pete on 27 December 2013, 16:25:47
Oh bugger wrong section, sorry admins ::)
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: joshwyatt on 27 December 2013, 19:03:07
I love Range Rover's, but I always shudder at the thought of a P38. I've had 5 or 6, but only passing through. EAS faults and electrical gremlins would be my concern. The 4.0 does seem to be the most robust engine though. I would personally go for a '51' or '02' to preserve as much value as possible. Now that the ropey L322's are £4,000...prices for P38's have dropped.
I've got the Land Rover Microcat system, so if you want to know original build spec, extra's etc, just PM me the VIN  :y
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: ajsphead on 27 December 2013, 20:11:45
I had a p38 4.0 with LPG. Scrapped it at 116K, bought the mig and made £150. Beautiful when it worked - mine was a well cared for example bought from a friend. It suffered 3 dropped liners following both head gasket failures so was replaced with a tuned 4.6 then whilst putting it back together suffered a broken gearbox oil pump (clumsy fool of a friend who didn't think to mate the box to the engine, not the engine to the box) and then noticed the dreaded heater o ring seal rearing its ugly head. A dash out job for a 10p seal. at that point I threw in the towel.

I was lucky. The HVAC unit worked in mine which is more than can be said for the rest of the electrics. It's one where you can't ever take the battery out but have to swap batteries with continuous charge as you run the risk of the vehicle going into lock out mode then it has to be towed to a land rover dealer to be reset unless you know a land rover indy with the right programming equipment. Also it'll fail to work at all at some petrol stations and you'll have to push it off the forecourt as the immobiliser works at the same frequency as something on the forecourts, can't remember what. The Land Rover dealer warned me which petrol stations to avoid in the local area when the key transponder failed and he supplied a new one.

Also prodigious rust on the chassis and blistering on the aluminium body panels, particularly the tailgate. On the plus side, it'll go almost anywhere within reason and is not as physically big as it seems. The boot on the mig estate is bigger than the p38 and doesn't have a socking great spare wheel sitting in it as there's a toroidal lpg tank in the wheel well. The mig is also quicker and more economical. 16 on gas 18 on petrol was about average for me. It was rarely used in town, that was mainly m'ways and a-roads.

I miss the v8 woofle and the comfy ride and having a car you climb into. In all other respects I don't miss it at all, and would miss Herman far more - mainly because he works.
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: the alarming man on 27 December 2013, 20:16:18
you either get a good one or a bad one...thing is most for sale are not the good type, as josh says he shudders at the thought of one and quite rightly so :y
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: Steve Brookman on 28 December 2013, 10:23:46
Morning all,
I've had my 99 4.6HSE exactly 7 years today. Have spent less in 7 years on it than I did on the last Omega in two.
Mine has never let me down although the central locking is playing up at the moment. I replaced the air springs (£260 for 4) three years ago due to age. New tyres (£120 each-Avons, a new exhaust (£130 complete) and new shocks £60 set of four.

Tow the tin tent with it-Omega 3.0 nearly as good though.

I've been very lucky and must have bought a good one.
Looking to sell in the summer and buy a L322 Supercharged.

Good source of info is Landyzone- although you need a thick skin sometimes!

If you need any other info just ask.

Steve
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: belldarr on 28 December 2013, 14:31:39
I bought a P38 back in the summer this year and I think it's brilliant - but I have wanted one since they launched in 1994 and was casually browsing ebay one lunchtime at work when I saw one local to me  - popped out to see it and bought it 30 mins later on impluse - I have not regretted it for a moment.

Mine isn't my daily driver but it is my first choice when I leave the house at the weekend as I love the driving position and comfort.

If you are not put off by all the rubbish ones try and get a Thor Engine with the much improved Bosch Ignition system, these were called the "facelift" version that was run from 2000 - 2002, as already said LandyZone is a good source of info on the "range rover" section but they are not as friendly as the peeps on here :)  Also dont get one that has been converted from air suspension to springs as this ruins the ride, most problems are fixable yourself and loads and loads of spares on ebay. 

Try to get one that is unmolested and original - most will have towed and check both sides of the gear selector work as they should - feel the front carpets for damp (matrix o= rings) and it has at least 2 x remote keys.

Darren

Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: zirk on 28 December 2013, 15:35:46
I'm thinking of selling the Omega and buying a W reg 4.0 Range Rover with LPG. I've had a 4.2 LSE Classic about 10 years ago and I don't think there's much difference between them. Anyone got any advice? TIA :y

A local Trader I know picked up a P38 with LPG a couple of years back, phoned me up and said 'your into your LPG's, come and have a look at this one', not really interested was my reply, but he insisted I come and have a look, when I asked why, he said 'Coz its Diesel'  :o 
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: henryd on 28 December 2013, 15:54:17
I'm thinking of selling the Omega and buying a W reg 4.0 Range Rover with LPG. I've had a 4.2 LSE Classic about 10 years ago and I don't think there's much difference between them. Anyone got any advice? TIA :y

A local Trader I know picked up a P38 with LPG a couple of years back, phoned me up and said 'your into your LPG's, come and have a look at this one', not really interested was my reply, but he insisted I come and have a look, when I asked why, he said 'Coz its Diesel'  :o

Supposed to boost power and economy I believe :y
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: TheBoy on 28 December 2013, 17:55:34
LPG'ing diesel is possible, but more for a better burn than for economy.
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: Crazycarzowner on 29 December 2013, 23:31:44
Well I've had 3 of em, and out of them 2 were great 1 was a pig! Had issues with the air-suspension with 2 of them but if you can DIY its easy and is really just basic plumbing. The bags are easy to replace and usually if you look at them you can see where they start to wear / perish, its where they fold under at the corners. If the car is left for a day or so and drops to its bump stops then there is a leak somewhere in the system. If there are leaks then (as I found out) the air-compressor starts to work over-time and overheats &  the piston ring melts. Can get new ring kit on Ebay for £25

Engine wise my 4.6 was lovely but same as the Omega the coolant should be clean and a nice red colour. Both the 4.0 & 4.6 have form for over heating, usually this is due to blocked rads / or water channels. So keeping on top of the coolant is a must. On 2 of mine the nearside bank cylinder head gasket started leaking right at the rear of the engine, apparently this is quite a common place for them to go and a weak spot, so check for any weeps or leaks. 

HEVAC systems can be problematic, blend motors pack up sensors on the AC can go give annoying messages, but again are easily sorted with a bit of know-how.

You can get Hawk-eye (diagnostic kit) for your model if your serious on keeping it and it can read pretty much all of the modules and I found it en valuable just as much as this site http://www.rangerovers.net/index.html

Would I have another?? Oh yeah! too right I would, loved every minute of owning them, excellent tow car and phenomenal off road. Nice ride position, plenty umph & effortless. Much better than an X5 that gets stuck in a grass field  >:(
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: Elite Pete on 31 December 2013, 14:33:34
Well the bids in so we will have to see what happens ::)

Thanks for the advice everyone :y
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 31 December 2013, 18:30:50
Rover V8 engine shudder....

Remember the block on the 4.0 and 4.6 is the same.....it's the crank and pistons that differ. I am yet to see an RV8 running on eight cylinders correctly once they have 40k miles on them
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: the alarming man on 31 December 2013, 21:16:39
perhaps a trip down south is in order....as I have a v8 running correctly on all 8 of its cylinders and with 92,000 on the clock :y
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: henryd on 01 January 2014, 13:06:26
Rover V8 engine shudder....

Remember the block on the 4.0 and 4.6 is the same.....it's the crank and pistons that differ. I am yet to see an RV8 running on eight cylinders correctly once they have 40k miles on them

Mine does,runs superbly :y at 106k
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 02 January 2014, 08:12:03
And I bet I could prove the pair of you wrong, there will be at least one cylinder down on power by about 30%....and cam timing will be out.

Its an inherent design fault with them on the cams, followers and chain drive.

As they are an 8 they mask the issues very well ut they will be far from thier best (not that they ever were brilliant)
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: omega3000 on 02 January 2014, 15:50:09
And I bet I could prove the pair of you wrong, there will be at least one cylinder down on power by about 30%....and cam timing will be out.

Its an inherent design fault with them on the cams, followers and chain drive.

As they are an 8 they mask the issues very well ut they will be far from thier best (not that they ever were brilliant)

Would that even be noticeable on 8 pot  :-\
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: Nick W on 02 January 2014, 16:06:11
Rovers are good at hiding it. Worn cam lobes on the rear cylinders is always a good bet. And is a good excuse for a performance cam.
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 02 January 2014, 16:25:20
Worn lobes and dished followers plus a wedge of slack in the timing chain, the only real plus of the 4.0/4.6 is the removal of the usuless extra four head bolts on the outer edges that caused the headgaskets to blow into the valley (but just to compensate for this improvement, Rover fitted composite gaskets instead of the metal ones used on the earlier units) and some lightweight cross bolts on the crank.

The old Buick 215 needs 3K oil changes realy (the only real change to the oil setup on the later engines is a crank driven oil pump rather than the skew gear setup driven off the base of the distributor)
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: ajsphead on 03 January 2014, 08:36:05
ABS accumulator pumps need checking too. If it buzzes every time you use the brakes then it'll need replacing. I've also just remembered the exhaust manifold heatshields. I exhausted every swear word known to man trying to get them off, and just about every tool known to man as well. I'm sure that they were fixed before the engines were dropped in and an angle grinder and various pry bars were the only way they could be made to come out. Truly the most stupid bolt pattern I have, and probably will ever meet.
Check the heated screens too. one side or the other probably won't work. Warped dash tops, worn driver's seat bolsters and floppy door handles too. Cautious people never remove the oil filter while the sump is drained. You might get away with it or you might have no oil pick up and have to pack the pump with vaseline to get it to draw again.

My mates P38 was a dog even though it looked straight.
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: aaronjb on 03 January 2014, 12:07:22
This is a dangerous thread .. it got me looking at Range Rovers and then latterly Defenders on fleabay.. ;D
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: 05omegav6 on 03 January 2014, 12:45:03
This is a dangerous thread .. it got me looking at Range Rovers and then latterly Defenders on fleabay.. ;D
At which point I hope you realised that actually the Omega isn't quite as ruinous to run as you first thought ;D
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 03 January 2014, 12:47:16
This is a dangerous thread .. it got me looking at Range Rovers and then latterly Defenders on fleabay.. ;D


Aaaaaggggghhhhhhhh.......... ::)
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: 05omegav6 on 03 January 2014, 12:49:34
This is a dangerous thread .. it got me looking at Range Rovers and then latterly Defenders on fleabay.. ;D


Aaaaaggggghhhhhhhh.......... ::)
DGMS by any chance ;D
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 03 January 2014, 12:52:33
Land Rovers (Defenders and Series) are the constant thorn in my side, I seem to be FOREVER fixing the bloody things be it welding, changing engines, water pumps, cylinder head gaskets, exhausts, bloody brake cylinders, brake pipes, the wiring (oh the bloody wiring), fitting PAS, titting about with injector pumps and seals yada yada yada.
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: 05omegav6 on 03 January 2014, 13:31:37
Really easy to work on (repeatedly) then ;D
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 03 January 2014, 13:45:02
Really easy to work on (repeatedly) then ;D

You would think that wouldn't you but they rarely are, everything is just 'to far away' to be able to comfortably get at it.
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: 05omegav6 on 03 January 2014, 13:46:48
At least they don't need a jack to drain the oil :-\
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 03 January 2014, 14:22:28
At least they don't need a jack to drain the oil :-\

Nope, your not selling them to me Al  ;D
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: tunnie on 03 January 2014, 14:23:55
I don't need a jack to change oil on my 2.2 Omega  :P
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: aaronjb on 03 January 2014, 14:52:04
This is a dangerous thread .. it got me looking at Range Rovers and then latterly Defenders on fleabay.. ;D
At which point I hope you realised that actually the Omega isn't quite as ruinous to run as you first thought ;D

;D ;D Pretty much! Amy's Dad has a (relatively nice) Defender and I have a soft spot for them - but I probably wouldn't buy one unless (like him) I knew a specialist who did work ridiculously cheaply..

Though I did see one that was originally a RAF Landy now sitting on a galv. chassis with what must have been a brand new body too - looked quite nice, if a little bit like Triggers broom! ;D
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: henryd on 03 January 2014, 22:41:57
This is a dangerous thread .. it got me looking at Range Rovers and then latterly Defenders on fleabay.. ;D


Aaaaaggggghhhhhhhh.......... ::)

One life,live it ;D,you know it makes sense ;D ;D
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: the alarming man on 03 January 2014, 22:53:49
And I bet I could prove the pair of you wrong, there will be at least one cylinder down on power by about 30%....and cam timing will be out.

Its an inherent design fault with them on the cams, followers and chain drive.

As they are an 8 they mask the issues very well ut they will be far from thier best (not that they ever were brilliant)



trust me mine is firing on all eight equally .. i have the fuel bill to prove it!! :y
Title: Re: P38 Range Rover advice
Post by: the alarming man on 03 January 2014, 22:55:20
This is a dangerous thread .. it got me looking at Range Rovers and then latterly Defenders on fleabay.. ;D
At which point I hope you realised that actually the Omega isn't quite as ruinous to run as you first thought ;D

;D ;D Pretty much! Amy's Dad has a (relatively nice) Defender and I have a soft spot for them - but I probably wouldn't buy one unless (like him) I knew a specialist who did work ridiculously cheaply..

Though I did see one that was originally a RAF Landy now sitting on a galv. chassis with what must have been a brand new body too - looked quite nice, if a little bit like Triggers broom! ;D


Defenders are hard work in the cold much better to sit on a heated leather seat :y